| RAIN SNOW or SHINE GOLF
CENTER BETTER THAN THE DOMES by Mark Sculati Well, no more. Now there is a viable option and it’s called Rain Snow or Shine. The staffers here at MinnesotaGolf have played courses all over the state and there are a few that the only way to describe them is for you to personally visit them – meaning our descriptions don’t do justice (either that or we can’t write very well). Rain Snow or Shine definitely falls under this
category as you just have to visit the place in order to appreciate and understand what it
is all about. I feel confident in saying that there is no other place like it in the
world. Let’s start with the winter (rainy day) setup. There are thirty-two indoor stalls heated by 250,000 BTU heaters – that’s 250,000. On the 10 degree January day that we visited, the combination of the heaters and the sun made it about 70 degrees in the hitting area. After about two shots we found ourselves removing sweatshirts. It’s misleading to say indoor. It is indoor except that you are hitting outdoors. How? It’s all about nets – lots of them. RSS has placed nets ten feet above the ground but still below the tee boxes, which are built up. The nets run from the tees to two hundred yards out at which point there is a large net to catch balls that fly that far in the air. The golfer gets to experience full-length shots in the wintertime. Hit them as high and as far as you want for the nets catch the balls and feed them down to containers for pickup. With thirty-two stalls, the nets run just as far width wise as lengthwise. There are yard markers sticking up from the nets to indicate distance and/or out of bounds when playing the winter golf course layout or for just slapping at balls. This place kills Braemer or any other dome facility as you can see the full flight of your seven-iron or driver. You can actually try and adjust your swing versus guessing where your ball would have gone at a dome. That in and of itself is worth the visit. As mentioned before, there is a winter golf course layout featuring 18 holes. Golfers must drive the ball between yard markers and past the 120yd sign in the air to be considered legal. What follows next is an iron to a green - a square portion of the nets is outlined in red that the golfer must land the ball on. Miss the green and you are chipping to another green (net) in front of the tee boxes. Once you’ve reached the green there are putting mats behind each stall where the hole is finished out. The two greens are located 110 and 145 yards out. Our foursome played the entire 18 holes and had a blast. The summer layout consists of a large natural grass tee with six bent grass target greens. If it’s pouring rain, you can just move inside to the winter layout. There is also a nine-hole par 3 course featuring trees, water, and some wetlands – perfect to work on the short game or to take the kids out to. Also available is an eighteen-hole putting course with bent-grass putting surfaces and natural hazards including water, trees and sand. It’s getting harder and harder for kids in this state to practice on their games (I know I don’t want them in front of me on the real course), so Rain Snow or Shine is an ideal place for them to practice. Rain Snow or Shine offers a clubhouse with beer, a professional to help with lessons, and a club maker to re-grip/fix any clubs that may need attending to – truly a one stop golf facility. This place gets a five-star rating if only because of its uniqueness but also because of its setup. Rain, Snow or Shine Golf You can log onto their website at www.rssgolf.com |
late October, early November, seeing some nut out there in
a stocking cap with gloves on, freezing his you know what off, getting the worst case of
"stingers" your hands could possibly get. I know for I am that die-hard.
Take a shot – put your gloves on (winter not golf), take a shot – put your
gloves on etc. etc. Why? Because it’s the only option available for our golf-crazed
state.
A truly outdoor year round golf facility.