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BY DANIEL B. GLOVER SOME KIDS grow up with toy cars and baseball—Mike Folsom had moving vans and corrugated boxes. For as long as he can remember, Folsom has been a part of the moving business, a connection he came by honestly—his mother, Maxine, was one of the founders of Cowboy Moving & Storage, which has been in business for more than 50 years and today is run by Mike and his wife, Sheri Gail. “The lessons she taught me were all about honesty and integrity,” Mike says. “Those are the things we still try to live up to today.” Mike says he can recall moving families along
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Orchard Road— which wasn’t the smooth thoroughfare of today, but rather, literally a dirt road. Similarly, he adds, there was no C-470, E-470, or any other 470 of the alphabet to be found. But somehow, Folsom and his staff of movers, which has now grown to more than 40 people, have managed to satisfactorily transport families—and all their prized possessions—from here to there, more often than not, with nary a hitch.
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CONTENTS | Fall 2020 DEPARTMENTS 8 Forethoughts
A Wary, Weary Co-Existence By Anthony Cotton
10 The CGA
Finding the Silver Lining By Ed Mate
13 The Gallery
Rizzi’s New Job, Summer Memories, Whither the Denver Golf Expo, CAGGY voting.
76 Blind Shot
What, Me Worry?
PLAYER’S CORNER 21 Profile
Breaking Trail at Saddleback Golf Club By Andy Bigford
23 Play Away
Play the horses at Flying Horse North. IMAGES COURTESY OF GOLFTEC
64
By Jon Rizzi
26 Fashion
Find the perfect gear for a fall getaway. By Suzanne S. Brown
FEATURES
SIDE BETS
64 TEChnical Advancement
29 Fareways
The ABC’s of elevating the grilled cheese to sandwich glory. By John Lehndorff
32 Nice Drives
GOLFTEC started in a basement—now, after 25 years, it’s known around the world. And with new innovations on the horizon, the future looks bright. By Anthony Cotton
Chevrolet Bolt, Hyundai Sonata,
Volvo S60, Ram 1500, Mercedes-Benz Sprinter 2500. By Isaac Bouchard
68
72
Bring the Payne! With Payne’s Valley, Tiger Woods’ first public course, Branson has truly arrived as a golf destination. By Jon Rizzi
ON THE COVER
SPECIAL SECTION
Joe Assell at GOLFTEC
35 GETAWAYS
Photograph by E.J. Carr
Headquarters in Englewood. COLORADO AVIDGOLFER | Fall 2020
PHOTOGRAPH COURTESY OF BIG CEDAR LODGE
Colorado Golf’s Greatest Rivalry Kim Eaton needs one win to become the winningest woman in state history; nobody wants her to get it more than Kris Franklin. By Jon Rizzi
The best places to play in Arizona, Nevada and Utah—plus a Troon Golf special section.
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Fall 2020 | Volume 19, Number 6 president and group publisher
A llen J. Walters founding editor
Jon Rizzi
SALES, MARKETING & ADVERTISING associate publisher
Chris Phillips
vp of sales and marketing
Lori Perr y
sales director
Mike Car ver digital strategist and content manager
Ben Champion
office and operations manager
Cindy Palmer
projects and special events manager
Melissa Holmberg ART & EDITORIAL
CAST THE MOST IMPORTANT BALLOT (IN GOLF).
editor
Anthony Cotton creative director
Jani Duncan Smith art director
Chelsea Oglesby editor - at- large
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Vote for the BEST IN COLORADO GOLF: Public & Resort Courses, Private Clubs, Instruction, Travel and more.
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Suzanne S. Brown contributors
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Colorado AvidGolfer (ISSN 1548-4335) is published eight times a year by Baker-Colorado Publishing, LLC, and printed by Publication Printers Corp. Volume 19, Number six. 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 © 2020 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. magazine partner of choice :
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A Wary, Weary Co-Existence PHOTOGRAPH BY JAMIE SCHWABEROW/CLARKSON CREATIVE
Stan Fenn & Doug Perry
Forethoughts
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COLORADO AVIDGOLFER | Fall 2020
IT IS A TRICKY line to walk these days, being a lover of golf in 2020 amid the novel coronavirus. You walk into a pro shop wearing a mask—a tacit acknowledgment that the horrific disease that has savaged the world is still very much in our midsts—only to remove it and revel in the sunshine and fresh air and freedom afforded by nine or 18 holes, where, more often than not, the only misery you’ll find is the shanked iron approach that sends that new Pro V1 careening to the bottom of the pond. That is, if you can even get to the first hole—golf was one of the first outlets available to the public at the outset of the pandemic, and, months later, that hasn’t changed; this entire season, tee sheets across Colorado have been more engorged than Bryson DeChambeau after his fifth protein shake of the morning. Every day brings a new pronouncement on how “big” golf is: in late September, Golf Datatech reported that the number of rounds played in August were more than 20 percent higher than in 2019, the greatest increase in a peak-season in 20 years. This comes after an increase of approximately 17 million rounds, year-over-year, in June and July. According to the state’s Guru of Golf, Ed Mate of the Colorado Golf Association, membership in that organization is the highest it’s been in more than a decade. But you have to wonder how golf’s movers and shakers feel about the dichotomy that’s seemingly at play—is there any sense at all that these suddenly-bulging coffers are some sort of ill-gotten gain? Or is there gratefulness that golf has perhaps been able to provide a pathway for some of us to escape the disheartening relentlessness that the pandemic represents everywhere but those four hours out on the course? Just like so much of life these days, the coronavirus is omnipresent, lurking throughout this issue: Two pages down from this space, Mate addresses the topic from his, as well as the CGA’s perspective; on page 16, you can read about how COVID-19 has infected the preparation for the weekend that sends a Colorado golfer’s heart racing every new year—the Denver Golf Expo. As it turns out, the pandemic has been, in the words of CEO Joe Assell, the fourth crisis that GOLFTEC, the Colorado-based giant, has faced in its 25-year existence. As was the case with the others—remember when you went to Golfsmith to get a tuneup from one of its pros?—the company appears to be bouncing back stronger than ever. Just like your local muni, GOLFTEC is shattering records, seeing more customers than ever before. In this issue’s cover story, on page 64, we look at its journey from two men noodling around with a computer in the basement of Cherry Hills Country Club to an enterprise that has given an astounding 10 million golf lessons and club fittings. As we inch towards—hopefully—a return to normalcy, perhaps you’ll decide that it’s time to return to travel and test your game somewhere away from the Centennial State. Well, we have some ideas about that—Branson, Missouri, for example, was very good to Coloradan Shane Bertsch in August; the Parker resident won there on the PGA TOUR’s Champions circuit. On page 72, we look at what’s rapidly becoming one of the premier golf destinations in the U.S., one that you should make a point of visiting. However, should your tastes lean more towards the tried-and-true, we’ve got you covered as well. On page 35, you can do a deep dive into our Getaways travel section, which offers a guide to some of the best golf—as well as other activities—in Arizona, Nevada and Utah. As far as escapes from global malaises go, an avid golfer could do a lot worse. — ANTHONY COTTON
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The CGA SERVING ALL COLORADO GOLFERS
Finding the Silver Lining Here’s to continued growth for golf—minus the pandemic. By Ed Mate, Executive Director/CEO Colorado Golf Association THIS IS THE TIME of year when golf administrators from around the country would normally be gathering in a warm-weather climate for the meeting of the International Association of Golf Administrators (IAGA). This year’s conference, like so many of our normal business and educational activities, will be conducted virtually. One of the persistent themes of the conference are discussions around strategies to “grow the game.” I have attended the IAGA conference for over 20 years and I have never once heard someone suggest a global pandemic as a strategy to accomplish this goal! And yet, here we are—looking back on the most successful year our industry has experienced since the advent of the ProV1! All of it thanks to a lockdown of business and leisure travel, suspension of sporting activities, concerts and other large public gatherings that created the perfect storm for a sport that has struggled to compete with discretionary time in a world filled with infinite choices. For the Colorado Golf Association, we experienced this growth in multiple ways. Our membership reached its highest point in over a decade with 62,000 members. Tournaments that previously were lucky to fill suddenly had waiting lists. The Junior Golf Alliance of Colorado (JGAC) had a record 1,700 members and Colorado courses saw a record number of junior golfers enjoy the benefits of Youth On Course—a national program administered through the JGAC here in Colorado that provides young golfers with access to golf for $5 at select courses. And CommonGround Golf Course, the home course for the CGA, saw record rounds on its 18-hole championship course and equally impressive growth in rounds on our COLORADO AVIDGOLFER | Fall 2020
9-hole kid’s course. And CommonGround was not unique. Nearly every public and private golf course in Colorado and throughout the country saw similar results. As I reflect on the 2020 golf season, I have two primary hopes. First, I hope we NEVER experience another pandemic! This year has been a sobering reminder of just how fragile we all are. While there is something to be said for being reminded of our interdependence on one another, the pandemic has devastated lives, dismantled many small businesses and made educating our young people into a video game. The effects of all of this cannot end soon enough. My second hope, however, is that the impacts of this pandemic on the golf industry will linger. I hope that we will look back on 2020 and
see that it was not just a one-year blip, but rather an inflexion point that saw the return of many lapsed golfers and the influx of thousands of new ones. I hope that the many golfers who rediscovered the joy of walking the golf course will continue to do so and thereby experience the superior health benefits and social interaction that walking provides. I hope that those who found their way to, or back to, the game in 2020 will relish the game’s pace—its rhythms and yes, its “slowness” that provides such a welcome relief to the hustle and bustle of daily life. And finally, I hope that golf continues to be a place where the shared challenges of trying to get that small white (or yellow, or red or purple) golf ball in the hole rises above any differences we may face or feel off the course.
BOOM STICK: In 2020, membership in the Colorado Golf Association reached its highest point in over a decade.
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PHOTOGRAPHS BY E.J. CARR
A WELCOME RESPITE: While the novel coronavirus disrupted most aspects of daily life, golf experienced a renaissance in Colorado.
