August 2014

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That

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The PGA TOUR’s Top 70 Players Take Center Stage at Cherry Hills

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2014

August

8 Forethoughts

No Tiger, No Cry.

By Jon Rizzi

Features 32 Lesson How to Putt a Breaker.

By John Ogden

10 Off the Tee

34 Lesson

Indian courses.

altitude. By Ben Welsh

15 The Gallery

36 Tee to Green

A Moscow Mule and Adjust your swing for

The Avs tee off twice; Denver pumps up Tiger; Northeastern 18’s new owner; HealthONE Women’s Open; more.

72 The Games of Golf

Jimmy Walker, Meet Jimmy Walker

Player’s Corner

29 Profile

Vail PGA Director of Golf Alice Plain takes on MS. By Jon Rizzi

Mount Massive turns 75. By Jon Rizzi

Sidebets

41 Fareways

Alamosa’s San Luis Valley Brewing Co., Pagosa Springs’ Boss Hogg and Ouray’s Mouse Chocolates.

By Gary James

50

That 70 Show

As the BMW Championship brings the PGA Tour to Cherry Hills—and back to Colorado for the first time in eight years—we look at the event’s history, competitors, which holes will be pivotal, how to buy tickets and who benefits.

64

Goin’ to Jackson

Want to mess around? From world-class golf and trout-fishing to heli-skiing, hunting, riding, skating and much more, Wyoming’s Snake River Sporting Club overflows with outdoor options.

By Jon Rizzi

46 Nice Drives

Lincoln MKC and Volvo V60 . By Isaac Bouchard

Cherry Hills Country Club hole #17

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Colorado AvidGolfer | August 2014

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p h o t o g r a p h by by R o b B r o w n / r o b b r o w n p h o t o g r a p h y

Contents

In Every Issue

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August 2014 Volume 13, Number 5 publisher

Allen J. Walters editor

Jon Rizzi associate publisher

Chris Phillips art director

Jeremy Cantalamessa editor-at-large

Tom Ferrell

automotive editor

Isaac Bouchard contributors

Sam Adams, Andy Bigford, E.J. Carr, Tony Dear, Denny Dressman, Sue Drinker, Dick Durrance II, Chris Duthie, Amy Freeland, Lois Friedland, Gary James, Ted Johnson, Kaye W. Kessler, Jake KubiĂŠ, Todd Langley, Kim D. McHugh, Bob Russo, Jerry Walters, Neil Wolkodoff digital and social media manager

Kate Stromberg office and operations manager

Cindy P. Nold projects and special events manager

Ryan McLean editorial intern

Marina Beach p r i n c i pa l s

Ray L. Baker, C. Don Baker, Dick B. Baker Advertising Inquiries: cindy@coloradoavidgolfer.com Editorial Inquiries and letters: jon@coloradoavidgolfer.com Customer Service and Subscriptions: 720-493-1729 Mailing address: 7200 S. Alton Way #B-180, Centennial, CO 80112 FAX: 720-482-0784 Newsstand Information: 720-493-1729

coloradoavidgolfer.com Colorado AvidGolfer (ISSN 1548-4335) is published eight times a year by Baker-Colorado Publishing, LLC, and printed by American Web, Inc. Volume 13, Number Five. 7200 S. Alton Way #A-180, Centennial, CO 80112. Colorado AvidGolfer is available at more than 250 locations, or you can order your personal subscription by calling 720-493-1729. Subscriptions are available at the rate of $17.95 per year. Copyright Š 2014 by Baker-Colorado Publishing, LLC. All rights reserved. Reproduction without permission is prohibited. Postmaster: Send address changes to Colorado AvidGolfer, 7200 S Alton Way #A-180 Centennial, CO 80112.The magazine welcomes editorial submissions but assumes no responsibility for the safekeeping or return of unsolicited manuscripts, photographs, artwork or other material.

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Colorado AvidGolfer | August 2014

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Forethoughts

No Tiger, No Cry

A

8

Colorado AvidGolfer | August 2014

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F OR E THO U GHT S PHOTO BY Te d M c I n t y r e

dmittedly, the closest I’ve come to owning a BMW is my collection of Bob Marley and the Wailers albums. The band’s initials are the same as the auto brand’s, and that coincidence conveniently allowed Marley, who partly built his legend by denouncing Western materialism, to justify his ownership of a 1973 BMW Bavaria.

Bavaria descendants like the 640i will no doubt appear at the upcoming 2014 BMW Championship at Cherry Hills Country Club. More relevantly, so will the top 70 players in FedEx Cup points, many of whom hadn’t cut their milk teeth—much less been born—when Bob Marley died in 1981.

Some of them, like Dustin Johnson, hadn’t yet turned professional the last time the PGA Tour staged an event in Colorado.

That event, The International at Castle Pines, took place in 2006, a year before the first FedEx Cup playoff. Jimmy Walker, in the midst of a middling first full season on the Tour, missed the cut; Bubba Watson tied for sixth; and a European Tour rookie named Martin Kaymer didn’t get invited. Further perspective: Keegan Bradley was at St. John’s University; Ricky Fowler was about to begin his senior year at Murrieta Valley High; Rory McIlroy was a 15-year-old upper-schooler in Northern Ireland; and Jordan Spieth was in middle school in Dallas. Chris Kirk, Patrick Reed, Brendon Todd—all winners of tour events this year—were considering prom dates.

Golf may be the “game of a lifetime,” and experience counts when it comes to competing at the highest levels, but the professional game is getting younger by the week. Every event seems to have a winner I only vaguely know. If not for the caddie bibs and standard-bearers, I’m not sure many of us would recognize Brendon Todd from Kevin Streelman from Harris English. Meanwhile, the familiar favorites like Phil Mickelson and Tiger Woods make headlines for injuries and non-golf reasons.

Phil and Tiger have helped sell tickets, but they may not be in attendance at Cherry Hills. I hope either or both make the field of 70, of course.

However, I’m just as anxious to see young guns like Rory, Bubba, Ricky, Adam Scott, Jason Day and Justin Rose negotiate Cherry Hills’ tight terrain of risks and rewards. “There’ll be a lot of game-day decisions,” FedEx Cup points leader Jimmy Walker told former Cherry Hills Head PGA Professional Clayton Cole during a recent practice round.

Those decisions will involve whether to go for the green on Nos. 1 and 3, how to attack par on the 552-yard 5th and 520-yard 14th (both par 4s), what to do about those two sets of nasty cross bunkers and the island green on No. 17 and how to avoid the ubiquitous trouble on one of the most challenging 18th holes in golf.

For fans, the decisions will revolve around which up-and-coming player to follow or which holes to watch (Tip: Try the par-3 15th, since any holein-one results in an Evans scholarship; Hunter Mahan’s ace in last year’s BMW sent CommonGround caddie Melyzjah Smith to CU). Each day will involve groups starting on holes 1 and 10, so factor that into your spectating strategy. However you choose, to quote Bob Marley, “get up, stand up” and go to the BMW Championship. —Jon Rizzi

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Off theTee

Recipe Cherry Hills Moscow Mule Ingredients: • Fresh lime • Ice • 2 oz. Breckenridge Vodka • Barritt’s Ginger Beer (to fill)

APRÈS-GOLF

p h o t o g r a p h c o u rt es y o f c h e r r y h i l l s c o u n t r y c lu b

| STYLE |

LOCAL KNOWLEDGE

Directions: Squeeze three fresh wedges of lime in a large copper mug. Fill with ice. Pour at least 2 oz. of vodka. Fill rest of mug with ginger beer. Stir to mix.

Cocktail with a Kick

By Marina Beach

B

oth Cherry Hills and the Moscow Mule enjoy a rather spirited history. And as the 92-year-old club prepares to host this year’s BMW Championship, it’s fitting that this classic vodka cocktail serves as the signature drink.

The BMW will be Cherry Hills’ 12th national championship, a run that began with the 1938 U.S. Open. The Moscow Mule dates back to the early 1940s and, served in its bespoke copper mug, became a high-profile drink order for Hollywood stars during the “vodka craze” that was sweeping the nation at the time of the 1960 U.S. Open at Cherry Hills.

Today the club is honored to carry on the 109-year-old tradition of the Western Open, now known as the BMW Championship. Clubhouse Director Terry Anderson says the “members still favor the classic drinks like vodka and specialty wines.”

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Colorado AvidGolfer | August 2014

Native Rough

W

ith football season about to kick off, controversy continues to swirl around the nickname of the NFL’s Washington franchise. After the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office revoked the Washington Redskins trademark in June, a number of newspapers banned use of the word “Redskins” in reference to the team.

Could golf course names suffer the same fate?

While it’s highly improbable that such legendary golf clubs as Shinnecock Hills and Seminole—both of which feature a left-facing Native American in their logos—would ever encounter censure, what of the 143 United States courses with “Indian” in their names?

Right here in Colorado we have Indian Peaks, Indian Tree and the

Sleeping Indian nine at West Woods.

Indian Tree’s logo profiles a Native American in the leaves, while Pueblo Country Club’s sports a right-facing profile of a Ute. If any of the above warrants a Native American protest, shouldn’t devout Christians object to Devil’s Thumb Golf Course in Delta? Should they refuse an invitation to play Pine Valley Golf Club, the top-rated course in the world, because the bunker on number 10 is famously known as the Devil’s Asshole?

And although it’s far-fetched, were we back in the McCarthy era 1950s, true-blue patriots wouldn’t be caught dead at a place called Red Sky, Red Rocks, Redlands Mesa or Tiara Rado.

Even the Country Club at Castle Pines would find itself under HUAC scrutiny. Why? Its initials—CCCP—are identical to those of the former Soviet Union. coloradoavidgo lf e r.c o m

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P h o t o g r a p h s by M i c h ae l M a r t i n p h o t o g r a p h y

theGallery

An avalanche of golf

T

he members of Colorado’s division-winning NHL franchise will slap around the golf ball before the season gets underway.

On September 15, the team will tee it up at the 18th Colorado Avalanche Charity Golf Classic at The Ridge at Castle Pines North. A foursome at the event, costs $4,000, includes four guests and an Avalanche player, coach or celebrity, and recognition as hole sponsor in tournament signage and program. Individuals can enter for $1,000. Proceeds benefit the community programs of the Colorado Avalanche supported by Kroenke Sports Charities. Last year’s edition raised $88,000 in service to those in need. Your group could include Joe Sakic, Patrick Roy, Nathan MacKinnon,

co l o r a d o a v i d g o l f e r. c om

STICK HANDLER: Matt Duchene shows his skills.

