TOWN OF PAMELIA, New York (WWNY) – This season, golfers at courses across the North Country have been forced to contend with puddles, mud, and abrupt closures. They can thank the rain.

“For those that do enjoy it as a hobby, it’s really taken that hobby away. It’s kind of ruined a little bit of being outdoors,” said golfer Phillip Stevens.

Willowbrook Golf Club had a particularly difficult season. Taking a ride across the course with owner Doug McDavitt, you could see the flood damage and workers tending to the fungal growth those floods caused.

“Monday, the day of the day of the big eclipse, it was dry. It rained that week and it hasn’t been dry since,” said McDavitt.

Since opening for the season, the course has had to shut down 15 times, costing thousands of dollars. Even when things reopened, moisture made navigating the course difficult, especially on golf carts.

“If you can’t get the carts through, because it’s so wet you really can’t either, so we had a lot of days where we couldn’t walk the golf course,” said McDavitt.

McDavitt says the course is only going to be open for another 7 or so weeks this year. Even if the weather is perfect that entire time, he still expects to take a hit.

“It gets slow this time of year. We’ll have some good days but to recoup what we’ve lost, that’s not going to happen. When that day goes by it’s gone,” said McDavitt.

While it has been an unconventional season, golfers we spoke to said they’ve made the most of it.

“Well, we take every moment we can get that gives us quality to play. We like to play, so we persevere,” said Marylou D’Argenio.

7News also reached out to other golf clubs in the region.

Cedars Golf Course in Lewis County had to shut down on 8 occasions due to the rain, and Ives Hill Country Club, which reopened this year, dealt with a few half days but managed to stay open.

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