The Gallery
NEWS | NOTES | NAMES
Rizzi Gets A Hall Pass A FAMILIAR FACE has found a new workplace. Jon Rizzi, who edited this magazine for its first 18 years before hanging up his Footjoys in May, has taken on the role as executive director of the Colorado Golf Hall of Fame. “I’ve served on the Hall’s board of directors for a decade—including two years as its president,” Rizzi says. “It’s an amazing organization, dating back to 1973, that not only honors the men and women who have defined Colorado golf, but also preserves the game’s history and promotes participation by future generations.” For the 58-year-old Denver resident, it’s also a way to maintain the strong relationships he has forged in the Colorado golf community. “Plus, if you think about it,” he says, “the Hall’s mission dovetails with that of Colorado AvidGolfer. Both organizations extol Colorado golf, but whereas the magazine, a commercial enterprise, taps into an all-embracing passion for the game, the Hall is a nonprofit celebrating the transcendent few whose passion has propelled them to achieve greatness. Those include PGA Tour stars such as Dow Finsterwald, Hale Irwin and Craig Stadler; amateur champs like Janet and Kent Moore; machers like Jack Vickers, Judy Bell and Will Nicholson; a course architect like
Dick Phelps; a PGA professional such as Class of 2020 inductee Russ Miller; or one of the many stellar instructors and course superintendents we’ve enshrined.” Miller, the longtime director of golf at The Broadmoor who has brought four USGA major championships to Colorado Springs, is the 140th member of the exclusive pantheon located in the east wing of the clubhouse at the Riverdale Golf Courses in Brighton. Visitors to the free space will also find a trove of memorabilia from Colorado’s rich golf history, as well as plaques listing annual award winners in the categories of lifetime achievement, distinguished service, person of the year and future famer. Coming soon: an interactive touchscreen kiosk. “We believe in celebrating excellence— past, present and future,” Rizzi says. “This applies to the inductees and honorees and also to the philanthropic contributions the Hall of Fame has made to organizations such as the Junior Golf Alliance of Colorado.” Funding for those contributions largely comes from donations and sponsorships associated with the annual high-profile Hall of Fame induction dinner and golf tournament (this year’s events were to have been at Colorado Golf Club). But with the pandemic causing the postpone-
ment of the 2020 edition of these events until 2021, Rizzi and the 35-member board will fill the void through some creative initiatives designed both to raise money and public awareness of the Hall. “We’re exploring merchandising, memberships, corporate and individual underwriting and other fundraising opportunities,” Rizzi says. “Whatever we pursue has to uphold the standards to which we hold those we honor.” Kevin Hood, Columbine Country Club’s general manager and the current president of the Colorado Golf Hall of Fame, believes the board has the right person for the job. “In selecting Jon Rizzi, I believe the Hall has ensured its long-term viability,” Hood says. “Jon has a broad and deep understanding of the people and institutions in Colorado that form the key pillars of the local golf environment—both currently and historically. His integrity is beyond reproach, and he has the energy and creativity to address the most challenging issues.” Beyond the pandemic-related challenges, Rizzi is also focused on 2023. “That will mark the Colorado Golf Hall of Fame’s 50th anniversary,” he notes, “and we’re planning a celebration that will be every bit as momentous as that milestone event.” coloradogolfhalloffame.org PHOTOGRAPH BY E.J. CARR
HIGH-POWERED TRIUMVIRATE: Jon Rizzi (right) at the 2018 Colorado Golf Hall of Fame induction dinner at Sanctuary with Kevin Laura (left) of the Colorado Open Golf Foundation and golf instructor Stan Fenn. Rizzi is the new Executive Director for the organization, which ”honors the men and women who have defined Colorado golf.”
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The Gallery
Precious Memories
COLORADO AVIDGOLFER | Fall 2020
in-one, both in Scotland, played Lakewood again the day after his incredible day, basically just getting gluttonous. “You gotta think that there’s a chance, right?” he said. “But alas, no holes-in-one to report, I’m afraid.” FOURTH OF JULY FIREWORKS After three-putting the 14th hole for bogey at The Ranch Country Club in Westminster in early July, Brandon Dingae’s playing partners began giving him a hard time, telling him he needed a birdie on 15 to make up for the lost stroke. He accomplished that, and more. Hitting driver on the 370-yard hole, Dingae said his tee shot “never left the flagstick. “I figured that I would be putting for eagle,” he continued. “We did not see my ball as we drove up to the green and parked behind the green to check the back bunkers and rough in case it went long—the ball was nowhere to be found so we checked the hole and my #6 Titleist was staring back at me…Pretty fun 4th before and after!” A SWEET STROKE—AND AN EVEN SWEETER RIDE Last, but certainly not least (particularly as it relates to continued employment), in August, Colorado AvidGolfer President and Group Publish-
er Allen J. Walters was participating in final day of the magazine’s annual Schomp BMW Cup tournament at The Country Club at Castle Pines. “After six shots on No. 1, I stepped onto the No. 2 tee box with a 7-iron,” Walters said. “It was about 178 yards to the pin and it was, without a doubt, the finest golf swing I have ever been able to deliver—it was the perfect shot.” Indeed, the ball hit the green and began rolling up to the pin… “All of a sudden,” recalled Walters, “I said, ‘Guys, that’s going in!’” In the aftermath, Walters admitted to being more nervous than he’d ever been “in my entire life.” He wasn’t the only one; Walters’ ace came on a hole sponsored by the auto company and carried a prize of a year’s lease of a fancy BMW X-7. “The kid from Schomp who was working there went, ‘I don’t know what I’m supposed to do,’” Walters said. Perhaps still in a daze, like Nelson at Lakewood Country Club, Walters continued his round playing the hole-in-one ball, at one point sending a wayward shot into some native grass off the fairway. “You better believe we did a really thorough search for it, and we found it,” Walters said. “I put it away after that.” PHOTOGRAPH COURTESY OF ADAM NELSON
WHILE IT WASN’T quite Snowmageddon, the unexpected, surprising winter-like blast Colorado got in September was a disappointing reminder that at some point soon, it will indeed be the end of the (daily) golf season. With so much happening, from COVID-19 to record-setting numbers of rounds played, summer was a dizzying blur—but we wanted to take time to acknowledge a few special events that took place on courses across the state. Although they grew up just a few blocks away from each other in Scotland, with both playing golf collegiately at Colorado State University, Adam Nelson has at best, a passing acquaintance with Martin Laird. The two have never played a round of golf together. One could say that the latter—still kicking around on the circuit with three PGA TOUR wins under his belt—has had the most notable career. But, that may have changed briefly in July—according to the National Hole-inOne Registry, the odds of one player making two holes-in-one in one round are 67 million-to-1. But at Lakewood Country Club, Nelson did just that, acing the 7th and 17th holes. “It was a super windy day, like 30 miles an hour—it was tough, but I seemed to be playing okay,” he said. “Number 7 was about 205 yards; it was heavily downwind and the pin was in the back. I hit like a chippy, three-quarter eightiron—I kept it low and it landed on the front of the green and kept on rolling up. “I think I kind of muttered the words, ‘Go in,’ and then it dropped and my friends who were playing in front of me on the eighth tee started running at me and we had a huge celebration. I texted a couple of friends and told them they’d better get down to the club ’cuz we were gonna start drinking.” As it turned out, there was no rush. A crowd gathered at the 18th green, in anticipation of celebrating Nelson’s feat (the odds of which are “only” 12,000-to-1, according to the registry), but before he could play 18, there was the matter of the 135yard 17th. On that hole Nelson said he “smashed” a 56-degree wedge. “Again, it was downwind,” he said. “It landed eight feet short, jumped just past the hole then spun back in. At that point, I think the whole course thought something was up, because you could hear the ovations everywhere...it was a little bit like being at Augusta (National, home of the Masters and its legendary roars).” If two holes-in-one wasn’t odd enough, consider that Nelson used the same ball for each— after his first ace, Nelson eschewed the tradition of taking the special ball out of play. “People asked me why I didn’t retire it after the first one; I thought about it, but I thought I would just end up losing somewhere anyway,” he said. “So I played 18 with it—which probably wasn’t the smartest move—but I managed not to lose it, so now it’s been polished up and is going into a case with the two flags from the holes.” Nelson, who said he had two previous holes-
DOUBLE THE PLEASURE: After acing the 205-yard par-3 7th hole at Lakewood Country Club in July, former Colorado State University golfer Adam Nelson doubled his fun with another hole-in-one, this time on the 135yard 17th. The odds of getting two holes-in-one in one round are 67 million-to-1.
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PHOTOGRAPH COURTESY OF BRANDON DINGAE
PHOTOGRAPH BY E.J. CARR
YOU DA MAN: Brandon Dingae (left) aced the 370-yard, par-4 15th hole at The Ranch Country Club in July. Dingae said his tee shot “never left the flagstick.” Colorado AvidGolfer President and Group Publisher Allen J. Walters (above) was more than an accommodating host at the 2020 Schomp BMW Cup tournament at The Country Club at Castle Pines—he aced the 178-year, par-3 second hole, winning a year’s lease on a vehicle from the event’s title sponsor.
DISC OV ER
ONE Of cOlOr adO’s bEst cOursEs — tHE rIdGE
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Fall 2020 | COLORADO AVIDGOLFER
The Gallery
Spring Deferred? GOLFERS IN COLORADO and throughout the Rocky Mountain region have long circled their calendars, eagerly awaiting early February and their personal harbinger of spring, the Denver Golf Expo. However, while the dates for next year (Feb. 1214) are already on the books, as 2020 draws to a close, there’s still a great deal of uncertainty as to whether the annual event, held at the Denver Mart, will actually take place. “We’ve been following other shows, and what they are doing and how they’re doing it—if they’re doing it; there are very few shows that are even trying,” says Mark Cramer, the Expo’s Show Manager. Of course, things are in a precarious state because of the novel coronavirus. With guidelines and regulations continually shifting, it’s hard to predict what standards will be in place tomorrow, let alone in February. “We’re looking at everything that’s coming out, whether it’s from the CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention), or the industry and association leaders, or the state,” Cramer said. “Every conference facility is patiently waiting for the state to relax the standards—which they have not. So right now, we’re pretty much between a rock and a hard place...we really don’t control our future.” At present, according to Cramer, the standards say you can’t have more than 100 people present per 11,300 square feet—“we’d have more exhibitors than that,” he said. One option would be to cut the size of the Expo, both exhibitors and attendees, to perhaps 60 percent of normal capacity—last year, even with big snowfalls on Friday and Sunday of Expo weekend, it still drew about 7,800 people. Cramer says that was down from a typical crowd of about 9,500. But regardless of the reduction size, he adds, the pandemic-mandated precautionary
measures would be massive. “First-aid stations; having some way to check the temperature of everyone who comes in for possible fever and not allowing them to come in; sanitation stations all over the place; having masks available for anyone who comes in without one—so on and so forth,” Cramer said. Then, just as golf courses across the state have had to confront throughout the season, there’s the mental anguish that comes with worrying about whether someone might contract COVID-19 as a result of walking through the door. As sizable an enterprise as the Expo is, in many ways it’s a Mom and Pop operation, run by Cramer and his wife, Lynn. “We really don’t want to put anybody at risk, and I just don't know if they’ll have a handle on this by then,” he said. “That’s the kind of people we are; people trust us, and if we decide it won’t be good enough, or if it would jeopardize people or the brand...we’re not going to make some panicked decision for the sake of $20,000... “Even if it were the full amount that we’d normally make, we just feel there’s too much responsibility to the golf industry and the people here to try and do something that might put folks at risk...I think you can tell where I’m leaning with this…” Cramer says he probably won’t make a final decision until some time in October, and although he started cutting expenses and overhead at the onset of the pandemic, right now things are progressing as if the show will be taking place, with exhibitors securing their spots, ads being purchased and produced, etc. But for now… “It’s not just us; it’s worldwide, with people losing their businesses and their livelihoods, Cramer said, “but it’s really just a mess.” denvergolfexpo.com PHOTOGRAPH COURTESY OF DENVER GOLF EXPO
CROWDED HOUSE: Despite heavy snowfalls on two of its three days, the 2020 Denver Golf Expo still drew more than 7,500 people. The novel coronavirus has disrupted plans for the 2021 edition, scheduled for mid-February.
