Springtime Golf in the Mountains
During high school, I worked at a first-rate golf club in the Pacific Northwest. We were open year-round, and although the greens were often soggy in the springtime, golfers would still go out and play despite the squishy conditions.
If spring has you thinking of a western mountain golf vacation, here are a few places that open for spring season play.
Photo by Truckee.com
Truckee, California has average temperatures in the 50s during April and very little precipitation throughout the month. Courses like Coyote Moon offer a quintessential mountain golf experience: golf through pines, around granite outcroppings, and over Trout Creek. Just 20 minutes from North Lake Tahoe, this area of the Sierra Nevada Mountains is an ideal spot for a spring golf vacation. The region is a golfer’s dream.
There are six championship golf courses and four executive courses in North Lake Tahoe, with another 14 within an hour’s drive. GoTahoeNorth.com has helpful information for golfers including links to area courses.
In addition to golf, North Lake Tahoe offers a lot of other outdoor activities, from biking to boating.
Photo by Landon Sveinson, Tourism Vancouver Island
It’s advisable to bring a raincoat, but Vancouver, British Columbia is a vividly green golf destination in late April. According to GolfinBritishColumbia.com, this mountainous province boasts Canada’s only year-round golf destinations, with courses in Vancouver and on Vancouver Island available for play 365 days a year.
According to the same resource, spring has come early to British Columbia and golf experts are predicting an early start to the 2016 golf season in southwest Canada.
Want to spend a day off the links and on the water? Charting a boat in this region of Canada is easy and the fishing is good. Keep an eye out for whales and other marine wildlife.
Photo by Visit Pagosa Springs
At 7,000 feet above sea level, Pagosa Springs’ average April temperatures usually hit the 60s by the end of the month. With a traditionally mild spring, this Southern Colorado town makes the perfect destination for golfers looking to get an early start to their season.
Pagosa Springs Golf Club is a championship 27-hole public course where golfers enjoy views of the majestic San Juan Mountains as they play through fragrant ponderosa pine. Opening day is scheduled for Saturday, April 16.
Pagosa Springs is remote, and surrounded by 3 million acres of national forest and wilderness land, making it a hiker’s paradise. And at the end of the day, whether they’ve golfed or hiked, visitors can enjoy a soak in one of the town’s hot spring pools.
