Minnesota Golfer - Spring 2024 - 40
Bucket (List) Brigade
A mild Minnesota winter led to an early start of the
2024 golf season-for the old, cold and golf-crazed.
I
t's Jan. 27 in the great state of Minnesota, and a golf buddy
with a bucket list is calling with an invitation to help him
scratch a goal from life's catalogue of wishes.
Play Augusta National? No.
The Old Course in St. Andrews? No.
Fly to anywhere in Florida? Nope.
Play Stonebrooke Golf Club in Shakopee on Jan. 30? You betcha!
Uffda.
That would be a hard no, Joe Oberle, aforementioned golf
buddy and managing editor of this wonderful magazine. But,
but, but, Joe said, it's our chance to play golf in every month!
In Minnesota!
When did that become a thing?
" It wasn't a thing for me, " says Joe, " until it became a thing. "
Thanks to a winter virtually devoid of snow, Joe needed
only January to ace the Gopher State cycle. It didn't take long
to figure out yours truly still needed only January, February
and December.
But, still, no. It's not a thing! Not gonna do it. End of discussion.
Seventy-two hours later, we two stooges pulled into
Stonebrooke's parking lot, made our way to the little bonfire
near the 10th tee and greeted our starter, George Honsa. It was
37 degrees and gloomy, with a windchill of 31.
" Why are you guys open? " we asked George.
" Why are you guys here? " George replied.
Touche, George. Touche.
Apparently a lot of us in this unlikely golf-crazed state want
the opportunity to tee it up every month in Minnesota in 2024.
Stonebrooke-one of about a half-dozen courses in the metro area
alone to open in late January-was running a full tee sheet on a
day when there were only 9 hours and 43 minutes of daylight.
" I've been doing this for about 33 years in Minnesota and
I've never seen anything like it, " says Einar Odland, general
manager at Stonebrooke. " Starting the 2024 season in January?
And we closed Dec. 23, two days before Christmas. That's just
never happened. "
From late January into mid-February, Stonebrooke averaged
about 80 golfers a day, with full tee sheets of 100 Thursday
through Sunday.
" Cabin fever came early this year, " Odland says. " And it's also
kind of a goal for some of the 'old-timers' to say they played golf
in every month in Minnesota. "
Speaking of old-timers
and goals,
40
MINNESOTAGOLFER Spring 2024
it
turns out
Joe's
" Minnesota is very golf-wise.
There is a misconception
that the season is short. "
-Arnold Palmer
* BY MARK CRAIG *
Stonebrooke nemesis-carrying the pond off the tee on the 12th
hole-becomes easier in January. The ball catapults nicely off
the ice and into the middle of the fairway.
Another advantage to January golf: The colder people are,
the faster they play in front of you. Hallelujah! Thank you,
Jack Frost!
We played nine holes and headed for the car. Take that,
January! Got home, put the clubs away and ... oh, no. Don't do it.
Don't even think of looking at your phone to check the weather
forecast for Feb. 1.
Doh! Too late. Sunny and high 40s. In February? One of only
TWO months that yours truly hasn't played golf in Minnesota?
Yep, you guessed it. Two days later, February was defeated with
nine holes at Emerald Greens in Hastings.
Years ago, Arnold Palmer said, " Minnesota is very golfwise.
There is a misconception that the season is short. But, if
you don't mind maybe a little cool weather, you can get seven
months of golf in ... So, it doesn't surprise me that Minnesota is
becoming a golf mecca. "
Amen, King.
But seven months? Arnie, some of us are shooting for all 12
in 2024.
As a golf buddy once told me, " It wasn't a thing for me until it
became a thing. "
Mark Craig is the NFL/Vikings columnist and a golf writer for
the Star Tribune.
mngolf.org
http://www.mngolf.org
Minnesota Golfer - Spring 2024
Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Minnesota Golfer - Spring 2024
Contents
Minnesota Golfer - Spring 2024 - Cover1
Minnesota Golfer - Spring 2024 - Cover2
Minnesota Golfer - Spring 2024 - Contents
Minnesota Golfer - Spring 2024 - 2
Minnesota Golfer - Spring 2024 - 3
Minnesota Golfer - Spring 2024 - 4
Minnesota Golfer - Spring 2024 - 5
Minnesota Golfer - Spring 2024 - 6
Minnesota Golfer - Spring 2024 - 7
Minnesota Golfer - Spring 2024 - 8
Minnesota Golfer - Spring 2024 - 9
Minnesota Golfer - Spring 2024 - 10
Minnesota Golfer - Spring 2024 - 11
Minnesota Golfer - Spring 2024 - 12
Minnesota Golfer - Spring 2024 - 13
Minnesota Golfer - Spring 2024 - 14
Minnesota Golfer - Spring 2024 - 15
Minnesota Golfer - Spring 2024 - 16
Minnesota Golfer - Spring 2024 - 17
Minnesota Golfer - Spring 2024 - 18
Minnesota Golfer - Spring 2024 - 19
Minnesota Golfer - Spring 2024 - 20
Minnesota Golfer - Spring 2024 - 21
Minnesota Golfer - Spring 2024 - 22
Minnesota Golfer - Spring 2024 - 23
Minnesota Golfer - Spring 2024 - 24
Minnesota Golfer - Spring 2024 - 25
Minnesota Golfer - Spring 2024 - 26
Minnesota Golfer - Spring 2024 - 27
Minnesota Golfer - Spring 2024 - 28
Minnesota Golfer - Spring 2024 - 29
Minnesota Golfer - Spring 2024 - 30
Minnesota Golfer - Spring 2024 - 31
Minnesota Golfer - Spring 2024 - 32
Minnesota Golfer - Spring 2024 - 33
Minnesota Golfer - Spring 2024 - 34
Minnesota Golfer - Spring 2024 - 35
Minnesota Golfer - Spring 2024 - 36
Minnesota Golfer - Spring 2024 - 37
Minnesota Golfer - Spring 2024 - 38
Minnesota Golfer - Spring 2024 - 39
Minnesota Golfer - Spring 2024 - 40
Minnesota Golfer - Spring 2024 - Cover3
Minnesota Golfer - Spring 2024 - Cover4
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