MD golf courses suffer due to record snowfalls

Daily Record, The (Baltimore), Mar 15, 2003 by Andrea Cecil

Golf courses across Maryland suffered a financial blow as this winter dropped record snowfalls that blanketed greens and fairways, drove up maintenance costs and kept golfers away.

So as courses prepare to re-open, officials are hoping players have suffered from a good case of cabin fever long enough to send them running to the links.

"The aggregate of the snow probably costs us a minimum of 3,000 rounds and about $100,000 in revenue shortfall in January, which is what we experienced in February," said George Hale, executive director of the Baltimore County Revenue Authority, which operates the county's five public golf courses.

"In a typical February, we might play a total of 3,000 to 5,000 rounds total for the five courses. And in fact we did a little bit shy of 1,200 rounds."

He said most of the county's public courses were still covered with snow earlier this month.

"It's too early to assess what we'll see when the snow melts off the courses, we'll just have to see," Hale said.

The Baltimore Municipal Golf Corp., which runs five courses in Baltimore City, normally attracts golfers year round," Executive Director William L. "Lynnie" Cook II said.

"We normally have a lot of players during the winter months," he added. "In this particular year, there haven't been really any players because of the weather."

Municipal Golf Corp. personnel have not been able to perform maintenance on their courses because they can't see them under the remaining snow, Cook said.

"The majority of maintenance activities that we conduct during the off-season have been unaffected by the weather -- and that's repair to equipment, interior painting," he said. "Anything that we would normally do on the golf course, of course, we can't. But we have to spend a few more dollars on snow removal."

Hunter's Oak Golf Club in Queenstown spent part of its budget on a snowplow this year, Assistant Superintendent Clay Alexandrowicz said.

Overtime and personnel costs -- as well as snow damage to trucks - - also shot up expenses, he said.

"We ended up taking a bulldozer out here to move the snow from the last snowfall," Alexandrowicz said, referring to the Presidents Day snowstorm. "So costs generally go up."

The weather also has pushed back construction of a new course at Hunter's Oak.

Meanwhile, Bulle Rock in Havre de Grace plans to open a week later this year -- on April 9 -- because 65 percent of its course was still covered in snow during March's first week, golf Superintendent William Lewis said.

"Cart paths are covered so we can't get out on the golf course," he said. "We're waiting for it to melt."

But melting doesn't necessarily mean ideal conditions, said Hunter's Oak's Alexandrowicz.

"The course is right now relatively unplayable," he said. "You can't really putt a golf ball through the water."

Ed Beidel, golf course architect with Daft-McCune-Walker Inc. in Towson, said the financial strain the snow has exerted on golf courses comes at a time when many are making upgrades.

"They're saying, 'If we're going to attract new members or maintain our current clientele, we need to bite the bullet,'" he said.

Last year, many courses could not make improvements because of the drought. Instead, they concentrated energies on just trying to keep turf alive, Beidel said.

"But we're going from one extreme to another," he said, referring to this year's winter. "It will be soggy."

Still, the super-saturation will not be enough to keep golfers away, course officials say.

"The one thing I can predict is whenever it does turn, we'll probably get slammed," Hale said. "There are so many golfers out there that are dying to play. Starting at least a week ago, we've been getting the calls. People are chopping at the bit, calling us regularly."

The impatience has course officials excited.

"What happened last year and what we're hoping will happen this year is that golfers get cabin fever and they want to get outside," Cook said. "Yesterday, the driving range was almost filled with people. From the street, you could only see the tops of their bodies because of the snow banks."

Avid golfer Curt Matthews, senior writer for CareFirst, says he enjoys several courses in Ocean City and Baltimore.

"But not when the snow's on the ground," he said.

Likewise, Matthews recently took a trip to Mexico to satisfy his itch.

"The primary purpose was to get in some rounds of golf. It was nice to get out in the sunshine," he said. "The attraction of golf is such that it's difficult to stay away from."