Wayne Mosher?s workload was light.
His boss was in Chicago, anyway. And the real kicker ? temperatures approaching 70 degrees ? made for a perfect day on the links.
“You have to watch for a good day, but you never get a great one like this in January,” said Mosher, of Monkton. “You have to seize the opportunity.”
Hundreds of golfers like Mosher are booking rounds this week on Baltimore County?s six public courses as temperatures climb 20 degrees above normal, forcing operators to call in additional staff and open a course that is typically closed on winter weekdays.
And the courses, which have lost money over the past four years, are benefiting from the unexpected economic shot in the arm, operators said Monday.
The week could net thousands of unanticipated dollars, said Lynnie Cook, golf director for the county?s revenue authority, a public-private board that also operates public garages. After closely tracking forecasts, Cook said he decided to open Greystone Golf Course in White Hall, which is typically closed during weekdays in the winter.
Many golfers, he said, plan to sneak away from the office later this week, as forecasters predict springlike temperatures Tuesday and Wednesday.
“It gets everyone thinking about springtime and dusting off their golf clubs, thinking it might be the last opportunity over the next two months to play,” Cook said.
The county?s golf courses have not netted a profit in several years, but improvement this year was attributed to pleasant weather, authority members said. The board modestly increased golf prices earlier this year.
Few warm streaks have allowed operators to open Greystone, which, located near the Pennsylvania line, is significantly cooler than Baltimore. In January and February, authority board member Les Pittler said there?s “almost no reason to open it.”
“But we?ve had people call when there is snow on the course, asking if we?re going to open,” Pittler said. “If you are able to play, they play.”
Fore!
Tuesday: 64 degrees, patchy fog
Wednesday: 57 degrees, chance of showers
Source: National Weather Service
