Pine Knot Golf Club in Dorchester, Ont. sells out Sunday with 160 players

A little snow on the side of the fairway didn’t stop 160 golfers from all over southwestern Ontario from flocking to Dorchester on Sunday.

“We have players from Toronto to Windsor and everywhere in between here today,” said Dean Gochan, director of golf at Pine Knot Golf and Country Club.

With the sun shining, blue skies and temperatures reaching 7 C in the region, it was a perfect day for those anxious for spring.

“The sunshine brought me out, but also the fact the course is open,” said Jim Carere, who returned from a Florida golf trip, and got right out on the links. “We’ve been looking forward to golfing already this year.”

There was a slight half-hour frost delay, but once things got going at 10:30 a.m., there was a constant stream of foursomes headed to the first tee.

A look down the fairway was nothing but green grass, and it looked like spring had already arrived.

Pine Knot Golf Club in Dorchester, Ont. had a full tee sheet of 160 players on Feb. 4, 2024, with temperatures reaching 7 C. (Brent Lale/CTV News London)

“Our groundhog made the prediction we’d be golfing in early spring, and here we are,” said Gochan. “We joked that this used to be a newsworthy event, but it’s becoming the normal to play 12 months a year. The conditions are great, and it’s dry out there.”

This weekend, the golf course opened both the front and back nine to accommodate as many players as possible.

“We do have some snow as we call the ‘Canadian hard-water hazard,’ but it just makes it that much more fun to play in,” added Gochan.

The club’s opening depends on the weather, and they will start taking tee times a day in advance, if they plan to open the following day. 

Pine Knot Golf Club in Dorchester, Ont. had a full tee sheet of 160 players on Feb. 4, 2024, with temperatures reaching 7 C. (Brent Lale/CTV News London)