The warmer weather is finally here, and golf is now booming in Central Oregon.

Making stops at area courses Friday, I found a substantial group in Bend to play three straight days of an annual tournament at Widgi Creek; a member/guest tourney at Awbrey Glen; and a busy golf course at River’s Edge.

All part of a golf season that has taken off locally, and the pros say business is up over last year.

Judging from what I saw Friday, the 2016 golf season is in full swing.

The tourney

At Widgi Creek, a group of 30 or so golfers were teeing off on the first hole — friends who have been playing together every summer in Bend for 16 years. They come here for three days of match-play competition (called the Wayder Cup) similar to the Ryder Cup.

The golfers included some locals and many others who were from all over the Northwest. Greig Olson came from Salem to renew a rivalry with Washington resident Scott Stewart during the tournament.

“I haven’t hit a ball, I haven’t practiced … and I’m still going to kick his butt,” Olson said with a laugh before teeing off. “It’s a mock Ryder Cup, so every nine holes we change the format, playing partners and opponents.

“The weather’s perfect and the golf course is awesome … how can you not love that?”

Beaverton residents Chad Martindale and Dave Bottaro have been playing in the tournament for years.

“We don’t miss this weekend,” Bottaro said. “No family thing, no weddings get planned, nothing happens on this weekend.

“It’s fun, competitive match play that you don’t get to normally do on the golf course.”

The sizable contingent from Beaverton, about half the golfers in the field, take on the rest of the players in a “Beaverton vs. State” competition. The teams have made up distinguishing shirts that they wear every year.

“State has won the last five years in a row,” Bottaro said, obviously hoping to turn the tables this year.

Martindale had been in Central Oregon for the entire week, turning the golf outing into a family vacation.

“I was at Sunriver all week and played both the resort courses and Crosswater,” he said. “All the courses are in great shape and the weather is awesome to play golf in during the summer in Bend.”

The member/guest

Tim Fraley, the head pro at Awbrey Glen, was in the midst of running the Bend club’s annual men’s member/guest tournament. On the course were 120 golfers, a full field that the club had no problem maxing out this year.

“The tournament was completely full three weeks after we opened it up in April,” Fraley said.

He added that the private club in northwest Bend has been busy this season.

“Things have been good,” Fraley said. “Our membership is up, we’ve got a lot of new members enjoying the golf course and the facilities.

“Our golf course is in incredible shape. Since we opened early in February we are way ahead of the curve.”

Weekly men’s and women’s club events, plus regular member play, have totaled about 100 to 160 rounds per day, Fraley said.

“We do two women’s groups and two men’s groups a week, and then we have member’s groups that play in their own groups as well,” he continued. “Sunday is the only day we don’t have something going on.”

Eight new tee boxes are in play, new scorecards, a new logo and a redesign of the club’s restaurant have been the most significant changes for the 2016 season, and all “are going well,” Fraley said.

Further indicating how the golf season is going this year, the club has added 18 golf memberships and 16 sports memberships in 2016.

“We’re upwards of 385 memberships, so we’re approaching 400, which we haven’t been at in a long time,” Fraley said.

At River’s Edge

The parking lot was nearly full at the club on the north end of Bend, and groups were making their way around each of the holes on the drive up to the course.

Director of golf Troy Eckberg said the course has been busy during the stretches of good weather so far this summer.

“We’ve had a lot of visitors in from out of town and the local population has realized the course is in fantastic shape,” he said. “Word gets around for us, so we’re getting folks from Sunriver and visitors staying in Bend are playing here as well.”

Eckberg estimated that his business has been split “about 50-50” between locals and out-of-towners.

“We love to see the tourists out here, but it’s a strong local population playing for us too,” he said. “So we depend on both.”

The days of unseasonably cool weather in June and July did have an effect on the numbers, but he expects that every year in Bend.

“Our tee sheet follows Mother Nature, so we take a little hit when the weather turns,” Eckberg said. “But it’s an average that we make up when it gets nice again.”

While business is up compared with last year, the River’s Edge pro knows that the next few months will be crucial for the course.

“Are we up this year? Yes,” he explained. “But the meat of the order is coming up, it’s July and August that we really pack in those rounds.

“So I’m not going to say, ‘Yeah, we’ve done it.’ We’ve still got a lot of work to do.”

Outside of Bend

At other clubs around Central Oregon the story was much the same, as the courses reported the weather being a key factor in rounds played this summer.

“We had a good May and July, but the hot weather and then the cold weather in June hurt us a little,” said Pat Huffer, PGA head professional at Crooked River Ranch.

Meadow Lakes in Prineville and Juniper in Redmond have also been busy when the weather has cooperated.

“I would say we are up a little (over last year),” said Bruce Wattenburger, head professional at Juniper Golf Club. “The golf business is kind of like farming: When you have the good weather the crops are good; when it’s not, the yield might not be so good.”

— Reporter: 541-617-7868, kduke@bendbulletin.com.