Fore!

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 18/03/2012 (5265 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Feet up on the deck, kids in the yard and a cold beer in hand: If this is what March looks like, we can hardly wait for April.

Indeed, as temperatures suddenly soared to a record-breaking 19 C on a sunny St. Patrick’s Day, is it any wonder that Winnipeggers were tipping their hat to the divine?

“I would say it’s a gift from God,” laughed Bulent Yildir, grinning as he toting his irons towards the first hole at John Blumberg Golf Course near Headingley.

Yildir and his buddies were among the over 150 golfers who flocked to the course for its first day of the season. Course managers decided on Wednesday to open for the year on Saturday, and kept their fingers crossed to see if the weather held.

It certainly did. Even though the river behind the course was still clogged with ice, the sun warmed the greens and tee-times were booked solid from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., Blumberg director of golf John Bowen said.

“Everybody was genuinely happy,” Bowen said of the avid golfers that tied up the phones Friday to book their tee-time. “The conditions are reasonably good, the course is in as good a shape as it can be at this time of year… hopefully the weather will continue and we can get off to a good start here.”

It’s already a remarkable kick-off, of course. Longtime golfers at Blumberg told Bowen the course had been open as early as March 15 in the 1970s once — but it usually opens around April 10. And even though parts of the green were marshy and a few intrepid snowdrifts still surrounded the pro shop, golfers turned out in shorts to bask in the rays.

“It’s cheaper than flying to Mexico to go golfing,” quipped golfer Shaun Sawatzky, as he warmed-up his swing.

It wasn’t only the city’s open golf courses that thrived. Across Winnipeg, ‘Tobans turned out in droves to cram parks and restaurant patios. The Forks buzzed with activity, the bells of ice-cream trucks tinkled down residential streets, and Sargent Sundae on Portage Avenue was thronged all afternoon by folks popping in for a cool treat.

A little bit of bad news: Not all of the buzz in the air was strictly about the joys of spring. “You’ll all be happy to know I killed my first mosquito today while cleaning off the porch,” tweeted Metro Winnipeg editor Elisha Dacey.

The previous March 17 temperature record was set in 1938 at just over 12 C. And what’s more — Saturday’s balmy temperatures made Winnipeg one of the warmest spots in Canada… at least for the time being. That said, the current warm spell is expected to continue, with Sunday’s forecast calling for sunny skies and a staggering high of 26 C.

melissa.martin@freepress.mb.ca