With the opening of Meadow Lakes Golf and Country Club this past Friday, it's safe to say the Yukon golf season is officially underway.

The April 23 opening also means the club, now in it's sixth season, has set a new record, according to president Jeff Luehmann.

'This is the earliest we've ever been open,' stated Luehmann in an interview this morning. 'This is our sixth season and it's only the third time, so half the time, we've managed to get open in April.'

Meadow Lakes opened on May 3 in 2003 while golfers waited until May 8 to tee off in 2002. On Friday, the excitement of Yukon golfers was evident as the course was full all weekend. However, Luehmann pointed out tee times are limited due to the weather.

'The weather is always unpredictable up here,' he said, as evidenced by this morning's snowfall.

There will be no major changes to the Meadow Lakes course this season, as Luehmann feels the club has 'pretty much done everything that needs to be done here.'

The president said business seems to go up every year for the club, with around 18,000 rounds of golf put in last year. That was thanks in part to a new partnership with the cruise ship industry. Meadow Lakes offers a golf tour, complete with a lunch, for cruise ship guests coming in from Alaska.

That partnership will continue this year so the staff at the club is hoping for about 20,000 rounds in 2004. The course usually remains open until October last year, they made Thanksgiving weekend.

'This year, we could actually be open the most number of days if we get a late fall, because we opened early,' said Luehmann. 'If we can make Thanksgiving, that's great.'

While the president said Meadow Lakes and the other local golf haven, Mountainview Golf Course, have a good relationship and work together, he pointed out there are some advantages to teeing off at his club.

'The biggest advantage for us is we actually get on our greens, everything is regulation right from day one,' he said. 'That's because they're sand-based greens.

'I think a lot of people appreciate that they can play on the real thing. Not that temporary greens are that bad, but they're not nearly as good as sand-based.'

Meadow Lakes does not offer a driving range and is a shorter, 'target' course, which means it offers a lot of obstacles. The club also offers four sets of tees to choose from.

'We offer everything from beginners to championship tees,' said Luehmann. 'If you play with championship tees, it's a pretty challenging round of golf.'

And golf isn't the only thing which Meadow Lakes offers to the public.

While the club does not offer a full restaurant facility for the public the kitchen is used exclusively for tournaments and golf tours they do sell hot dogs and sandwiches. In fact, their hot dogs have become somewhat renowned.

'Sunshine (the hot dog specialist) cooks up a mean hot dog,' laughed Luehmann. 'It's actually her specialty, which might sound kind of strange because, how hard is it to make a good hot dog? But she has homemade buns, oversized wieners and about 50 different condiments.'

Luehmann said the staff actually got in some trouble on opening day because the hot dogs were a little late in arriving for the public.

Meadow Lakes no longer offers season passes but they do sell punch cards, available in five or ten round amounts, at a discounted price.

Nine holes of golf without a punch card costs $22 Monday to Friday, opening to 3 p.m., which is known as the non-prime rate. Eighteen holes would cost $37 during that same period.

The prime-time rates, which include evenings (after 3 p.m.) and weekends, as well as all holidays, are $27 for nine holes and $42 for 18 holes. Punch cards can be used in prime-time, even though they are purchased at a discounted price.

Meadow Lakes also has both pull and power carts for rent, as well as golf clubs.

It's not quite golf season at Mountainview Golf Course but they will be opening on Wednesday. The driving range at Mountainview is already open from noon to 7 p.m.