50 minute read
Nice Drives
A Changing of the Guard
It’s not a haul to say these crossovers have come a long way. By Isaac Bouchard
BMW X3
AS CROSSOVERS HAVE taken the place of sedans as normal family transportation, they have become more and more like their four door forefathers. Noticeable trends are smaller wheelto-fender gaps, more aerodynamically friendly shapes, lower step-in heights and more and more car-like interior styling. If one were plopped blindfolded into many current models, it would be hard to tell you were in a vehicle once focused on off-roading or dirty work and hauling. These three clearly illustrate that trend; while they all have more ground clearance than a traditional four door and AWD, none look nor drive like SUVs of yore.
2020 BMW X3 30E EPA ratings: 60 MPGe; 24 combined 0-60mph: 5.3 sec Price as tested: $65,020
Europe has pushed ahead with strict guidelines for fuel economy in new vehicles; though they measure it in grams of CO2 per kilometer driven, instead of miles per gallon like we do. This has led most car companies to bring plugin hybrids to market as fast as possible, as they score well in testing regimens. Now we are getting a taste of what these gas-electric hybrids can do as well. It is interesting to see if their complex and heavy drivetrains pay real world benefits, either economically or in economy. In the case of the BMWs, the case seems strong for the latter. Whether it is the 6 cylinder X5 45e or the X3 30e tested here, these “sport activity vehicles” better the fuel economy of their gasoline-only versions, and have the ability to cover short distances (about 20 miles) on electric power only—as long as you charge them every day or so. But even when you can’t top up their lithium ion batteries, the extra torque provided by their electric motors makes them smooth, fast and refined. The downsides are the slight loss of cargo capacity—since the X3’s 12kWh batteries are under the floor of the cargo area—and the feeling of extra weight. This certainly doesn’t hurt ride quality, which is excellent; the X3 is less bothered by bumpy roads than most any other crossover in its class, and is one of the quietest as well. This latter quality is enhanced by the PHEV (plugin Hybrid Electric Vehicle) powertrain. The BMW’s enthusiast-focused heritage is apparent when you select one of the sportier drive modes; in Eco the X3 is somewhat slothful and unresponsive, all so as to generate the longest EV range possible and excellent fuel economy, which it readily achieves. The 30e routinely returned 3-5mpg better than a gas-only X3—and is possible to actually get over 40mpg if one is disciplined and used the Max eDrive setting— yet is very fast when Sport is selected, with instant electric thrust that seamlessly blends with the turbocharged gasoline engine. Independent testing shows it will hit 60mph in 5.3 seconds. Total system power is rated at 288hp/310lb-ft, placing it right between the 248hp X3 30i and 355hp X3 M40i models, just like its acceleration. Likewise, the transition from EV-regeneration to friction braking was nigh on undetectable, something hard to achieve in a plugin. When spec’d with the M Sport package and big wheels, the X3 30e looks every part the performance crossover— and it drives like it too, with skidpad and braking numbers that match the hotrod M40i. As long as you’re willing to pay the premium for the PHEV drivetrain, and aren’t overly concerned with recovering all its cost through reduced fuel usage, it seems a great way to go green.
2020 BUICK ENCORE GX ESSENCE* EPA ratings: 30/32/31 MPG 0-60mph: 9.3 sec Price as tested: $33,465 *Front wheel drive model tested
Buick has made a major comeback over the past decade; they’re one of the most popular brands in China and they’re once again aspirational for many folk here. The Encore is a solid entry in the compact class. Its styling is mature and attractive, its size seems well suited to empty-nesters or those who don’t have a big family yet, and its mix of tech and refinement is well-balanced and satisfying. Optional is a 155hp/174lb-ft turbocharged engine; despite only having 3 cylinders it is smooth, and there is enough low-end torque channeled through 9 transmission ratios to let the Buick keep up with urban traffic. The Encore’s ride is polished and refined, befitting the upscale image the company wants to project. Gone is most of the hobbyhorse motions of its smaller sibling, the Encore. There’s nothing especially rewarding about the way the Buick handles curves, but it’s nice to see a company not chasing useless lateral-g numbers at the expense of real world competence. Inside,
Buick Encore
this might be Buick’s most successful interior yet; the design is attractive and material quality a step above the average Ford, Chevy or basic Asian offering. But it is not good enough to compete with a Mazda CX-5, never mind most Acura, Audi or BMW models Buick would like to consider as the Encore’s competitors. There’s loads of standard and optional tech including a high def 360-degree surround view camera and head up display, and though its infotainment screen isn’t particularly large, the image is bright and responsive. If things like that matter more than punchy acceleration the Buick is a strong contender.
Kia Seltos
2021 KIA SELTOS SX TURBO EPA ratings: 25/30/27 MPG 0-60mph: 6.6 sec Price as tested: $29,485
Slotting into the Kia lineup between the Soul (front drive only) and the Sportage, the Seltos is similar in size to the Buick, yet different enough in execution and pricing to make an interesting alternative—especially now that Kia has entered that vaguely defined market arena above mainstream, but below premium, thanks to such excellent products as the Stinger and Telluride. In the top SX trim, its chiseled exterior, available two-tone paint schemes and big polished wheels really come into their own. Inside the design is fine but plastics are generally hard and shiny; likewise the seat coverings are faux leather, not real hide like that which covers the nicely sculptured steering wheel. Making such material choices less objectionable are an optional, 10.25in infotainment screen for the excellent UVO software, digital instrument cluster and all the modern driver aids, all for under $30,000. Based on the platform of the superbly executed subcompact Kona, top Seltos models come with the great 1.6-liter, turbocharged engine and 7-speed dual clutch tranny that make the smaller machine so much fun. 175 horses and 195lb-ft of torque make the bigger Kia quick too, with 0-60mph taking only 6.6 seconds. Its helm is responsive and handling decent; likewise ride quality and refinement are fine, though the engine is quite loud at full throttle. All in, this version of the Seltos is quite a bargain and the compromises Kia has made to keep its price down are smartly judged.
