Except for the occasional snowdrift remnant, brown grass and rusty swing, for golf nuts, it’s like winter never happened.

Usually by Masters weekend, we’ve been golfing for a while in and around Lethbridge, where we have an abundance of fine tracks. We like to gloat a bit to our comrades to the north that we golf earlier and longer here. This year, we’re behind a couple of weeks, and only slightly ahead of Calgary aficionados.

Here, you could succumb to envy as you passed by Henderson Lake last weekend to see tee shots flying off the second hole. Taber, where “the greens are excellent” opened Sunday. Raymond appeared to be the first off the mark, drawing a crowd on April 1. Paradise and Land ‘O Lakes opened last Friday. At Indian Hills, where they opened Tuesday, you’ll probably still find snowdrifts for a couple of weeks, “but only in the parking lot,” says Bill Anderson.

The Lethbridge Country Club held off ‘til Thursday, while Magrath and Fort Macleod were gearing up for yesterday. Evergreen is open year round and certainly provides an antidote for the winter doldrums at the heated driving range. And at Bridge Valley par three they answer the phone cheerfully with “We’re open for the season,” which started for the course and driving range April 2.

A late snowfall and soft grounds have set back courses to the west like Cardston Lee Creek Valley have been set back by 10 days or so.

The first round at Picture Butte Tuesday started with the usual question mark: will I be able to duplicate the groove from the best rounds last year? Perhaps the swing is more relaxed and simply follows the memory of what works. Once you add thinking to the process, the game can head south in a hurry.

Bob and Ray (not the deadpan comedians) were worthy partners for the first round this year. First tee: two on the fairway, one longer but in the left rough. No problem. Second shots: two still on the fairway, the third in right rough. Fair enough: mid-season type scrambling brought a couple of bogeys and, well, it was just the first hole.

Golf is not necessarily about the score. It probably shouldn’t be if you value your dignity. And, you’re probably better off not comparing your game with anyone else’s. That’s one of the game’s appeal’s, I think. You can play your game in your own way and feel OK about it, most of the time.

The game has a way of keeping you humble. At the very moment you think you’ve got it figured out, you yank one, carom a duck hook off the pump house, try to skip your tee shot across the lake, twice, or four putt from 20 feet.

Sometimes it’s tough to know where humility stops and humiliation begins.

But, on that first round, everything is possible. Come to think of it, on that first tee box, everything is possible. That’s another of the game’s appeals: no matter how badly you played the last game or the last shot, there’s always the next one, as long as there are not too many.

But, who’s counting? And why?