With temperatures reaching 70 degrees Monday, golfers flocked to local courses to try to squeeze in a final round before the year, and the unseasonably warm weather, comes to close.
An avid golfer since his teens, Barry Bennett of Radcliff joined Heartland Golf Club Marshal Bob Kohlmeier for a round at the course in Elizabethtown.
“It might be the last chance I have to play this year,” Bennett said. “I wanted to take advantage of the nice weather and the course is in great shape this year. It’s going to be a good day.”
Bennett one was of many taking advantage of course play Monday, said David Starry, who works in the Heartland Pro Shop.
“The warmer weather has brought them out,” he said, adding golfers were a pretty even mix of members and guests. “This is not typical. It’s usually cold.”
Starry said the club was at about 50% capacity Monday, but was full Sunday, when temperatures reached 59 degrees.
“We didn’t have one cart in the parking lot,” he said of Sunday.
Jim Hendrick, manager at Lincoln Trail Country Club, said he is seeing much of the same at the course in Vine Grove.
“Business has been excellent,” he said. “As warm as it’s been, we’re going to have a lot of golfers. Everybody wants to play because the weather’s good.”
Hendrick said the tee times were filling up as the day went on Monday and he was seeing large groups of six to 12 golfers.
“The weather is not typical, so the golf is going to be a lot heavier,” he said. “This is pretty close to what we would have in the summer when the temperatures are around 65, 70 degrees.”
Scott York said the warm weather Monday is what brought the avid golfer to Heartland for an 18-hole round.
“I play the 50-degree rule,” he said. “It has to be 50 or better and that usually cuts me off in November.”
In the summer, York might play up to two rounds a day, but playing this late in December was an unusual treat, he said.
“Usually toward the end of December, it starts to get cold so I usually taper off,” he said, adding he also played a round Sunday. “When it’s warm like this, I usually try to play once a day.”
Aaron, Courtney and Grayson Bell decided to take advantage of their Lincoln Trail membership to get a round in Monday at the course.
“We played 36 (Sunday),” Aaron said. “We’re trying to get them in while we can.”
The family doesn’t typically get to play as often as they like in the fall because of Grayson’s, 11, sports schedule, so they jumped at the chance to make up for lost time, especially since Courtney was on vacation.
“I planned it right, didn’t I?” she said.
Hunter Crick of New York was joining his father and brother, who is stationed at Fort Knox, for a round at Lincoln Trail.
“I have to go back to New York at the end of the week,” he said, adding that it’s snowing at home. “This is really odd, the weather for this time of year.”
Although a member at Lindsey Golf Course in Fort Knox, Ronald Bradford of Vine Grove found himself at Heartland.
“I’m trying to get in 9 (holes) before it rains around 4 o’clock,” he said, adding that his friends went to play in Louisville but he decided to stay local. “My wife’s out in Louisville shopping, so I thought I would sneak off.”
Bradford said he also doesn’t golf if temperatures drop below 50.
“By this time there’s usually snow on the ground or freezing rain or it’s in the 30s,” he said. “If it’s clear out and about 55, I play.”
Starry and Hendrick said the courses were in great condition and ready for play.
Gina Clear can be reached at 270-505-1418 or gclear@thenewsenterprise.com.
This news is republished from another source. You can check the original article here