Matt Duchene or even recent acquisition Jarome Iginla. Contact Deb Dowling (ddowling@pepsicenter.com; 303-405-1100)

MARKING THE 18TH: The Ridge will host the team’s annual charity event September 15.

for more information.

Less than three weeks later, on Wednesday, October 1, the day before they face off in a preseason hockey game at The Broadmoor World Arena in Colorado Springs, the Avalanche and Stanley Cup Champion Los Angeles Kings will play in a celebrity golf tournament at The Broadmoor. The $3,000 per-foursome entry fee will benefit the USA Hockey Foundation and covers breakfast, lunch, cocktail reception and a ticket to the October 2 game. A special guest from either team. Could one of them be Philip Anschutz, the intensely private owner of both The Broadmoor and the Kings? lakings.com/preseason; 310-535-4466.

August 2014 |Colorado AvidGolfer

15

theGallery

Original Sims There must be something in the water in Windsor—and as anyone who’s played Pelican Lakes Golf & Country Club knows, there is no shortage of the wet stuff in the community known as Water Valley. Shortly after announcing Fred Funk would be designing his first course, RainDance, for Water Valley CEO Martin Lind (July 2014 issue), Pelican Lakes installed three state-of-the-art golf simulators inside its new sports grill, The Sand Bar. Members can now play rounds at 80 different courses.

“There is nothing like this bar anywhere else in the state, or perhaps the nation,” says Lind.

“People will be able to play Pebble Beach when it’s snowing outside, and that’s an amenity you can’t find anywhere else.” The Sand Bar has named two of the simulators after Arnold Palmer and Jack Nicklaus. Those stand next to one another, while the Fred Funk machine occupies its own, intimate room for private parties.

In addition, The Sand Bar boasts 19 TVs, custom tables and booths and eight beers on tap, including the club’s very own beer, Pelican Lakes Lager. It pairs well with small pizzas and panini—fare you won’t find at the more upscale Pelican Lakes Restaurant upstairs. Nor will you find Sand Bar drink concoctions such as the Ty Webb and Tin Cup. watervalley.com; 970-674-1100

BIG CAT: A Colorado company keeps Woods pumped.

Tiger’s Got a Brand New Bag

T

he space that once trumpeted Titleist, Buick and AT&T now advertises MusclePharm.

As seen during last month’s British Open, Tiger Woods now sports on his golf bag the logo of the Montbello-based performancelifestyle nutrition company. The deal runs for four years with a two-year option. MusclePharm also sponsors NFL players Eric Decker and Colin Kaepernick as well as Arnold Schwarzenegger. The company is the official supplement provider for Ultimate Fighting Championship and USA Wrestling. “One of the keys to success as an athlete is making sure you are fueling your body properly, which is at the core of MusclePharm’s mission,” Woods said in a release. “I look forward to working with MusclePharm to help people achieve their peak physical form.”

We haven’t had many peeks into Woods’ form since his back surgery, but the media’s Tiger obsession (ESPN3 devoted its British Open broadcast exclusively to him) means plenty of airtime for the bag caddie Joe LaCava lugs around. And with the possible exception of Dustin Johnson, no golfer on the PGA Tour boasts more superb conditioning than Woods.

“We are excited to work with Tiger to bring more attention to nutritional science and how it can enhance strength and overall athletic performance, and most importantly, fuel athletes safely,” said MusclePharm Founder, Chairman and CEO Brad Pyatt, a former NFL receiver who also coaches the football team at his alma mater, Arvada West High School. Pyatt incorporated the publicly traded company in 2006.

Expect to see Woods touting the benefits of MusclePharm in print, on television and online.

Calling the collaboration “fun and authentic,” Woods’ agent Leigh Steinberg said his client “is helping MusclePharm reach a whole new demographic.” musclepharm.com

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Colorado AvidGolfer | August 2014

WATERING HOLE: Three simulators, like the one used by Fred Funk, and customized golf décor highlight The Sand Bar at Pelican Lakes Golf & Country Club in Windsor.

The Sterling Affair

For more than 80 years the facility on the hill at 17408 Highway 14, 128 miles northeast of Denver, was known as Sterling Country Club, a thriving private club with a far-reaching reputation for tight fairways, puny greens and a highly competitive three-day Labor Day Invitational. But after a 2001 fire prompted the construction of a bigger clubhouse, membership flagged, and by 2005, a group of members bought the club and renamed it Pawnee Pines

Country Club. Five years of limited success followed, until a philanthropic member, Frank Walsh, purchased the club and donated it to Sterling’s Northeastern Junior College, which changed the facility’s name to Northeastern 18 and opened it to the public.

The college had no experience in operating a golf facility, and after Walsh passed away last December, the college, in accordance with his stipulations for the facility, turned over ownership of the course and restaurant facility on July 1 in exchange for more than $700,000 in scholarships. The Lebsock Family—seven

coloradoavidgo lf e r.c o m

AND SAVE 36%

theGallery of whom attended Northeastern—took over this month. “In honor of Frank Walsh, Northeastern Junior College and the northeastern Colorado community, our family is pleased to assume ownership of this property which has been a huge and important part of Sterling for many years,” said Brad Lebsock, the son of David and Cheryl Lebsock. “We have appreciated how careful NJC has handled this transition. We, as a family, feel very committed to keeping it open as a public golf course and restaurant and making it available to this entire area.”

Changes have already begun. Fred and Carol Borra, former owners and managers of The Broker Restaurants in Boulder and Denver, have taken over the club’s Plainsman Grill, and plans include remodeling the clubhouse interiors to accommodate larger events. This month the course will host the Colorado Junior Golf Association Fall Series event; the annual Labor Day Golf Tournament will take place as it always has; and the Colorado 3A Boys State Golf Championship will go off in September.

And by the end of the year, new merchandise will probably appear in the golf shop, displaying the historic club’s fourth name and logo in the past decade. 2.njc.edu/northeastern18; 970-521-6889

Ladies Flight

The BMW Championship won’t be the only exciting golf happening in Colorado around Labor Day. On August 27, 28 and 29 at Green Valley Ranch Golf Club, 144 top female golfers will compete in the 20th edition of the HealthONE Colorado Women’s Open. The event, which has become extremely popular among collegians and players on the LPGA’s developmental Symetra Tour, provides a great opportunity to glimpse the future of women’s professional golf.

Scheduled during a Symetra off-week, the Open will attract such aspiring professionals as defending champion Becca Huffer, former DU standouts Katie Kempter and Dawn Shockley, Littleton’s Ashley Tait and Big Break champion and CU alumna Emily Talley. Other Symetra stars include Anya Alvarez, Madeleine Sheils and Elena Robles. At press time, Morgan Pressel’s sister, Madison, and Tiger Woods’ niece, Cheyenne, were scheduled to play but had not committed. Standout amateurs include Colorado Women’s Golf Asso-

18

Colorado AvidGolfer | August 2014

NAME THAT COURSE: The recently sold Northeastern 18 in Sterling.

RISING STARS: Huffer (top) and Talley

ciation Match Play and Junior Stroke Play Champion Jennifer Kupcho of Jefferson Academy and numerous collegiate players from Colorado and Wyoming.

“The HealthONE Colorado Women’s Open has become a must-play event for young ladies trying to compete against the best in the country who aren’t yet qualified for the LPGA Tour,” says Kevin Laura, CEO of the HealthONE Colorado Opens. “Symetra Tour players along with Cactus Tour and other developmental tour players see this event as a great field, great purse, fun format and professionally run option to gauge their game against those vying for a place at the LPGA table.”

A number of more experienced players will also be in the mix, although many of Colorado’s leading pros— Sherry Smith, Stefanie Ferguson and Elena King—will be competing August 24-27 in the LPGA Teaching & Club Professionals Championship at Château Élan Resort in Georgia.

Admission to the HealthONE Colorado Women’s Open is free to the public, and the event employs a ProAm format similar to that of the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am. For more information: coloradoopen.com; 303-486-8800. coloradoavidgo lf e r.c o m

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theGallery ROLL PLAYERS: Bandon’s Punchbowl Putting Course, co-designed by Denver’s Jim Urbina

CommonGround Golf Course has always been about breaking barriers and bringing more people to golf. The Colorado Golf Association partnered with renowned architect Tom Doak on the design of the golf course so that all golfers could enjoy the classic strategic elements of the game. Numerous programs endeavor to expose youth and families to golf. And with the opening of a new 18-hole Putting Course this spring, CGA executive director Ed Mate is looking to make ac-

FLATSTICK FUN: CommonGround’s new Putting Course.

cess to the game even easier.

“You know, you can putt for pretty much your entire life,” Mate says. “So we feel like we are taking away the age barrier. You don’t need any equipment—Ping has given us putters you can check out from the golf shop—so we’ve removed that barrier. You don’t need much time. That’s another barrier. The CommonGround Putting

20

Colorado AvidGolfer | August 2014

Course is truly furthering the mission of opening the game to everyone.”

When it unveiled the 22,000 square-foot Putting Course designed by Eric Iverson, CommonGround contributed to a trend led by golf meccas Pinehurst Resort, with its rollicking Thistle Dhu Putting Course, and Bandon Dunes Golf Resort, which opened the 2.5-acre Punchbowl Putting Course in May of this year. Of course, these putting courses have their roots at the home of the game, Saint Andrews, where the Himalayas Putting Course has served as home to the St. Andrews Ladies Putting Club since 1867 (the green is open to the public).

Denver resident Jim Urbina co-designed the heaving, rolling Punchbowl at Bandon. Urbina also has a long and fruitful relationship with CommonGround. He sees a trend developing, and he likes it.

“I think we as a game do it all backwards,” Urbina says. “The first thing we ask new golfers to do is the hardest thing of all— hitting full shots.

We don’t get to golf ’s greatest appeal—the social interaction with golfers—until we’ve lost half the people who try to learn the game. These putting courses, they get you right to the fun part. Anybody can putt, and you can be playing games and having fun within minutes. And yet you’ve got a framework for the game—the hole is the same size, you get a feeling for movement around a course.

It’s a great way to spend time together. People are laughing and having fun.”

Urbina also echoes Mate’s belief that putting eliminates an age barrier. “You know, my dad is well into his 80s. He can’t really make his way around the golf course anymore. But he can come out here and putt, and I brought him out here.

That we could share that time together, still playing golf and still rooting for each other and razzing each other—what could be better than that?”

While Thistle Dhu and Punchbowl have clearly marked “holes,” complete with tee markers that change from day to day, Mate and his staff are letting the CommonGround Putting Course find its own niche in the community.

“We’re watching how people use it,” Mate says. “I love the idea of an 18-hole Putting Course, but I also love to see people out there, just playing Horse or whatever, winner picks the next hole.

