The Season of Great Changes

EVEN THOUGH THE cover says “Spring,” chances are you’re reading this magazine in winter. Spring doesn’t begin until this issue has virtually disappeared from the racks, and the golf season traditionally doesn’t begin until the Masters.

We shouldn’t rush winter out the door, of course. Have you ever noticed that Coloradans who complain about too much snow will almost instinctively add, “But, we really need the moisture”?

In addition to precipitation, the dead-of-winter month of February brings the Colorado Golf Expo—a harbinger of the season to come. Last year marked the Expo’s first time at the Colorado Convention Center; this year marks the first time in 22 years that Mark and Lynn Cramer won’t be running the event.

The Cramers, both delightful people and passionate golfers, turned the event from a subdued trade show into a consumer event annually attracting thousands of golfers itching to try new clubs, purchase Colorado AvidGolfer Golf Passports and surround themselves with all things golf. It has also become, as Mark is fond of saying, “The winter gathering of the Colorado golf industry.”

Their commitment to gathering golfers and growing the game earned Mark and Lynn the Colorado Golf Hall of Fame’s 2019 Lifetime Achievement Award. But by last year, they’d arrived at a time in their lives where it made sense to sell the Expo, which they did in November to Kevin Morton, a sharp, 51-year-old businessperson and golfer who lives in Denver with his wife and two young children.

After reading about Morton’s ideas for the Colorado Golf Expo on page 19, you’ll learn that’s not the only change in Colorado golf this year. The following page reports that Hiwan Golf Club in Evergreen, which from 1964 to 1991 hosted the Colorado Open, has new owners for the first time in almost 50 years, and Florida-based Concert Golf Partners has already begun spending big on clubhouse upgrades.

Changes are also afoot at Colorado National Golf Club (p. 34) in Erie, which Virginia-based Heritage Golf purchased—along with The Golf Club at Bear Dance and Plum Creek Golf Club—last fall. In Colorado Springs, the Country Club of Colorado at Cheyenne Mountain Resort (p. 22) will celebrate its 50th birthday this year under the management of Troon, which took the reins in January.

Change also defines the game of Connor Jones, the Colorado State University golfer who last year seemingly came out of nowhere as a junior and dominated the state amateur ranks in a way that no male golfer had done in almost 50 years. Contributor Andy Bigford explores how Jones’ transformation came about (page 70).

Perhaps the biggest change is coming where you’d least expect it: east of Denver, along I-76, between the towns of Keenesburg and Wiggins. That’s where Rodeo Dunes, the first Colorado project by the Keiser family—the developers of Bandon Dunes, Cabot Links and Sand Valley—will begin taking shape this year. Flip to page 92 for a sneak peek.

Of course, as the devout nongolfer Marcel Proust said, “The more things change, the more they stay the same.” On page 39, John Lehndorff’s “The Untouchables” reveals some sacred cows on the menus of some tony golf clubs. We also have the annual debate-igniter known as the CAGGY Awards on page 53, and our Golfer’s Guide to Spring Training in Arizona once again helps plan your golf trip around watching the Rockies and 14 other Major League Baseball teams prepare for the 2023 season.

Preparing for your golf season is what Colorado AvidGolfer, the Colorado Golf Expo and our many contributors, advertisers, partners and sponsors are all about. We’re here for you—as sure as spring will follow winter.

JON RIZZI Editorial Director

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