Warm weather proves lucrative for local golf course

 Posted By: Laura Wilson
lwilson@klkntv.com

Highlands Golf Course is not on par with its average January attendance-and that’s a good thing.

“We had a bunch of noon and 1 o’ clock guys come and hit range balls, and practice their putting and chipping,” said Highlands Golf Club Head Golf Pro Denis Vontz.  “Between 11:30 and 1 o’clock, we were pretty steady on the tee.”

It may be the dead of winter, but the harshest weather condition felt in Lincoln on Tuesday was a little wind.

January’s unusually high temperatures have brought in an unusually high volume of golfers over the last week.

“It was open-someone had to be here and it was us,” said longtime golfer Gary Hilton.  “Anybody inside wishes they were out today. We had to come.”

Highlands is on track to nearly triple its projected number of golf rounds this month, making it the busiest January in nearly ten years at the course.

“Hopefully, we’ll hit 800 rounds this month,” said Vontz.  “That should put us, city-wide, close to 3,000-3,500 rounds for the month of January.”

Temperatures pushed close to 60, and the good weather appears to have translated to a good scorecard for some golfers.

“[It was] great…except for the last hole,” said longtime golfer William Harris.  “It is perfect weather-sunny and with friends.”

“Tomorrow looks like another good day.  Our tee sheets look a lot fuller tomorrow than they did today,” said Vontz.

Temperatures are expected to climb even higher Wednesday, with the potential to reach a record high.