COLORADO AVIDGOLFER | Fall 2020
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The Gallery
Vote Early, Vote Often PHOTOGRAPH COURTESY OF BALLYNEAL GOLF & HUNT CLUB
LET’S BE CLEAR: when it comes to picking out the Best in Colorado Golf, one might expect a fair amount of ballot-stuffing to take place—after all, there’s so much to be celebrated, from the Denver Metro to the Mountains and Western Slope, it’s not surprising that folks feel passionate about making sure their voices are heard. That’s the idea behind the CAGGY Awards—Colorado AvidGolfer’s annual excursion into the best and brightest in the game across the state is an opportunity for you, the reader, to let us know your thoughts in 60 different categories, ranging from the top courses and clubs, to teachers and travel destinations. Voting for the 2021 awards are hereby opened—for the next three months, feel free to take a deep dive into your game—whether it’s played at the local muni or Bushwood Country Club. The final tallies will be published in the Spring 2021 issue of Colorado AvidGolfer.
HOLY MOLEY: Ballyneal Golf & Hunt Club in Holyoke was named the Best Front Range/ Northeast Club winner in the 2020 CAGGYS.
VOTE NOW! coloradoavidgolfer.com/2021-caggy-awards
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CGA members save up to $18 on green fees every time they play!
Owned by the Colorado Golf Association, and designed by world-renowned architect Tom Doak, CommonGround can be found in Aurora at the intersection of Mission and Masterpiece. commongroundgc.com | 303-340-1520 COLORADO AVIDGOLFER | Fall 2020
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PHOTOGRAPH BY PREMIER AERIALS
COMEBACK KING: Once an afterthought on the local golf scene, Applewood Golf Course in Golden has rebounded to win multiple CAGGY awards.
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Player’s Corner PROFILE
Breaking Trail at Saddleback ‘Not normal’ and proud of it: Northern Front Range course is No. 1 for fun, innovation. By Andy Bigford
PHOTOGRAPHS COURTESY OF SADDLEBACK GOLF CLUB
CHEERIO: The opening hole at Saddleback Golf Club is the start of an experience at one of Golf Digest’s Top-10 “Most Cheerful” places to play.
WHEN SADDLEBACK Golf Club in Firestone launched its “Old Turd Tuesdays” back in 2012, the $29 offer included range balls, 18 holes and cart—plus an “all-you-can-eat” prune bar with a pint of Metamucil to wash it down. After a supposed Health Department intervention nixed the prune bar—along with an alleged Metamucil shortage—the course quickly substituted a hot dog and a “sodee pop” instead. There were a few grumbles from those who didn’t follow along with the joke, but rounds among the 60-and-older set immediately increased threefold, and this on a day of the week, at least pre-COVID-19, that is universally slow at golf courses (the cost is now $42, and OTT regularly draws 200 players). This is all par for the course at a club which bills itself as “not normal,” whose scorecard declares “USGA rules apply only some of the time,” and which was named by Golf Digest as one of the country’s Top 10 “Most Cheerful” places to play. “We are not pretentious people,” says Lanna O’Malley, who along with her husband Tom (everyone calls him Whitey) are anomalies in Colorado as hands-on owner-operators. The two met in college at the University of Wisconsin-River Falls, and with partners built and operated a popular course there called Kilkarney Hills (they still own a share). Looking for opportunities to the west, they eventually partnered in the late 1990s with Vern Hamilton, a cash-crop farmer who had weathered one too many hailstorms and was ready for a change (he passed away in 2016). All the marketing studies said golf would continue to boom (wrong) and that the Northern Front Range would see dramatic population growth (right). coloradoavidgolfer.com
X MARKS THE SPOT: A sign on the fourth hole commemorates a disagreement between a married couple that ended up with a cart being driven into the bottom of a lake at the island green par-3. It’s one example of how the course refuses to take itself too seriously, preferring lighthearted conversation to corporate-speak.
“There was nothing here back then,” she recalls of the Firestone-Frederick area, noting there wasn’t even a grocery store and they had to drive 12 miles east to Longmont to “buy a bolt.” “We had to trust it,” she says, and indeed the growth has come, with the Frederick-Firestone corridor now dotted with businesses, including a Safeway and Ace Hardware, and the region continuing to experience one of the highest growth rates in the country. The O’Malleys hired veteran Colorado-born architect Andy Johnson to design Saddleback, which looks west to the mountains and features wide, rolling fairways; large, undulating greens; and plenty of wetlands and water. Saddleback stretches to 7,041 yards from the tips, with four more tee box options at 6,492, 6,054, 5,484, and 4,855 yards. Two man-made lakes bookend the south portion of the property, with a creek connecting them as it meanders through the back nine. It is fair and friendly, but with some bite, including three tough par fours: the split fairway
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7th, the hazardous, well-bunkered 12th, and the long, narrow uphill 15th. For signatures, you could include two: The island par-3 4th and the drivable (over water), 322-yard dogleg par-4 16th, which highlights a strenuous four-hole closing stretch. An expansive range beckons with fresh balls pyramided at each station, not fetched from a finicky code- or token-operated ball dispenser. Most daily fee courses see the range as a revenue stream, but not Saddleback, which includes it in the price of the round. The club actually experimented five years ago with using Titleist Pro V1s on the range, getting three local businesses to sponsor (and pay for) the 13,000 new balls. Saddleback knew there would be substantial theft, so besides featuring the sponsor’s logo the balls were boldly marked “Stolen from Saddleback Golf Club.” Still, 8,000 disappeared in the first summer, and the club returned to using normal range balls. Another innovation, at least in non-COVID times: the bunkers feature buried vertical tubes as rake holders, taking the four-foot Fall 2020 | COLORADO AVIDGOLFER
Profile
PHOTOGRAPHS COURTESY OF SADDLEBACK GOLF CLUB
handle out of sight and play. The superintendent, Rob “Grass Whisperer” Flemming, is still ironing out the kinks, but it’s another example of Saddleback refusing to lay down on the job. Initially operating out of a “temporary” double-wide trailer, Saddleback held off for 15-plus years on building its handsome, stoneand-timber 5,000-square-foot clubhouse, finally opening it in 2016. Meanwhile, they were expanding an adjacent pavilion, which also looks out on a small lake, perfect for weddings and events, though it has been dark this summer. Like courses in Colorado and across the country, Saddleback is seeing unprecedented play in the COVID era, with increased rounds making up for the decline in Food and Beverage sales and the loss of weddings and events. Besides the nearby tri-towns (Firestone-Frederick-Dacono), the course draws from north Denver, Boulder, Longmont and Loveland; a few semi-regulars even make the trek down from Wyoming. Driven by Whitey, Saddleback is the first course in the state to employ dynamic pricing, provided by beta software designed by a French company. Besides offering discounts for earlier bookings, the system goes beyond the “capacity pricing” used by Golf Now and other tee times consolidators, factoring in historical trends as well. Demand during those periods is so high that the system wants to raise weekend and peak prices to $120 a round, but they capped it at roughly $83. While few readers likely have made the drive 32 miles north of Denver on I-25 to play Saddleback, many have probably seen it on TV. It’s virtually the only course in the state to advertise regularly on the Golf Channel, with its quirky, 30-second spots starring the O’Malleys’ laid-back daughter, the blonde, wavy-haired Alex (she manages the pro shop). The latest series (“Let’s get you to the No. 1 tee”) was shot with an iPhone to convey a mellow atmosphere. Having featured proctologists, knitting bikers, Ninjas, shirtless firefighters, dinosaurs, ship captains, sleepwalkers and hobo golfers in the past, all the commercials tend to be pretty informal...and somehow memorable, which is the whole idea. The creative spark comes from Rob “Robbo” Finley, who along with his dad, a former Denver firefighter, founded the nine-hole Missing Links course and driving range a mile away from Saddleback back in 1992 (it is now called Bella Rosa and owned by the town of Frederick). Finley was a stockbroker who opted for a change after working
NO DOUBLE-WIDE: After operating out of a “temporary” double-wide trailer for 15 years, in 2016 Saddleback Golf Club opened a 5,000-square-foot, stone-and-timber clubhouse. An adjacent pavilion, envisioned for weddings and events, has been shuttered this summer because of the novel coronavirus pandemic.
