Minnesotans enjoy reprieve from brutal cold with round of golf on frozen lake
Golfers lined up their shots Saturday morning for the Snowball Open on Long Lake in Orono, Minn. (FOX 9)
ORONO, Minn. (FOX 9) - Thirty degrees might not be too warm for most, but when you're used to the brutal cold of a Minnesota winter, 30 degrees can feel nice.
With high temperatures into the 30s for the Twin Cities metro, Saturday made for a perfect day to get out and enjoy the weather.
While some opted for some pond hockey, others got in a round of golf. In Orono, the Lions Club teed off on the frozen-over Long Lake, the perfect site for the group's 33rd annual Snowball Open.
"We didn’t have any fundraisers going on in the middle of the winter," explained Orono Lions President Bradley Hansen. "So we said, 'What's more fun than golfing on the lake with a tennis ball?'"
"It’s a little out-there, but we enjoy it," said event sponsor Scott Stabeck. "We’re here no matter what the weather is and this year we got a little lucky with 30 degrees.”
The nicer temps also made for perfect weather to fly kites. On Lake Harriet, groups of people marched onto the ice to get their kites into the air.
"It's not snowing," said Saralyn Klein. "It's not below zero like last year."
And if kite-flying isn't enough physical activity, there was also some pond hockey.
"Super Saturday, it's great weather out here; the Ice is great," said Jim Dahline of the U.S. Pond Hockey Championships.