SPECIAL ADVERTISING SECTION COURSE SPOTLIGHT
SPECIAL GUIDE
Ak-Chin Southern Dunes Troon North Golf Club
Eagle Mountain Golf Club Rio Verde Country Club
FOUR AMAZING TROON GOLF COURSES, ENDLESS AMOUNTS OF FUN! Tee it up on the best courses to play less than a day’s drive away
An Ak-Chin in Your Heart Discover why Southern Dunes is a perennial must-play.
Although nestled in the desert, Ak-Chin Southern Dunes really plays more like a links-style course. Brian Curley and Lee E. Schmidt are listed as the designers but Masters champion Fred Couples served as a consultant on the project. The course underwent a renovation in 2014, which was designed to make it more “player-friendly”— to wit: the bunkering was reduced by 83,000 square feet, and the par-3 17th, once an approximate 240-yard blind shot, was shortened to just over 200 yards. Another nice touch was the addition of “Golf’s version of a bunny slope.” The practice area, #miniDunes, is designed to appeal to a younger crowd. akchinsoutherndunes.com
SACRED LAND
The Ak-Chin Indian Community owns the 320 acres that houses Ak-Chin Southern Dunes. Part of its original May 1912 reservation, the community lost the land as the result of an executive order later that year. It was reacquired almost 100 years later, in 2012.
True North
Pinnacle or Monument, Troon North is still the desert standard-bearer.
Thirty years ago, Tom Weiskopf came upon a piece of land that he said was so good, “anybody could have (designed them) and had them turn out pretty good.” Of course, the former British Open champion was being modest. From paying homage to his predecessors in golf design (the opening hole on the Pinnacle course is a 392-yard par-4 called “Mackenzie”— named for architect Alister MacKenzie, who designed Augusta National), to “The Monument,” the impossibly large boulder that challenges players off the tee on the 566-yard, par-5 third hole that inspired the facility’s second 18, Troon North Golf Club, designed with Jay Morrish, may well be Weiskopf’s magnum opus. troonnorthgolf.com
Course Spotlight | Eagle Mountain The Eagle Has Landed That is, if you can successfully navigate the greens at Eagle Mountain.
The newcomer to Eagle Mountain Golf Club may well be heartened by a quick glance at a scorecard that shows a tantalizing length of about 6,800 yards from the tips. However, visions of course records will likely become so many delusions of grandeur before long—most likely at the first misplaced approach shot. The challenge at Eagle Mountain comes from its immaculately-manicured greens, which feature multiple tiers and rolling contours. If you want a course where you can come out and channel your inner Loren Roberts, showing your friends that you’re indeed “The Boss of the Moss,” then Eagle Mountain may well be the place for you. eaglemtn.com
River of Dreams Rio Verde—golf and a lifestyle that will make others green with envy.
The two 18-hole Tom Lehman-designed golf courses at Rio Verde stand as centerpieces of a vibrant community and together, they make up one of the bestkept secrets in the Valley of the Sun. The courses, Quail Run and White Wing, play to only about 6,600 yards from the tips, but the abundance of elevated greens, with subtle contours and shaved down edges, creates its own particular challenges. Then again, living a peaceful, relaxed life is the idea behind Rio Verde—why should playing 18— or even 36—holes of golf be any different?
rioverdearizona.com
A NEW WAY OF CLUBBING DOWN Located in the McDowell foothills next to Tonto National Forest, there’s much more than golf to Rio Verde. The facility also features clubs for hikers, bikers and horse lovers, as well as an art studio. It also recently completed a $3.75 million clubhouse renovation.
We-KoPOW!
A buddies’ trip to the WE-KO-PA CASINO RESORT proves to be the perfect antidote for the 2020 blahs.
By DOUGLAS CESELLI
PHOTOGRAPH BY LONNA TUCKER
GOLF, AND A DOUBLE-DOWN: The excitement at the We-Ko-Pa Casino Resort doesn’t stop with the golf. After an exhilarating round on the Saguaro course (featuring the 197-yard, par-3 11th), visitors can settle accounts over a delicious meal at the Saguaro Grille. The facility takes full advantage of Arizona’s unique indoor/outdoor lifestyle with a fireplace, comfortable patio and large windows overlooking the 1st and 18th holes. After a full, fun day, complete your experience with a visit to the We-Ko-Pa Casino Resort. Opening 30 years ago as the first casino in the Phoenix area, the redesign features 167,000-square-feet of gaming action.
COMMITTING TO A buddies’ golf trip in 2020 was a lot like a New Year’s resolution to hit the gym and get in shape. The idea was inspiring and motivating. The planning was encouraging and exciting. The execution, however, was exhausting, but ultimately worth it. Especially when you have a chance to play with some of your best buds in Scottsdale—one of the world’s most complete golf destinations. So my buds and I took the plunge and did it. And if you’re dead set on setting off to Scottsdale for your winter golf trip, you’ll find no fewer than 20 incredible golf properties from which to choose. We-Ko-Pa Golf Club and their two award-winning courses—Saguaro and Cholla—need to be on top of your list.
THE SETTING
The Phoenix area is a sprawling metropolis built more out than up, but at the edge of the suburb of Scottsdale, about 30 minutes from Sky Harbor International Airport, the desert abruptly reclaims the landscape and steel skyscrapers and strip malls are replaced by spectacular sunsets and Saguaro cacti—found in only one place on earth: the Sonoran Desert. There are no homes or roads—or anything really—anywhere near the golf course, which gave us the incredible feeling of being alone and unbothered, something normally reserved for memberguest days at your local private club.