through Black Monday and its aftermath in the late 1980s. Missing Links began as a range and grew to include three, then nine holes. When they sold the course in the late 1990s and Saddleback opened, Finley became the O’Malleys’ jack-of-all trades. Tired of sending out pablum media messages on stereotypical golf events, he and the O’Malleys decided they’d talk to their customers as if they were sitting together at a bar, rather than in marketing doublespeak. The non-normalcy is evident throughout Saddleback’s messaging, and perhaps includes lessons for other courses. When Saddleback sought to compete against chain discounters with its own equipment sale, the email subject line read, “We are not Dick’s.” From the scorecard: “No one cares how good you play. Everyone cares how fast you play. Keep up with the group in the front of you.” Buried in the website is a plug for the course’s corporate membership, “the ultimate little kissy-butt thing you can purchase to really impress clients.” Alas, in spelling out the various perks, it also concedes, “Since the raid, we no longer offer the massage.” Youth pay their age to play, but “if your child becomes a nuisance, we will feed them a bowl of sugar and give them a puppy before we send them home.” Touching all demographics, Saddleback even offers Husband Sitting: “Just leave a credit card for alcohol and golf.” The standard testimonial video praising the club’s lender, the local First National Bank branch, is titled “Lanna and Whitey beg for a bank loan.” It’s actually the only normal video among dozens on their site, many of which feature Saddleback regulars. With the backing of the O’Malleys, who have a healthy sense of humor, Finley is always testing boundaries, though he admits the response to his “Karaoke-TriviaFireworks Night” was “mixed.” Augusta has its plaque on the IT’S A STEAL: Five years ago, Saddleback used Titleist Pro V1s on the driving range, attaching the label “Stolen From Saddleback Golf Club.” 15th honoring Gene Sarazen’s albaNevertheless, about 8,000 of them somehow disappeared. tross, and Cherry Hills has its first COLORADO AVIDGOLFER | Fall 2020
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tee commemoration of Arnold Palmer driving the green on the way to winning the 1960 U.S. Open. At Saddleback, the legendary historical marker (it’s actually just a cheap sign) at the island green 4th memorializes the time “the husband was actually right.” He had forbid his accident-prone wife to drive the cart, she ignored the warning, and the cart ended up at the bottom of the lake on the island par three. The couple’s cell phones and wallets were ruined, as were the cart’s transmission, engine and battery. “I’ve always admired Saddleback, and it’s always in great shape,” says Ed Mate, the executive director of the Colorado Golf Association, which held its state women’s match play championship there in July (Saddleback has hosted various CGA events over the years, and co-hosted the Colorado Open in 2007). Colorado is a rarity with its abundance of municipally owned courses, which function by a different government playbook, enjoy deep pockets, can afford to discount greens fees, and don’t, for example, have to pay property taxes. Saddleback must promote entrepreneurial creativity, and financial discipline, to survive and thrive. When asked why he and Lanna share a broom-closet-sized office in the corner of the pro shop, Whitey says, “Offices don’t make money.” During the initial COVID outbreak in March, Saddleback was one of the few courses in the state and country that never closed. Its social distancing guidelines are both extensive and readily enforced. One of COVID’s gloomiest impacts, Lanna believes, is the loss of the day-to-day interactions with customers that are so central to the Saddleback experience. During an interview on the expansive clubhouse patio, she excuses herself to check in on business, then returns with a just-met golfer who happens to hail from their former home in Wisconsin. He has played their Kilkarney course there several times and has deep ties in the community; the three immediately launch into a long reminisce on River Falls. Things are starting to return to normal, or not normal, at Saddleback. Andy Bigford is a Colorado AvidGolfer contributor. coloradoavidgolfer.com
Player’s Corner PLAY AWAY
Playing the Horses Flying Horse North, the long-awaited sequel to the original Club at Flying Horse layout in Colorado Springs, looks like a smart bet for resort guests and members. By Jon Rizzi
AT THE DAWN of the millennium, Classic Homes founder and owner Jeff Smith followed his true north to northern Colorado Springs, creating the luxury Flying Horse development on 1,600 acres 10 miles east of the U.S. Air Force Academy. Today, more than 1,400 homes comprise the thriving community anchored by The Club at Flying Horse and its breathtaking Tuscan-style clubhouse, first-rate steakhouse, sprawling athletic facility and spa, vast outdoor pool complex and a 15-year-old Tom Weiskopf Signature golf course. coloradoavidgolfer.com
Members delight in those amenities, as do guests of the 48-room Lodge at Flying Horse, the property’s boutique hotel, which opened in 2015 and next year will double in size—just like what recently happened to the number of Flying Horse golf courses. This September, Flying Horse debuted its second 18-hole layout five miles from the original one. And once again, Smith pointed his compass north—this time towards 1,400 acres atop the Palmer Divide in the Black Forest.
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PHOTOGRAPH COURTESY OF FLYING HORSE NORTH
PICK A HOLE, ANY HOLE: Flying Horse North designer Phil Smith says if 18 people play the course, there should be 18 different answers about what they consider their favorite hole on the course. “Otherwise, I haven’t done my job,” he says.
For an architect, he engaged Phil Smith (no relation), who as Weiskopf’s exclusive course designer for 14 years played a pivotal role in designing the original Flying Horse course and had since hung out his own shingle. “When I first walked the site in 2012, I told Jeff and (General Manager) Fredo (Killing), ‘I’ve looked at 100 sites in my career, and this is in the top five…top three…maybe the best,’” he says, citing the combination of ponderosa pine forest, rolling ranchland, dramatic elevaFall 2020 | COLORADO AVIDGOLFER
PHOTOGRAPH BY JON RIZZI
Play Away
LONESOME PINE: With an elevated tee box rising 100 feet above the fairway, the opening hole at Flying Horse North is a 431-yard, par-4, with a single pine tree at the elbow directing golfers on the dogleg-right.
tion changes, sand-based soil and views of Pikes Peak. “My job was not to screw it up.” He didn’t. Given free rein to lay out the course before any of the property’s 283 homes— all of which will occupy 2.5- to 5.2-acre lots— were sited, Smith sculpted 7,166 yards of memorable golf that flow seamlessly with the land. “We didn’t have to shoehorn in any holes,” he says,
“and none of them distract from the surrounding views.” When asked which of those holes is his favorite, he avoids the cliché of likening it to naming a preferred offspring. “If I asked 18 of you that question after a round, I’d want to hear 18 different answers,” he explains to a group of members during a late-August preview tour of
the course. “Otherwise, I haven’t done my job.” Facing Pikes Peak as you tee off to a rippling fairway 100 feet below, you’d be hard-pressed not to vote for the 431-yard par-4 opener, a dogleg-right statement-maker with a lone ponderosa pine at the elbow serving as the aiming point. Then again, there’s a lot to love about the second and the fourth, which clock in at identical yardages as the opener, but differ completely, with the left-dogleg second playing 35 feet uphill to a catcher’s mitt-style green and the straighton fourth featuring a narrow, bunkerless fairway and a huge, cross-bunkered green complex with plenty of movement. A trip out of the pines and past the four-level, 16-acre practice range leads to the prairie side of Palmer Divide—six grassland holes on which the only trees are logs forming the crossbuck fencing that lattices the native areas. “The trick was to make sure holes 5-10 stood up to the ones in the forest,” states Smith, a Hutchinson, Kan. native who was more than equal to the task, having worked at the fabled Prairie Dunes Golf Club. During the grow-in, Smith notes, the exposed holes also had to stand up to the soil-eroding rains and desiccating winds more than the ones shielded by the conifers did—a challenge ably met by Agronomy and Facility Operations Director Dan Hawkins. Scoring chances await on the prairie, as three of the course’s four par 5s—including the No. 1 handicap eighth—appear here. So do wider fairways and larger bunkers to lend perspective and accommodate the elements and grander scale of the surroundings, which include a sizable retention pond fronting the into-the-wind, all-carry 190-yard par-3 sixth. A shorter par 3 marks your return to the Black Forest on hole 11, followed by the brawny downhill 12th. With views of Pulpit Rock in the distance, this serene 480-yarder is the longest
PHOTOGRAPH COURTESY OF FLYING HORSE NORTH
FAST RISING: Like the opening hole, No. 2 at Flying Horse North also plays as a 431-yard par-4, but it’s a dogleg-left that rises 35 feet uphill into a catcher’s mitt-styled green. According to players, the putting surfaces on the new course are trickier than the ones at the original Flying Horse.
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par 4 on the course, but it’s not the hardest. That comes next, on the gorgeous 430-yard right-dogleg 13th, which demands avoiding the left fairway bunker as you position your tee shot away from the pines on the right, leaving a long iron into a very shallow, testy green. As with the front nine, consecutive holes of the same length don’t look or play the same way. The 427-yard 14th doglegs in the opposite direction as the 13th, around wetlands formed by the drainage from Palmer Divide, while a lone tree blocks the left approach to the green. North’s last four holes all force decisions off the tee, beginning with the visually deceptive downhill par-3 15th. Do you avoid the bunker snuggling up to the front of the green—or check the yardage book to learn that sandy expanse actually lies 30 yards short of the putting surface? On the 410-yard 16th, do you take the safe route left of the center-fairway bunker and risk the greenside bunkers on your approach, or do you sneak it through the tree-pinched right-hand side for a better look? The only “reachable” par 4—and the only one measuring less than 400 yards—comes at the 348-yard 17th. Driving the elevated green or having the best angle into it demands clearing an escarpment jutting into the upper, left side of the fairway. The apparent “safe” route to the right hazards an approach from behind the trees. Flying Horse North finishes as strongly as it starts: a gorgeous, risk-reward right-dogleg hole that’s the shortest par 5 on the course. With the green visible from the tee 518 yards away, and coloradoavidgolfer.com
plenty of bunkers in between, matches can close with anything from eagle to an eight. And should there be a bet to be settled, a sweet 100-yard 19th hole waits on the ridge near the yet-to-beconstructed clubhouse. “Nobody should play this hole sober,” Smith jokes to his gallery. By all accounts, the avuncular Smith did his job without ego, working collaboratively with Killing, Hawkins, Assistant GM Glenn Wallace, PGA Professional Jake O’Dell and Frontier Golf VP Jason Nau—“the best in the business,” according to Smith—whose team built and shaped the course. Given the completely different terrains, the architect made sure that any similarities between the original Flying Horse course and North confined themselves to the logo, turf types (T1 bent on the greens and fast-germinating ryegrass in the fairways, tees and rough) and the use of quick-draining Capillary concrete bunker liners. Unlike the main course, North abounds in trees. The native areas are less penal, the teeing areas and bunkers more free-form. Homes tuck into the woods and there are no blind shots. Averaging 6,500 square feet, the putting surfaces are extremely receptive for a new course, thanks to a decision to build and grass them before the tees and fairways. Their wavy contours suggest large potato chips, with an occasional ridge, false front or meandering swale, but never sloping more than 2.5 percent in the pinnable areas.
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PHOTOGRAPH COURTESY OF FLYING HORSE NORTH
A MIGHTY LASH: At 480 yards, the 12th hole is the longest par-4 at Flying Horse North. However, the next hole, a 430-yard dogleg-right that demands precision off the tee, is considered more difficult.
