Good(rich) for golf, even in winter
By Torleif Sorenson
We Minnesotans are living through one of the coldest winters in recent years (so much for global warming…). What can a person do when the game of golf beckons, but snowflakes are flying and bitter winds buffet everything in sight?
You can do the Dome.
A tent of Teflon
The Goodrich Golf Dome sits adjacent to Goodrich Golf Course and Aldrich Arena off White Bear Avenue in Maplewood, less than five miles northeast of Metropolitan State University’s St. Paul campus. The all-year, all-weather dome is owned and operated by Ramsey County’s Parks and Recreation division, and contains 36 practice stalls facing a variety of targets in the hitting area, along with a sizable practice green for putting and chipping. Each stall contains a hitting mat that allows you to hit from a tee, off shorter grass (simulating a fairway) or from taller grass (simulating rough).
Crossing cultural lines
Regardless of whether you are a man or woman, boy or girl, or what your ethnicity and ancestry are, if you are thinking about taking up golf, you will be in good company. This may seem surprising to some newcomers, but Minnesota boasts more golfers per capita than almost every other state in the country.
As Saint Paul has become more culturally diverse in population, Goodrich remains popular regardless of golfers’ ethnic background; according to Mike Diebler, PGA teaching professional at Goodrich, especially among the Hmong population.
Forming good habits early
If you are new to the game, the Twin Cities area has a variety of golf specialty stores from which you can purchase new or used equipment—it is important to buy clubs that will fit you, and most sales staff will guide you to an appropriate set. But you don’t have to wait until the snow melts in order to start practicing—or even learning the game. Some ten teaching professionals, including Goodrich’s Mike Diebler, teach at the dome during the winter and feel that this is an excellent time of year to take a few lessons.
“Learning the fundamentals will make the game much more enjoyable when you get on the course,” Diebler says—a lesson echoed by many of his teaching counterparts.
And with public-access facilities like the Goodrich Golf Dome close by, the month of March is an excellent time to get those clubs and hit the Dome.
Goodrich Golf Dome
651 / 777-0500
www.RamseyCountyGolf.com