Avid golfers still on the fairways thanks to warm December

With the recent stretch of unseasonably warm weather across Ontario, golfers continue to hit the links from the southwest to the northeast.

Bob Dick anticipates he'll be golfing in Leamington, Ont., — mainland Canada's most southern point — well into the second half of December.

It's a welcome surprise, considering the golf season typically would have ended several weeks ago at Erie Shores Golf and Country Club, Dick told CBC News.

"It's just fantastic to be able to golf in December," he said.

• Golfers 'out in droves' as mild December weather hits Ottawa, Gatineau
• ​Diehard Manitoba golfers to hit the links for warm fall weekend rounds

Dick, who is also the president of the club, flew to Florida in the final week of November because he assumed his golf season would be over at home.

Then the warm weather moved in.

By Dec. 1, the temperature spiked at 9.7 C in Leamington and, since then, has averaged 5.8 C in December, according to data from Environment Canada.

Usually closed by Dec. 1

As long as the fair weather continues, courses and clubs throughout the region are staying open for the diehard golfers, says Mike Toth, the greens superintendent at Erie Shores golf club.

"Usually we're closing around the end of November, maybe around the first or second of December, so we're pretty blessed this year," he said.

In the past couple weeks there have been about 20-25 golfers a day showing up at Erie Shores, Toth said. Similarly, over at Roseland Golf and Curling Club in Windsor, Ont., numbers reached between 65 and 75 on the busiest day last week.

Those are impressive figures considering the reduced number of tee times crammed into a shortened day, explained Randy McQueen, head golf professional at Roseland.

The extended season makes up for the past two winters that forced clubs to shut down early.

"We were done for a month by this time last year," McQueen said.

Last year, Roseland closed by the second week of November when a heavy snowfall stuck around with an early onset of cold temperatures.

Roseland hosts an annual end-of-year tournament called the Closing Open, but even that was cancelled last year because of the snow.

"This year, that tournament was packed and that was three weeks ago," McQueen said.

Despite a foggy weekend that closed golf courses throughout Windsor and Essex County, several golf courses expect to stay open until Dec. 15.

Environment Canada expects temperatures to reach 13 C this week, but the national weather agency is also calling for rain.

"If it doesn't rain too much by then end of the week ... when it gets into the 12 C or whatever it's going to be on Friday, Saturday, Sunday area, it'll be busy," McQueen said.

The extended season is good for the bottom line as well, Dick explained. Getting two dozen golfers on the course whenever the weather permits means more revenue.

"It's not a big difference, but every penny counts in this day and age, the way the state of the industry is in golf," he said.

Not just southern phenomenon

Unseasonably warm temperatures across eastern Ontario this fall have extended the golf season into December for the first time in years. Sunday's high for Ottawa was 7 C, with the forecast calling for above-zero temperatures for the rest of the week.

At least five courses in Ottawa remain open — and for those that have kept the greens and fairways in playable condition, business has been brisk.

About 200 golfers packed Pine View's course on Saturday, vying for fewer-than-normal tee times since the sun rises much later and sets much earlier in December than in the summer, said course owner Don Costello.

"I guess it's a question of supply and demand, and there's very little supply at the moment," said Costello. "But we're open and we're entertaining golfers, and they're coming out in droves."