“North’s greens are completely different than the ones on the main course,” shares Flying Horse’s six-time stroke-play champion Russ Ford, who took three days off work to play North when it opened. “On the main course, if you get it on the correct tier, it’s pretty flat by the hole, whereas on the new course, you have to learn to play the breaks.” As of August 31, Ford was among the 144 of Flying Horse’s 343 Full Golf members who’d upgraded to a Signature Golf membership, which includes access to both courses. A Flying Horse North-only membership does not currently exist, and members who haven’t upgraded to Signature status can play North six times a year for $119 per round. New Signature Golf members pay a nonrefundable $35,000 (or a partially refundable $50,000) initiation with $732 in monthly dues, while those amounts for new Full Golf members are $25,000 (or $39,000) and $610. You don’t have to join to play, however. Guests at the soon-to-be expanded 4-Star Lodge at Flying Horse can get tee times at either course for $189. And if you’re interested in building your mountain manse at Flying Horse North, know that the 82-home first phase released by Classic Homes recently sold out in 30 days, and original lot prices of $150,000 to $500,000 are, predictably, heading north.
Jon Rizzi is Colorado AvidGolfer’s founding editor. For more information: flyinghorseclub.com; 719-494-1222. Fall 2020 | COLORADO AVIDGOLFER
Player’s Corner FASHION
Getaway Gear For a fall golf trip, pack versatile styles that go from course to clubhouse and layering pieces that stand up to the elements. By Suzanne S. Brown ROUGH AND READY Built to battle chilly temperatures and wind, the COLD.RDY Hoodie from adidas looks as sharp on your fall rounds as it will around town. It’s part of the company’s multi-sport READY line which makes use of materials to combat the heat, wind, rain and cold that get in the way of enjoying your athletic pursuits. Adidas-sponsored PGA touring pro Xander Schauffele wears the design, which comes in five colors and is made of recycled polyester and fleece that’s insulating, wind-resistant and water-repellent. The garment’s hood has a drawcord and is jersey-lined for comfort, $80. adidas.com
STAND-OUT STYLE Guys who are into luxurious fashion-forward athletic wear for the links and beyond gravitate to brands like Greyson Clothiers. The company outfits such touring pros as Erik van Rooyen in styles like the bold printed Snake Garden polo, $110, and Montauk joggers, $145, a pants style which causes heads to turn on the golf course. (If you try this trend, be sure to wear no-show socks). When temperatures drop, the Greyson guy will reach for one of the company’s sleek sweaters or the Koko hoodie in a stretchy blend of cashmere and merino wool, which comes in a range of colors, $285. greysonclothiers.com
THE NEW BLACK Summer golf has its perks with all that warmth and sunshine, but fall and winter rounds offer the option to layer your outfit with all kinds of tops and jackets. From the fashion-forward Swedish company Daily Sports is the Frances Jacket, $200, which has faux fur on the front, and a micro-light stretch fabric on the sleeves and back, a two-way full front zipper and zipped pockets. It’s worn with a Luna Polo, $106, and Magic High Water pants made of a super stretchy viscose blend fabric that is styled with a mid-rise waist, slim fit, four pockets and belt loops, $135. And for the woman who isn’t going to let cold and wind keep her from playing, the Pace pants, $160, Luna zip-front jacket, $156, headband and gloves will keep her toasty. dailysportsusa.com
COOL IN CAMO Camouflage is one of those patterns that has been in style so long it’s become a classic, in part because it can be made in a lot of colors and size variations. Brands like Peter Millar are offering camo patterns in a reversible merino wool crewneck sweater, $268, that can be layered over a polo or dress shirt, and under layering pieces such as a vest or outerwear jacket. It’s shown here with the Fuse Hybrid Vest, $148, in a performance fabric that is wind-resistant and offers four-way stretch for mobility, and a two-way zip front closure and zip pocket on the chest. The five-pocket Performance pants are in a lightweight, quick-drying stretch fabric, shown here in gale gray, $149. Clothes and accessories at petermillar.com COLORADO AVIDGOLFER | Fall 2020
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DOUBLE DUTY KJUS chose the zodiac sign of Gemini—a pair of twins—for the name of its new technical golf rain gear because pieces in the collection have two functions. When worn with the dark side out, the jacket absorbs heat and is lightweight, waterproof and warm. Reverse it to the light gray side worn out and it reflects heat, becoming a windbreaker that cools the body due to a fabric that helps control body temperature by up to 10 degrees F. It was tested in a climate chamber at the University of Innsbruck, Austria, and on the golf course at Royal Dornoch in Scotland. Built for the serious athlete, it has a price tag to match, $549 for the men’s jacket. Also available are pants, $499, a vest, $399, and a women’s jacket, $549. kjus.com
LIVING FOR THE WEEKENDER For a short golf getaway, you need a bag that will allow you to bring a couple of changes of clothes for the course and beyond, plus shoes and accessories. The quilted fabric Weekender 24+7 Duffle from Oliver Thomas holds plenty and lets you organize your gear with a variety of pockets and compartments. The bag’s patented “Secret Stash” bottom offers a spot for shoes, laundry or whatever extras you want to load. Available in a range of solid colors and several prints as well as metallic and lacquered options, it’s also lightweight and washable, measures 24x13x14 inches and has double handles and a removable adjustable strap; $150 at theoliverthomas.com COLORADO CACHET Diane Boyer and her family have been in the skiwear business in Vail, Colorado for four decades, but the designer and businesswoman proved she has more tricks up her proverbial sleeves earlier this year when she launched Skea Golf. In creating the women’s collection, Boyer drew on her expertise with performance fabrics that she uses in skiwear and designed tops, skorts, shorts and pants in figure-flattering styles that are in UPF-50 fabrics for sun protection, as well as layering pieces, vests and jackets. All are offered in bright solids as well as eye-catching fashion-forward prints. Tops start at $69, skorts at $99 and jackets at $158. And for colder weather, some styles—sweaters, quarter-zips, vests—could even crossover from the links to the lifts. skealimited.com
WEARING IT WELL The golfer who wants outerwear to double as lifestyle apparel is going to gravitate to styles like the Sherpa ¼-zip from Puma’s Excellent Golf Wear collection, $120. The fuzzy texture adds warmth and is soft to the touch. Designed with guys like Puma-sponsored pro Rickie Fowler in mind, EGW features pieces that are unstuffy but still suited to the golf course, like elastic-waist joggers, $80; rather than classic pants, henleys, $60; instead of polo shirts and for casual pullovers like the Runway Crew, $80. Also new from Puma is Ignite NXT Crafted footwear, golf shoes that have a premium handmade look but feature the latest technology for comfort and performance. The shoes, which come in four color combinations, have a classic leather saddle and state-ofthe-art construction materials like a TPU outsole, and more than 100 hexagonal lugs for stability and traction, $140. pumagolf.com coloradoavidgolfer.com
CAG Style Editor Suzanne S. Brown is a former editor for The Denver Post and contributor to Colorado Expression.
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The Country Club At Castle Pines Debuts Its Newest Golf Experience THE CRAGS Perched at nearly 6,700 feet and built on a series of rocky crags on the western cliff behind the Clubhouse, The Crags is destined to be one of the best 18-hole putting courses in the country. It’s a massive, one-acre course built with the same attention to detail as the Club’s world-class championship greens. The Crags is the first new amenity added since the approval of the Club’s $17 million expansion project that will soon boast a clubhouse renovation, cliffside infinity edge pool, fitness center and a full complement of racket sports. The putting course is fully outfitted with lighting, music and fire pits so Golf Member families and their guests can enjoy an endless supply of fun, friendly competition and a few beverages while drinking in the unrivaled mountain views all around them.
TO INQUIRE ABOUT AN INVITATION TO GOLF OR SOCIAL MEMBERSHIP, CONTACT:
MARK LEWICKI, Director of Membership 303.660.6807 | mlewicki@ccofcastlepines.com 6400
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www.ccatcastlepines.com
Side Bets FAREWAYS
Grilled Cheese GOAT The ABC’s of elevating the comfort favorite to sandwich glory By John Lehndorff I’VE GOT A snapshot memory of me sitting at the Formica kitchen table in my childhood home. Mom is serving me American cheese on Wonder Bread griddled in butter. The crusts are cut off. I’m dipping the gooey grilled triangles in a cup of pinkish Campbell’s Cream of Tomato Soup. Life is pretty good. While that flavor combination still pushes my comfort button, my grilled cheese sandwiches have evolved. For one thing, now I crave the crust and the crunch. Andy Clark grew up on the good stuff in New England and went on to become one of Colorado’s most celebrated bread bakers. “We always used great bread and sharp Vermont cheddar, the white cheese. The orange cheese freaked me out. We kept it simple,” he says. Clark owns the James Beard Awardnominated Moxie Bread Company in Louisville, producing artisan breads that are slowly fermented using flour milled in-house from locally grown heirloom grain. The grilled cheese sandwich is among the first dishes our parents teach us to make. The recipe is just two bread slices, 2 to 4 ounces of cheese and oil or butter, but the delight is in the details, Clark insists.
CRAFTING A GREATER GRILLED CHEESE Becoming a grilled cheese GOAT—Greatest of All Time—means choosing the right loaf, great cheeses and proper technique, says Clark. “You want a moist, open and airy bread—not incredibly dense—because when you’re pan-frying, the air holes will get nice and crunchy. They also let the heat get through to the cheese,” he says. On Moxie Bread Co.’s menu is a popular grilled cheese on fluffy crispy ciabatta with aged Raclette, house-pickled onions and garlic-infused olive oil. I like using chewy sourdough bread with substantial slices about ¾-inch thick so they hold together after griddling. Finely textured spongy breads like brioche are ideal for French toast, but too dense for grilled cheese. Good loaves are widely available, but the very best get baked by Clark’s fellow independent bread artisans along the Front Range. Check out the Denver Bread Company (thedenverbreadcompany.com), Raleigh Street Bakery (raleighstreetbakery.com), Reunion Bread Co (reunionbread.square.site), Izzio Bakery & Cafe (izziobakery.com) and Sourdough Boulangerie (thesourdoughboulangerie.com). You may say “Doh!” but a grilled cheese sandwich needs to taste mainly like cheese, so it
should be good cheese. Clark likes Raclette and other aged cheeses. I use Cheddar and Swiss a lot because they’re always in my refrigerator. If I have aged Gouda or Gruyere, I’m happy to include them. Given the choice, I layer in soft ripened cheeses because they melt so beautifully. Colorado cheeses that fill the bill include MouCo ColoRouge (mouco.com), Fruition Farms Shepherd’s Halo (fruitionfarmscreamery.com) and Moon Hill Dairy Alpenbert (moonhilldairy.com). A schmear of Haystack Mountain Chevre goat cheese can add a little tart tang. FAT PLUS TIME EQUALS FLAVOR Grilled cheese crafting requires a griddle and the perfect pan is a heavy cast-iron skillet. “Cast iron is still the best because it holds the heat evenly. Preheat it to medium high heat,” Clark says. If the heat is too low, the bread will never get crisp. If it’s too high, the bread will char before the heat gets through to the cheese. The sandwich works out better if you griddle the two slices of bread at the same time before flipping one on top of the other into a unit and cooking it a bit more. Homemade grilled cheese sandwiches lack the pizzazz of their restaurant cousins because, frankly, home cooks are scared to use to use PHOTOGRAPH ©MARC PISCOTTY
THE GREAT DEBATE: To fill or not to fill? The fillings of the King Kong sandwich from Grilled Cheese Society include sautéed mushrooms, Sambuca cream sauce, grilled onions, pepper jack and American cheeses.
