![\"Tarps](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/tarp-greens-2-6-26.jpg\")
Tarps placed on the greens at the Airport Golf Course in Cheyenne (Jimmy Orr, Cowboy State Daily)<\/p>\nIt\u2019s not because of the record-breaking warm winter most of Wyoming has had. The problem is not having a crystal ball.<\/p>\n
The few golf pros across the state who were reachable\u00a0this week\u00a0say they\u2019d be happy to let golfers on their courses, but they can\u2019t. They’re\u00a0closed\u00a0and it\u2019s not that easy to re-open them.<\/p>\n
Everyone expected a typical Wyoming winter, so tarps were placed on putting greens for protection, and the courses, as usual, were\u00a0closed\u00a0for the season.<\/p>\n
No one had any idea the winter would be\u00a0this\u00a0warm and dry.<\/p>\n
Rawlins<\/p>\n
Kevin Gannon didn\u2019t.<\/p>\n
The golf pro at the Rochelle Golf Course in Rawlins did what he\u2019s always done: Put the tarps on the greens in late October and\u00a0shutter everything.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s too big of an undertaking, he said,\u00a0to put the tarps on \u2014 and then take them off because of warm weather \u2014 and put them back on again when cold weather approaches.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s labor intensive and costly.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ve got 19 greens that we cover so we can\u2019t take them off and then put them back on and again and again and again,\u201d Gannon said.<\/p>\n
Tarps placed on the greens at the Airport Golf Course in Cheyenne (Jimmy Orr, Cowboy State Daily)<\/p>\n
Gannon, who opened the course back in 2004, said he\u2019s never seen a winter like this before.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is the first year we\u2019ve had anything like this at all,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
That stats proved his point. From\u00a0Oct. 1 through Feb. 6, Rawlins usually receives about 34 inches of snow.\u00a0<\/p>\n
This year it\u2019s received a paltry 3.<\/p>\n
Maybe that\u2019s why meteorologist Don Day said earlier this week that he no longer likes his job.<\/p>\n
\u201cI gave a talk last night to a bunch of farmers in Colorado and the first question I asked was, \u2018Who wants my job?\u2019” Day told Jake Nichols on the Cowboy State Daily morning show on Wednesday.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m taking applications,\u201d Day said. \u201cAfter this winter I\u2019m reconsidering my career choice.”<\/p>\n
It\u2019s not just Rawlins. The record warmth is almost everywhere in Wyoming.<\/p>\n
On Thursday alone, Casper, Buffalo, Lander, Riverton, Rock Springs, Laramie, and\u00a0Worland set record-high temperatures.<\/p>\n
No One Is Here<\/p>\n
Despite the warm weather, phones aren\u2019t getting answered at most of the golf courses in Wyoming.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Two reporters attempted to call every golf course in the state on Wednesday and Thursday. The overwhelming majority of the calls went unanswered or to some kind of voicemail.<\/p>\n
Most of the\u00a0few answering voices\u00a0explained they weren\u2019t open.<\/p>\n
But a\u00a0friendly voice from Torrington welcomed us to the course.<\/p>\n
\u201cOf course we\u2019re open,\u201d the voice said. \u201cCome out and play, it\u2019s great!\u201d<\/p>\n
When asked to elaborate, the voice said he would have the golf pro call us back. Never happened.<\/p>\n
![\"The](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/bronze-golfer-2-5-26.jpg\")
The only golfer getting any action at the Airport Golf Course this time of year is the bronze golfer outside of the course (Jimmy Orr, Cowboy State Daily)Cheyenne<\/p>\n
It was a different story in Cheyenne.<\/p>\n
Mike Lepore, who has been associated with the two municipal courses \u2014 the Airport and Prairie View \u2014 his entire life, was happy to chat.<\/p>\n
The Airport Golf Course, where he\u2019s the pro, was closed. Prairie View, on the other hand, was open and had a record-breaking January.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re basically up 400 rounds to start the year,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Course visitors played\u00a0403 rounds of golf in January. That\u2019s compared to zero in January 2025.<\/p>\n
Lepore said they have a portable watering system there that can be moved to the different greens to keep them irrigated.<\/p>\n
But even with those, it\u2019s not enough.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis winter has just been unbelievable,\u201d Lepore said. \u201cIf we don\u2019t see some moisture, we\u2019re going to have some damage.\u201d<\/p>\n
The 61-year-old knows what he\u2019s talking about. He grew up on the golf course. He and his late father, Lew, have been affiliated with the Airport Golf Course for 60 years.<\/p>\n
He said the Airport used to put temporary greens out but they didn\u2019t get much play.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was a hassle to go out there and put holes in frozen ground,\u201d he said. \u201cSo we just open Prairie View and leave it open so if people want to play, they can go out there.\u201d<\/p>\n
Newcastle<\/p>\n
If you want to play in Newcastle, you\u2019re in luck. Clubhouse manager Katie Ochoa says the course is open year-round.<\/p>\n
Tarps are on the greens but temporary holes\u00a0pock\u00a0the fairways.<\/p>\n
\u201cAs long as the weather is like this, and not muddy, we\u2019re open,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
She said the winter rate is a bargain for the\u00a0nine-hole course at only $15.<\/p>\n
According to a 2024 analysis by Supreme Golf, an online tee time booking platform, she\u2019s right. The average cost for a round of golf in Wyoming is $41 for 18 holes and $20-$35 for nine holes.<\/p>\n
Plus, Ochoa boasts, if it\u2019s snowing they have a simulator.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo we are always open to the public,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n