Although it's hard to gauge at this point with snow still on the ground, the TS&M Woodlawn Golf Club is likely looking at an opening date in the first half of May.
Woodlawn general manager Brian Dueck said it will be easier next week to forecast a possible opening date.
"Once the snow's gone and we can actually peek under the tarps and see where the greens are at, that's going to be the telltale sign of when we can go out there," Dueck said.
He added that barring something unforeseen, the new back nine should be opened shortly after the front.
"I'm very excited about it. It seems like it's been so long since we've actually been out on the back nine playing golf. It's exciting because we're very close to getting out there."
After the floods of 2011 devastated the course's back nine, the club took the opportunity to embark on a previously planned redesign by original course designer Les Furber.
"The community and members and people who get to use the facility are the people I'm excited for. This is our happy place. People come down here to spend their social dollars, their extra cash, to get out with the kids and enjoy the game," Dueck said.
There are concerns about another round of flooding in the southeast this summer - though on a much smaller scale than those of two years ago - but Dueck is optimistic that the course won't be affected much, if at all.
"Let's start out by saying I don't think we're even close to where we were a couple years ago," he noted. "You're comparing apples and oranges, I think. What I will say is it's fresh in everybody's mind."
He said Woodlawn has seen roughly 65-70 per cent of its snow disappear in the last two weeks.
"What bare ground there is, it's not showing a lot of water."
Dueck said he was told by the Saskatchewan Water Security Agency last week that "their forecast at peak runoff is they feel comfortable that Rafferty has enough drained out of it."
The WSA is anticipating flows of 120 m3/s into Boundary Dam, with 50 m3/s being diverted into Rafferty and the other 70 being released into the Souris River, Dueck said.
"The unfortunate thing is the original park on the north side of the river will probably see some flooding at 70. The golf course won't see it at 70. Going by our experience from two years ago, around the 80-85 mark is when it comes over the river.
"If it gets to what they're predicting, we should be OK, unless there's absolutely abnormal, stupid amounts of rain. I'm hoping for the best, but do we have to be aware, for sure," said Dueck, adding that "if we do get a bit of water, I'm sure it won't be here very long."
