The idea was to take a ski trip where we could hit golf balls in the afternoon. Assuming the snow would get heavy and soft by early afternoon, as it typically does in the spring, we figured on skiing until noon or maybe 1 p.m. if conditions held up. We chose Okemo, because we hadn’t been there in a while and wanted to ski some of the new runs on the Jackson Gore side of the mountain. The Ludlow, Vt., resort also has an indoor golf facility with professionals on hand for coaching.

Everything went according to plan except the skiing.

We drove most of the way in rain, but when we crossed the Connecticut River into Vermont we hit snow. By the time we arrived at the mountain, it was snowing hard. The next morning, we skied in three to five inches of fresh powder, and conditions were fine all day. But we stuck with the plan and skied until just past noon.

After lunch we headed for the Okemo Valley Golf Club and Golf Academy. The pro shop is located in a red barn attached to the club house and restaurant, with 4,200 square feet of space devoted to multiple swing stations and a large putting green. In one corner is a Full Swing Golf Simulator, where we spent most of our time. We set the computer first to practice and loosened up by hitting balls into the screen. Golfers familiar with these machines know these simulators can be programmed to play a couple dozen different courses, including some of the finest in the world.

Our choice was the Banff Springs, a course we had walked on in the spring during a ski trip but never played. We could have chosen Pebble Beach or Pinehurst or some other venue we see the pros playing, but our fondness for skiing in the Canadian Rockies determined our choice. Neat as the simulator is, it can’t do justice to the spectacular setting. No screen could..

What it did accomplish was getting us into the playing mode. The scores weren’t very good, as the simulator demands a certain type of play. The distance and direction of each shot are determined by the speed and angle of the ball as it passes through a pair of electronic fields. If a player tees up at a spot ahead or behind the rubber tee, the formula doesn’t work, which may explain why I was hitting a five iron farther than a driver according to the simulator.

When I talked with Director of Golf Jim Remy, he pointed out that the locals who play in evening leagues have it figured out and bring in only a few clubs. I guess it’s like knowing your home course. Between practice balls, putting and playing the front nine of the Banff Springs on the simulator, I spent about two hours and concluded that the benefits of working on my swing before the snow melts here at home were well worth selecting Okemo for a spring trip.

Next morning, the sun was out. Conditions were packed powder on the top half of the mountain changing to granular as we descended. It was good day to explore. From the front face of the mountain which climbs right out of the village of Ludlow, Okemo has expanded in two directions. To the south, a pair of upper mountain quads serve advanced terrain with a couple of steep double black diamonds, some single blacks and a few blue runs. The front face is mostly intermediate with some advanced runs, with more of the same swinging north to the Solitude chair.

Farther north was the area I had come to explore. The adjacent peak is Jackson Gore, and this new quad has its own pod of runs, a mix for most abilities. A complete new village is under construction below this lift as lodging continues to spread around the mountain.

Thanks to today’s high speed lifts, it’s easy to get in a full day of skiing by early afternoon. While skiing alone in mid-week, I covered most of the mountain before lunch. In mid-winter, I could have skied different runs and easily filled the day without hitting more than half the trails on the mountain. But my golf swing needs more work than my skiing, so I headed back to the club to play the Banff Springs back nine.

Actually, we still have a few more ski days here at home before storing the skis and heading for the links. Sugarloaf plans to stay open until the April 20 and Sunday River until the 27th, reopening May 1 for a free day of skiing. In New Hampshire, Wildcat is always great in the spring, and Bretton Woods will have another week or two of skiing. There are a few others still operating. Killington will stay open until after its golf course opens, so we may go over and ski and play a round in the same day.

The skiing will go on for a few more weeks, but the focus in this space will turn to golf next Sunday.

Dave Irons is a free-lance writer who lives in Westbrook.