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Fareways
SLOW BURN: Because it holds heat evenly, a cast-iron skillet is the best way to griddle your grilled cheese sandwich.
FRAGILE: DO NOT PRESS OR SQUOOSH! You don’t want to flip your grilled cheese and you especially don’t want to lean into it with a spatula to speed it up. “I’m not a presser. I don’t do panini,” Clark says. He doesn’t like the idea of anyone flattening his carefully raised breads. Besides, you lose those pockets of crunch. The biggest challenge is being patient enough to leave the sandwich alone until it’s done and the parts have become one. Help it along by covering the pan for a few minutes, but don’t overdo it or you’ll just steam the sandwich. “If you’re lucky, a little of the cheese will leak out and fry up,” Andy Clark adds with a chuckle. There’s even an evocative name for this appetizing pan-fried cheese crisp: frico. Some recipes call for spreading mayo on the bread and sprinkling it with Parmesan before grilling, but that may be overkill. THE PROBLEM WITH FILLINGS There are many international grilled cheese cousins, including France’s croque monsieur: a grilled cheese with bechamel sauce and ham that is French toasted. It becomes a croque madame when you add a fried egg. “Those croques are delicious, deeper dives into the grilled cheese realm but really, those are another beast entirely,” Clark says. He resists adding too many extra spreads and inclusions in a grilled cheese, especially arugula or field greens. “That’s a violation of the ‘no vegetation’ rule,” Clark says. He’ll allow a few pickled onions and maybe caramelized porcini mushrooms, but not too much. I sometimes spread the inside of the bread with aioli, pesto or herbed cream cheese. Mainly, COLORADO AVIDGOLFER | Fall 2020
I insist on some sweet to balance the savory in the form of fig preserves, orange marmalade or apple butter. I’m no purist. My grilled cheese sandwiches have featured occasional pickled beets, ripe heirloom tomato slices, roasted green chilies and smoked ham slivers. Here’s the deal: If you overload it with too much stuff, it may be a good sandwich, but it’s not a grilled cheese anymore. KRAFT SINGLES AND AN EARWORM JINGLE Warm bread and cheese with soup has been on the menu for a millennium in various forms, but “soupand-sandwich” didn’t become an American mantra until the 20th century. The sandwich entered households with the creation of Kraft American Singles and the availability of mass-produced white bread. The bland combo was propagandized by Campbell’s Soup Company with its soup-andsandwich jingle crooned to the tune of Frank Sinatra’s “Love and Marriage.” Cafeterias in the 1950s and ’60s started pushing the affordable tomato soup and grilled cheese duo to satisfy the caloric, Vitamin C and protein requirements of school lunch programs. Ultimately, I think grilled cheese is exactly the right dish for a year like 2020. It’s a big enough tent to embrace organic gluten-free bread and dairy-free cheese and can be customized to satisfy family members’ specifications for any meal of the day. My most recent grilled cheese memory resulted when I searched my kitchen for something sweet and yummy. I ended up with butter-fried cranberry walnut bread slices layered with creamy burrata cheese and peach slices. I dipped the sandwich quarters (crust-on) in dark maple syrup. Grilled cheese: It’s for dessert, too. John Lehndorff is the former Dining Critic of the Rocky Mountain News and has written for the Washington Post and Cheese Connoisseur magazine. He hosts Radio Nibbles on KGNU.
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PHOTOGRAPH COURTESY TRUFFLE TABLE
enough butter, oil or fat. Without it you don’t get that crunchy deliciousness. “To eat a grilled cheese, you should need a lot of napkins. If not, then there’s a problem,” Clark says, noting that he likes a blend of garlic-infused olive oil and butter. He admits that a dab of smoky bacon fat couldn’t hurt.
Pesto Grilled Cheese
Grilled Cheese Destinations Denver’s long love affair with these sandwiches from diners to fine dining includes the popular Denver Grilled Cheese Fest—like other events it’s on hiatus this year. These Denver-area eateries offer their own spin on the classic. • KING KONG (Sauteed mushrooms, Sambuca cream sauce, grilled onions, pepper jack and American cheeses, white bread). The Grilled Cheese Society, Denver; grilledcheesesociety.com • GRILLED CHEESE (Texas toast, Muenster and American cheeses, tomato soup optional). Steuben’s, Denver and Arvada; steubens.com • PESTO GRILLED CHEESE (menu of cheeses available). The Truffle Table, Denver; truffletable.com • GRILLED CHEESE (Vermont Creamery fromage blanc, Beemster XO Gouda, New Bridge Aged Cheddar), Culture Meat & Cheese, Denver; culturemeatandcheese.com coloradoavidgolfer.com
Side Bets NICE DRIVES
Unconventional Economists Trucks and SUVs used to mean gas-guzzling monstrosities. No more. By Isaac Bouchard
Chevrolet Bolt
AMERICANS LOVE THEIR trucks and SUVs. Almost nobody seems to want a four door sedan. Fuel is cheap. And, Tesla has an electric vehicle (EV) market share of over 95 percent. Within the landscape laid out by these facts, there are still many great alternatives to obvious choices. Following are some for those who want cargo capacity and unlimited range, and for those who want performance and economy, along with the dynamic benefits of a lower silhouette vehicle like a sports sedan.
2020 CHEVROLET BOLT EPA ratings: 118MPGe 0-60mph: 6.3sec Price as tested: $43,735
Chevrolet is the unsung hero of EV cars. Languishing in the long shadow cast by Tesla, they continuously engineer incredibly reliable plugins like the Volt and the pure-EV Bolt, whose affordable, under $40,000 price and 259 mile range are ba-
sically unmatched. The Chevy leaps off the line and has strong acceleration at any sane speed. It is fun to drive, with accurate steering, decent body control and a generally smooth ride—albeit one more like a crossover, due to the Bolt’s tall, upright architecture. Its interior is funky in design and color and well assembled, but many of the materials feel like they belong in an entry-level car. It’s got most of the room of a crossover as well, but only comes in front wheel drive. For urban use
the Bolt is almost unparalleled. Its turning circle is small, its dimensions tidy and its tall seating position and cab-forward stance gives excellent visibility. The Bolt’s electronics and driver aids are fully competitive and it can do most everything the much better selling Tesla Model Y does at a significant savings. As long as one doesn’t need AWD, it is a very compelling EV.
2020 HYUNDAI SONATA HYBRID EPA ratings: 45/51/47mpg 0-60mph: 6.8sec (est) Price as tested: $36,430
Hyundai Sonata
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An all new structure, radical styling and a highquality interior define the new 2020 Sonata. Hyundai hopes this will help return this midsize sedan to the market share it enjoyed two generations ago. The Sonata stands apart visually from anything in the segment and top models, like the test Hybrid Limited, have a stunningly nice cockpit, chock full of all the mod cons people go for and beautifully crafted. The 192hp gasolineelectric powertrain is smoother operating than before, with slicker shifts and more organic regeneration mode under braking. The Sonata also averages over 50mpg, quite astonishing for something so roomy. About the only noticeable demerit is stiff ride quality. If you desire all the attributes of a four door architecture but want to sip gasoline, the Hyundai is a great way to go. coloradoavidgolfer.com
2020 VOLVO S60 T8 EPA ratings: 69MPGe 0-60mph: 4.7sec Price as tested: $64,190
That once staid Volvo now makes cars that are visually more alluring and cohesive than many other luxury brands is very cool. Their interiors are usually more daring, design-wise, and often more comfortable as well. Where they have lagged is powertrain refinement and performance. All are motivated by some versions of a 2-liter, turbocharged engine. A T5 badge means about 250hp; T6 adds a supercharger and roughly 50-60 ponies. However, both suffers from flat spots and surges throughout the rev band, and they can return some truly awful real-world fuel economy numbers, especially in urban areas. The 400hp, T8 plugin hybrid fixes all of this. Its 11.6kWh battery (housed where the driveshaft to the rear wheels would normally go) and electric rear motor grant it effortless, linear thrust at all speeds, and its aircraft carrier catapult-like launches are incredibly addictive. Fuel economy is in the mid-30s and the S60 T8 has the ability to go 22 miles on electricity. This combinations of talents makes the Volvo the most compelling midsize sporty sedan tested this past year.
