If there’s any wondering about how upside down December’s warm weather has been, good luck trying to lock up a tee time for Saturday at North Links Golf Course.
On Dec. 23.
“We’re making national news!” said North Links 29-year veteran PGA pro Mike Thomas. “This is the latest we’ve played golf, with this many golfers.”
On Thursday, Thomas reopened North Links to about 40 golfers by noon. And that was with a high of 42. With Saturday’s 50-plus temperatures, Thomas expected the sellout as 116 golfers already had asked for tee times.
“But my wife wasn’t letting me open on Sunday (Christmas Eve),” said Thomas, adding his wife’s Facebook post sealed the deal even before he made the decision.
Thomas was happy for the business and so were the golfers.
“Everyone is thanking me for being open,” he said. “So people are excited to get in some more golf.”
Matt Dallmann of Madison Lake and golf partner Mike Burg of Nicollet checked in for their 12:37 p.m. tee time on Thursday, with Dallmann in a stocking hat but ready to play 18. Dallmann said he’d already played several times in December, while Burg “hadn’t been out in two months.”
While many regional golf courses have been closed for weeks, Thomas said there’s about a dozen golf courses still open in Minnesota. And other regional courses, like Montgomery National Golf Club and New Ulm Country Club, have been open at different times during December.
Although water lines are shut off throughout North Links’ 18-hole layout and no markers are on the tee boxes, the December golf does little to no damage to the course.
“What kind of maintenance things are we doing?” said Thomas, repeating a question. “Nothing.”
But it was nearly all maintenance for others in the winter recreation industry. At Mount Kato, which also reopened Thursday for the warm holiday weekend, just four of 19 runs were open, Bruce Prehn said.
Prehn, who serves as Mount Kato’s brand manager and risk management director, said the warm temperatures slow down the snow-making machines. And with no natural snow in the forecast, the snow-making effort is the lone alternative to keep some runs open.
“It’s not just hitting us; it’s hitting everyone,” Prehn said.
But he noted that while it might seem unusual, the lack of snow “happens every five to seven years.”
“We all like to try and target Thanksgiving weekend to be open,” Prehn said. “But this happens every once in a while.”
Still, as he and other staff members at Mount Kato anticipated the 50-plus temperatures over the holiday weekend — with rain but no snow anticipated — those snow-making machines would be tested. Prehn said crews were busy making snow last Monday and Tuesday anticipating a Dec. 21 reopening.
“The thing we need is at least 28 degrees (or lower) to make snow (most efficiently),” Prehn said. “We need the temps to stay below freezing. Below 15 degrees is best.”
But there was plenty of action on the open runs on Thursday, as crews made sure that the open runs accommodate all skill levels, Prehn said.
“They’re all itching to ski,” said Prehn, 61, who first took to these Mankato slopes as a 14-year-old in 1977. After moving away for a spell, he returned to Minnesota in 1994 and stressed that Mankato’s ski history is a deep one, dating back to 1937 and now gaining in popularity.
At Nicollet Bike and Ski Shop, owner Jon Andersen said the warm, dry weather has presented some interesting holiday events.
“It’s been quite amazing,” Andersen said. “We did our annual bike run through the Kiwanis Holiday Lights a week ago and we had 75 people join us.”
It’s a growing trend whether the weather outside is frightful.
“People are realizing who can ride in the winter time,” Anderson said, adding: “Kids bikes always go at Christmas. You can put a bow on it and it’s ready to go.”
As for ski sales, “most people don’t think seriously about skiing until January,” said Andersen, whose family founded the Mankato ski slopes. And “while Mount Kato’s been lagging a bit” due to the absence of real snow, “the hard core skiers will still get out there.”
Still, Andersen was pleased to hear that North Links Golf Course was expecting record numbers of tee times registered over the weekend.
“I was golfing back in November and when I left, Mike (Thomas) said to me, ‘See you in December.’”
For runner Rachel Mattson, 29, she has mixed feelings about the weather and brown holiday season.
“I personally like the snow and cold,” she said while running down a dry Riverfront Drive on Friday morning.
Mattson, who ran collegiately for two colleges including Minnesota State University, has been an active running enthusiast since she was 6 years old. Rain or shine, or snow and cold, she’s running.
“I’m just training for my next marathon in Eau Claire (Wisconsin),” Mattson said. “It’s in April.”
TJ Jeannette, who has owned River Valley Running on Riverfront since February, said while business has been a bit flat, he’s seeing a steady flow of new and old runners on his Saturday morning open runs.
“It’s good and it’s bad,” Jeanette said about the warm and snowless December for businesses in the recreation industry. And while those outdoor, morning runs have continued into winter, it’s still surprising to see such a warm December.
“The expectation is that starting in October, into November, runners might be heading indoors a bit more,” he said. “But it’s been consistent (outside running) all the way through … This is driving more people outside and they’re generally excited being outside.”