Hot or not, golfers can still be found on the local courses, and those in charge of keeping the greens beautiful are also not deterred by the weather.

"It's been this hot before, it's nothing new," said Marcus Curry, head superintendent of Prairie Falls Golf Club.

Curry, who has been with Prairie Falls 18 years, said on a typical year the club pumps 70 million gallons of water. He said Prairie Falls has already hit about 30 million, but aside from a few dry spots, he doesn't feel too concerned about the condition and upkeep of the green as water is plentiful.

"We've got our own wells, we have our own supply of water," Curry said. "We're doing a little more hand-watering than usual. We're using wetting agents, that's helping us out."

The wetting agents help hold moisture while penetrating dry soils and Curry said they also reduce watering by 20 percent.

Curry said club staff members are telling their patrons to "drink lots of water, wear your sunscreen, stay in the shade as much as you can. That's what we're telling our workers, too."

The Coeur d'Alene Resort Golf Course superintendent Kevin Hicks said he has a general concern about the heat combined with the dry weather, but he has experience with this kind of situation from running golf courses in hot, arid locations such as Arizona and southern Idaho.

"This heat is not going to be a one-week deal. I think this is going to be a long summer," Hicks said. "So far, there haven't been any tough restrictions. I would expect they're coming."

He said while The Resort's golf course was well below its average water usage the last two years, this year it is already ahead. However, efficiency and conservation are emphasized and enforced through the in-ground moisture sensors and the weather station that assists in ensuring the correct amount of water is used.

"We've made a real concerted effort over the last 10 years to install what we call 'micro sprinklers' to address smaller areas that maybe a larger sprinkler can't get to," Hicks said. "They use less water in the process."

The Resort Golf Course also utilizes wetting agents and hand-watering. Head golf professional Andy Mackimmie said crews will be working more than average to maintain the lush green of the courses throughout the hot and dry spells.

"It's a good month in advance of when we would normally see those kinds of temperatures," Mackimmie said. "That's been the trend for the whole spring - our temperatures have been about a month of schedule. In April we were getting May weather, in June we're getting late-July weather."

Mark Poirier, head golf professional of the Highlands Golf Course in Post Falls, said he is planning a meeting soon with his superintendent to discuss a plan in case the city goes into a drought since he said this year is going to be a "scorcher."

As of right now, Highlands is watering regularly. Poirier said its timetable for watering is short - it can only water at night since people are out golfing during the day.

Poirier said the course is on a well, but was not sure exactly how much water it takes to keep the golf course green.

Staff writer Mary Malone contributed to this report.