Or just seeing a family knock it around in the evening. It’s all about having fun and connecting with golf, making it easy for people to find their way in. If this Putting Course is doing that, then we’re doing something right.” —Tom Ferrell

PUTTER & SON: Architect Jim Urbina and his father, Art.

coloradoavidgo lf e r.c o m

P h o t o g r a p h s by Tim o t h y S c a h i l l ( Ba n d o n ) ; T o m F e r r e l l ( C o mm o n G r o u n d & U r b i n as ) .

The Village Green

theGallery

Golf by Numbers 52

19

Things to Consider at the Moment of Impact” subtitles Golf ’s Inner Game, a compendium of swing thoughts, tips and anecdotes generated by Snowmass Village’s Boone Schweitzer, the eccentric mind behind the successful Trashmasters Golf Tournament (which has generated nearly $2 million in scholarships since its 1993 inception).

Each nugget appears on a page of the pocketsized book, popping up like so many thoughts as you address the ball. Among them: “Stay loose” and “It’s not a gimme if you’re still away.”

Schweitzer says his “swing has more issues than People magazine,” and flipping through his breezy bagatelle, you can understand why. golfsinnergame.com; 970-923-2700

holes of match play decided the first Broadmoor Invitation played since 1995 at the Colorado Springs resort. The Denver-based team of Chris Hunt and Dave Lee scored a one-up victory over Brad Grogg and Mike Allred of Colorado Springs. “The reintroduction of this storied event could not have gone better,” Director of Golf Russ Miller said of the four-day competition. “I look forward to making it an annual affair.” broadmoor.com

75

years ago, with confectioner Chet Enstrom as chairman, the first Rocky Mountain Open took place at Grand Junction’s Lincoln Park Golf Course. The tournament has gone off every year since then, making it the state’s longest continuously running open golf tournament.

This year’s edition will take place August 1417 at Tiara Rado Golf Club and Bookcliff Country Club. Yet only a month earlier, a group led by Enstrom’s grandson-in-law, the Enstrom Candies president and owner Doug Simons, bought the event from the Western Colorado Golf Founda-

tion. Supporting the foundation’s scholarship mission but not the way it ran the RMO, Simons’ group will pay the WCGF $30,000 over the next three years for all rights to the tournament. “We naturally want to provide scholarships for worthy golf athletes and students,” Simons says. “But you have to nurture the golden goose first, not squeeze it to death.”

That nurturing has begun. Enstrom’s, which had title-sponsored the last few RMOs, will cease in that role in order to rebuild the RMO brand, which Simons believes will attract multiple sponsors, as well as support from area golfers. He has established the RMO as a 501(c)(4) and has quickly assembled a blue-ribbon board. Plans include reinstituting a pro-am and creating other events around the tournament. Monument Oil president and Colorado Golf Hall of Famer C. Paul Brown, who won the 1987 event as an amateur, will serve as honorary chairman. “It’s time to take the tournament to the pinnacle level it deserves to be,” he says. “It has a great tradition that we are passionate about continuing.” rmogolf.org

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high-school students from Jake’s Place, the not-for-profit junior golf mentoring facility founded

by PGA Professional Doug Wherry and housed at Lone Tree Golf Club, have received scholarships to play collegiate golf. Colorado Girls 5A champion Michelle Romano (Rock Canyon High School) will attend the University of Colorado Colorado Springs; Julia Kim (Rangeview) is heading to the University of Illinois at Chicago; Chris Korte (Regis Jesuit) will play for the University of Denver; and Kobe Padilla (Cherry Creek) is heading to the University of Colorado Boulder, to which he earned an Evans Scholarship and intends to make the men’s team roster.

“I couldn’t be more proud of these kids,” gushes Wherry, a one-time Cherry Creek and University of Texas El Paso star golfer who started the nonprofit academy after his professional competitive career stalled. Wherry was inspired by his mentor Jake Warde (after whom he named the academy) and Arnold Palmer, for whom he ran junior boarding school golf program in Florida. “Mr. Palmer pulled me aside during a staff meeting, grabbed me by the lapel and said, ‘Doug, it’s up to you to pass on the traditions of this wonderful game to the next generations…Promise me you will do this for me and all those who came before me.’ Jake’s Academy was born that day.”

Along with PGA professionals Tom Carricato

and Dustin Miller, Wherry mentors competitive junior golfers not only to become accomplished enough to receive scholarships to compete on the collegiate level; it also inculcates life lessons such as self-respect, integrity, honor, honesty, focus and discipline. ”Our curriculum develops and enhances junior golfers fully by teaching golf skills, physical fitness, mental development and success training, ethics and social skills,” Wherry says.

Other Jake’s alumni now competing in college include Gus Lundquist (University of Louisville), Zach Tripp (UCCS), Nick Berry (Colorado School of Mines) and Andrew

GREELEY GOOD: The conference champion UNC Bears.

2

consecutive trips to the NCAA Division I regionals in his first two years as men’s golf coach is the goal of University of Northern Colorado’s Roger Prenzlow. The Boulder native took the job after spending more than 30 years in Wyoming—first as the men’s golf coach at the University of Wyoming and then as the GM and director of golf at Old Baldy Club. UNC returns all but one player from last year’s America Sky Conference Championship squad. uncbears.com

A PIECE OF JAKE: Wherry preps students for college golf and life at Jake’s Place.

Romano and Jack Cummings (University of Northern Colorado). jakesplacegolf.org; 303-541-9159.

Get inside stories and more at coloradoavidgolfer.com CAG

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Alice Through the Looking Glass

An MS diagnosis has only fueled Vail Director of Golf Alice Plain’s passion for life—and for helping others do the same. By Jon Rizzi

M

oving briskly around the golf shop at Vail Golf Club, Alice Plain conveys a relaxed energy and confident authority that befits her role as PGA Director of Golf at one of the busiest courses in the Rockies. She strikes up easy conversations with regulars and supervises her staff with a collegial efficiency that’s ultimately reflected in the club’s 4:07 pace of play—an edict that even applies to golfers riding the popular Golf Bikes she introduced at the course this year.

The 47-year-old Plain often rides her bike to work and two years ago completed the Triple Bypass. She skis and plays

c o l oradoavi dgol f er. c om

hockey throughout the winter and actively embraces the outdoor life that drew her to Colorado more than 20 years ago.

Watching her play golf—which she did collegiately on the Oklahoma State University golf team and professionally on the Futures Tour before becoming a PGA member in 1993—you’d never know she suffered from multiple sclerosis.

What started as numbness in her legs in December 2005 soon began to manifest itself with blurred vision, fatigue and other symptoms of the disease that attacks the central nervous system and interferes with the transmission of nerve signals between the brain, spinal cord and other body parts.

Six months of MRIs, spinal taps and other tests later, she officially became one of the approximately 400,000 Americans with MS. Official estimates vary on how many Coloradans are afflicted—from one in 550 to one in 800—but the incidence is significantly higher here than in any state outside the Pacific Northwest.

Plain, however, clearly hasn’t allowed the disease to define her. Despite not being able to feel her legs some days, she continues to pursue her passion for teaching the game she grew to love as a girl in South Bend, Indiana. And after figuring out that stress exacerbated her MS symptoms, and that she could no longer relieve that stress August 2014 | Colorado AvidGolfer

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GETTING THROUGH: A slightly wider stance and Playeresque walk-through finish helps Plain stay balanced.

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Colorado AvidGolfer | August 2014

could come back. So I was real pleased with that.”

Plain also draws motivation from the PGA H.O.P.E. (Helping Our Patriots Everywhere), a sixweek program the PGA of America has launched to support veterans by introducing them to the therapeutic and rehabilitation benefits of golf. PGA Professional David Windsor from Florida’s Adaptive Golf Academy led the local training. “He really got me jazzed,” she says. “He had great ideas about working with people with all kinds of disabilities—veterans with prosthetics, missing limbs, and PTSD, as well as people of all ages afflicted with arthritis, cerebral palsy, cystic fibrosis and other physical conditions.” p h o t o g r a p h s by j e r e m y c a n ta l a m ess a

by exercising seven days a week, she learned to filter it in different ways. One way, she says, is by always walking and not keeping score on the golf course.

“The only competing I do is in charity events,” she says, “and that’s fine. I’m just happy to be outside.”

To accept just what she could accomplish on any given day is an approach Plain credits to working with the Avon-based Can Do MS program in 2008.

Started in 1984 by Jimmie Heuga, the Olympic skier who would not let a 1970 MS diagnosis prevent him from living a full life, Can Do MS provides classes for individuals afflicted with MS—and their partners—in exercise, nutrition and mental motivation to improve the physical condition and outlook on life.

“Jimmie was a huge inspiration for me,” Plain says of Heuga, who died in 2010. “I’d see him on his trike bike and Sit-Ski all the time. He truly changed the minds of neurologists who believed people with MS should limit their physical activity, and the Can Do MS program was extremely helpful to me and my partner, Shelli, to have a map of how to live life down the road.”

Plain obviously sees golf as part of that life. She’s learned, for instance, that a wider stance and “walkthrough” follow-through helps her better maintain balance. And because she loves to teach, she is committed to helping other “adaptive athletes” find joy in the game.

At Beaver Creek Golf Club this May, for example, she worked the entire day with Lori Bryant, a single-digit handicap who had quit the game she loved to play with her husband and sons shortly after being diagnosed with MS two years ago.

“I get tired a lot, my mobility is not very good, I have a lot of stiffness and a lot of numbness and can’t move my body very well,” Bryant said before her encounter with Plain. “I’m looking for how I can consistently strike the ball again.”

Understanding firsthand Bryant’s situation helped Plain connect with her student, and by the end of the daylong one-on-one lesson, Bryant was striking the ball with power and accuracy. “There were probably ten things I learned from Alice that we are going to practice back home,” Bryant effused at the end of the day. “It was awesome.”

Her husband, Randall, more than seconded that emotion. “You have to spend a lot of time trying to find your new normal,” he said, tearing up. “And our normal before had been playing golf together all the time. And today was a sign that that normal

SIT AND HIT: Plain demonstrates the tall tee.

One of the adaptive aids Windsor suggested and Plain has employed is the tall tee—“kind of like kids use in tee-ball,” she says—which she fashioned by cutting down a golf shaft and inverting the grip to create a pedestal from which a seated golfer (in a wheelchair, for example) strikes a ball with a shortshafted driver. “I can’t tell you how much fun it is for people to hit the ball off this thing,” she says excitedly before striping one down the range.

