This past winter might have been cold and wet throughout the country's northeastern corridor, but it was warm and dry in many other areas.
In fact, while Boston set a record this winter for the most snowfall ever (110.6 inches), the winter of 2014-15 actually was the warmest on record, according to the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration. And the effects of those unseasonably warm conditions were felt, in part, on golf courses around the country.
According to industry analyst Jim Koppenhaver of Pellucid Corp., the number of golf playable hours, his measure of the total number of daylight hours compared with factors that influence play, such as precipitation, humidity, temperature, etc., were up by 24 percent nationwide in March.
Year-over-year rounds played were up by 1.3 percent in March, compared with the same month last year, according to Golf Datatech. Year-to-date rounds played are up by 1.1 percent through the first quarter of the year when compared with the first three months of 2014.
Participation outpaced golf playable hours in many locations, especially in the Midwest. Play was up by 50-60 percent in places like Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Nebraska, North Dakota and South Dakota. Other states experiencing a double-digit hike in rounds played included Illinois (20 percent), Oklahoma (18 percent), Wisconsin (13 percent).
The biggest losers in March were found primarily in the Southeast, Northeast and the eastern edge of the Midwest, including: all of New England and Maine, where there was virtually no play at all in March; New York (down 62 percent); New Jersey (down 39 percent); Arkansas (down 34 percent); Mississippi (down 27 percent); Delaware, D.C., Maryland (down 26 percent); Pennsylvania and Tennessee (down 23 percent); Alabama down (16 percent); Louisiana (down 15 percent); Indiana, Kentucky and Texas (down 14 percent); Ohio (down 12 percent); and Virginia (down 11 percent).