Ram 1500
2020 MERCEDES-BENZ SPRINTER 2500 PASSENGER VAN* EPA Ratings: Not Rated 0-60mph: 11.0sec (est) Price as tested: $61,333 *Test vehicle was 2019 model
The Mercedes Sprinter van has become so successful in the States that it’s a wait of 12 to 18 months to get one. Time spent with the latest generation shows why. And, until recently it was the only full-size van equipped with factory all wheel drive, too. There are over 30 Sprinter variants available and the V6 diesel in our tester pulls it up any pass with commendable verve, thanks to its 325lb-ft of torque. While it can tow up to 5,000 pounds, that’s best reserved for flatter stretches of highway. Aside from a moderate susceptibility to road roar, it is generally Mercedes quiet, which is astonishing when you realize how much air a high roof variant is moving out of the way at speed. The front seats are very supportive and have multiple adjustments, though their basic vinyl covering means that once you start out sweaty, you’ll jump down from the almost Kenworth-high seating position with a damp backside. The instruments and controls are most all Mercedes standard, though made of cheaper materials. Ride quality is actually surprisingly good, as is steering
Volvo S60
2020 RAM 1500 ECODIESEL EPA ratings: 21/29/24mpg 0-60mph: 8.1sec Price as tested: $70,880
The stellar, award-winning Ram is now available with a 3-liter, V6 turbodiesel engine. Its 260hp and a stout 480lb-ft of torque mean it handily towed my 6,200 pound trailer up the long, steep grade to Genesee, only once briefly falling below 60mph. My average while towing this load was 14.7mpg, which is almost 50 percent better than any other diesel or gasoline truck I have ever used. My own Chevy 2500 Duramax routinely returned 9-10mpg, and new HD gasoline trucks I’ve tested from the Detroit3 were even worse, at roughly 8-9mpg. Unladen, the Ram got over 20mpg at very high average speeds, and mid-to-high 20s at lower velocities. It was also quiet and refined enough not to undermine the Ram’s incredible polish. Both GM and Ford offer similar engines but the trucks they power are well behind the standard set by the Ram 1500.
precision and body control. Of course you don’t drive the Sprinter like any old car, but that is part of the appeal, as you’re set atop the front wheels and stare out at the unfolding scenery through what seems the world’s largest windshield as if it’s a movie shot in Vista-Vision. Adding to one’s confidence is an available suite of driver aids and assist systems for parking and driving that is unmatched in the industry. Mercedes-Benz Sprinter Behind you—depending on wheelbase, chassis 523 square feet if room. Quality in these newer spec and roof height of course—will be a flatfloored box that you can walk upright in. A giant Sprinters seems much more even than the earlier sliding door allows access to nature or for peo- machines, rebuilt from what is known as “knockdown” kits to avoid very high import taxes. Peace ple and cargo, though surprisingly, the rear doors hinges don’t allow them to fold back on the Sprint- of mind comes from a 5-year, 100,000 powertrain warranty, though bumper-to-bumper coverer’s flanks, like some competitors. The number age is only 3/36. Turning a Sprinter into an RV and placement of windows is up to you, and can grant privacy or access to topography like almost is done by outside firms, and most anything is nothing else. What goes inside, from rows of seats possible. In this Corona-fueled age, the concept of getting away from it all, and the “glamping” for 12 to 15 passengers, to beds, bathrooms and possibilities the Sprinter opens up, what with its kitchens, is of course up to the owner. Payload ranges from just over 3600lbs in the 2500 model large ground clearance, AWD and mile-crunching to over 6200lbs for the 4500, spread over up to ability, is very desirable.
Automotive Editor Isaac Bouchard owns Denver-based Bespoke Autos (isaac@bespokeautos.com; 303-475-1462). Read more of his automotive writing, reviews and recommendations on coloradoavidgolfer.com and bespokeautos.com. coloradoavidgolfer.com
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Landmark Lincoln Living
Colorado Mountain Style
2020 Lincoln Navigator in Infinite Black featuring Monochromatic Wheels
It’s not just about where you’re headed, it’s about how you get there Landmark Lincoln 5000 S Broadway Englewood, CO 80113 www.LandmarkLincoln.com 303-761-1560 Luxury car buying for the 21st century, from the comfort of your own home.
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Magic Princess Arizona’s FAIRMONT SCOTTSDALE PRINCESS sets an enchanting standard for the best in golf, resorts, spas, restaurants and more
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Four spectacular courses, four chances to be captivated by a unique golf experience
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Empire of the Sun While golf is the focal point, in Arizona, there’s more to life than links. WE-LIKE-Y
In July, PHOENIX Magazine named We-Ko-Pa the best golf course in town. In August, Golfweek named the resort’s Saguaro course (pictured) the best public course in Arizona—for the 13th time in the last 14 years. That layout was designed by Bill Coore and Ben Crenshaw, the duo behind Colorado Golf Club. Saguaro was designed as a more “traditional” course, with holes following the natural movement of the land, while the other 18 holes, the Cholla course (designed by Scott Miller), is considered the quintessential targetstyle desert golf course. Whichever path you choose, you’ll undoubtedly end up in blissful golf splendor and a memorable experience. wekopa.com
SOLID FOUNDATION For some, the clubhouse at We-Ko-Pa might be as impressive as the two golf courses. Inspired by the Yavapai culture, the space features stylized detailing and is oriented to take advantage of the many spectacular views of the McDowell Mountains, Red Mountain, Four Peaks and the Superstitions. wekopa.com/clubhouse
A WORTHY CAUSE
COLORADO AVIDGOLFER | Fall 2020
PHOTOGRAPH COURTESY OF WE-KO-PA VIA FACEBOOK
The Yavapai Indian Foundation provides philanthropic support to the Yavapai Nation and its People. The Foundation’s main focus is to preserve the Yavapai heritage, culture and language through ongoing initiatives: encouraging healthy lifestyles; contributing to educational programs; building an assisted living center for the elderly; a new youth gymnasium and swimming pool; and many other worthy causes. In December, the Foundation will hold its annual charity golf tournament on the Saguaro course at We-Ko-Pa. fmyn.org
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UNSPOILED. UNRIVALED.
UNBELIEVABLE. 36 HOLES | PL AY SAGUARO & CHOLL A The Coore/Crenshaw-designed Saguaro course (No. 1) and the Scott Miller-designed Cholla course (No. 7) have made Golfweek’s Top-10 Best You Can Play for a decade. And you can experience both within a 3-day period with the 36-hole package. Located minutes from Scottsdale, Arizona in the pristine Sonoran Desert of the Fort McDowell Yavapai Nation.
CALL 800.660.7700 OR VISIT WEKOPA.COM
AN ENTERPRISE OF THE FORT MCDOWELL YAVAPAI NATION
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Rooms and Definitely Not Bored The Fairmont Scottsdale Princess offers 750 richly appointed guest rooms, including two Presidential Suites, 66 Fairmont Gold Rooms and 122 Casitas. All accommodations throughout the hotel have well-defined living and work areas, terraces, refreshment centers and oversized luxury bathrooms. scottsdaleprincess.com
From an innovative fusion of Asian and Latin flavors at Toro Latin Restaurant & Rum Bar to La Hacienda, the best Mexican cuisine in Scottsdale (under the direction of Richard Sandoval, the Father of Modern Mexican Cuisine), there are multiple options available for you to experience the very best in fine dining. scottsdaleprincess.com/dining
SPA DAY Visitors to the Fairmont Scottsdale Princess can get away from it all, while getting away from it all, at the Well & Being Spa. From the exhilaration of FloatFit Yoga to the tranquility of a customized aromatherapy massage and the motivating kick start of a new, evidence-based approach to nutrition and exercise, you’ll always go home feeling energized, enlightened and empowered. Packages available throughout the fall and holiday season. scottsdaleprincess.com/spa
COLORADO AVIDGOLFER | Fall 2020
MAKE SOME NOISE
The PGA TOUR’s Waste Management Phoenix Open, with galleries regularly topping 40,000 spectators, is unquestionably the most raucous stop on the professional circuit. The good news is that you won’t have to face a gauntlet of hecklers when you play the par-3 16th hole at the TPC Scottsdale Stadium Course, located adjacent to the Fairmont Scottsdale Princess resort. The better news is that it isn’t your only option for great golf—you can also hit the TPC Champions course as well as the 36 holes at the Greyhawk Golf Club. tpc.com/scottsdale
PITCH A FIT
Well & Being Spa’s robust fitness offerings and personal training are designed to cater to the wants and needs of every level of fitness. Whether it’s Aerial Hammock Yoga, Booty Barre or Bungee Fitness, you’ll find a way to kick start a healthy new routine or take your “weekend warrior” approach to the next level. Private Fitness Classes are also available. scottsdaleprincess.com/spa
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B O L D. F R E S H. I C O N I C. Embrace the warm sunshine and natural desert beauty Arizona is known for in newly renovated luxury accommodations. Discover the Waste Management Phoenix Open’s host hotel, and escape to one of the world’s top golf destinations. With more than 200 golf courses nearby, enjoy unparalleled access to some of the finest golf courses in the area including the TPC’s Champions Course and famed Stadium Course. Relax and unwind at the resorts six sparkling pools, five award-winning dining outlets, and world-renowned spa. Find your unforgettable escape at the Fairmont Scottsdale Princess. An adventure worth repeating.
