Winter in Minnesota can feel like an eternity for the avid golfer.  Waiting for golf courses to open following these frigid months can feel like even longer. 

In Owatonna, the high school golf teams are no longer being held captive by Mother Nature having the final word.

As of late 2024, the Owatonna High School boys and girls golf teams now have access to an indoor practice area that can be utilized all year round.  All elements might rear their ugly head outside.  However, the high school teams can forge ahead despite this in the newly created indoor practice facility located in the boy’s locker room of the former OHS.

The practice zone features full swing hitting bays all the way down to a professionally turfed putting green.  Players from both teams are afforded the opportunity to hit into a simulator as well as a secondary netted area.  Athletes can utilize various chipping practice tools while waiting for space to free up hitting full shots.  The most important feature is the turfed practice green.  This putting surface features nine different puttable holes as well as built in undulation discs that help simulate what players will realistically face outside as weather permits.  This spacious surface allows many players to be working on the most important facet of the game simultaneously.

This practice space came to fruition after many months in the making – made possible by the boys and girls golf booster programs.  The reigns of the girls and boys golf programs reside in the hands of two first-year head coaches – Maddie Meyer on the girl’s side and Josh Woodrich for the boys.  In talking with both head skippers, they concurred that having something like this area is highly beneficial.  “It is great to have something like this facility because a lot of schools don’t have this,” Meyer said.

The boys golf team has shown steady improvement over the course of the 2025 season.  In its first meet of the season, the boys tallied a team total of 356.  However, since then, they have continued to show improvement – lowering their team total score by five or more strokes every meet.  Owatonna’s most recent team tally of 323 was highlighted by a season-low round of 76 by Jaxn Hacker – a seventh grader on the Owatonna boys’ varsity squad.  The boys will compete at the end of season Big Nine Conference Tournament on May 22 in Winona before traveling to The Jewel Golf Club in Lake City, Minn. to play in the two-day section tournament on May 27-28.

The girls golf team is gaining momentum in preparation for May 20 when the Huskies host the end of season Big Nine Conference Tournament at Owatonna Country Club.  This competition will be beneficial before playing in Cannon Falls on May 27 and 29 for the two-day section tournament.  Cannon Falls will mark the start of Owatonna girl’s junior tri-captain Carmen Jirele’s quest to defend her individual state championship from 2024.  Good luck, Carmen.

As both teams finish their respective 2025 seasons (and beyond), this newly added practice facility is a game-changer for Owatonna golf.  Having the ability to practice – regardless of what the conditions present outside – will pay dividends.  It will allow Owatonna golfers to not only hone their skills but stay sharper during season play.

Until next month, hit ‘em long and straight – and most of all have fun!