THE DIGS
We were lucky. We happened to be in town for the grand opening celebration of the all-new We-Ko-Pa Casino Resort—a Four-Diamond property—which features everything you can expect from a high-end gaming establishment outside of Las Vegas. We checked-in to We-Ko-Pa’s exclusive golf suites, which have a Augusta National “crow’s nest” feel to them, complete with a kitchen, living area and room for your friends to forget you took their money. More on that later.
The new digs now rival the gaming and lodging competitors of Talking Stick and Ak-Chin—home to Southern Dunes in nearby Maricopa—but the golf is where We-Ko-Pa separates itself.
THE GOLF
We purchased We-Ko-Pa’s 36-hole package and decided to knock ’em down in one day with Saguaro up first. Let’s just get this out of the way from the beginning: the turf conditioning on both courses is incredible. Not a single blade of grass is out of place
GO FOR IT: Many of the holes on the Cholla course (like the 588-yard, par-5 second) present a challenge for most golfers. Taking an aggressive line could lead to shorter approach shots—or potentially leave you scrambling to escape from some dodgy desert lies.
anywhere on the property and the bunker conditioning is exceptional—especially for desert courses.
Unless you’ve been living under a rock and haven’t picked up any golf trade magazine—including ours—for the past decade, you know that We-Ko-Pa’s Saguaro course is one of the most decorated tracks in the southwest. Saguaro has held the top spot in Arizona’s public-course rankings for nearly 15 years straight. Evidence as to why is found on the first tee, where you’ll read a quote from “Gentle” Ben Crenshaw: “This old, boney ground has some sting to it.”
Yes. The celebrated and worldrenowned design duo of Bill Coore and Ben Crenshaw are to thank for this masterpiece which follows the natural elevation changes, hills, swells and arroyos of an ancient, boney land. They built the course without moving any dirt, and their minimalism philosophy led to a few interesting and unusual attributes for a desert course.
Touted as “links style,” Saguaro offers the ability to walk the course—extremely uncommon for the Southwest. Saguaro also opens up the entire golf-shot arsenal, allowing players—like my mountain-course buddies—to play low runners, skied shortirons and other creative shots on approach to imaginative greens. And you won’t find any repeated holes or even repeated approach shots here. Each shot on every hole is completely unique to its specific and untouched original landscape cut by bygone riverbeds thousands of years ago. After an unexpected and expensive Nassau beat-down from my buddies, an outstanding Scottish-style ale from the local brewery and a perfectly crisp bratwurst from the Saguaro Grille—a standalone PHOTOGRAPH BY LONNA TUCKER quasi-clubhouse—I was ready for Cholla, the older of the perennial award-winning sister courses.
Designed by Scott Miller—the brain behind a number of awesome Phoenixarea golf courses, seriously, look it up— We-Ko-Pa’s Cholla course is a fair and rewarding golf experience where the line is clear and it’s up to you to execute. Trouble is straightforward, visible and penalizing. Don’t hit it there. But like its sister Saguaro, Cholla has no cookie-cutter holes. No “golf holes for the sake of golf holes.”
The allure of Cholla resides in its risk/ reward nature. Sure, there’s risk on every hole—especially when you play from the desert like my buddies—but every hole has an aggressive line that transforms a 7-iron approach shot into a wedge and a 3-wood into a smooth hybrid. It pays to be on the correct side of a Cholla fairway—just ask my cohorts after I recouped my losses and then some.
Here’s how it boils down. The setting is extraordinary. The digs are brand new and world-class. And the golf, well, the golf is about as good as it gets anywhere in the world. A must-play for anyone visiting Scottsdale. Douglas Ceselli is a contributor to Colorado AvidGolfer.
We’ll Always Have Paris— or at least Bandon Dunes
PHOTOGRAPH COURTESY OF PEBBLE BEACH COMPANY
PHOTOGRAPH COURTESY OF ST ANDREWS LINKS
With the pandemic sharply curtailing travel, we hearken to memories of favorite golf trips of the past—with a peek at all the places we’ll go when things get better.
GARY ALBRECHT PROBABLY isn’t like you and me.
To be sure, like most folks—let’s be honest, like virtually anyone who’s ever held a golf club—Albrecht hit the links with abandon in 2020, taking advantage of a ready-made, social-distanced, friendly activity that was the perfect antidote to the restrictions mandated by the novel coronavirus.
“Just like everybody else, I’ve never played this much golf in a season,” Albrecht said.
But unlike almost anyone else, Albrecht, most often accompanied by his girlfriend, Suzy Leprino, has taken his game beyond Colorado’s borders—on numerous occasions. While the pandemic has played havoc with travel—at one point early on, United Airlines had canceled up to 97 percent of its flights— Albrecht has been something of a contrarian.
There was a pre-COVID-19 trip to New Zealand. There’s been an excursion to Bandon Dunes. A stop at the Alotian Club in Arkansas; a private club founded by Warren Stephens, son of former Masters chairman Jack Stephens—“His idea was to create an Augusta National in the Midwest.”—and another at Torrey Pines South.
That’s not even counting the day trips in Colorado to places like Frost Creek and Gypsum Creek.
It’s not that he’s flouting safety and precaution; Albrecht is the head of the committee that oversees the operation of CommonGround Golf Course, the home course of the Colorado Golf Association. As such he was instrumental in the efforts there at the start of the pandemic to follow the mandates set by state and county authorities.
“We took everything very, very seriously,” he said.
Throughout his extensive personal travels, Albrecht said he and Leprino have been extremely cautious; for example, wearing masks and shields on airplanes.
Believe it or not, there were trips that Albrecht wanted to make that fell by the wayside because of the virus—like a journey to Ireland and Scotland. In that sense, he has joined countless numbers of golfers who’ve decided to forego taking buddy trips and once-in-a-lifetime getaways because of the current climate. But one thing that hasn’t been affected by the pandemic are our memories: To that end, Colorado AvidGolfer
KING OF THE CASTLE: While it doesn’t have the same reputation as the Old Course, the Castle Course at St Andrews, built in 2008, is a mustplay when visiting the Home of Golf.
reached out to a few folks in and around the game, asking them to share some golf travel recollections—an unforgettable trip, their all-time favorite partners—as well as some of the locales they’re most looking forward to getting back to when conditions allow.