By finding her “new normal” and giving back to others with disabilities her gifts as a golfer, teacher and person, Plain serves as “an inspiration to all of us,” says PGA Colorado Section Executive Director Eddie Ainsworth. “The leadership she brings to our industry through her professionalism and positive attitude always makes her a joy to be around. What a great lady.” CAG Jon Rizzi is editor of Colorado AvidGolfer.

Can Do MS: mscando.org, 970-926-1290 PGA H.O.P.E.: adaptivegolf.org, 888-532-6662 Vail Golf Club: vailrec.com/vail-golf-club; 970-479-2260

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lesson 1

Making Your Own Breaks How ball position can help you sink those bending putts. By John Ogden

Front foot ball position for left-to-right break

O

ne of the biggest challenges the PGA Tour pros will face at this year’s BMW Championship is how to deal with the greens at Cherry Hills Country Club.

It is rare ever to have a straight putt from inside 10 feet on the William Flynndesigned course.

A great way to keep those difficult left-to-right and the right-to-left breakers is to adjust the ball position in your stance to help keep the ball on line. Try these techniques the next time you play. You will find yourself holing more breaking putts.

Left-to-right breaking putts: Move the ball slightly forward in your stance.

This enables the putter face to release earlier and help the ball stay on line and not miss on the low side of the hole.

Right-to-left breaking putts: Move the ball slightly back in your stance. This enables the putter not to release as much and not miss on the low side of the hole.

John Ogden is the Head PGA Professional at Cherry Hills Country Club, site of the 2014 BMW Championship. Among his many awards is the Colorado Golf Hall of Fame’s 2012 Golf Person of the Year. Find more lessons and helpful tips at coloradoavidgolfer.com .

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Colorado AvidGolfer | August 2014

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PHOTOGRAPH S BY J E R E M Y C ANTALAM E S S A

Center ball position for right-to-left break

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lesson 2

Rocky mountain low When the tee is already high, there’s no need to add elevation. By Ben Welsh Ben Welsh is the PGA director of golf at Eagle Vail Golf Club in Avon. He sits on the Colorado Section PGA’s board of directors. benwelsh@eaglevail.org; 970-790-1210.

G

olfers flock to the mountains not only to play amid the stunning beauty of dramatic peaks and rushing rivers, but also to see the ball fly farther at altitude. But altitude also presents the greatest challenge.

Though the air is thin and the ball may travel farther, the winds can be more unpredictable than they are on the Front Range, and when hitting from elevated tees, the ball is in the air a long time, allowing the wind to move it more than expected.

There’s also much more math involved in club selection. Most PGA Tour players say that the ball flies about 10 percent farther in Denver than at sea level, so up here in the mountains, I say about 15 percent longer than at sea level. So, your 150-yard club at sea level may go 165 up here, or from Denver, your 150 club may go 157. Then, you have to take a guess at how high you are elevated above the landing area, and how much yardage to subtract. Easy, right?

Take the 10th hole at EagleVail (below), a 197-yard par 3 that drops 185 feet from tee to green. From experience, I know the elevation makes this 197 play

more like 155-160 and the wind often blows left to right. My 155 club is 9-iron, but I will pull 8-iron and make an abbreviated swing to control the trajectory and spin, cutting through the crosswind. Here’s why and how…

The best strategy for golf at altitude is controlling the ball’s trajectory; flighting it lower than usual. The simplest way for the average golfer to control trajectory is just to take one more club than anticipated and make an abbreviated swing. This will allow the trajectory to be a little flatter, cutting through the wind rather than ballooning up in the air and blowing offline.

Similar to a true “knockdown shot” to hit the ball under a tree, you want not only to abbreviate the finish but also the backswing (photo 1). A shorter backswing slows the swing speed and reduces the amount of spin on the ball, also preventing the wind from affecting it. This why we take an extra club. A shorter follow-through (photo 2) with a slightly quieter wrist action should keep the shot lower and on line. Do not change your ball position. Keep it simple and just try to hit a lower, more penetrating shot.

1 p h o t o g r a p h s by J E R E M Y C ANTALAM E S S A

2

Find more lessons, helpful tips and videos at coloradoavidgolfer.com.

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Colorado AvidGolfer | August 2014

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PHOTOGRAPH C O U RT E S Y O F MO U NT MA S S I V E GOL F C O U R S E

Who’s Counting?

Is Mount Massive, Colorado’s oldest mountain course, really turning 75?

By Jon Rizzi

T

hey say numbers don’t lie.

But the “459” that the scorecard has as the black-tee yardage on the sixth hole at Mount Massive Golf Course shortchanges this Par 5 by 76 yards. Not that it much matters. At 9,640 feet above sea level—more than 500 feet lower than downtown Leadville, just four miles east—even a 3-wood can get you on in two from the elevated teeing area. Besides, watching your tee shot hover against the snow-shrouded fourteener from which the course takes its name amounts to a transcendent experience.

They say numbers don’t lie. But the “1939” published as the nine-hole course’s birthdate is a “stretch,” says General Manager Craig Stuller, who has also served as Mount Massive’s superintendent since 1989. “It’s a fuzzy number,” he says.

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Colorado AvidGolfer | August 2014

“People had been playing here on sagebrush and sand greens since the early Thirties.”

So even though it’s easily Colorado’s oldest mountain course, there’ll be no 75th Anniversary Gala at the course designed by Adolph Kuss?

“Actually,” Stuller says, “We credit Kuss because he was an important Lake County commissioner for 12 years and was a Leadville City Councilman and a member at Mount Massive forever. The reality is, a lot of people have their fingerprints on this course. Really, nobody designed it. It just happened.”

This means no two greens were built by the same person. “Some are rather plain and some have double tiers and breaks,” Stuller says, adding that a number of teeing areas are bigger than some greens, which average a scant 2,000 square feet and are protected by a grand total of 13 bunkers.

TARGET GOLF: Mount Massive looms beyond the sixth fairway.

The entire nine-hole par-36 tips out at 3,043 yards.

But small putting surfaces, minimal sand and short holes do not make for a cupcake course.

With less ground to maintain than most superintendents, Stuller keeps the course—especially the greens—in spectacular shape. “I have high maintenance standards,” he says. “Just ask my crew.”

And those conditions come into play more often than not. The course, which opens with a wide open 400-yarder before winding for six holes through stands of lodgepole pine spared by the dreaded beetle kill, favors the ground game more than the usual aerial attack. This doesn’t mean you shouldn’t trust your distance on the blind 148-yard second, or try to cut the corner on the No. 1 handicap third—a 390-yard dogleg left. But if you don’t drive the wee greens, bumping it on often affords a better chance at birdie than a high flop does.

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PHOTOGRAPHs C O U RT E S Y O F MO U NT MA S S I V E GOL F C O U R S E ( t o p ) , d o s r i o s g o l f c lu b a n d t h e c lu b at c r es t e d b u t t e

Mount Massive further distinguishes itself from other mountain courses by having no homes lining the fairways. A nonprofit organization owns the course, which mandates “low-cost recreation for locals while promoting economic diversity by providing an attractive amenity for tourists.”

Lake County residents pay $325 per year for unlimited golf, seniors $310.

“We live on tourist play,” says Stuller, who reports a prime time (9-3) ninehole round costs a mere $22; 18 is $40.

If you insist on riding, add $7 per nine holes. However, the course’s lack of TINY DANCE FLOOR: Massive these greens are not. elevation change and distance between The number that certainly doesn’t lie is greens and tees precludes the need for a cart—yet another point of distinction between it 20,000—that’s how many rounds the course sees during a season that lasts from mid-May and other mountain layouts. to mid-October. The appeal lies in Mount MasWhether its age is 75, 80 or 13 (the course finally installed state of the art irrigation in 2001) sive’s affordability and accessibility. As Stuller doesn’t amount to much. Neither does its quasi- puts it, “We’re the difference between Ski Coofeud with Copper Creek over which is North per and Vail Mountain.” CAG America’s highest course. (“There used to be a Jon Rizzi is editor of Colorado AvidGolfer. For more gentleman’s agreement,” jokes Stuller, who previously worked there. “Now the gloves are off!”) information: 719-486-2176; mtmassivegolf.com.

Happy Birthday

M

ount Massive’s exact “birth year,” like that of former PGA Tour player Tom Shaw (who suddenly aged four years to become eligible for the Champions Tour), was at least 75 years ago. A number of other courses are celebrating more verifiable anniversaries this year:

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Sunset Golf Course (Longmont)

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Dos Rios Golf Club (Gunnison) Grand Lake Golf Course (Grand Lake) Lake Valley Golf Club (Niwot)

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EagleVail Golf Club (EagleVail) Hollydot Golf Course (Colorado City) Dos Rios Golf Club Inverness Golf Club (Englewood) The Ranch Country Club (Westminster) Rollingstone Ranch Golf Club (Steamboat Springs)

30

Country Club of the Rockies (Edwards) Grandote Peaks Golf Club (La Veta) Las Animas Golf Course (Las Animas) Meridian Golf Club (Englewood) Plum Creek Golf Club (Castle Rock) Southridge Golf Club (Fort Collins) The Club at Crested Butte (Crested Butte) The Meadows Golf Club (Littleton)

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The Club at Crested Butte

August 2014 | Colorado AvidGolfer

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Colorado’s Southern Swing

BREW CREW: San Luis Valley Brewing Company’s spirited staff hops to it.

A moveable feast of beer, barbecue and Belgian chocolates.

By Gary James SAN LUIS VALLEY BREWING COMPANY

Dispensaries are grabbing the headlines, but Colorado continues to rank high in terms of gross beer production, thanks to the state’s 200 or so microbreweries. And there’s a gem in Alamosa—the San Luis Valley Brewing Company, where old floors, exposed brick and a 5,000-pound vault door serve as visual reminders of the 117-year-old building’s beginnings as the American National Bank.

Located just a mile south of Cattails Golf Course, SLVBC is owned by Scott and Angie Graber, who serve a versatile selection of six brews, ranging from the hoppy Grande River IPA to the creamy co l o r a d o a v i d g o l f e r. c o m

Ol’ 169 Oatmeal Stout, which honors the long-retired Denver & Rio Grande locomotive that once chugged through town.

Speaking of chugging, I found SLVBC’s Alamosa Amber smooth and easy to drink, with a balanced malt-to-hop ratio and a hazed crimson color. The unique creation is the Valle Caliente, a crisp, golden Mexican-style lager (think Corona) aged on Hatch Chile, a longtime staple of southern Colorado cuisine. It has the heady aroma of flame-roasted mild green chile, but not the spice, resulting in a most refreshing summer beer.

