New England weather can take a toll on golf course conditions

Rolling green hills surround golfers enjoying a beautiful spring evening round at the Merrimack Valley Golf Club in Methuen, Mass., in recent years.Jim Davis/Globe StaffBut the fairways won’t be the only thing players battle this March. The variable weather New England typically experiences in early spring can delay the date courses open and deliver its own bag of hazards, in addition to the sandtraps, water bodies, and out-of-bound markers already sprinkled throughout the course.“There are roughly 700,000 golfers in Massachusetts alone, with growth and interest of the game booming since Covid,” said Jesse Menachem, CEO of Mass Golf in Norton,