HAYWARD - Ask General Manager Nicole Vesel why you should play Telemark Golf Course, and she'll give you a simple, if not biased answer.

"It is one of the area's finest 18–hole championship courses in the north woods," she says.

And golfers that play the course often agree.

"Its a great getaway," said Dan Woodbury of Wayzata.  "I love the course."
"Its nice, it plays fair, there's good landing areas, the length is about perfect and the greens are in good shape," added Joseph Madson of Minneapolis.

The greens aren't the only part of the course in good shape.  This summer, the entire telemark course is in some of the best chape its ever been.

"The condition of the golf course this year is just about immaculate," said Vesel.  "The superintendent here, Brian Titus, he and his staff work long, long hours trying to keep things looking nice."
"We played it last year and I actually think its in better shape this year," said Madson.  "We played another course in the area and I prefer this course over the other courses we've played."

Every hole here at Telemark is unique.  So unique that years ago, the former golf pro here went through and named every hole based on its design and how it plays.

"He came out here and named each hole for whatever reason or each one's uniqueness to him as a golfer," said Vesel.  "He came up with tips for each hole and a name for each hole."

The names really do fit.  Especially the part 3 16th, named 'Sweet Signature'.

"Mainly because of its beauty and the water, those are the two only reasons," said Vesel.  "From the tee boxes you have to hit a small area of water, and the green is right behind the water."

But number one is also special.

"That is because in the middle of the fairway there's a ginormous tree," said Vesel.  "We call that the 'Million Dollar Tree'."

Unlike the nearby Telemark Resort, Telemark Golf Course is open.

"I'm glad the course is staying open even though the resort closed," said Madson.  "We were a little concerned that they'd close the course."

That's because Vesel's family bought the course from the resort in 1995.

"We are separately owned and privately run, different and separate from telemark resort, which is not open right now.  We are open," said Vesel.  "We have been open and we plan to continue to be open."