The Valle Caliente flavors the batter used on the Fish & Chips appetizer, and the Amber Ale laces the “secret recipe” Brewers Red Chili, which in turn finds its

way into the Chili Cheese Red Potatoes and Chili con Queso. If mayonnaisebased appetizers hold a special place in your heart, the Warm Spinach Artichoke Dip is a delectable blend of spinach, artichokes and cheese, served with tortilla chips and pita bread.

Entrees include a succulent baconwrapped Filet Mignon and fall-off-thebone Stout Braised St. Louis-style Barbecued Ribs. But the stars are the burgers, which come as half-pound hand-packed premium Angus beef patties, or you can opt for a veggie burger, or substitute Salazar local natural beef or bison from Zapata Ranch (not far from the Great Sand Dunes National Park and the former Great Sand Dunes Golf Course in August 2014 |Colorado AvidGolfer

41

sideBets

REMEMBER THE ALAMOSA: SLVBC’s Teriyaki Chicken Salad goes well with its chili-spiced beer.

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Colorado AvidGolfer | August 2014

sesame seeds, pineapple, carrots, and walnuts, much to my heart’s delight.

The brewery has recently branched into fresh roasted coffee beans in the ROAST Cafe next door. If they ever expand into cot rentals, I’ll never leave.

531 Main St., Alamosa; 719587-2337; slvbrewco.com

BOSS HOGG’S RESTAURANT & SALOON A vision of classic American eats can be found five minutes from the Pagosa Springs Golf

Club, right on the main drag in Pagosa Springs. Boss Hogg’s doesn’t look very fancy, but they’re happy to throw a little “slop” your way.

A menu with the backstory of the place (now run by daughter Ima Hogg, har har) complements the friendly but not overbearing service. Kids

running around at one table and date night at another. And you can sit by the fireplace.

Oh, and hearty, wholesome food. Boss Hogg’s house specialty brings to mind one of my two favorite meat/math jokes.

What is the first derivative of a

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P h o t o g r a p h s by M at t Bec k n e r

Mosca). Of the half-dozen or so offerings, I recommend the Smokehouse BBQ Burger— the “Simply Honey” chipotle BBQ sauce delivers the perfect sweet-heat combination, with beer-battered onion wedges, pepper jack cheese and a finishing touch of cabbage slaw.

Also of note are the sausage entrees sourced from Gosar Sausages in Monte Vista, a sixth-generation sausage maker that uses naturally grown meat and organic spices with no fillers, MSG, nitrites or gluten.

The Andouille Cajun Pork is sliced and served on wild rice with red and green peppers, onions and Southern au jus. It’s like Mardi Gras in your mouth.

Gosar’s savory chorizo finds its way into the delectable Southwest Chorizo Salad, one of a number of hearty meals masquerading on the menu as light leafy fare. Other culprits include the Steak & Spinach and Salmon salads—both served with bleu cheese crumbles along with the veggies. The crispy Teriyaki Chicken Salad, however, arrived on a spring mix with mandarin orange,

P h o t o g r a p h BY J E AN F OG E LB E RG

RARE TREAT: Boss Hogg’s Smoked Prime Rib.

cow? Prime rib!

Prime rib is not as forgiving as other smoked foods, such as brisket. When it comes to preparing this piece of meat, it’s not a matter of time as much as temperature. At Boss Hogg’s, the meat is slow smoked, making it even more tender. They don’t inject the meat, but they do season the outside heavily with a flavorful rub enriched by salt, herbs and spices. Mixed with the juices that are squeezed out by the heat, it dries to a beautiful, dark, crunchy, delicious bark—the smoke adheres to the crust and doesn’t penetrate too deeply, which enhances, rather than masks, the internal beefy flavor from the fat and the bone.

My order was perfectly cooked to mediumrare, the same desirable red color throughout the slice, served with a creamy, tangy horseradish sauce on the side.

Truly the best I’ve had in years. However, prime rib cannot be cut with a steak knife, because it is only divisible by itself and one.

Yeah, that’s the other joke.

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MOUSE’S CHOCOLATES & COFFEE On your way to a round of golf in Telluride or Montrose, you go through Ouray—and it’s worth fudging on your tee time to stop

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at Mouse’s Chocolates & Coffee, the winningest shop on Main Street.

John roasts coffee in an antique machine, a big bad-boy piece of equipment that leaves the younger generation to wonder about a process with no computer programming involved. His business partner Heidi, the chocolatier, makes everything by hand, using only Belgian chocolate (the gourmet standard, measured by the quality of ingredients and old-fashioned manufacturing steps).

Mouse’s offers a huge selection of chocolates, cookies, lattes and ice cream beverages (try the espresso shake). But the be-all and end-all is the Scrap Cookie. After making their confections, the leftover scraps are mixed with buttery sugar dough, which results in the most addictive cookie ever. Not too crispy, not too gooey, and no two bites are alike—there’s a yummy surprise with each one, bits of delicious goodness ranging from chocolate to toffee to nuts to dried fruit.

Heck, just rub it all over your body and dip yourself in milk...

520 Main St., Ouray; 970-325-7285; mouseschocolates.com. CAG Read more of Boulder-based Gary James’ food writing at coloradoavidgolfer.com.

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August 2014 | Colorado AvidGolfer

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sideBets

niceDrives

P h o t o g r a p h c o u rt esy o f L I N C OLN

The Comeback Kids The latest offerings from Lincoln and Volvo point to a return to prominence. By Isaac Bouchard

R

einvention is something most entities—whether corporate or merely human—must undertake at some point in their life. Even currently revered brands like Audi and BMW were once mired in mediocrity. Right now Lincoln and Volvo are trying for their own comebacks, and the Lincoln MKC and V60 represent the current state of their progress towards renewed greatness. Both look good enough to help drive prospective buyers into showrooms and offer enough driving pleasure to earn a spot in the garage.

LINCOLN MKC $42,560, 21 mpg combined Expectations run high for the MKC, and this crossover indeed represents the best interpre-

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tation yet of Lincoln’s new aesthetic, with a toned-down version of the winged-grill motif and an especially strong rear three-quarter view. You’d never suspect it rides upon a Ford Escape platform—and, frankly, that makes little difference, as the MKC projects an athletic, yet sophisticated and stylish stance.

That sophistication continues into the interior. While some thin, shiny plastics do appear, the vast majority of the MKC’s materials are high quality. French-stitched leather that’s soft and buttery appoints the cockpit, and the upper models’ leather-wrapped steering wheel connects the driver viscerally to the vehicle.

The Lincoln’s real buttons and knobs for the radio and climate control mark a welcome return to driver focus, and its various displays offer the kind of high tech-appearance and functionality drivers have come to expect and demand.

PERFECT DRIVE: The Lincoln MKC

MyLincolnTouch features touch-screen operation of the SUV’s infotainment system. Additionally, the MKC features an “always-on” smartphone connection through the standard MyLincoln Touch Mobile application, which provides owners remote access to the system.

The MKC boasts plenty of room for an active family. It seats five extremely comfortably and access to the spacious cargo area comes via a hands-free rear liftgate on top trim levels.

In terms of drivability, the MKC is close—or ahead—of the establishment heavy hitters. The MKC’s dynamics are unapologetically luxuryoriented; there’s no fake sportiness here. It rides really well in its standard suspension settings, and is generally very, very quiet. Some road surfaces elicit more road roar than necessary, but otherwise it moves with a polish more akin to what Lexus used to offer. Press the Sport button on the dash and it will tackle a back road with coloradoavidgo lf e r.c o m

sideBets SMOKIN’ SWEDE: The Volvo V60

Whether Ford is capable of providing economy and boost remains an open question.

Previous members of this engine family have only offered one or the other at any given time.

The MKC moves its passengers ahead with powerful, smooth acceleration and a terrific ride, and it propels Lincoln forward towards renewed and much appreciated relevance.

relax. escape.

ENJOY.

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Colorado AvidGolfer | August 2014

BEAVERRUN.COM | 800.288.1282

VOLVO V60 $42,225, 29 mpg combined While Americans may be hot for crossovers, those who are willing to contemplate a sports wagon will find the V60 one of the slinkiest sets of wheels in the midlevel luxury class.

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competence, and its steering and brake feel are excellent for the class.

An optional, all-new turbocharged four-cylinder engine propels the test MKC. Lincoln’s latest EcoBoost unit, in is sied at 2.3-liters, and puts out 285hp and 305lb-ft of torque. While a bit vocal when extended, it gives the MKC prodigious pace. There is also a 2.0-liter EcoBoost with outputs of 240/270 available.

high quality materials and super-comfy front chairs, the Volvo’s detailing is as carefully honed as its stance and proportions. Some of the aesthetic is due to the optional Sports Package (which gives you those wonderful seats and gorgeous 19-inch wheels), and with it comes a brittle ride quality over rough roads; best try both it and the standard suspension before deciding. Also, brake modulation needs some fine tuning to smooth out stops.

Thankfully, the V60’s steering is well calibrated; rarely is it bothered by the powerplant’s prodigious torque (which peaks at 280lb-ft in overboost mode), being linear and accurate in response. In these respects the V60 is like turbo Volvo wagons of twenty years ago: stout-running but a bit rough around the edges. However, it is quiet and refined, almost a match for the best cars in the class.

Like the MKC, the V60 has an all-new turbocharged four-cylinder engine. Its “Drive-E” powerplant’s 240 ponies and 258lb-ft of twist make it more than competitive in the horsepower wars. It is very refined and smooth running, unfortunately it can barely crack 20mpg in mixed driving, despite EPA ratings that are

much higher. The engine connects to slick sixspeed gearboxes; top competitors run at least one or two more ratios in their transmissions, which helps with real-world economy.

The Volvo loses a few points for its slow infotainment system, which will be replaced in the company’s forthcoming models with an amazing, bigscreen setup developed to interface properly with the new Apple CarPlay and Android Auto OSs. Finally, the V60 has decent back seat and cargo room; in size, it pretty well matches up with wagons from Audi and BMW—the only ones who ship them here them anymore.

Volvo knows the V60 will be a niche player, and therefore need not worry as much about wide acceptance. What the V60 does portend, in its style and usage of the new corporate engine, is what’s to come later this year, namely the all-new XC90; based on what we can see, touch and drive now, the company’s future is bright.

The Racer’s Edge During the decades I’ve played around racing cars, I’ve had to order my helmets and pretty much every other accouterment from out of state, and about half the time it doesn’t quite fit or perform correctly. No longer. Twenty-twoyear-old Sonoma-based Wine Country Motor Sports has opened its fourth retail shop right near Centennial Airport. Carrying everything from fire-retardant clothing and shoes to racing seats and harnesses, the store makes it possible to try before you buy. Pricing is nationally competitive and the staff very knowledgeable. 14 Inverness Drive East, Suite A-138, Englewood winecountrymotorsports.com; 800-251-8917.

