Golf season doesn’t end when the snow flies

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by Jason Olson
Staff Writer

Golfing in December and January in Minnesota seems like an oxymoron.

Snow and ice, not to mention the frozen turf, would seem to wreak havoc on a scratch golfer’s handicap and completely ruin a round, but as the signboard reads inside the Majestic Oaks clubhouse, “Please, let it snow…” it seems to be one wish granted this season.

Majestic Oaks Golf Course in Ham Lake looked at the white landscape and saw an opportunity to keep on playing, no matter the size of the drifts or bitterly cold temperatures by building its first attempt at a snow golf course.

General Manager Dan Jacott said the idea came up when the staff started thinking about off-season endeavors in July and August.

“We’ve been associated with one-day things before,” Jacott said as he helped organize a snow golf course on Ham Lake for the Lions’ club event over the last five years.

“We sat down with the sales and team and debated offering cross country skiing and a number of things, but in the end we determined we needed to do something that other people weren’t doing.

“Why would they come over to Majestic to ski with Bunker Hills right over here.”

Sure, the par-36 nine-hole course doesn’t have the same bent grass fairways and finely manicured greens found April through October, but that doesn’t mean golfers can’t get out in the cold and enjoy either one final round in 2010 or perhaps the first round of 2011.

Golfers exchange their golf bags for a single iron that Majestic Oaks supplies, along with a tennis ball (instead of the typical hard plastic variety).

The nine-hole course ranges in length from 50 to 150 yards.

“It’s been weird seeing people come into the clubhouse with one iron,” Jacott said. “But it’s really funny to watch them when they leave laughing and having a good time.”

Some have had so much fun they’ve taken the course up on its offer for a second round. Jacott estimates one round takes 45 to 60 minutes with a greens fee (or maybe whites fee) of $5 per round and $3 to play it again.

The snow golf course is set up on the executive course with the first tee and ninth green completing a circle, so replaying is rather simple.

Modified winter rules are in play as golfers can move the ball for a better chance at making contact, just not closer to the hole.

Players are rewarded for straight drives down the fairway with a compact and somewhat smooth area for approach shots, while the rough is thicker than a U.S. Open course, made even deeper after the recent snowfall.

“Fairways are completely packed down,” Jacott said. “The deep stuff is a problem. If you stay on the fairway, you’ll be on ice for a majority of the time.”

One of the best parts about the course, according to Jacott and his staff, is how different the course plays from round to round. “It’s fun because every time you play it’s a little different because of the wind and if more snow falls, Jacott said.

“The key is to make this a fun thing, but yet to challenge those who want to push it a little bit.”

With the dumping of fresh powder, new large mounds have given the course an added challenge – hills. “That was quite a challenge,” Jacott said. “And it’s always an ongoing thing.”

Majestic Oaks has opened the new course to tournaments and special events, just like the traditional spring, summer and fall seasons and folks are starting to take advantage of it.

Golf isn’t the only winter activity to catch the attention of the winter-lovers.

A full sized hockey rink (complete with lights) and boot hockey leagues offer another alternative to break Cabin Fever that seems to be setting in earlier than ever. The rink was poured over a new concrete slab and the new leagues run for eight weeks from January to mid-March.

The idea for the new ventures sprung from wanting to keep people coming out to the course. “We’re trying to fill in the gaps during the year,” Jacott said. “We have weddings and Christmas parties at our year-round restaurant that is just packed in the summer. We wanted to answer the question, ‘How do we keep people coming in the winter?’”

They began by promoting the winter wonderland in July and didn’t stop. “Our men’s group was kind of hands off of the idea at first,” Jacott said.

He completed the course layout in November and worked with Course Superintendant Dan Hansen to dig small holes, large enough for a tennis ball to drop in. “But I think they’re warming up to the options,” Jacott said.

The greens harken back to the old days of sand greens where players smooth out the the 8-10 foot “green” area with the backside of the rake for the next group. Players can also use the rake to improve the green for their putt.

In addition to the winter activities, the course offered Friday night trail rides and bonfires, which were a big hit, especially their haunted hayride prior to Halloween.

The big holiday event brought so many people to the course that there was a 45-minute waiting list at a time when the course typically goes into hibernation instead of gearing up for a rush of patrons.

Jason Olson is at jason.olson@ecm-inc.com