Written by Caleb Cox, Executive Director
As I try to muster hope for sunnier days and warmer temperatures — all thanks to the six extra weeks of winter so graciously given to us by the groundhog some 2,500 miles away — I wanted to pause and reflect on a few things that have been making the golfing landscape in Idaho much brighter.
One of the biggest changes to this landscape, or so in the last few years, has been the new way that many of us are enjoying our golf clubs in the wintertime. Several years ago, there were very few public places in Idaho where you could go with a group of people to play a round of golf on a simulator or fine-tune your game in the winter months. We all knew the small handful of people that would brave the cold and get out to play a round in January just to say they did, but for the majority of us, this was not our norm.
Today though, it is apparent that this landscape is changing in our great state. Golf courses have joined the movement by putting in simulators and indoor hitting bays for indoor tournaments, practice, and club fittings, while new entertainment venues continue to pop up regularly with the latest and greatest ways for golfers of all abilities to swing their sticks indoors without breaking any televisions or windows.
But, indoor simulators and the really bright lights next to the interstate aren’t the only ways that golf exists during the winter months. Many players turn to greener pastures by traveling to warmer climates as a way to feed their golf itch in the dog days of winter.
Left to right: Steve Mattis, Vikki Mattis, Tracey Robinett & Bruce Robinett (2023 Vegas Getaway)
We, at the IGA, kicked off the winter season with some December golf in Palm Desert, California. Nearly 50 golfers joined us in our inaugural Palm Desert Getaway as we played three championship-style courses: La Quinta Resort Mountain Course, Desert Willow Resort Mountain View Course and Indian Wells Golf Resort Celebrity Course. These courses were in great shape, and we couldn’t have asked for better weather as our participants enjoyed beautiful green fairways in 70-degree weather. While this was the IGA’s first getaway in recent history to the desert, it was a very successful endeavor, and we look forward to possibly returning to Palm Desert later this year or early 2024.
Also returning this year was the IGA’s annual Las Vegas Getaway. Per usual, 120-plus people from all over the state of Idaho and the Pacific Northwest joined us for three days of fun, competitive golf at the Revere Golf Club in Henderson, Nevada. This event is always one of our favorites because it gives us a chance to get out of the cold, and sometimes snow, and back on the golf course with many of you. This year’s weather and competition did not disappoint.
It has been great to see the many ways that wintertime golf has grown this year for Idaho players. I don’t know about you, but swinging clubs in the winter is a wonderful thing for me. It helps remind me that the unwanted gift so willingly given to us by Punxsutawney Phi will go away and that we will once again get to chase that little round ball around the green grasses we so desperately miss.