These stories have been lightly edited for space and clarity.
ACROSS THE POND It doesn’t take long for recollections of favorite trips to make their way to Europe.
Molly Greenblatt is an attorney and chairperson of the Colorado Open Golf Foundation
I have been blessed with many opportunities to play golf in so many magical places with friends and family. Pebble Beach is always high on the list, but for my favorite trip I have to say Scotland with my family. We took my dad for a milestone birthday and I was new in my legal career, so taking a vacation with my family was a gift. Playing St Andrews with my dad and brother was a dream come true—the weather was far from ideal; it was freezing cold and pouring cats and dogs. It was the day that I learned about the real importance of good rain gear! We were so determined to play St Andrews that
the grounds crew was a half hole ahead cutting the holes on the green right in front of us so we would have holes to actually putt in. I loved every minute of that round, freezing and all! We still talk about that wild day!
On the same trip, we played Carnoustie Golf Links right after the Women’s British Open was played there. I had the opportunity to walk the round with a local caddy who had caddied for Morgan Pressel. He set up the course for me to play just like the ladies had played and told great stories throughout the round. But what really makes the trip stand out in my memory is that my mom, who is now deceased, was with us and it was the last time she went overseas. She loved to travel and to see new and different places. I feel so blessed that I have that memory with her. While she loved the traditions of the game of golf, she was not an avid player, so she made sure we saw all of the golf history that surrounds St Andrews and joined in on the storytelling long after our rounds were over.
Drew Goodman is a broadcaster with AT&T SportsNet Rocky Mountain and the television voice of the Colorado Rockies
In 2004, the Rockies finished that year as I recall in New York. My family spent the last few days with me, as I’m from New York. We flew the day after the season ended to Edinburgh and met my in-laws there for about 11 days. My three sons were very young then, but I still managed to get in three memorable rounds with my father and brother in law at Prestwick, Carnoustie, and the Old Course at St Andrews. That was golf nirvana. At Prestwick there was one par 3, that, had we not had caddies, we would literally have no idea which direction to hit the golf ball. You literally could not see anything but shrubbery in every direction!
I recall getting to 18 at Carnoustie and replayed in my mind the epic collapse in 1999 of Jean Van de Velde. I played the hole thinking the whole time and discussing it with my father-in-law, how the hell did he screw this one up so badly! Could have hit three 9 irons and two putted for the Open Championship! I guess there was something called pressure involved as well!
Our final stop was St Andrews. What an unforgettable treat. As we stood on the first tee, we noticed an extremely tall guy walking down the adjacent 18th fairway toward us. When he got closer, I realized it was Randy Johnson, who had evidently done as I did and caught one of the first flights to Scotland at the conclusion of the season. So many memories of St Andrews: the enormous greens that are home to two holes, the pot bunkers where you could lose large farm animals, the gorse where golf balls go for a permanent burial without last rites, the wind, the rain, the occasional sun peeking through, and the fact that if you miraculously hit it fairly straight you will have a wedge in your hand on your second shot somewhat frequently.
I actually played well there. My fatherin-law is an accomplished player and we were laughing because he went from rooting for me early, to shaking his head because I was beating him still on the back nine. He began reminding me that I was playing over my head with each successful shot! The golf Gods ultimately got me, along with a little choking as I finished double, double which prevented me from breaking 80. Still an unforgettable round and a place I look forward to returning to with my boys! FUN AND GAMES What’s a road trip without a little bit of wagering? Some bizarre happening that you and friends will discuss for years to come…maybe you can pick up some ideas here.
Steven Hale is a long-time caddie on the PGA and other professional tours
Life on the road nowadays is very boring, but the relationships still evolve around common interests outside of golf. The guys that love sports will tend to hang together. My group mostly revolves around live music. Going to see concerts while on the road is the only thing that gets me out of the room. Obviously, that makes this year even more difficult.
There are so many cool aspects of Ballyneal that can bring a group together. But the firepits and the putting green at night can create friendships among strangers as well. The Commons is the one-acre putting green that has the cups and flags lit at night, to allow for some fantastic games that tend to grow, as soon as the lights start to glow.
As with most golf trips, you can agree amongst yourselves to include any rules that you want to govern your event. And at Ballyneal, amongst our group only, we have a few beauties. My favorite is our version of the “burrowing animal” rule, which goes something like this…
If you hit your ball into the fescue and assorted wilderness, and you and your playing partners are comfortable that it should be in the area of your search…there are obvious burrowing animal holes around the area, and the following must be witnessed and videoed—you have to stick your arm into the hole, up to your elbow, for a solid “threeMississippi” count. Afterwards, you get a free drop, whether you find your ball or not.
Obviously, this has led to some moments of great anticipation—and even greater admiration as the legends grow when retelling the stories through the years.
Joe Assell is the co-founder and CEO of GOLFTEC
One time we were playing Bodega Bay Golf Course near Napa, California. The houses on Bodega Bay are the closest to the holes of maybe any golf course I have ever played! On the par 4 10th hole, my cousin was in the greenside bunker in two and blades his bunker shot over the green and it hits the chimney on top of the house on the other side of the green. The ball bounces down the roof onto the patio, takes a big
CHIPS AHOY: In M’lis Ward’s golf circle, there’s something on the line with virtually every shot taken.
bounce onto the cart path, and another big bounce onto the green and rolls into the hole for a birdie off the chimney! Craziest golf shot I have ever seen!
