The 2nd (and 11th) green at Bear Creek Golf Course was ready for the course’s April 15 opening.
The Methow Valley’s Bear Creek Golf Course opened for public play on Saturday (April 15). The lengthy winter and late spring warm-up delayed opening on the traditional first weekend in April by a couple of weeks, but the course has a jump on itself from prior years in terms of course condition.
The Northcott brothers, Rick and Bart, co-manage the course and report that it is in ready condition for the 2023 season. “We were really surprised to see how the greens came through the winter,” said Bart. “The greens are in the best condition coming off winter I have ever seen.”
Indeed, a recent tour of the course revealed a number of greens appearing to be in mid-season form, plush, green and devoid of the usual damaged surfaces caused by infestations of snow mold. There are some areas of standing water in the typical, low-lying areas, and a couple of hillsides are holding some dampness.
The hope is to have the course open for riding carts, with advisories to avoid the moisture-laden areas of the course.
The course is typically open when the frost clears in the morning during the spring, and the clubhouse is staffed until 4 p.m. during the early season.