CAG

Read more of Contributor Isaac Bouchard’s automotive writing at nicedrivz.com and coloradoavidgolfer.com.

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That 70

Show The PGA Tour is back, baby!

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coloradoavidgo lf e r.c o m

W

hen Dean Wilson edged

out Tom Lehman to win his first and only PGA Tour event at the 2006 edition of The International at Castle Pines, nobody knew eight years would pass before the P GA Tour would return to Colorado.

In 2006, the first FedEx Cup playoff was a year in the offing, but as we remember all too well, its advent played a major role in deleting the Centennial State from the PGA Tour schedule.

So it’s a bit ironic that the penultimate event of the FedEx Cup—the BMW Championship—is bringing the world’s best players back to the Mountain Time Zone. The timing is right, however, for a number of reasons.

If Castle Pines had hosted a 2007 FedEx Cup match, it would have associated itself—at great financial expense—with a system that initially endured the kind of criticism usually reserved for college football’s Bowl Championship Series. Factor in dearth of sponsorship dollars during the ensuing financial crisis, as well as the competition from football in terms of attendance and TV ratings, and you can understand the wisdom behind not rising to the Tour’s bait.

By contrast, today’s FedEx Cup reflects modifications in scoring and structure that have made each of the four events more intriguing, competitive, and relevant to the average fan. The economy has picked up; so have sponsorships.

Back in 2007, Tiger Woods so dominated the Tour that he split it into two tiers of events—the ones in which he played and those he didn’t. He didn’t even participate in the first–ever FedEx Cup event—the 2007 Barclays—yet still ran away with the FedEx Cup. Today, he’s scrambling to crack the field of 125 at the Barclays and eventually qualify for the BMW. The 70 players competing at Cherry Hills won’t be the same ones at the 2006 International. Sprinkled in among veterans like Phil Mickelson, Adam Scott, Sergio Garcia and Jim Furyk are exciting young gunners like Rory McIlroy, Bubba Watson, Jimmy Walker, Ricky Fowler, Martin Kaymer, Justin Spieth and Patrick Reed. With so many first-time winners this season, there’s more parity in golf than at any other time in recent history.

In addition to bringing these fierce competitors to Cherry Hills, what makes this year’s BMW Championship so special is its Western Open pedigree. The event spans parts of three centuries, beginning in 1899, and benefits the Western Golf Association’s Evans Scholarship program, which provides full-ride college tuition for caddies who demonstrate financial need. Cherry Hills has long supported the program—member and Tournament Chairman George Solich, who caddied at the Broadmoor, was famously an Evans Scholar—and six of the 46 Evans Scholars currently at the University of Colorado caddied at Cherry Hills, which has produced 35 Evans Scholars Alumni.

Those are all backstories. The best news of all is the BMW signals the return of a PGA Tour event to Colorado. And with the kind of show we’re capable of staging, it won’t take another eight years to stage the next one.

August 2014 | Colorado AvidGolfer

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When Traditions Merge

“

T

he major that never was.”

That’s how Arnold Palmer, who won the event the year after claiming the U.S. Open at Cherry Hills, describes the Western Open. And during much of the 20th century, it’s hard to argue with him. Begun in 1899, the Western Golf Association’s premier event enjoyed a prestige on par with that of the U.S. Open. Its list of champions includes Walter Hagen, Gene Sarazen, Byron Nelson, Ben Hogan, Sam Snead, Billy Casper, Jack Nicklaus, Tom Watson and Nick Price.

Sixteen states have hosted the Western Open (including Utah and even New York) but not Colorado. That is, until this year—the event’s eighth in its current incarnation as the FedEx Cup’s BMW Championship.

But the Centennial State’s connection to the event goes way back, years before Arnold

Andy North

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Palmer, to the Great War. The Broadmoor’s first head golf professional, Jim Barnes, won the event in 1914, ’17 and ’19 and one of his successors at the Colorado Springs resort, Ed Dudley, took the 1931 title.

Then there was Ralph Guldahl. The last of his three consecutive Western Open wins came in 1938, the same year he won the first U.S. Open contested at Cherry Hills Country Club.

That U.S. Open put the William Flynn-designed course

Jim Barnes

in the Rockies on the national golf map. Three years later, it hosted the PGA Championship, won by Vic Ghezzi in 38 holes of match play over Byron Nelson. Palmer, of course, charged into history there at the 1960 U.S. Open, and Andy North, now an ESPN golf analyst, won the first of his two U.S. Opens, despite an extremely shaky final hole.

Seven years later, Hubert Green edged Lee Trevino by two strokes at Cherry Hills to take the 1985 PGA Championship, his second major and the last of his 19 PGA Tour victories.

Colorado AvidGolfer | August 2014

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During this time, the Western Open had its share of midsummer moments. In 1962, it departed from its itinerant tradition to become a purely Chicagoland event, stopping at Medinah, Beverly, Olympia Fields and the Tam O’Shanter Country Club in Niles. It spent 19 years at the men-only Butler National Golf Club until PGA Tour policy required moving the tournament to Cog Hill Golf & Country Club. The Dubsdread Course at Cog Hill hostRalph Guldahl ed it from 1991 to 2006, during which time Tiger Dustin Johnson repeat? What Woods won it three times. about a Kevin Stadler stunner?

Tiger may or may not qualify The display will feature the for this year’s BMW, but Phil official name of the FedEx Mickelson, who won the 1990 Cup’s penultimate event, but U.S. Amateur at Cherry Hills for those with historical knowlprobably will. edge, it will show how the Lefty’s already enshrined in Western was won. the club’s Hall of Champions (which will unfortunately not be accessible to fans during the BMW), which features stirring displays from each of the club’s national championships, including amateurs: the 1976 USGA Senior Amateur (won by Lewis Oehmig), 1983 U.S. Mid-Amateur (Jay Sigel), 1990 U.S. Amateur (Mickelson) and 2012 U.S. Amateur (Steven Fox).

You can also relive Jack Nicklaus’ triumph over Tom Weiskopf in the 1993 U.S. Senior Open and Birdie Kim’s birdie chip-in on 18 to grab the 2005 U.S. Women’s Open title.

A display awaits the 2014 BMW Championship. Will it contain items from a successful Zach Johnson title defense? Can previous winners Tiger Woods Rory McIlroy, Justin Rose or coloradoavidgo lf e r.c o m

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10 Holes

Watch

to

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olorado Golf Hall of Famer Clayton Cole spent 17 years as the Head PGA Golf Professional at Cherry Hills—and, recently, played 18 holes there with FedEx Cup points leader Jimmy Walker, who praised it as a “a terrific gallery course; you can move from hole to hole.” Since you’re likely to be in that gallery, here’s a list of the 10 holes Cole considers the most pivotal.

3 323 yards | par 4 Everyone knows Arnie drove the first green in the ’60 Open, but this potential eagle hole will also have players licking their chops. Hitting driver, however, might put them through the green and into the creek. It’s better to be short and right. Left or long? Dead.

552 YARDS | PAR 4

The Tour cut a stroke from this hole, making birdie here a monumental accomplishment. Creek right, bunkers left and a bisecting cross-ditch squeeze the fairway off the tee. Players then need to hit a high, soft-landing long iron to carry a chasm of sand and hold the severely sloping green.

12

219 YARDS | PAR 3

Carrying the water isn’t as much of a problem as finding the right part—in every sense—of a green with a severe spine. Too far right puts players in the sand, and shots at a left pin could spin back into the drink. Long can go very wrong.

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7

415 YARDS | PAR 4

With half the field finishing on No. 9, this decision-filled dogleg left assumes greater importance. A long iron or fairway wood will keep it in the short grass and avoid the bunkers at the elbow. But players hovering around 30th place on Sunday will risk pulling driver.

13

430 YARDS | PAR 4

Deep grass mounds and a large fairway bunker pinch the landing area off the tee, and a creek crosses short of the green. Getting on in two isn’t as much of a problem as getting down in two on one of the course’s trickiest putting surfaces. colorado avidgo lf e r.c o m

P h o t o g r a p h s by R o b B r o w n / r OB BROWN P HOTOGRA P HY

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14 520 YARDS | PAR 4

This long two-shotter curls to the left, where a creek runs along the entire hole. Most drives will find the wide fairway but the downhill approach (probably a 5- or 6-iron) demands precision to avoid the creek and sizable bunkers left and right of a pitiless green.

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15 242 YARDS | PAR 3

The last of Cherry Hills’ one-shotters penalizes anything but a perfect shot.

Players hit downhill to a tiny green ringed by four bunkers. The ubiquitous Little Dry Creek will catch pulled or overdrawn shots. Patrons with Wadley Cup tickets can catch the action here.

17 544 YARDS | PAR 5 P h o t o g r a p h s by R o b B r o w n / r OB BROWN P HOTOGRA P HY

Seventeen’s island green produced the most putts at the 2005 U.S. Women’s Open. That was before a 2009 restoration removed the trees to add more intimidation. It also introduced two sets of cross-bunkers: the first 330 yards from the tee, the second, 405. Bubba might carry the second set, but most will lay up with hybrids or long irons. Then—possibly with the same club—60 percent will go for a green surrounded by three-inch rough.

16 441 YARDS | PAR 4

With the creek bisecting the fairway, players will likely lay up with a hybrid or fairway wood, leading to a delicate short iron shot into a severely sloping, angled green protected by a pair of large bunkers.

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18 487 YARDS | PAR 4

On this tough finisher, players need to carry as much of the lake on the left as they can without finding the right rough. The shorter the uphill approach, the better, as a pair of deep bunkers yawn in front of a green where three-putts aren’t uncommon. coloradoavidgo lf e r.c o m

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Wadley Worthy?

There may or may not be a Tiger in the field of 70, but these other big cats could pounce. By Marina Beach Jimmy Walker

It took the former Nationwide Tour Player of the Year 14 years as a pro and 187 PGA Tour starts to win his first PGA Tour event, this season’s Frys.com Open. He then proceeded to win two more times in his next seven starts, including this year’s AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am. The leader in FedEx Cup points for most of this season, he blistered the course during a practice round at Cherry Hills earlier this summer. Although casual golf fans couldn’t pick him out of a lineup, he’ll be one to watch.

Sergio Garcia The colorful Spaniard has quietly had one of his best seasons in years. Spending the majority of the year playing across the pond, he has made the most of his 10 appearances in the States, notching six top-10 finishes, including runner-up at the Travelers Championship and a third-place at The Players. The British Open runner-up could be due.

