Traverse City -- Bob Summers was ready to pull the pins last month.
Summers manages Elmbrook Golf Course in Traverse City, and after a rain-soaked October, he was set on closing the 18-hole course by Halloween.
But with recent temperatures in the 50- and 60-degree range and a lack of rainfall, Summers said there's no need to pack it in quite yet.
"Every day I wake up and think, 'Am I going to be working today or not?'" he said. "We're going to stay open as long as we can."
If next week's forecast holds up, the season could continue for many outdoor enthusiasts, after parts of Michigan saw record high temperatures last weekend.
The mercury pushed toward 60 degrees again Friday, and mild conditions in the upper 50s were expected today. Local highs will temper a bit into the high-40s throughout the area next week, but there's no winter-like weather in the near future, said Scott Rozanski, meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Gaylord.
"What we're seeing is more October-like weather right now," Rozanski said. "It's goofy though. The first week of November was actually below normal, which seems odd with where we're at now."
November's mild temperatures are making up for a dismal October, which brought with it temperatures 3 to 5 degrees colder than last year. There's also been scant November rainfall, with just .22 inches of precipitation this month and dry conditions expected to continue.
"It doesn't look like we have any precipitation on the horizon," Rozanski said.
That keeps Traverse City more than an inch below last year's precipitation levels through Nov. 12.
The mild conditions are good news for Bud Dockter, who doesn't plan to put away his golf clubs until Thanksgiving.
"If the snow would allow it, we'd still play," said Dockter, who played 18 holes Friday at Elmbrook along with scores of other late-season golfers in the unseasonably warm conditions.
His wife Nancy has grown accustomed to his late-season golfing habits.
"He and some guys will golf until there's ice on the water," she said.