We Create Experiences. #ATTHEPRINCESS
4 8 0 . 5 8 5 . 4 8 4 8 | S C O T TS DA L E P RI N C E S S . C O M | 7 5 7 5 E A ST P RI N C E S S D RI V E , S C O T TS DA L E , A Z 8 5 2 5 5
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T
he Heard Museum in Phoenix is home to one of the most extensive collections of American Indian art in the U.S. and features some 40,000 fine artworks and cultural artifacts, with a focus on tribes of the Southwest. The museum is currently featuring Larger Than Memory: Contemporary Art From Indigenous North America. The exhibit centers around works produced in the 21st century, highlighting the significant contribution Indigenous artists have made and continue to make to broader culture from 2000 to 2020. heard.org “BRIGHTER DAYS” BY JEFFREY GIBSON/COURTESY OF HEARD.ORG PHOTOGRAPH COURTESY OF @RAINBOWRYDERS
“PILLAR” BY IAN KUALI’I/COURTESY OF HEARD.ORG
UPRISING
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SUNRISE, SUNSET
PHOTOGRAPH COURTESY OF @BRENDANUNEZ1
PHOTOGRAPH COURTESY OF @STACYLYNN8668
Wild Rising by Cracking Art is the newest art exhibition at Desert Botanical Gardens in Phoenix. This installation is a more-than-1,000 animal sculptures art exhibit made from colorful and recyclable plastic and addresses global and local sustainability and conservation issues. dbg.org
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Rise above Arizona’s Sonoran Desert while being captivated by never-ending vistas—all while relaxing in a hot-air balloon. Rainbow Ryders, offers public and private tours, both at sunrise and at sunset. After your excursion (flight time is about 45 minutes to an hour), celebrate with a Prickly Pear Mimosa. Please check for updates on the latest COVID-19 safe practices. rainbowryders.com
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Mention This Ad and Save Some Green. It’s always greener with Colorado Turfin’. We are a family-owned and operated company, founded in 2015 by owner Brian Richmond. We specialize in creating lush, green, plots with custom synthetic turf for commercial and residential lawns, dog runs, and putting greens. You design it and we’ll create it! We are happy to take your vision and make it a reality so that you’ll have an outdoor space you can truly be proud of. With over 20 years of combined experience, we’re the turf experts. For a limited time, we will give you a 5% discount if you mention this ad. For a free estimate, call us at 303-349-2368 or visit us online at ColoradoTurfinCo.com. Colorado Turfin’ • brian@coloradoturfinco.com • 6709 Sunburst Ave, Firestone, CO 80504
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PHOTOGRAPH COURTESY OF BEVVY VIA FACEBOOK
FOOD TO MATCH A BOLD TRADITION
The Charro horsemen of Mexico date back to the start of the nation’s War of Independence in 1810. Today, charros are recognized by their distinctive dress, often on display in charreria—best described as a mix of rodeo skills and dressage, with riders showing traditional competitive roping and ranch skills. Now, as was the case back then, these cowboys loved to eat—which is the inspiration for Charro Steak in Tucson, where the family owners have been in the food industry for almost 100 years. Join them to experience the “Nueva Leyenda”… The New Legend. charrosteak.com
Bevvy
Living Your Best Life in Scottsdale What exactly is Bevvy in Old Town Scottsdale—a swanky gastropub featuring handcrafted meals? A sports bar, packed with televisions airing nonstop athletic action? An off-track betting site offering races from around the world? Yes! bevvyaz.com
Long one of the go-tos in Scottsdale, Talking Stick Resort, offers 36 holes of golf (with a Topgolf nearby) bigname entertainment and gaming. talkingstickresort.com
PHOTOGRAPH COURTESY OF VISIT TUCSON
If you’ve ever hankered for some hearty New England fare amidst the Arizona desert, you’re in luck—The Montauk features lobster rolls, fish tacos—and of course—clam chowdah. Weekday and weekend brunches are also offered. themontaukaz.com
In Tucson, The Mini Time Machine Museum of Miniatures’ collection of miniatures includes over 500 antique and contemporary dollhouses and roomboxes, while featuring special exhibitions. theminitimemachine.org
Closed for much of the year because of the pandemic, Taliesin West, the winter home of master architect Frank Lloyd Wright, was slated to reopen in midOctober. The residence (and desert laboratory) was established in 1937 and diligently handcrafted over many years into a world unto itself. Tours are available (reservations recommended). franklloydwright.org
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PHOTOGRAPHS COURTESY OF FRANKLLOYDWRIGHT.ORG (LEFT); THE MINI TIME MACHINE MUSEUM VIA FACEBOOK (RIGHT)
MINI-ME
GRAND DESIGN
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Ak-Chin Southern Dunes
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FOUR AMAZING TROON GOLF COURSES, ENDLESS AMOUNTS OF FUN! Tee it up on the best courses to play less than a day’s drive away
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Course Spotlight | Ak-Chin Southern Dunes
An Ak-Chin in Your Heart Discover why Southern Dunes is a perennial must-play.
A
lthough nestled in the desert, Ak-Chin Southern Dunes really plays more like a links-style course. Brian Curley and Lee E. Schmidt are listed as the designers but Masters champion Fred Couples served as a consultant on the project. The course underwent a renovation in 2014, which was designed to make it more “player-friendly”— to wit: the bunkering was reduced by 83,000 square feet, and the par-3 17th, once an approximate 240-yard blind shot, was shortened to just over 200 yards. Another nice touch was the addition of “Golf’s version of a bunny slope.” The practice area, #miniDunes, is designed to appeal to a younger crowd. akchinsoutherndunes.com
COLORADO AVIDGOLFER | Fall 2020
SACRED LAND The Ak-Chin Indian Community owns the 320 acres that houses Ak-Chin Southern Dunes. Part of its original May 1912 reservation, the community lost the land as the result of an executive order later that year. It was reacquired almost 100 years later, in 2012.
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PMS 726
PMS 471
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Course Spotlight | Troon North
True North
Pinnacle or Monument, Troon North is still the desert standard-bearer.
T
hirty years ago, Tom Weiskopf came upon a piece of land that he said was so good, “anybody could have (designed them) and had them turn out pretty good.” Of course, the former British Open champion was being modest. From paying homage to his predecessors in golf design (the opening hole on the Pinnacle course is a 392-yard par-4 called “Mackenzie”— named for architect Alister MacKenzie, who designed Augusta National), to “The Monument,” the impossibly large boulder that challenges players off the tee on the 566-yard, par-5 third hole that inspired the facility’s second 18, Troon North Golf Club, designed with Jay Morrish, may well be Weiskopf’s magnum opus. troonnorthgolf.com
Course Spotlight | Eagle Mountain
The Eagle Has Landed
That is, if you can successfully navigate the greens at Eagle Mountain.
T
he newcomer to Eagle Mountain Golf Club may well be heartened by a quick glance at a scorecard that shows a tantalizing length of about 6,800 yards from the tips. However, visions of course records will likely become so many delusions of grandeur before long—most likely at the first misplaced approach shot. The challenge at Eagle Mountain comes from its immaculately-manicured greens, which feature multiple tiers and rolling contours. If you want a course where you can come out and channel your inner Loren Roberts, showing your friends that you’re indeed “The Boss of the Moss,” then Eagle Mountain may well be the place for you. eaglemtn.com
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UP TO 50% OFF YOUR TEE TIME
PLAY MORE GOLF
AT TROON NORTH GOLF CLUB
ONE OF ARIZONA’S BEST DESERT COURSES YOU CAN PLAY Come experience both of Troon North’s Monument and Pinnacle courses for the best desert golf in Arizona. Book now Online at www.TroonNorthGolf.com for the best available rates. Want to PLAY MORE? Book your second round and receive 25%off. Book a 3rd round and receive 50%off. All rounds must be completed within 7 days of each other.
scottsdale, az | 480.585.7700 | troonnorthgolf.com
TROON NORTH GOLF CLUB IS MANAGED BY TROON GOLF, THE LEADER IN UPSCALE GOLF COURSE MANAGEMENT
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Course Spotlight | Rio Verde
River of Dreams Rio Verde—golf and a lifestyle that will make others green with envy.
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he two 18-hole Tom Lehman-designed golf courses at Rio Verde stand as centerpieces of a vibrant community and together, they make up one of the bestkept secrets in the Valley of the Sun. The courses, Quail Run and White Wing, play to only about 6,600 yards from the tips, but the abundance of elevated greens, with subtle contours and shaved down edges, creates its own particular challenges. Then again, living a peaceful, relaxed life is the idea behind Rio Verde—why should playing 18— or even 36—holes of golf be any different? rioverdearizona.com
COLORADO AVIDGOLFER | Fall 2020
A NEW WAY OF CLUBBING DOWN Located in the McDowell foothills next to Tonto National Forest, there’s much more than golf to Rio Verde. The facility also features clubs for hikers, bikers and horse lovers, as well as an art studio. It also recently completed a $3.75 million clubhouse renovation.
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Rio Verde is our perfect fit.
Speak to those who live and play in Rio Verde just minutes from North Scottsdale and you’ll probably hear, “This is the perfect fit for our lifestyle!” Originally a slice of what was known as Box Bar Ranch, the Bucolic property nestled along the Verde River on the edge of the Tonto National Forest is as stunning today as it was when the developers first envisioned it as an ideal retreat for golf and nature lovers alike. Wrapped in blue skies and Arizona sunshine, Rio Verde feels far away, yet is still a short drive away from spectacular restaurants, theaters, shopping, museums and more. Truly a total club lifestyle with spectacular weather for being outdoors and staying active, Rio Verde is tailored perfectly to fill the days with endless opportunities to connect and build friendships that deepen over time. Golf is elemental to this full life. Members play for both the thrill of the sport and pure joy of the game. And whether they’re out to play for three hours or three holes, Rio Verde’s professional staff, extensive practice facility, and open fairways provide plenty of opportunity to get into golf. Unlike many private clubs, Rio Verde’s members don’t have food and beverage minimums or pay cart fees. Full Membership provides unlimited access to dining and events, plus 36-holes of parkland-style golf, driving range, three putting greens, and bunker/chipping complex. Because Rio Verde Country Club is managed by Troon, members can request tee times at over 500 private, resort and daily fee courses worldwide. When combined with fantastic food (dine in, take out, or they’ll deliver!), social calendar, and signature events, members stay as busy as they please. Those seeking a little piece of paradise are invited to see firsthand what makes Rio Verde the perfect home away from home.
To learn more about Rio Verde Memberships, please contact our Membership Director, Megan Liborio (480) 471.3410 mliborio@rioverdecc.com
“We love the walkable courses and there’s never a cart fee, even for non-residents. But it’s the people who make Rio Verde so special.” Gary & Diana Mercer
“People say, ‘Hey, we’re doing this. If you’d like to join in, then come. If not, no problem.’ We never feel any pressure here.” Tim & Lynda Connolly
“The people are so welcoming, you just feel like you’re at home within a short time of being here.” Chris & Diane McMullen
“We’re always meeting up for a round of golf, game of pickleball, drinks and dinner, or a fabulous event at the club. We stay busy and happy. This is our paradise!” Ron & Nancy Miller
RioVerdeArizona.com
We Know What You Need… Your Perfect Arizona Golf Experience Awaits!
BREATHTAKING SCENERY • GREAT CONDITIONS • EXCEPTIONAL VALUE
Eagle Mountain Golf Club is a short drive from Colorado! Book a tee time and make your next golf escape to Scottsdale! (480) 816-1234 • eaglemtn.com
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Getaways | Nevada
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The Sure Thing It’s Never a Gamble Playing Golf in Nevada. THE BEST OF BOTH Just as it straddles two states, Nevada and Arizona, The Palms Golf Club in Mesquite offers a choice between two different styles of golf. The 7,008-yard course features an opening nine with lush, resort-like features. The back nine is full of elevation and has a decidedly desert feel. casablancaresort.com/golf/palms
WHERE’S RICK? Shuttered for a time because of the novel coronavirus, the Casablanca Resort reopened its doors in June. That means you can pamper yourself at the Spa & Salon at Casablanca or hunker down in the casino for a night of gaming. casablancaresort.com/spa
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(NEVADA) OPEN SPACES
Playing at more than 7,000 yards from the tips, the Cal Olsen-designed Casablanca Golf Club lies etched into the wetlands of the Virgin Valley. Along with the Palms Golf Club, the Casablanca will host the Nevada Open in November. The three-day, 54-hole tournament, which has been conducted for more than 40 years, has a purse of $150,000. casablancaresort.com/golf/nevada-open
WE’LL NEVER TELL
There’s nothing like a traditional family Thanksgiving...turkey, pumpkin pie—and a night of motocross racing. Dinner, and a whole lot of dragon backs, will indeed be on the menu when the Thanksgiving MX Classic comes to Mesquite MX Park, