Will all the snow be gone? (when do your golf tracks open?)

[AlexandreB]

I am visting friends in the Lahti area in the SECOND HALF OF MAY. Is it worth to bring my clubs?
Don't get me wrong, I know you have great courses there (Linna, Kytäjä, Vierumäki, Pickala, Espoo and many oters), but will they be open? Or in other words, will all the snow be gone and the greens playable? I just don't know when Spring really starts in Finland.

Thanks for any advice, Alex, Zurich

[AldenG]

I just don't know when Spring really starts in Finland.

The week before summer? In early June?

[EP]

As far as I know golf season usually starts at the end of April, sometimes in early May. But now we have so much more snow than usually that nobody can predict when it will be gone and the ground becomes dry enough.

[Rosamunda]

Like EP says, snow isn't the only problem. The ground might be frozen beneath the surface and I don't think they will let you play on it then. But I guess all the golf courses have websites that will contain the info you need nearer the time.

[otyikondo]

It's a puzzle, definitely. I'd say yes, they will be playable, but we are in slightly uncharted waters right now. Only a couple of years back I played nearly all year round (winter greens, admittedly), it was so mild.
To some extent it depends on what SORT of spring we get. If the heavy snow-cover automagically evaporates in the sunshine, things will be fine, but if we have a wet one, it could get very messy, especially on courses that don't drain very well (and that's quite a lot of them).
Snow of itself isn't necessarily such a bad thing, as you are less likely to get serious frost damage to the greens - compared with a cold snap when the ground is bare. But then again, your mileage varies - quite often I've thought it was going to be a disaster "because of the winter we had" and the course I play on has coped well, but other times it's been the other way around.
Probably what happened BEFORE the snow arrived is as important as the snow itself for the condition of the grass: the snow is a "drainage thing".

Check back in in March.

[simon]

The last few years Jan Feb have been the snow seasons, but as said already we have in the Uusimaa region its getting on 50+ cm in depth. If its a wet spring I can see the snow who knows when it'll go.

Do they shift the snow from the courses the same as the roads?

Got a set of clubs back home in the UK and will be taking them back in April

[john_smullen]

I worked on a golf course for three years in Vantaa and we were open the week before easter. The first year 2006 there was still a lot of snow and ice when i started there but we got rid of it and we were open April 20th but we have had so much snow so far and expecting more that even if the snow has gone the ground will be so wet the courses will stay closed as letting people play on them would cause problems in the short summer we get.
I would advise you to come back on here a little closer to your visit and ask again when it will be a little more clear if the weather has changed enough. Good luck with it and as I play golf I too will want the courses open as soon as possible.

[Rosamunda]

... but as said already we have in the Uusimaa region its getting on 50+ cm in depth.

We measured the depth of the snow in our back garden (Espoo) at midday today and it was 65-70 cms on average. And it has snowed more since then.

[AlexandreB]

Thanks to anyone.
I'll check back in here around late March, early April. And in the meantime, let's hope the depth of the snow cover won't break any records

[EP]

It is already breaking records. And more to come in the next three days. I remember this much snow from early 1960´s.

[otyikondo]

It's the second half of May. The answer to your question is:

YES.