Extending summer golf is easier than you might think

With fall quickly closing in and winter looming behind, there is still a chance to stretch summer out one more month, without the expense of heading south to California or Arizona.

If you live west of the mountains then your warm sunny days are just about done. However, if you still have a hankering to play in summer-like weather, there is a way to gain one last bit of warm sunny golf – head east.

As any longtime Northwest coastal dweller knows, the weather east of the mountains is dryer, sunnier and warmer and generally lasts well into October and starts up again in early spring.

So why not grab your golf buddies and give those summer clothes one more chance to get that exposure to the sun?

While we’ve been enjoying the, seemingly, never ending summer, east of the mountains has been languishing in the hot sun. This has not been good for golf courses in that area as, in most years, coastal people will predictably travel east to play golf in warm sunshine when the summer is cool on the coast. This year’s exceptionally warm summer has kept people closer to home. When it hovers around 80 degrees in Seattle or Portland areas, who wants to travel east and get fried?

It should be noted that most of Eastern Washington has been spared and direct affects of the record-breaking forest fires; much of Central Washington experienced a lingering smoky haze throughout the summer.

Due to the worst fire season on record and unseasonable warm weather throughout the region, the golf courses east of the mountains have been exceptionally quite this summer. Bad news for them but it could be good news for you.

With such a low summer turnout the courses are eager to get back some of the play they’ve lost in the summer months and they are offering some pretty aggressive deals to entice visitors to come out before winter sets in. For the best deals, check out the websites of the courses in areas you might be interested in.

Whether you are traveling by car or RV, the deals are yours to be had. So, what are you waiting for? The courses are in the best shape they’ve ever been in and the ball still rolls down the firm fairways.

The fires did play havoc with some courses. At Alta Lake in Pateros, a fire burned down the clubhouse and 80 carts and nearly all of the houses along the course were destroyed.

At places like Leavenworth and Kahler Glen, fires along Highway 20 caused problems with golfers trying to get over the mountains as Highway 20 was closed 10 straight days at one point and on three different weekends during the high golf season.

There were ways to get east of the mountains, but detours took people miles out of the way. Some courses further east were spared from a direct hit by the fires, but the threat of fire and smoke kept many people away. “The fires were close enough to the course we had heavy smoke,” said Val Patrick at Leavenworth. “It was a tough fire season. Way worse than usual.”

But now that fall is here, the courses east of the mountains cooled down to great fall golfing weather. With endless days of sunshine and terrific golf courses, it’s perfect weather for a fall golf road trip east of the mountains.

It’s a great time to play Apple Tree Resort, Highlander, Sage Hills, Moses Pointe, Canyon Lakes, Palouse Ridge and Wine Valley, just to mention a few. The weather is typically dry, the sun it out and the fall season means there is some good golf yet to be played.

“There is a lot of good golf left around here,” said Patrick. “The fall is a great time to head over the mountains and play golf. We have sunshine, great conditions and plenty of places to stay. There’s lots to like when you head over the mountains.”

Extending summer with golf in the sunshine is just an hour or two away. So what are you waiting for?