The sport of golf has taken on a new life in the winter months in the Minneapolis-St. Paul area, and golfers who normally hibernate during the frigid winter months have the staff of Majestic Oaks Golf Club to thank for it.
Back in July, Dan Jacott, general manager at Majestic in Ham Lakes, MN, was pondering what he could do with a course that is normally shuttered for a good four to four and a half months each year because of the harsh winter conditions in the area. He came up with an idea: Build a nine hole golf course in the snow.
The idea of snow golf is certainly not unique, but Jacott and his staff have gone to great lengths to get members engaged and excited about it. Built on the executive nine hole course, winter golf at Majestic Oaks is played by using only one, club, either a fix or six iron, and with a tennis ball. The nine hole layout is a par-36 and features a 30-yard hole all the way up to a 150-yard, and some holes even have doglegs. The cups on the green are 8 inches in diameter, and Jacott customized some of the golf course equipment to help tamp down the snow to make it a hard pack surface.
The course opened to rave reviews on Dec. 1, and business has been booming ever since.
“I see people walking up to the clubhouse with 8-foot snow drifts next to them and they’re going, ‘What are we doing?’ ” Jacott said. “Nobody thought we were really going to go through with it. Then they leave it’s all smiles and laughing. It’s an addictive thing and fun.”
Jacott and Dan Hanson, Majestic Oaks superintendent, actually developed the course in the summer, using fake snow and twinkle lights. The idea was marketed only to members of Majestic Oaks, but has become wildly popular.
Golf is not the only sport played at Majestic Oaks during the winter. The Majestic Oaks staff also flooded an area just outside the banquet services location and created a 12-team boot hockey league that competes on Tuesdays and Thursdays.
“It rivals our 28-team golf league during the summer,” Jacott said. “The bar is packed.”
Hibernation is no longer the key word in Ham Lakes, MN for golfers pining away for the spring.
UPDATE: http://the19thholereport.com/majestic-oaks-in-minnesota-gets-innovative-with-snow-golf/1741973/