M’lis Ward is a pilot for United Airlines and is on the Board of Directors for the Colorado Golf Association
Somebody much smarter than us created this game; it’s a set of about seven or eight poker chips, and they’ll have words or phrases like “Birdie” or “Chip In” or “Hit A Tree.” But we always thought those sets didn’t have all of the things we like to bet on—like the Longest Drive—so our group has created our own set that now has about 16 of them; at the beginning of the round we designate how much each are worth— usually it’s about a dollar. During the round, whenever one of us does those things, good or bad, you get the chip. At the end of the round, you settle up—if you have good chips you have money coming in; if you have bad chips you’re paying out.
It’s a fun thing, but what we’ve discovered is that it actually makes you focus more when you’re playing and maybe play smarter shots. You might be behind a tree and say “I’m just gonna try and blast it through”—that might work 10 percent of the time, but that other 90 percent, it’s going to hit the tree and go somewhere you don’t want it to go. So if it’s the end of the round, you’ll maybe realize you should just keep it low and punch it out, if only to avoid getting that chip. Choices like that help you manage your game better. DROPS IN THE BUCKET (LIST) When the time is right, what’s the potential trip that gets you most excited? Perhaps you can tag along to these far-flung locales.
Gary Albrecht is an attorney and is on the Board of Directors of the Colorado Golf Association
There’s a nine-hole course outside of Chattanooga in Tennessee called Sweetens Cove that I’d read about—it was fabulous. I went by myself and played for two days. The fact that it’s only nine holes makes it even more special—it’s so nice Peyton Manning has invested in it; it’s gone from being this place that only golf geeks knew about to this pretty well-known destination. I’ve been there twice but it’s a place I definitely have to get back to. M’lis Ward
Typically what happens is a friend will call up and say, ‘Hey do you want to come play?’ and we’ll grab our clubs and hop on a plane and go. It’s rare to play on a layover because we really don’t have time and it’s hard to drag your clubs with you because we’re not flying to one place and back—it’s usually four or five different places in one day and then the next it can be two or three more, so you don’t want your clubs (trying to keep up).
But one of my friends is turning 60 soon and the talk is that a group of us will all go and play Pebble Beach. I’m really looking forward to that; I’ve rode my bike on a layoff there—there’s a 20-mile bike ride that goes from Monterey to Big Sur, and you ride right by Pebble Beach. I’ve done it two or three times and each time it just looks so nice. It would be really fun to do that.
Joe Assell
I would take my family on a trip through Scotland and Ireland. I was fortunate to go on a buddies’ trip where we played 12 rounds in eight days on some of the highestrated courses in the world. It was an epic trip and I would like my family to experience the same trip.
Molly Greenblatt
Bandon Dunes, it was on the 2020 golf trip list but due to COVID-19, those plans were all scratched.
FAMILY FIRST Ask a golfer who they’d like to accompany them on a road trip and the answer usually hits close to home.
Molly Greenblatt
This one is easy. My father. I am truly
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PICTURE PERFECT: With the debut of Sheep Ranch in June, Oregon’s Bandon Dunes now has six courses available to help golfers create their own indelible memories.
blessed to have a great “girl dad.” We have played a lot of rounds together since I was 14 years old. I am convinced that the game of golf helped me have a wonderful relationship with my father. When most teens were fighting with or ignoring their fathers, I had mine, right there next to me, spending countless hours on driving ranges, putting greens and courses. And, even now, when golf is no longer my sole focus, we always talk golf—even in COVID—the FaceTime consists of conversations regarding how many up and downs he had, what was his best shot of the day and if his new swing tip is working! :)
Joe Assell
I would take my dad and let him pick the other two.
Steven Hale
If a golf trip were thrown my way tomorrow, it would have to include my son, Andrew. He has just graduated college and is starting his new life in the working world soon. To have that one chance to hang out with him, have a couple of big-picture talks before he takes that next big step towards independence, would be cool. At least for me!
Gary Albrecht
“Two of my favorite people to play golf with were Tom Collins, like the drink…he went by TC and my other buddy went by PC—his name was Paul Caloway…He spelled his name with one L…we would always tease him that he was a letter short of being somebody. If I could choose anyone to play with today, they would definitely be included.”
Paul Caloway died this past July; Tom Collins passed away from colon cancer in 2017—but not before providing Albrecht with a memory he’ll never forget.
“We would always play at the Glen Falls Country Club; it’s out in the Adirondacks and is a Donald Ross course—it’s one of my favorites. On October 21, 2016, a beautiful fall day out in the Adirondacks…we come to 18…it’s 136 yards, the tee is right next to the clubhouse, with the green down below. Tom hits this beautiful shot to the green; it rolled up to the pin, kissed the flag, paused on the lip and dropped into the cup. Of course, everyone went nuts.
Anthony Cotton is the editor of Colorado AvidGolfer. For Rockies Manager Bud Black, golf trips are a way to celebrate the spirit of competition and camaraderie.
By the time the Los Angeles Dodgers were putting the finishing touches on their 2020 World Series triumph, Colorado Rockies Manager Bud Black was already formulating plans involving his National League West rivals. His thoughts didn’t involve defensive shifts or home-road splits— PHOTOGRAPH COURTESY OF COLORADO ROCKIES although getting away was definitely a consideration. No, Black was thinking not about baseball, but rather golf, along with his good friend Dave Roberts, the skipper of the newly-christened champions.
And while it may not be the optimum spot for a novice golfer, Black has some definite ideas on where he’d take his buddy for a golf trip.
“We’d go somewhere where he could parlay the trip with a little work; he’s got his own wine label, called Red Stitch, up in the Napa Valley, so we would end up in Carmel and Monterey—just go right to the best spot.
Black has been an avid golfer since his playing days as a major league pitcher. During the 1980s, he led a group of Kansas City Royals players on trips that took place during and after seasons. These days, when the schedule is released for the upcoming season, Black of course first looks at it from a baseball perspective—but he admits other considerations are likely to come into play as well.
“This year because of the coronavirus we were pretty much relegated to our hotel rooms, following all the protocols and guidelines, so golf was nonexistent this year,” he said. “But usually, I’ll take a look at the cities where we’re scheduled to have off days...I don’t really recall what that looked like this season because things got changed so quickly.
“We may have had a day in St. Louis. I’ve never played Bellerive (Country Club) there; They’ve hosted the PGA Championship, maybe the U.S. Open. We may have had a day in Philadelphia...I’ve been fortunate enough to play Pine Valley (Golf Club in suburban New Jersey), but I’ve never played Merion Golf Club (also near the city)—that’s on my to-do list.”
Now that the season is over and he’s freed from the restrictions that were essential to a successful completion of the 2020 season, Black says he’s eager to get back to golf. Whether it was crisscrossing the country with former teammates or getting back out there with current co-workers—“Our bench coach Mike Redmond, he loves golf too, and he’s never been to Pebble Beach...I’ve been talking to him about taking a trip, too—I guess that’s on the forefront of my mind, getting back to Pebble.”
Wherever the locale, Black says the enduring value of his golf road trips are the feelings they engender.
“You want to play good golf, but sometimes you’re playing with a minimum amount of sleep and maybe a touch of a hangover,” he laughed. “But the main thing is that they’re all centered around camaraderie—that’s the perfect word. It’s not just the four hours on the golf course—it’s the time after, having a meal, sharing the food and stories about the golf, being with the guys in an atmosphere that’s not highly pressurized like a baseball season.
Born to Fly
When she was a child, M’LIS WARD leaped off garage roofs—it was just a preview of the heights she would eventually attain.
By ANTHONY COTTON Photographs by JAMIE SCHWABEROW/ CLARKSON CREATIVE
FRIENDLY SKIES: After leaving the Air Force, M’lis Ward joined United Airlines, eventually becoming the first African-American female captain in commercial aviation history.
FOR SOME PEOPLE, it takes a little bit of time to find their footing in life, deciding what path to follow. But sometimes, the universe makes it crystal clear what destiny has in store. For Anne Ward, one of the first inklings of where her youngest child Melissa was headed came pretty early on.
“I would have to get her off the top of the garage next door—she would climb up on the roof and jump off. The kids would come running in and say, ‘Mommy, Melissa’s on top of the garage again,’ and I’d run out and ask her to come down. She was just so fearless, even as a little baby. I had to be very, very careful with her because I really thought she might not live to be three—I thought, ‘Maybe if I can just get her to three, perhaps she would understand.’
“I told her one day about then, ‘Melissa, you can’t do these things because you could die.’ She just looked at me and I asked her if she understood what dying meant—that there would be no more Melissa, that we would have to give away all her things because she was never coming back.
Understanding is one thing; letting that knowledge change who you are is something else. Which is why, many, many years after that Mother-Daughter chat, Ward, now known as M’lis, is still leaping off roofs. After college, she joined the Air Force, where she flew jets that reached speeds over 770 miles per hour, cracking the sound barrier—an experience that she describes today with a nonchalant, “kinda ho-hum.” When she left the military, she switched to a different kind of machinery, becoming a pilot for United Airlines, where she crashed through another wall—becoming the first Black female captain in commercial aviation.
Anne Ward tells another story of a young M’lis sitting in a car driving through suburban Chicago and noticing the traffic at a small airport.
For her part, M’lis says she doesn’t remember the story, adding that Mom might be romanticizing her daughter’s relationship with flight.
“It wasn’t anything like, ‘My dad was a pilot, so I wanted to become a pilot,’ or I grew up watching planes land, and take off, out in the Podunk town where we lived and said that’s what I was going to be when I grew up,” she said. “That’s just not me; it just kind of fell into my lap and I said, ‘Sure, let’s try it.’”
That may not be totally accurate either. Ward admits to being an “overachiever,” a rather benign description that doesn’t go nearly far enough to describe her life’s journey. At a time when very few women were even given the opportunity to try and become a pilot in the Air Force, she says she caught a break in her burgeoning career when one of the officers in charge of her collegiate ROTC unit talked her up to one of the men in charge of handing out the precious slots in the branch’s flight training program.
At the time, the two were sitting in the stands at the University of Southern California, watching Ward as she played for the Women of Troy—as in the two-time national championship winning Trojan team led by Cheryl Miller, arguably the best women’s player of all time, and Cynthia Cooper, a four-time WNBA champion who, like Miller, is also a member of the Basketball Hall of Fame.
While Miller and Cooper entered USC with immediate credibility; Ward was a walk-on, battling to first earn a place on the roster and then for every minute of playing time she could get. Oftentimes that meant pushing the team’s stars in practice, because the harder they worked there, the better they would play in the games. That in turn meant more blowout victories—which meant more opportunities for Ward to get on the floor.
Of course, there were times when Ward pushed a little too hard in her role as scrappy underdog.
“We were at practice one day before a game against Long Beach State, a game that we really needed to win,” she said. “The starters were kind of slacking and the subs were really taking it to them—I must have scored four or five baskets in a row, and our coach stops the practice and says, ‘Who. Is. Guarding. Melissa?’
And I yell out, ‘Coach—Nobody! Nobody’s guarding Melissa because they can’t stop me!’
So play resumed, and from that point, I don’t think any of my shots got near the top of the key, let alone near the rim. My shots were being blocked out of the gym—players were knocking each other over trying to get
THE EYES HAVE IT: After winning a pair of national championships with the University of Southern California’s women’s basketball team, golf has become the competitive outlet for M’lis Ward. Carrying a 8.4 handicap, Ward played almost 100 rounds during the 2020 season.
to me. And I was like, ‘Good—it’s about time you showed up.’
Which is why it’s perhaps not surprising that many of the people who spend time with Ward ascribe to a similar bent. Her best friend, Tanya Poel, who also flies for United, is another graduate of the Air Force flight training program. For a time, Poel also dabbled in competitive sports, even reaching one of her goals in 2004—qualifying for the Olympic Trials in the marathon. Another close friend, Carla Stearns, was an AllAmerican softball and volleyball player at the University of Northern Colorado and is a member of that school’s Hall of Fame.
“We’re just like, ‘Set a goal and go do it,’” Ward says. “We just feel like that’s how everyone should be; we’re ‘If you don’t work hard for it, you don’t deserve to have it’ kind of people.” GOLF, A LOVE STORY So what does the woman who loves to compete and never wants to accept losing easily do when she decides to set aside the Chuck Taylors? Besides an ongoing flirtation with coaching hoops (a former assistant at Dakota Ridge High School in Littleton, Ward still coaches club basketball in the summer), she falls absolutely head-overheels in love with the one sport certain to crush the spirit of even the hardest working individuals, the pursuit that doesn’t care if your name is Tiger Woods—you can still make a 10 on a par-3 while defending your Masters’ championship—golf.
“It really is a love affair—a competitive one,” Ward said. “You know how for some people, golf is a leisurely game? That’s not me; golf has become the place where I can continue my basketball career…people say ‘No one cares what you shoot’—well I care! I don’t want to ever put anything higher than an 85 down on the scorecard.”
Of course, for Ward and her friends, amid the pandemic, playing golf was far more than “playing golf”—“When everyone was quarantined, it was our escape from the compound; we had freedom because of golf,” she said. “We needed to feel like the world wasn’t falling apart, and golf did that; it really kept us all together, mentally and physically.”
Over the course of the season, Ward says she posted about 90 scores; playing in leagues at Wellshire and Broken Tee golf courses, her handicap dipped as low as a 5.9 before settling at 8.4.
If you’re reading this magazine, chances are you, or someone close to you, is so passionate about the game that others might regard you as a golf nut; there are undoubtedly stories you could tell that would demonstrate the lengths you would go to for the game.
Ward probably has you beat.
Given her current status with United, Ward actually only has to fly a handful of times per month. More often than not, the dates she chooses coincide with the worst weather Colorado has to offer.
She comes by her passion for the game honestly. According to Anne Ward, M’lis’ father Grant would leave the house in Chicago early on Saturday mornings and not return until at least 36 holes had been played. And while he was more than willing to have his daughter tag along, some of Dad’s contingencies made M’lis reluctant to go all-in on the game.
“I would go to the course with him when he practiced; but he refused to teach me the game because he said the cost of playing golf was so prohibitive that I would have to give up the other sports that I played,” she said. “I played basketball, volleyball, softball and soccer and I ran track and field—so that just wasn’t an option I was going to take. Later, I played some when I was in the Air Force, but golf in the Air Force is kind of joke; it’s really more of a drinking sport, but it’s something you have to do—a commanding officer says, ‘Hey, we’re all going out and playing golf,’ then you go play golf.”
It wasn’t until she moved to Colorado that Ward’s relationship with golf finally blossomed. Walking on one day at Overland Golf Course in Denver, Ward found herself paired with some members playing a match in the course’s women’s league.
“I don’t think the starter was supposed to do that, but that’s when I discovered there were these things called leagues where people played together regularly, so I started
doing that and from there I caught the bug. Playing basketball has gotten tougher as I’ve gotten older because the game is much more physical than it used to be; so I’m really glad that I play golf because it’s something I can do for a long time and it’s led to developing this great group of friends—it’s fantastic.”
In addition to playing, Ward is on the board of directors for the Colorado Golf Association, serving on a committee that determines the ratings for courses in the state. The depth of knowledge and conviction she displays while talking about the process of establishing those guidelines at the recently redesigned City Park Golf Course in Denver is simultaneously educational and a little bit intimidating.
“I have had the good fortune of getting to know M’lis through our shared passion for the game,” said Ed Mate, the Executive Director and CEO of the CGA. “M’lis is a consistently strong advocate for women’s golf and particularly, public women’s golf. She is never afraid to speak her mind and stand up for her beliefs. Like all of our board, her love of the game is clear and infectious— in a good way!”
“FLY THAT”…BUT NOT FOR LONG In September, one of Ward’s coworkers at United’s flight training center retired; almost immediately, she said, he started applying for another flying-related job.
“And that’s how most pilots are; they can’t imagine walking away from flying,” she said. “I’m like, ‘Dude, you’re 65—how ’bout playing some golf or going fishing, or maybe traveling? And he says, ‘I just love it too much.’ That’s not me; when I get to retirement age, the only flying you’ll see me doing is sitting in first class, drinking wine when I’m on my way to Europe.”
When that day comes, chances are Ward’s golf clubs will be in the cargo hold. Right now, they can usually be found in the trunk of her spiffy high-performance sports car, the one with the vanity plates that read “FLY THAT.” But while we’re in a confessional mood, the truth is that M’lis Ward, the bad-ass, sound-breaking, fearless highflier…doesn’t like to drive fast.
“I might go five miles over the speed limit—it drives people crazy,” she said. “But I’m not a typical pilot; when I’m not at work, I never wear a watch; everything related to an airline is about being on time—you have to get to the gate on time; you have to push off from the gate on time; you need to arrive at your destination on time; when you have a layover, you have to wake up on time to catch the van to go out to the airport.
Of course, that leisurely attitude puts Ward in good stead on the golf course. And while she says one of the reasons she’s so willing to walk away from the cockpit is because she has so many other interests to attend to, it’s hard to imagine very many of them being conducted without a 7-iron in her hand. Already, plans are being made for a trip to Pebble Beach to celebrate a friend’s 60th birthday; a little further down the line, when more progress is made with the pandemic, Ward would love to tee it up in Ireland.
NO NEED FOR SPEED: Although her ride is fly, M’lis Ward rarely cracks the speed limit. “I might go five miles over,” says the former Air Force pilot.
And at that point, perhaps the chronic overachiever will truly be ready to commit to slowing down.
