Fore! Calgary golfers hit greens early

Greg Sugden has been golfing for 40 years now and today, is a first for him.

"This early in Alberta? I don't think ever," Sugden said.

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"I have played in B.C. earlier than this but not in Alberta."

Sugden hit the greens at the Links of GlenEagles in Calgary as the temperature hovered around 9 C.

"It is always great to see spring come for an Albertan. It is awesome to be able to get out of the snow and the snow drifts and be out here playing golf," he explained.

Marcel Berube has golfed since he was five years old.

"This is the second day, we golfed Thursday in that big wind, that was a real challenge," Berube tells CBC News.

He says even though it's a great day to be outside, modified golf attire is a good idea.

"I will be donning the toque and I have gloves and I have a down golf jacket which is probably going to go on today."

Slade King of Play Golf Calgary says this year is one for the books.

"This is the earliest ever, so we are pretty excited about that," King said.

Something else that is changing, is how golf courses communicate early openings to golfers.

"It is a different world now and that is why we can do it so fast. Social media, email, you put it out on twitter, Facebook and it goes viral pretty quick," he said.

"You can do things instantly, where before you used to have to put an ad in the paper, try to get some radio time."

Shresht Lamba says for him, golfing in March is unheard of.

"We should have snow right now, but right now it's 5 C weather," Lamba said.

"I don't think it gets any better than this."

King says getting a jump start on the season will be a nice boost for business.

"Every round helps," he said.

"This year especially, might be more of a difficult year with some of the corporate dollars drying up, but you have to do what you can and you take basically an educated risk."

But for the golfers King sees, there is an excitement in the air.

"The guys are really, really pumped. It is kind of a fun time of the year because it is just hard core golfers that are really excited to play," King said.

"You got guys in shorts, flip flops in the parking lot. It is kind of like Christmas morning, guys are just so excited to get the clubs dusted off and swing."

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