How bizarre can it get? Stowe finally ends its 158-day ski season Sunday and announces plans to open for golf Saturday, but it snows Monday.
Okemo Valley Golf Club opened Saturday and had one great day before the return of winter weather.
Down south in the Berkshires the venerable Taconic Golf Club saw Williams College host 12 other teams Sunday for the annual Spring Challenge and finish second behind dreaded rival Amherst.
Mighty Killington, still hosting skiers and snowboarders, will hold its sixth annual Pond Skimming Championships Saturday, with the 41st annual May 1 Fun Slalom to follow.
And Friday, Golf Digest Magazine’s chain of 17 worldwide golf schools will mark its entry into New England, setting up operations at Cranwell Resort, Spa and Golf Club in Lenox.
Covering every aspect of the game, Golf Digest Schools at Cranwell will offer a wide variety of programs ranging from three-day schools to individual hourly lessons.
The former Cranwell Golf School opened in 1999 after several million dollars were spent at the 58-acre site on a 12,000-square-foot academy building, an indoor practice area, four practice holes, and a huge driving area with lesson tees and target greens. An 18-hole golf course, built for national championships some 75 years ago, will also be utilized in the Golf Digest School.
Keith Lyford, founder of the Cranwell Golf School, will remain on the staff as director of instruction. He came to Cranwell in late 1998 after more than a decade as head of the Stratton Mountain Golf Academy, founded in 1962 by legendary golf guru Arnold Palmer.
Lyford, who has been recognized as a Top 100 instructor in America and rated No. 3 in Massachusetts by Golf Digest, will also be featured in future Golf Digest issues, offering tips and instruction.
“Cranwell, with its great practice facility, outstanding golf course and spectacular surroundings, is an ideal location for us to operate in,†said Jim Endicott, Golf Digest Schools general manager.
Golf Digest Schools national headquarters opened last month in Palm Beach Gardens at The Country Club at Mirasol, future site of the PGA Tour’s Honda Classic.
“We are delighted to join forces with such a prestigious organization as Golf Digest,†said Lew Kiesler, general manager of the Cranwell Resort, Spa & Golf Club. “Along with the opening of our new $9 million spa, the Golf Digest School further enhances Cranwell’s long-standing reputation as one of the premier resorts in the Northeast.
Golf Digest created the school business in 1971 and more than 75,000 students have since been taught by an award-winning staff, including nationally-ranked PGA and LPGA instructors.
Cranwell’s other facilities include 107 deluxe guest rooms, 16,000 square feet of meeting and banquet space, four tennis courts, an outdoor heated pool, five restaurants and 10 kilometers of hiking and cross-country skiing trails. Cranwell, with a snow-making system, is the site of the annual Bay State Winter Games Nordic championships.
For additional information or to register for the school, call 1-800-243-6121 or visit www.golfdigestschool.com.
All Berkshire golf courses offer hourly instruction and special clinics and several years ago the then Waubeeka PGA Pro Tom Toski operated a golf school.
Since the Arnold Palmer Academy, then instructing juniors, Stratton has specialized in adult programs, as have golf schools available at Mount Snow, Okemo and Killington, all in Southern Vermont.
Nike Junior Golf and Tennis Camps have been at Williams College for several years, with Chris Tremblay at Skyline Golf Club in Lanesborough and the Skydome Indoor Club in Pittsfield heading the golf staff. Williams Coach Dave Johnson directs the tennis camp.
Many golfers and more hackers claim they “never took a lesson,†but the value of instruction can be seen on the golf course with smoother strokes and lower scores.
“With just two full days at the Killington Mountain Golf School last year I went from a non-golfer to a golfer and in just a few months I was able to play with veterans. Last fall I outplayed my uncle who is on the course all winter at Hilton Head,†claims Kim Jackson, news bureau director at not surprisingly, Killington, and formerly best known as an expert, if not extreme, skier.
In any event, there is no excuse not to take instruction at any of the major area golf schools or from the pros at the local golf clubs.
Kids are not forgotten, as nearly all clubs offer special youth programs, usually soon after the start of summer vacations.
Another way to improve is to join a golf league and again just about every course has several evening leagues for different levels, some for men only, some coed, and some just for women. Competition encourages better shot-making!
Waubeeka PGA Pro Erik Tiele is currently setting up a Ladies Monday Morning League and a men’s league for Tuesday mornings. Contact Erik at 458-8355.
For lounge lizards, you can’t beat watching TV tourneys or instruction on the Golf Channel.
Are there sometimes failures, despite all sources of help? Yes, I am loathe to admit. Even after lessons years ago from the late Rudy Goff at Taconic and the still-teaching Jay Morelli, director of golf operations for American Skiing company and founder of the Original Golf School at Mount Snow, I have a tendency to quickly forget the best of instruction and still try to “kill†the ball.
If you wonder what ski area employees do in the summer, you should be happy to know that they spend a great deal of time maintaining and repairing equipment.
In fact, more than 300 ski people are at Ski Butternut in Great Barrington, where the popular resort is hosting the 25th annual Lift Maintenance Seminar, a three-day event ending tomorrow (Thursday).
The seminar’s motto is “Safety Through Shared Knowledge,†and national experts on lifts, snowmaking and grooming share their knowhow with the people operating lifts and making and grooming snow. Official inspectors, weather service and forest service personnel are included in the event, inaugurated by Butternut founder Channing Murdock and continued by his son, Jeff.
John Hitchcock of Williamstown writes frequently about the area sports scene.
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Winter Storm Warning Issued for Berkshires
Another snowstorm is expected to move through the region overnight on Friday, bringing 5 to 8 inches of snow. This is updated from Thursday's winter weather advisory.
The National Weather Service in Albany, N.Y., has posted a winter storm warning for all of Berkshire County and parts of eastern New York State beginning Friday at 4 p.m. through Saturday at 1 p.m.
The region could see heavy to moderate snowfall rates of 1 to 2 inches per hour overnight, tapering off Saturday morning to flurries.
Drivers should exercise caution on Friday night and Saturday morning, as travel conditions may be hazardous.
Saturday night should be clear and calm, but warming temperatures means freezing rain Sunday night and rain through Monday with highs in the 40s. The forecast isn't much better through the week as temperatures dip back into the teens with New Year's Eve looking cloudy and frigid.
Many homeowners are showing their holiday spirit by decorating their houses. We asked for submissions so those in the community can check out these fanciful lights and decor when they're out.
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