Keith Good called it "a corporate decision."
He'll make it on Thursday, and the question he must answer is this: will Pine Valley Golf Centre open on Friday, or won't it?
Good, Pine Valley's general manager, had originally planned to make Friday the first day of the season at the local par 3 course. But, as of Tuesday afternoon, he wasn't sure if that would be possible.
"We're going to have to warm up a bit here because [the snow] is not melting quite as quickly as I had hoped," Good said. "There are a couple of low spots that still have some snow on them. The areas that are open are dry and we don't have any disease or anything on the greens. We're looking in good shape this spring, so I'm happy about that, but the whole course has to be ready to go."
Good is also the owner of Yellowhead Grove Golf Course, an executive-style layout just minutes west of the downtown. Yellowhead, he said, still has six to eight inches of snow in places.
"We'll be a week, at least," he said. "But again, [the snow] goes so fast, you don't know. If we had a little bit of rain.... And, if we could just break that plus-10 [for temperature]. It's the middle of April almost and have we hit 10 yet?"
The Prince George Golf and Curling Club, meanwhile, may open its driving range on Saturday. The course itself -- which offers golfers a challenging 18 holes in the Bowl area of the city -- is likely two weeks away from seeing its first tee shots.
"Most of the snow is gone -- just what we plowed off the greens and tee boxes is left, and a few icy patches," said new head professional Geof Magrath. "[Course superintendent] Murray [Kutyn] said it looks better than he thought it was going to look. He's just pulling the covers off the greens that were covered and, for the most part, they look pretty good."
Magrath, who was an assistant professional at the PGGCC for 20 years, started his duties as head pro on March 1. He was hired as the replacement for Laurie Pierce, who submitted his resignation last July. Pierce is still in the city but is making plans to move to Kelowna.
At Aberdeen Glen Golf Course, located north of town in the Hart Highway region, director of golf Ian Wrynn is hopeful the front nine will be open in the first week of May.
"Last year we opened the front nine on the 22nd [of April]," he said. "This year, my guess is going to be about two weeks behind that.
"We do still have a lot of snow in some low-lying areas but we've got No. 10 plowed and we've got No. 11, 12 and 13 all plowed off," Wrynn added, in reference to the fairways. "The only green we could get under our tarps [to look at] was No. 6 and things look really good under there. We're very optimistic about the shape of the course, we've just got to wait for the snow to leave."
Officials at Aspen Grove Golf Course, off of Highway 97 south, didn't return a Tuesday phone call from The Citizen.
Other area courses include Alder Hills Golf Club, The Links of Maggie May and Ness Wood Golf Course.
