The target date to open the front nine holes at Wedgewood Cove Golf Course was Labor Day this year, but good weather has helped speed the process up and the course opened the front nine Tuesday.

“We felt like if we were going to open this year, which we were planning on doing, now is as good as a time as any,” said head pro Donnie Teeter.

Since the front nine opened Tuesday the tee sheets have started to fill up, Teeter said.

“The last couple days have been very busy tee sheets,” he said. “We get a fair amount of play day in and day out.”

Golfers have found the front nine to be more distinctive than the back nine and often that observation comes at the second hole, which features a cluster of trees in the middle of the fairway. But the rest of the nine features more trees than the back and a few more features that make it seem less of a links-style course.

“Most people I’ve talked to like it more than the nine we had open,” Teeter said. “A little more character I would call it, diversity in the kinds of holes and looks you have.”

The front nine totals 3,496 yards from the black tees and plays as a par 36.

The par-5, 506-yard No. 4 presents an interesting challenge with four ponds that line both sides of the fairway.

There are also elevation changes on the front nine as well on Nos. 5 and 6 that add to the challenge.

In late July plans to open the course earlier started to get kicked around and with the weather complying it made things easier for the course to open, Teeter said.

“The real limiting factor in opening the first nine in June was were the greens ready and that was not the case on this side,” he said. “I attribute a lot of that to the weather.”

The greens might play a little slower than they will eventually, but that speed will come with time.

There are still some spots on the course that will have to fill in, but Teeter sees the course as one that will challenge scratch golfers in years to come.

“I think we can test some of the scratch golfers in the state or in the area once we get our course in a little better shape,” Teeter said.

A round at Wedgewood Cove costs $45 during the weekday and $55 on the weekend, which includes range balls and a cart.