Minn. golf courses lament cold spring
Add golf course owners to the list of Minnesotans irked by the spring that refuses to show up.
The snow, rain and sleet that has dragged well into April means money lost for golf courses that have been unable to open.
"This weather just adds more stress from here on out," Tim Holthaus, who owns River Oaks Golf Club in Cold Spring, told the St. Cloud Times.
"You can't make up the money you've lost. You only have a short window of five months to make money in golf in Minnesota. Mother Nature has already taken a month away from us. We usually try to open April 1. We can't make it up now."
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Mike Stang, director of Territory Golf Club in St. Cloud, wasn't as down. He said he is hoping people who haven't been able to play will play even more once courses become playable. Weather was supposed to improve markedly by this weekend.
"If golfers can't play now, they'll want to play more in June and July," Stang said. "I think everything will average out. I know that the doomsayers will probably say that we're all hurting pretty bad right now. But when that three-month span from June to August hits, it usually works out in the end."
Stang said college and high school golf teams have been especially hurt by the poor weather -- like so many other spring athletic teams. St. Cloud State University's golf teams routinely use Territory, but haven't been able to practice on it this spring. Territory is planning to open May 1.
The latest River Oaks ever opened was April 15. This year has shattered that mark. The course opened March 21 last year.
"You just can't count on the weather in this state," said Holthaus, a lifelong Cold Spring resident.
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Information from: St. Cloud Times