St. Francis golf course opens during brief December weekend warm-up
ST. FRANCIS, Minn. — A warm-up in December isn't always par for the course in Minnesota, but for some, it does mean an extra round of golf.
"If it's open, we're playing," Kevin Marsolek said.
While most courses are shuttered for the season, The Ponds Golf Course in St. Francis welcomed dedicated golfers Sunday.
"Once we got 10 or more phone calls, we were like, 'Oh we gotta get something going here,'" golf pro Joey Manthis said.
It's not the first time the St. Francis club reopened unconventionally. They open any chance they can — Manthis says they're hitting all 12 months of the year.
"When you make a travel down to Illinois and such like that, they're not playing when it's this weather," Manthis said. "Here, the calls came through the roof [to play]."
It has made for happy players.
"We are addicted to the game," Jim Pauley said.
Pauley and Marsolek say they've played every month in Minnesota since last March.
"If it doesn't snow, we're going to keep on going," Pauley said. "Cold or not."
The long-time golfing buddies aren't the only ones.
"I played in February two rounds right here [The Ponds] last February," Jesse Jedlicki said.
The Ponds says they try to open off-season any chance they can — and post any off-season openings on their Facebook page.
