Minnesota Golf in November

My last round of golf was September 23. The way things were going, I was certain that would be my last round of the year, making it the earliest last round of the year in, well, several years.

But I have a 9:10 tee time tomorrow at Stonebrooke in Shakopee. I should be raking leaves in the back yard, but oh well. I'm not sure if the ferry across the bay on hole 8 at Stonebrooke runs this late in the year, but regardless, I'll be glad to be playing.

I know I'll stink it up, but because I don't have to post the round for handicapping purposes, as it is after October 15 here in Minnesota, and the weather is expected to be unseasonably great, who cares? Not I, although I'll surely grumble at more than a few shots.

The only month during which I have not played golf in Minnesota is February, although I did turn down an opportunity once. Several Decembers ago, it got to 60 degrees on December 3, and I not only played but actually played part of the round in a short-sleeved polo. Then, a few Januarys later, during a winter in which there had been little snow, an unseasonably warm spell in January caused one local course to open on a 55-degree day.

If you're even half-knowledgeable about golf courses in the Twin Cities, you no doubt guessed correctly that the course that January day was Parkview.