It may sound a bit strange, but this winter's never-ending snowfall may actually mean you can pick up the sticks and hit the links with better conditions than in years past.

Many golf courses around the region are targeting this year's April school vacation - that's next week - for opening dates, and, they say, it's thanks in large part to all the snow.

"The snow acts as an insulator, really," Paris Hill's Mike Cloutier said. "Because of all the snow, we didn't get any deep frost. Last week, I looked out from the clubhouse and it was all white, but now, the only snow we have left is down by the woods by the second hole. It all melted evenly."

Last year, due in part to a late March storm, courses opened at just about the same time. The year before that, in 2006, Apple Valley in Lewiston was open April 9.

"It seems the average is about the middle of the month," Apple Valley's Gard Craw said. "Sometimes a bit later, others a bit sooner. This year, with all the snow, it's a bit later."

But, Craw said, the color is coming back quickly.

"The grass is getting greener every day," Craw said.

Back at Paris Hill, Cloutier said his maintenance staff may even start mowing the greens at the top of the hill soon.

"We've been rolling them already," Cloutier said. "We might even have to start mowing this week."

One of the larger courses in the area, Fox Ridge of Auburn, is targeting this Saturday, April 19, as its opening day.

"We're pushing for it," Fox Ridge superintendent Ed Michaud said.

The course is more recently built, and was engineered to be ready as early as possible after a long Maine winter. Even Michaud agreed that, while the snow may have pushed opening day back a week or two, the course itself benefited from the weather conditions this winter.

"After the first snow cover we had in early December, we had two inches of frost underneath that, but a few weeks later, when I started to look for ice, it was gone. That insulation layer was perfect."

One local course, Prospect Hill, will remain dormant for a while longer. The property is currently for sale.

Large or small, one of the biggest surprises most golf courses found as they awoke from hibernation: Little to no winter kill on and around the greens.

"When there's this much snow and the ground is frozen, there's a good chance you have a second layer of ice forming between them as things start to melt," Michaud said. "With no layer of frost underneath everything this year, that didn't happen."

"We haven't see any winter kill yet, though we won't know for sure for another few weeks," Cloutier said.

"A little bit of gray mold is nothing to worry about," Craw said. "That's expected and we can handle that."

To a person, golf course personnel said that if this week's forecast holds up, those April 26 open dates may creep closer to the middle of next week.

"I know golfers are itching to get out there," Michaud said. "It's been a long winter for them."

Breakout info - Opening dates

Apple Valley Lewiston Targeting the weekend of the 26th

Fairlawn Poland Sat., May 3

Fox Ridge Auburn Sat., April 19

Martindale Auburn Mid- to late next week

Meadows Litchfield Thursday, April 17

Norway CC Norway End of April, beginning of May

Turner Highlands Turner End of April, beginning of May