Formerly stuck indoors, golfers just needed one good chance. It looks like a miracle — and it is. The sun is out, and it’s time to bust out your 9-iron and funny pants and hit the links.

It doesn’t seem possible in the Ithaca area, but there are four courses ranging from the Ithaca City Golf Course to Cornell’s Robert Trent Jones Golf Course (which, um, has three first names). And though none of them will be hosting the U.S. Open any time soon, it takes more than goofy pants and a fat ass to play well on these courses.

This past weekend, all kinds of golfers stumbled out of hibernation and onto the links. Assistant golf pro Ethan Smith said Cornell’s course saw at least 200 rounds, something that seemed unthinkable just two weeks ago when there was a foot of snow on the ground.

“We are in high demand,” he said. “But you can’t put yourself in a position to damage the course.”

That means turning away any hardcore hackers, even if the white stuff isn’t coming down. That was the situation last year over at the Hillendale Golf Course on Applegate Road when it hosted Ithaca College’s Third Annual Hole-in-One Golf Tournament. This year, though, the sport management and media department’s premiere event saw nothing but sunshine.

As with everything in Ithaca, golf play depends on the weather, which (guess what) is unpredictable. Hillendale owner Mary Novickas said the Ithaca season is shortened by rain and snow, but her grounds crew keeps it from being even shorter.

“We had unexpected snow and the grounds crew had to come in, unexpected, and shovel the course,” she said. “It’s the same thing with rain. They’ll come in overnight and pump the water out.”

As opposed to, say, pumping water into the course to flood out any gophers. But aside from the occasional deer or goose, Novickas said Hillendale doesn’t have many animal problems.

But a good course, with good conditions, means nothing if you’re a bad player. Thankfully, Ithaca College offers golf courses. If you happen to be in a spring course, though, prepare to be indoors — a lot. But let me tell you from experience, all those practice swings indoors are worth it when the sun is out and you get to go for the real thing. Even without formal training, go out and take a hack. Just remember, greatness courts failure.