A Late February Thaw In Michigan

The 17th at Washtenaw Golf Club February 27, 2026

All felt right with the world on Friday as a late February thaw brought me back to my beloved Washtenaw Golf Club for a round.

Friday actually was my second round of February. On the previous round, Washteaw was not open, so I played at nearby Huron Hills.

The temperatures on Friday reached the upper fifties, but a strong wind was blowing, so I had a sweatshirt on most of the day. At one point, I was getting overheated, so I switched to a vest; that didn’t last long; the wind was cutting.

For having just come out from under a blanket of snow, the course was in good shape. There were quite a few wet spots, which is to be expected. Spots in bunkers and around trees still had patches of snow. But as a whole, the course was more playable than it had any right to be.

Kudos to Mark and the grounds crew for their hard year-round maintenance, which enables such enjoyable off-season play.

I threw out my lower back on the first shot, bending awkwardly to pick up the tee. That made the rest of the round a painful walk, and really restricted my turn. By the end of the round, however, all that walking had gotten the disc to settle back into its place. Walking through the pain is usually the cure for my back issues. The temptation is to sit, but I’ve found that just makes it worse when I stand up again. It’s probably the muscles contracting.

Getting old sucks.

Unfortunately, I was unable to make it out today (Saturday, February 28), but I am certain that there are dozens of my fellow golf addicts teeing it up.

Next week is March. It’s just 20 days until official Spring, and 42 days until the Masters!