Phil Mickelson

The fan favorite returns to the site of his 1990 U.S. Amateur Championship. He and the course have both evolved significantly since then, but few players have Lefty’s short game and flair for escaping trouble—both skills that will prove critical at Cherry Hills.

Zach Johnson

What the defending BMW Champion lacks in driving distance, he more than makes up for in accuracy, finding the fairway more than 70 percent of the time off the tee—good enough for sixth in the world. If he places his tee shots to give himself the best angle into the green (a must at Cherry Hills), he could go very low.

Bubba Watson

Justin Rose

The Englishman is having a stellar season, putting up back-to-back wins at Congressional and Castle Stuart going into the British Open at Hoylake. His crisp iron play and skillful course management will serve him well on Cherry Hills’ old-school thinking man’s layout.

Henrik Stenson

Ranked ninth in FedEx Cup points going into last year’s playoffs, the sweet-swinging Swede rode victories in the Deutsche Bank and Tour championships to capture the 2014 FedEx Cup. The world’s No.2-ranked golfer has only competed in a handful of PGA TOUR events this season, focusing more of his time on the European Golf Tour, whose championship he also won last year. He might be peaking at just the right time.

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Colorado AvidGolfer | August 2014

Jordan Speith

The hotshot Texan has not won another event since taking last season’s John Deere at age 19. But he’s comfortably positioned in the FedExCup rankings with seven top-10 finishes, including two runner-ups. Spieth has demonstrated poise and consistency in big tournaments. Don’t be surprised to see his name near the top of the leaderboard and in one of the last groups on Sunday.

Rory McIlroy

Known for his talent and ability to perform well under pressure, this year’s wireto-wire British Open champion has steadily climbed back into form since making big changes in his equipment, management and relationship. He’s been a birdie machine on both the European and PGA Tours this season, and his previous performances in FedExCup events—he won both the 2012 Deutsche Bank and BMW—suggest a strong showing at Cherry Hills. coloradoavidgo lf e r.c o m

P h o t o g r a p h s c o u rt e s y o f t h e P GA TOUR a n d G e t t y I m ag e s Sp o rt

Expect big drives and big galleries when golf’s new favorite lefty is in the box. With two first place finishes early on—one coming at the tight, classic, treelined Cherry Hills-esque layout at Augusta—Mr. Pinkshaft stands more than a puncher’s chance to win the Wadley. He also might outdrive the green from the Palmer tee with a 3-wood.

Adam Scott

Since surpassing Tiger Woods for the number one world ranking, Scott has been taking it easy with his number of tournaments in the States. The end of May and beginning of June were stellar for the Aussie; winning in a playoff at the Crown Plaza Invitational at Colonial, and two top ten finishes at the Memorial Tournament and U.S. Open.

Can the number one player hold his position?

OPEN

Players to Keep an Eye On… Rickie Fowler Hard not to like because of his sartorial fluorescence and radiant game, which is rounding into form at the right time.

If you think shorter means easier, consider this your invitation.

P h o t o g r a p h s c o u rt e s y o f t h e P GA TOUR a n d G e t t y I m ag e s Sp o rt

Dustin Johnson Challenging, links-style course where your only views are of mountain and sky.

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Paulina Gretzky’s fiancé can drive it clear to Wyoming and has the short game to get home quickly.

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Colorado AvidGolfer | August 2014

Martin Kaymer Like BMW, he represents the finest in German engineering. As we saw at this year’s U.S. Open, he is more than the ultimate driving machine; he can chip and putt, too. coloradoavidgo lf e r.c o m

P h o t o g r a p h s c o u rt e s y o f t h e P GA TOUR a n d G e t t y I m ag e s Sp o rt

Tiger Woods Heading into the British Open, he ranked 87 spots and 333 points from the cut to qualify for the FedEx Cup playoffs. “The way this point structure is, you can make up ground pretty quickly with some wins,” he said before teeing off at Royal Liverpool. For that the BMW organizers are secretly hoping.

Matt Kuchar Immensely likeable, solid player but can break your heart on Sunday’s back nine.

Patrick Reed He’s still learning the definition of humility but there’s plenty to like about his game.

Keegan Bradley Strong performances on the tough-toread greens at Pinehurst and The Greenbrier this season suggest he could very well anchor-putt his way to a win, especially with a local, Pepsi Hale, on the bag.

Kevin Stadler The hometown hero has had a breakout season. Keeping his emotions from getting the best of him will be key. co l o r a d o a v i d g o l f e r. c o m

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August 2014 | Colorado AvidGolfer

61

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What They’re Playing For

Championship Golf Champions a Cause

By Marina Beach

E

nergy entrepreneur and BMW Championship General Chairman George Solich claims the Evans Scholarship “really changed the total course of my life.” So do John Deere CEO Sam Allen, radio personality and attorney Dan Caplis, Kimberly-Clark CEO Tom Falk and Carlyle Group Operating Executive Mary Petrovich.

These business leaders represent some of the 9,800 alumni of the Chick Evans Caddie Scholarship Program, which began by awarding two scholarships in 1930 and now ranks as the nation’s largest scholarship program for golf caddies. More than 840 deserving caddies across the country currently attend 19 universities as Evans Scholars. Established by famed amateur golfer Charles “Chick” Evans, Jr., the program provides full housing and tuition, with deserving students receiving $12.7 million during the 20132014 academic year. To date the program has awarded $305 million in scholarships.

The Western Golf Association administers the Evans Scholarship foundation, and also manages the BMW Championship, a premier TOUR event that un-

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til 2007 was known as the Western Open. The BMW is one of only four tournaments on the PGA TOUR schedule with one beneficiary. All tournament proceeds benefit the Evans Scholarship Foundation, giving students educational opportunities and connections. Over 92 percent of Evans scholars graduate and several have bloomed into top executives and directors in the workforce.

Among them are Solich and his older brother Geoff. They so valued their Evans scholarships at the University of Colorado— and the caddie experiences that supported them—that they formed the Solich Caddie and Leadership Academy at CommonGround Golf Course in 2012.

Here are some other local highlights.

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T H E

values of the game when I began caddying at 12. Receiving the Evans Scholarship made it possible to go to a great university like CU. Living in the Eisenhower house introduced me to 40 brothers and sisters.

It taught me to be a responsible housemate and led the way to a great first job as Caddie Master at Castle Pines Country Club.”

Ryan Pellet

Senior Vice President at Nexidia University of Colorado, 1995

“I am so thankful I got involved with caddying at Denver Country Club because it taught me discipline and respect toward others. Caddying is about serving others and to enhance the golfer’s round. Without the Evans Scholarship, college wouldn’t have been possible.

I am forever grateful to have been awarded the scholarship because it allowed me to focus on school, instead of worrying about finances. Today, it has opened up doors for me to continue a career in the golf profession.”

“Golf tests integrity, focus, strategy, how to learn from and move on, social skills, generosity, and even humility. Caddying granted me access to people who had mastered a lot of these things both professionally and on the golf course. The Evans Scholars Houses are unlike any other collegiate scholarship or program. From the first day, you live with a family of other Evans Scholars peers that are interested in your successful transition to college. There’s a longstanding tradition of support to make sure your peers take full advantage of the opportunity. The Evans Scholarship welcomes you into a lifelong family. The alumni continue to look out for each other.”

Kevin Laura

Jeremy Stroiman

Ed Mate Executive Director, Colorado Golf Association University of Colorado, 1988

CEO, First Tee of Green Valley Ranch and Colorado Open Foundation University of Colorado, 1985 “Caddying at Valley Hi Golf Course in Colorado Springs allowed me to get involved in golf at an early age. I started playing golf around six years old, but really learned to respect the

Colorado AvidGolfer | August 2014

and me when she was 20 years old and raised us solo. I remember to this day the time she came home from work and told us she learned a way for us to go to college. We started caddying that summer. The scholarship impacted us so much that we named our company after the scholarship. Everything we have been blessed to have in life is a result of the scholarship: education, friends, family (my wife is an Evans Scholar), and business.”

Chief Executive Officer Evans Senior Investments (Boulder) Indiana University, 2003 “Receiving the Evans Scholarship was everything. Due to financial restraints, I wouldn’t have been able to attend college without the scholarship. My mother had my twin brother

Jay Reseigh Executive Director at Ernst & Young University of Colorado, 1998 “Caddying introduced me to hard work at a young age.

Those early mornings on the course taught me when and how to converse with a variety of leaders and senior executives, which later became guidance counselors for school and future careers. One of my best friends and lifelong mentors was an Evans Scholar. He helped me land my first job, has always made time to help me think through critical career decisions, and has provided an abundant number of lessons learned over the years. I have always felt a significant debt of gratitude to everyone who helped me receive the scholarship. The drive not to let those people down helped push me through school and ultimately shaped my career. Today, I make it a priority to assist the Evans Scholarship Foundation in any way possible.” colora do avidgo lf e r.c o m

Tom Woodard Director of Foothills Golf University of Colorado, 1978 “I grew up in a family of seven. At first caddying allowed me to earn some money. But then I realized I was caddying for regulars who were great players, including City Park’s club pro. I knew from that point on, I wanted to become a golf professional. The Evans Scholarship really fell in place for me. Instead of hearing about it and working toward the requirements, I had already completed all of the criteria prior to knowing what the Evans Scholarship was. I am forever grateful for the scholarship; it gave me everything later in life. I had the opportunity to play four years on CU’s golf team with a full ride (which is rare to receive in men’s golf ) and I had a home away from home living in the Eisenhower-Evans house. Academically, I decided to major in business with a focus in marketing because I thought it was the closest thing to managing golf courses. My education prepared me for life.”

Schedule of Events

BMW Championship at Cherry Hills Country Club September 1-7, 2014

Monday, September 1 Evans Scholars Cup (Course Closed to Public) Tuesday, September 2 Professional Practice Rounds Wednesday, September 3 Gardner Heidrick Pro-Am

Thursday, September 4 BMW Championship Round 1 Friday, September 5 BMW Championship Round 2 Saturday, September 6 BMW Championship Round 3 Sunday, September 7: BMW Championship Final Round

Asni Solomon

Sophomore, University of Colorado “Being a caddie requires you to acquire skills that are essential to your life later down the road—respecting authority, hard work, perseverance and communicating effectively with others. I was able to learn how to communicate with others in a respectful setting and work with peers around me to develop teamwork skills. I hope the Evans Scholarship will instill me the ultimate message that hard work and dedication pays off, and furthermore, that hard work does not end once you receive a full ride scholarship. Whether as a caddie on the golf course or a full time college student juggling work and school, perseverance and dedication are valuable skills that will always follow me, especially as I pursue my dream of attending medical school and becoming a pediatrician.” co l o r a d o a v i d g o l f e r. c o m

August 2014 | Colorado AvidGolfer

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GOIN’ TO Want to mess around? From world-class golf and trout-fishing to heli-skiing, hunting, riding, skating and much more, Wyoming’s Snake River Sporting Club overflows with Outdoor opportunities.

by Jon rizzi

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JACKSON

J

Johnny Cash wasn’t one for golf, and “Jackson”—his 1960s hit that has earwormed me on the hour-long flight from Denver to Jackson Hole—evidently isn’t too keen on the game, either. The song’s two-quarter signature is messing around with my finely-tuned three-quarter-time swing tempo.

