Golf In The NEK

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Created on Thursday, 21 April 2016 16:23

Written by Taylor Fuller

AROUND THE NEK - Golf is a sport for the young and the old. you can start early and play your entire life. Golf courses around the area are looking forward to this year’s season, due to a mild winter course conditions are looking good.  Just like snowboarders and skiers in the summer wait for the first snowfall. Golfers in the Vermont winters are itching for the snow to melt and the courses to open so they may begin their season.

The lack of snow and cold has helped out many courses in the area like Orleans Country Club, which is planning to open up Friday.

 “A month ago I thought we were going to certainty be ahead of schedule, and we are condition wise because of the mild winter” Josh Elnui who is the general manager and head golf professional at the course. While the timing maybe the same for when they open, the course looks like mid May conditions not late April. Elnui went on to say that he feels golf has been declining in the last decade, as they have an older clientele. He does feel though that it is slowly starting to change.

The Newport Country Club is also looking forward to a good season. Head pro Kim O’Neil was enthusiastic about the increase in memberships over the past couple of years. “We went up in membership by about thirty last year. This year, we're now in line to be about the something, maybe up above ten”. The new members are people whom are in their twenties looking to try the course out. A family course that is about ten minutes from the Canadian border is unsure, as to how to many Canadian’s they will get with the Canadian dollar being so low compared to the U.S. dollar. The location is not the only thing that makes this course unique from others in Vermont. Newport is one of four courses in the state that allow you to have your own golf cart and store it at the course for a fee. Two more of the four courses happen to be in the Northeast Kingdom at Orleans Country Club along with Copley Country Club in Morrisville.

Both courses are looking to grab a younger clientbase, lower cost for studemts and for first year members. The hopes is to get people to like the sport and wanting to come back, lowering the price under $400 for yound adults 19-24. If there was ever a season to get out early and get out earlier this will be the year with conditions prime and clubs looking to gather more members.