“You know, a lot of the golf leagues I play in, a lot of the women in them are retired and that’s all they do,” Ward says. “They play, like five days a week, and they’re in their fantasy football leagues… I’m a huge baseball fan—I’ve got Rockies’ season tickets.
Eagles The Have
Hit with a double whammy in 2020, Cancun’s MOON PALACE RESORT makes the turn to normalcy.
PLAYING GOLF MAKES Carla Stearns feel “normal” again.
Traveling to Cancun’s Moon Palace Resort in Mexico, and playing the 27-hole Jack Nicklaus signature course felt even more like a pre-COVID experience for Stearns, who played in mid-October just as course workers were completing repairs necessitated by a series of hurricanes.
It was the second reopening for the trio of 9-hole courses, following closure from March 26-June 7 due to the pandemic.
“I was leery about going, and flying, I hadn’t gone anywhere [during] COVID,’’ said Stearns, an Aurora resident. “I did a little research. I felt okay on the plane, and I really felt safe down there. They did a great job; it was fantastic.’’
A regular on the Colorado Golf Association flight leaderboards, and a former University of Northern Colorado softball and volleyball All-American, By THERESA SMITH Stearns has turned to golf as respite from the hardships imposed by the virus.
“Golfers have gotten to play all summer long; that’s about the only thing that we’ve gotten to do that’s made us feel like we’re living a normal life again,’’ she said. “And we’re really not, of course.’’
Golf is featured on the retirement menu for the former teacher, Grandview High School athletics director and Cherry Creek School District central office administrator. The sister of former New York Mets catcher John Stearns plays in the Broken Tee League and also joined her mother, Joan, in the Wellshire League. Joan, who passed away in July, was a 50year member of the Wellshire Women’s Golf Club.
When Denver’s City Park Golf Course reopened on September 1, Stearns fired a hole-in-one on No. 8, the first ace of the hole since the $45 million renovation.
“It was unbelievable, a shocker, so much fun!’’ Stearns said. “We know they’re luck, but I enjoyed it nonetheless.’’ Stearns’ visit to Moon Palace Spa and Golf Club on the Yucatan Peninsula, was her second, following a trip in spring 2019 with the same friends, who are members.
“They invited me to go, and you get all the benefits of their membership while you’re there,’’ she said. “It’s a really nice place. The first day we played, we didn’t know if the course was going to be ready because of the cleanup from the hurricane. It came through as a [Category] 2; it was projected as a [Category] 4. But there were still leaves and branches down and water all over the place. When we got to the course, they said we would play one of the 9s twice, but when we got to the turn, they said if you wait a half hour, you can play a different 9.’’
Stearns and her playing partners
Relanded Mexicoin
BACK IN BUSINESS: The pandemic and hurricanes have shut the golf courses at Moon Palace down twice in 2020. Now reopened, visitors have been anxious to take their shot at intimidating holes, like the 425-yard, par-4 1st (left) and the 150-yard, par-3 8th on the Lakes Course (above).
patiently waited and were rewarded with traversing the Jungle course, along with the Lakes course.
“They did a great job and worked really hard getting it ready,’’ she said.
The difficulty of the courses, including Dunes, appeals to the UNC Hall of Famer.
“It is tight,’’ she said. “It’s the kind of course where if you hit it off the fairway, you’re in the jungle, and you never find your ball. So it’s hard. It’s a really hard golf course, but it is a lot of fun.’’
It is also unique, in terms of wildlife. Stearns was fascinated by the lizards, crocodiles and coati (raccoon-like) animals she observed. White-tailed deer also roam
THE NEW NORMAL: Initially leery of traveling, Carla Stearns said her October trip to Cancun’s Moon Palace Resort resembled a pre-COVID-19 experience.
the rough as part of the resort’s protection and seeing a rise in tee times and bookings and sustainable management program. at our golf villas.’’
As with thousands of travel-related Golf vacations are the stuff of retirement businesses, golf destinations like Moon dreams, and with golf-playing friends living Palace Resort experienced a significant in Scottsdale, Ariz., Stearns would love to decrease in golfers and visitors, because of head south this winter. COVID-19. “Depending on COVID, the numbers
“We saw a decrease of about 60 percent are rising,’’ she said. “I feel if the numbers are versus 2019, due to the travel restrictions safe and I can go to warm weather and play a that were put into place earlier in the year, little golf over the winter, I will do that.’’ particularly from our main markets, which Safety first is the new normal. are the United States and Canada,’’ said “At the turn, you run into the restroom, Fernando Sandoval, the director of golf at you have your mask on,’’ she said. “It’s Moon Palace Resort. something that is a routine for us, and I think
“In the recent months, however, we have it will be around awhile. It will be part of seen an increase as travel restrictions have life.” lifted and guests have been eager to travel— and the number of local residents booking Theresa Smith is a regular contributor to tee times has also gone up. As occupancy Colorado AvidGolfer. rises, we are seeing bookings for rounds of golf increasing and we are now currently 48 percent down versus 2019. We are INFO TO GO confident those numbers will continue to go up with holiday Moon Palace Resort is offering promotional deals, travel around the corner.’’ Reopening on June 7, after closing for six weeks because including the Winter promotion, offering up to 40 percent off; the Kids & Teens Stay Free Promotion; and the Work and Study from Paradise promotion, in which the longer you stay, the more you save.of COVID-19, was uplifting A complete list of current promotions can be for the staff, which established found by visiting thegrand.moonpalace.com. extensive safety protocols. Four airlines fly nonstop from Denver to
“There was a huge sense of Cancun. For flight information, visit: relief,’’ Sandoval said. “From not Frontier Airlines flyfrontier.com; only the staff, but the golfers, Southwest Airlines southwest.com; who were eager to get back United Airlines united.com; on the greens. We are slowly Volaris Airlines volaris.com getting back to the new normal