At least that’s the excuse I give my playing partner, PGA Head Professional Kali Quick of Snake River Sporting Club, after starting my round there with three consecutive bogeys and going OB on the short, par-3 fourth.

“Great song,” the 28-year-old LPGA Q-School Finalist says after singing a verse herself. “Too bad it’s about Mississippi.”

While this could explain why my game went south between the range and first tee, it also means it has nowhere to go but up.

Which it eventually and mercifully does, approaching a respectable degree of harmony with this masterful Tom Weiskopf Signature layout in the Snake River Canyon, less than 20 scenic miles from my plush room in downtown Jackson’s historic Wort Hotel.

Driving into Snake River Sporting Club’s 554-acre property, you immediately know golf is but one of its myriad member amenities. If the sign for the heliski pad doesn’t tip you off, then maybe those pointing towards the equestrian center, archery course, skeet range, Frisbee golf course, and Nordic skiing and biking trails will.

As the river comes into view, kayakers, rafters and stand-up paddleboarders share the currents with anglers casting for the Snake’s fine-spotted cutthroat trout. A pair of deer crossing the road suggests

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hunting expeditions in adjoining wilderness areas known for elk, bear and the occasional mountain lion.

And of course, there are the cars of craftsmen finishing off the spectacular homes marketed on real estate signs. By the time you reach the homey clubhouse appointed with original art from Jackson’s Altamira Gallery, it’s no surprise that in addition to fitness facilities and delectable dining, the 26,000-square-foot building houses a “Sports Shop” that stocks putters and golf polos alongside bike jerseys, waders and fly rods.

SRSC is a four-season club but golf, which members first played here in 2006, has returned after a financially imposed hiatus. Reopening this spring, the 7,533-yard course deftly straddles a prime stretch of the club’s six miles of private river access and 3.5 million acres of the adjacent Bridger Teton National Forest, with verdant woodlands and bosky wetlands respectively distinguishing the front and back nines.

On the front, spruces, firs and pines spill down from the forested mountainside to comingle with riparian willows and cottonwoods. This lushness shields each hole from the next while simultaneously weaving them into an oeuvre of a piece with its surroundings.

The No. 1-handicap par-4 third, for example, which chutes through a narrow corridor of conifers and cottonwoods, leads to a fall-away green near a shed that steers you towards the sylvan fourth tee. There, you can fill your water bottle directly from Lamb Spring and hear the yips and yodels of coyotes echoing off the canyon walls.

A respect for natural habitat informs the design, as well as your club selection on the par-four eighth, where water at the end of

Colorado AvidGolfer | August 2014

LEFT LEDGE: The hazardous, bunkerless 15th.

the fairway takes driver out the hands of most players and leaves them with a hybrid approach.

Quick thinks this should be the No. 1-handicap hole.

Known for his drivable Par 4s, Weiskopf put two on the front: the 317-yard second and 378yard fifth. Those distances are from the tips, called Snake tees.

From the shorter fly-fishing inspired Caddis, Wulff and Midge tees, double-digit players can also reach, especially at more than a mile above sea level.

The turn to the back nine ascends towards the bench on which Snake River’s clubhouse perches with the teeing area for No. 10 just below. Both spots offer similarly jaw-dropping views of the course, river, lush valleys and the ridged rear of Munger Mountain. Although far more open than the front nine, the back compensates for its lack of trees with an abundance of water and architectural sleights that prompt disbelieving reshoots with your Rangefinder.

The distance on No. 11 is indeed all of 635 yards from the Snakes, and presents a scoring opportunity if you carry the stream (200 yards) and the bunkers (290). It’s followed by what

Quick and General Manager Jeff Heilbrun reluctantly (because they like them all) call the “signature hole”—the 233-yard 12th, which sits on flat land and requires carrying a winding latticework of elevated cart paths and tortuous creeks to reach a green framed stunningly by the mountains and guarded by a steep bunker on the left.

An eagle awaits on the next hole—a bald one that has its nest in the tree near the tee—and another rare bird comes two holes later in the form of a bunkerless, 205-yard Par 3. The 15th sports a harsh ledge left of the green that drops a good 20 feet, and with one of the best fishing stretches of the river riffling a few feet away, you might opt to wet a line with one of the rods that lay beside the chairs along the bank.

Just don’t miss the trio of stunners—a pair of opposite dogleg Par 4s and a 592-yard finishing hole—that climax what Weiskopf called his “finest work to date.”

The editors of Golf Digest must agree, because when Snake River opened in 2007, it trailed only Sebonack Golf Club—the Tom Doak/Jack Nicklaus Hamptons collaboration—on the magazine’s list of best New Private Courses. coloradoavidgo lf e r.c o m

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But whereas Sebonack would go on to host a U.S. Women’s Open, SRSC went on to host lawyers, lienholders and other horsemen of the financial apocalypse and fell into foreclosure in 2010.

However, in 2013 the Atlanta real-estate investment firm Cygnus Capital bought the distressed 257-acre property with the full intention of “repositioning it and reinvesting in it,” says Cygnus principal Christopher Swann.

Did it ever. Cygnus invested an additional $11.5 million to finish and furnish the clubhouse, revitalize the golf course and build out the amenities and real-estate offerings, which include the stunning 3,750-square-foot Martin Creek Cabins. Among the 68 homes and lots currently offered, each cabin features four bedrooms and more than 800 square feet of covered, elevated decks overlooking the creek. Aspen’s Poss Architecture designed the high-ceilinged, timbered buildings, and WRJ Design polished

the interiors with, among other materials, rare granite countertops and tiles, knotty alder doors and cabinets and sawn oak floors.

The cabins run $2.5 million.

Cygnus also more than doubled the size of the property—from 257 to 554 acres—by additionally purchasing the adjacent River Bend Ranch and the 7,700-square-foot home that now sits on a 35-acre lot and lists for $6.5 million. Lots on the property range in price from $550,000 to $950,000 and include club membership.

To manage Snake River’s reinvention, Cygnus hired Heilbrun— a longtime Jackson resident who had served as COO of nearby Teton Pines Resort & Country Club before taking a similar position at North Carolina’s elite Wade Hampton Golf Club.

“Our goal is to provide the entire Jackson Hole experience in a private club setting,” he says over lunch on the sprawling clubhouse deck. “All that’s miss-

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WELL-APPOINTED: SRSC’s intimate clubhouse.

ing are the people, restaurants and the shopping—all of which is only 15 minutes up the road.”

And if, like most people, you want to ski Jackson Hole, Snake River membership includes access to an on-mountain ski club that offers 25 lockers, valet parking and breakfast and lunch right next to the new tram at the Jackson Hole Mountain Resort.

“We have a youthful energy— not in age but in attitude,” Heilbrun continues. “It’s adventurous and independent.” Hiring the 28-year-old Quick to run the

golf operation directly reflects that philosophy, as does the protean energy of Outdoor Pursuits Director Will Hobbs, an affable sportsman who took this visitor on an entertaining gauntlet of shooting clays, bow-hunting lifelike woodland creatures (including a velociraptor) and floating along the Snake. The June visit put us “about two weeks out from fishing,” according to Hobbs.

That, naturally, doesn’t stop the blue herons, hawks and eagles from hovering, or a flock of pelicans from perching on a shoal.

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ABOUT A TROUT: Casting a line on the Snake.

“Foam is home,” Hobbs memorably says about the hard-seam bubble line where bugs and fish converge. “That’s where the groceries get delivered.”

To deliver members to the resurgent club, Heilbrun and Membership Sales Manager LB Haney have taken novel approaches. Not wanting to poach from area clubs, they have set up a multi-club membership program whereby a member at, say, Teton Pines, can add a SRSC membership for $35,000, plus $8,625 in annual dues (reduced from $60,000/$11,500), provided they remain a member at the other club.

A very attractive option for Colorado residents (and anyone who does not own or rent property for more than two weeks a year within 200 miles of Jackson Hole) is the National Membership. For a $3,000 initiation and $5,750 in annual dues, you and three guests get 15 days of golf between Memorial and Labor days, plus full access to all club amenities. This membership also comes with a legacy benefit that reduces heir initiation by 50 percent.

“We have $100 million in assets here, so we don’t need initiations to cover capital costs,” Heilbrun explains. This results in a tremendous value proposition for Front Range residents, especially when you consider the frequency and price of the short flight from Denver to Jackson as compared to the fuel-wasting congestion on I-70. Factor in the glorious location and smorgasbord of amenities—especially the golf, skiing and fishing—and you have a pretty good argument to become a national member.

Don’t think it’s worth the trip? Trust me, by the time you return from Jackson, you’ll be singing a different tune. CAG Presented by

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Colorado AvidGolfer | August 2014

See page 44 for details.

Wednesday, September 10

Jon Rizzi is the editor of Colorado AvidGolfer.

For more information: srsportingclub.com; 307733-3444. Frontier and United offer dozens of flights daily. Among the choice places to stay and eat in Jackson are the Wort Hotel (worthotel.com; 800-322-2727), The White Buffalo Club and Restaurant (whitebuffaloclub.com; 888-256-8182) and Trio Bistro (bistrotrio.com; 307-734-8038). coloradoavidgo lf e r.c o m

Weekday Mornings

5am - 9am

Golf

rom Jimmy Walker to Patrick Reed to Chris Kirk to Kevin Stadler, the PGA Tour’s first wraparound season has seen an unprecedented number of first-time winners. With all the fresh faces, the FedEx Cup standings are less of a Who’s Who than a Who’s That? And many of these top pros share a name with other fairly famous individuals. Can you identify each pro and his name-fellow?

1

A

2 B

TRIVIA

|

PUZZLERS

games Of

Jimmy Walker, Meet Jimmy Walker F

3

4

D

C

5

E

F

6

For the answers and to submit any other connections, visit coloradoavidgolfer.com.

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Colorado AvidGolfer | August 2014

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