Now that the official summer season is over, local public golf courses are making repairs, taking note of their last few months of business, and preparing for the fall season.

For example, when I called Rob Marshall this week at Old Landing Golf Course (227-3131), he was busy out on his course, aerating the greens. This is a necessary maintenance task that many golfers don’t fully appreciate.

Without the occasional opening up of the turf, the greens will eventually fail. Cape Region courses usually aerate their greens at least twice a year, and early September is a commonly scheduled period for the work. The greens recover quickly, and the benefits far outweigh the temporary inconvenience.

Butch Holtzclaw, the head golf professional at The Rookery, was generally pleased with how the Cape Region’s newest full-size public course did in the last few months. "It was a pretty good summer. June was a little slow, but we did well in July and August," Holtzclaw noted.

"This was our first full summer season, and we really didn’t know what to expect. Overall, I think we did fine," Holtzclaw continued.

Cape Region golfers looking for a little fun competition this fall should consider The Rookery’s newest promotion. Beginning this Sunday and throughout the football season, a new men’s league starts action at 1 p.m. The $35 charge covers the greens fee, cart rental, and prizes. Holtzclaw said, "It should be a fun competition. We’ll be experimenting with different formats each week."

The Rookery will also be holding a new parent/child tournament on October 21. For more information, call 684-3000.

Brian Barrows, the head professional at Baywood Greens, said simply, "We had a great summer. Our tee times were really full most of the time, and the generally good weather gave us a great advantage.

"From what we could tell, Baywood Greens, The Rookery, and the other local courses managed to keep the Lewes and Rehoboth area golfers up here, instead of making the trip down to the Ocean City golf courses. We’re really pleased," Barrows noted.

This is the second full summer for Baywood’s operation with the full 18-hole layout. Barrows said that last year’s decision to wait for the new 9 holes to fully grow in before opening for business was a big reason for their success in both years. "Last year we waited until we were really ready for the golfers. The turf was in great shape, and that helped a lot to develop word-of-mouth business. I’m convinced it worked to our advantage again this summer."

The Long Neck area course also has a nice mix of outings planned for this fall. The First State Manufactured Housing Association plays on September 13, and the Mulligan’s Restaurant fundraiser for Meals on Wheels takes place on September 26. The Millsboro Chamber of Commerce outing is set for October 4, and there’s a fundraiser tournament for the Children’s Beach House on October 15. For more information, call Baywood Greens at 947-9800.

The other public courses in the area also welcome the opportunity to serve Cape Region golfers during the "shoulder season" of the next two months. Here’s a short list of the other public golf layouts:

Bear Trap Dunes
Central Avenue, Ocean View
537-7941

Heritage Inn and Golf Club
Postal Lane and Route 1, Lewes
644-3860

Marsh Island
Camp Arrowhead Road, Angola
945-4653

Golf Park at Rehoboth
Route 1 and Country Club Road, Rehoboth
227-2500

The Salt Pond
Road 360, Bethany Beach
539-7525

Bethany Bay Golf Course
2 Lee Lane, Millville
539-3833

Midway Par 3 and Driving Range
1509 Highway One, North of Midway
645-7955

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