Snowmobilers are being advised to stay off of the Weyburn Golf Club property as the tracks can cause damage to the fairway grass and greens.

Head groundskeeper Lach Reeve said that snowmobiles have been an issue in the past, but in the past couple of weeks snowmobilers have been staying off the course. He notes that he doesn't think it is malicious acts as much as snowmobilers are unaware of the damage they are doing.

"I know that most snowmobilers are very responsible," Reeve said.

The biggest problem that snowmobilers can cause is when there is a lack of snow, like this winter, and the snowmobile tracks can run right to the ground.

"The tracks will go through the snow and tear up the turf," Reeve said.

In years when there is a lot of snow, snowmobile tracks will pack the snow on top of the grass and freeze causing what Reeve call an "ice pack." This "ice pack" will then kill the grass underneath it.

Minor damage can also be done by snowmobilers if they run over ropes and poles around the golf course that they can see.

To give an idea about how long it could take to repair damaged turf from snowmobilers, Reeve said that it could take months to repair.

"We are looking at mid-May for things to grow until we open around mid-June. Golfers could see about two and a half months of playing around damaged turf," Reeve said.