Editor’s note: This is the first in a two-part series on wintertime golf in Central Oregon. Today’s story focuses on those public courses that close during the offseason. Next Wednesday we’ll look at High Desert courses that remain open year-round, weather permitting.

Freezing temperatures and the approach of winter prompt a number of golf facilities in Central Oregon to go into hibernation about this time each year.

For the avid golfer, for whom an occasional snow flurry or icy wind is no deterrent, there are still plenty of playing opportunities on the High Desert – that is, when area fairways are clear of snow.

From Prineville to Sisters and from Redmond to La Pine, climate differences across the region can vary widely. And the decision to suspend golf operations for the winter is typically a matter of course location combined with a seasonal decrease in the number of golfers eager to swing their clubs in frigid temperatures.

”We’re a true mountain course,” says Jeff Fought, director of golf at Black Butte Ranch, home of the region’s westernmost courses. ”When you go to Redmond, that’s the High Desert. There’s definitely a whole different degree in Redmond than in Sisters or Black Butte.”

Black Butte’s Big Meadow Course closed for the season on Monday, and its Glaze Meadow Course will follow suit in mid-November.

Understandably, Central Oregon’s resort courses – such as Black Butte Ranch – tend to attract fewer golfing visitors during the winter.

”There’s not a whole lot of people (playing golf) once Nov. 15 happens,” notes Fought. ”By then, they’re hoping for snow and skiing.”

Bill Martin at Quail Run Golf Course, the region’s southernmost course, will close the La Pine-area facility once snow covers his fairways for three consecutive days, typically in early to mid-November, he says.

Martin adds that snowfall is actually a welcome winter arrival, serving as a turf insulator.

”Pray for snow,” says Martin. ”It’s the best blanket you can get to protect (the course) once the grass goes dormant. Without snow, we get damage.”

Every October, play ceases at both public courses at Sunriver Resort – Woodlands and Meadows (Tuesday is the last day at Meadows.) The decision to close is almost exclusively weather related, says Sunriver head golf professional Tony Blasius. Were the resort in a more arid region of Central Oregon, Blasius adds, one course would likely remain open year-round.

Icy winter conditions at Meadows and Woodlands pose the threat of damage to the golf courses, another factor in the decision to close, says Blasius.

”The ground is freezing. The grass isn’t growing. There’s a time we believe when the golf courses need to be put to bed,” he says.

Professionals at nearly all of Central Oregon’s public golf courses – whether they stay open or close for the winter – say fall is the time of year when they apply helpful fungicides to the grass that protect against damage such as snow mold.

Some courses also choose to cover their greens with plastic tarps for protection during the cooler months.

”At the Woodlands, we cover our greens (because of) different turf conditions,” explains Blasius, who adds that the poana grass that makes up the greens at Woodlands ”is a little more of a temperamental grass than the bent grass down at Meadows.”

Often, winter is the season for golf course maintenance and remodeling.

A 26-year-old irrigation system at the Woodlands Course is undergoing a complete replacement, and several tee complexes are also slated for an upgrade, according to Blasius.

Renovated tee complexes, a rebuilt driving range, and a revamped water hazard on hole No. 18 are wintertime projects for Fought and his golf staff at Black Butte’s Big Meadow Course.

Aspen Lakes Golf Course in Sisters, scheduled to close by the end of November, is putting the finishing touches on a new clubhouse and plans to construct a putting course over the winter.

By early fall, golf course maintenance crews typically aerate their greens, a process that ”injects them with air to help rid the greens of thatch,” explains Eagle Crest Resort golf manager Bob Hall.

With three golf courses nestled in the drier and lower-elevation region of northeastern Deschutes County, Eagle Crest has the luxury of closing two of its courses during the winter while keeping one open for play.

Hall notes that the Eagle Crest course designated to remain open through the winter rotates each year between the Ridge Course and the Resort Course. This year, the Resort and Challenge courses are scheduled to close Nov. 14.

”The reason we close two of our courses is because it’s not economically feasible to keep them all open,” says Hall. ”Also, during the winter, the (open) course takes somewhat of a beating.”

Starting Nov. 1, Widgi Creek Golf Club, located about five miles west of Bend on Century Drive, will close nine holes and keep nine holes open for play, and golfers will play on temporary greens. Although the driving range and pro shop are slated to remain open Wednesday through Saturday throughout the winter season, the golf course is expected to close entirely for the offseason in mid-November.

For those area courses that are still several weeks from shutting down for the winter, late-season rates are in effect. An 18-hole round of golf at Aspen Lakes, Black Butte’s Glaze Meadow or Eagle Crest’s Resort is $45 now and through their 2006 closure dates. An 18-hole round at Quail Run is $42 (or $25 after 1 p.m.) through season’s end. A shotgun start at 11 a.m. will begin play each day through Oct. 31 at Sunriver’s Meadows, where a round of golf is $50 for the next seven days. At Widgi Creek starting Nov. 1, nine holes with temporary greens are open to all you can play for $30.

When they close

A number of Central Oregon golf courses shut their doors suspend operations ? during the winter months. Below is a list of estimated anticipated? closing dates.

Aspen Lakes Golf Course – Mid- to late November, depending on weather.

Black Butte Ranch – Big Meadow, closed as of this week; Glaze Meadow, open through first major snowfall.

Eagle Crest Resort – Resort Course, Nov. 14; Challenge Course, Nov. 14.

Quail Run Golf Course – Typically closes early to mid-November.

Sunriver Resort – Woodlands, closed Oct. 16; Meadows, closes Oct. 31.

Widgi Creek Golf Club – Mid-November, depending on weather.