The Place to Get Pickled

In addition to all the new drivers, irons, putters, balls, apparel and swing aids at January’s PGA Merchandise Show in Orlando, golf industry members got an close-up look at a sport that’s surging in popularity even faster than golf: pickleball.

Selkirk Sport set up a regulation pickleball court on the PGA Show exhibit hall floor and hosted exhibition matches and clinics with celebrities and some of the sport’s top teachers.

And why not? Pickleball is to tennis what par-3 courses are to golf— another way to enjoy the game you love. Rare is the club or rec district that doesn’t have at least one pickle - ball court, and, according to Racquet Sports Industries magazine, Colorado has the best store in the country to gear up for playing it (as well as all other paddle and racquet sports).

The magazine recently presented Game-Set-Match with its Pro/Specialty Retailer of the Year Award—a tremendous honor, since the publication annually selects only one retail store to receive this award. GameSet-Match has three Colorado locations (Boulder, Centennial, Denver) brimming with gear and apparel, with the Denver store featuring a mini pickleball court to test paddles and shoes. tennisdenver.net

Springs residents as the “Gates Club”—after Charles Gates, the rubber magnate and developer of the 3,000-acre Cheyenne Mountain Ranch property—the Country Club of Colorado opened its Pete Dyedesigned course in 1973. The 6,970yard, par-71 layout, which routes around spring-fed Curr Reservoir, was Dye’s first Colorado layout.

The Cheyenne Mountain Resort opened in 1985. CCC members and hotel guests have access to the golf course, as well as 11 tennis courts

(five indoor, six outdoor), eight pickleball courts, a beachfront lake, boating experiences, a fitness facility, five pools and the Alluvia Spa and Wellness Retreat. Troon manages all of these; Aimbridge Hospitality manages the 316-room resort, restaurants and meeting/event space.

“The actual opening date of all 18 holes is September 1,” Matthews-Kane says. “So, we’re planning a big golf event that day as well as pool parties, etc. leading up to the big 5-0!” cheyennemountain.com

Up the Leaderboard

On March 12, the Sportswomen of Colorado’s 49th Annual Awards Celebration will honor three golfers: Leigha Devine of Fort Collins and Rutgers University; Hadley Ashton of Erie High School; and Jill McGill, the 2022 U.S. Senior Women’s Open champion. This marks McGill’s third SWOC award, which puts the Cherry Creek High graduate into the Sportswomen of Colorado Hall of Fame.

Rounding out the foursome is Ann Wolta Blackstone, the coach of the two-time 3A champion St. Mary’s Academy girls golf team. She will receive the Joan Birkland Leadership Award, named for the legendary athlete and Sportswomen of Colorado founder who died in 2019 at age 90.

Battling recurrent breast cancer for nearly half her life, the 62-yearold Blackstone has taught golf as an LPGA instructor for four decades and shown leadership on and off the course, giving thousands of lessons and raising thousands of dollars for cancer research. Never having coached a golf team before, she took on the St. Mary’s Academy job in 2017 and shortly thereafter led the Wildcats to their first two state titles in the school’s 157-year history.

“As an LPGA Teaching Professional for 40 years, Joanie Birkland and I crossed paths in golf many times,” she says. “She was an amazing advocate for women in sports and an incredible athlete in golf, tennis and basketball. Joanie was one of my mentors. We shared a bond of promoting women in golf, and I am grateful to be honored for doing what I love to do!” sportswomenofcolorado.org

By Suzanne S. Brown