HOOKED

PALMER — Richard Eigelis and Will Fernandez spent Monday afternoon on the golf course.

It was overcast and there was a slight nip in the air, but the fairways were clear and the greens were dry. Eigelis and Fernandez were at the one spot in Southcentral Alaska where eager players can hit the links — Fishhook Golf Course.

“It’s wonderful. It’s drying up, the snow is disappearing,” Fernandez said after he and Eigelis teed off on Fishhook’s par-4 fourth. “I really look forward to this, the exercise, fresh air.”

Eigelis and Fernandez were playing their round on just the second Monday in April — fairly remarkable for golf in Alaska — but the Wasilla friends have already been able to hit the Palmer nine-hole course that sits just a two-iron shot away from the Glenn Highway off Fishhook Road for several weeks.

No other course in Southcentral Alaska is expected to be open for about a week. Palmer Golf Course could be open as early as Saturday, golf director George Collum said. But Fishhook has had nine holes’ worth of open fairways and dry greens for more than two weeks.

Fishhook’s Skip Pelletier said the course officially opened for the season on March 27. Fishhook was open for a single day on Feb. 24, but had to close the next morning because of snow. The course, which has become known as Palmer’s place to be for early-season golf, has opened as early as Feb. 14 in the past. Pelletier said they let the course dictate when its ready for play.

“Basically if the snow is off the greens and there’s enough snow off the fairways that you can navigate from the tee boxes,” Pelletier said. “It’s nothing we do, it’s what nature does. The wind usually clears this place. Anytime from February on we can usually go.”

Pelletier said there’s a sense of pride with the ability to open before any other course. And there’s the sense of satisfaction when eager golfers begin to move through the course that offers two par-3s, two par-5s and five par-4s. Pelletier said the course was packed on opening day, and continued to be busy last weekend.

“We’ve had a lot of golfers out,” Pelletier said. “People are anxious.”

Fernandez and Eigelis have been regulars at Fishhook for nearly a month now.

“We hit the driving range initially. Once the snow cleared, we started coming out,” Eigelis said.

Even on a colder day, Fishhook’s covered driving range offered a sanctuary.

“When it was 32 (degrees) and sunny, you get in that covered driving range area and it feels like it was 40-50 (degrees),” Fernandez said.

But that doesn’t mean they weren’t eager to hit the course.

“It’s a lot more fun being on the range than just banging balls around,” Eigelis said.

Pelletier said conditions have been good this spring.

“It’s dry. It dried up really quick,” Pelletier said. “I don’t think the frost is very deep.”

Fishhook typically has a few natural water hazards that dry up by June, but that may be different this year.

“Most of our puddles are gone,” Pelletier said. “We’ve had a couple of our puddles stay until May, but it looks like they’re going to be out of there before that.”

Eigelis and Fernandez were excited about the conditions Monday.

“For this time of year, they’re excellent. It’s just nice to get the fresh air and exercise. And of course we’ve got to take in the majestic beauty of the Matanuska area,” Eigelis said, standing with a backdrop of the snow-capped mountains of the Talkeetna Range.

Tim Rutzer made the trip from Eagle River to play on Monday. It was already his fifth round of the year.

“It’s huge just to be out here this early,” Rutzer said. “Enjoy some outdoor recreation and get a jump on the season.”

Pelletier said the course will be open to carts today for the first time this year, unless a snowfall that was reported to hit the Palmer area late Monday night prevents that. Greens fees are currently at $12. For more information, contact Fishhook Golf Course at 745-7274.

Contact Frontiersman sports editor Jeremiah Bartz at sports@frontiersman.com.