Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...

Wedgewood Cove Golf Club opening Saturday

By Ayanna Eckblad

This weekend golfers have the chance to play a round or two of golf at Wedgewood Cove Golf Club.

While the course has been closed since before Thanksgiving and usually does not open until April, the year’s unseasonably mild weather means that the course is ready for players.

Director of Golf Donnie Teeter explained that the most important factor in deciding whether to open for golfers is to examine the conditions of the course.

He said that there were plenty of nice days in December and January but that the grounds were not ready for golfers just yet.

He also said that people in Minnesota know not to take a mild winter for granted and are aware that it could change at any time. They want to take advantage of the weather while they can.

In the 15 years Teeter has worked at Wedgewood Cove, he said there have been multiple years in which the course had to postpone opening rather than open early.

“We’ve had late openings. We’ve had May snowstorms that shut us down for a week — it’s just part of the way it goes. You know what you sign up for when you’re running a facility in southern Minnesota,” he said.

He is very excited, saying that he enjoys having time off around the holidays but afterwards is ready for golf season once again.

“It’s a unique opportunity,” he added. “This is not something to plan on for next year or the year after. This is a once in an every 30 to 40 years you get a mild winter like this … You might not get a chance to do it again.”

Because of the very dry winter and fall, Teeter said he plans on getting the course’s irrigation system up and running in the near future but also hopes there is some natural rain and moisture in the forecast.

“We may be open for a week or two and then end up being shut down for a few weeks because winter comes back,” he said.

Although his job mainly focuses on the golf aspect of the business, he does see that the restaurant sees an increase in foot traffic when the course is open.

Teeter said in most years, “We hope to be open around the first of April, and anything before that is bonus, and if it’s later than that, we just have to adjust, but it definitely sets the table for a really good year, to be open early.”

This weekend’s forecast predicts temperatures mostly in the 30s to upper 40s with sunny skies though a high of 62 is predicted for Monday. Wedgewood Cove is scheduled to open at 11 a.m. Saturday.

Tee time can be booked by calling 507-373-2007 ext. 1 or by going to https://wedgewoodcovegolfcourse.com/.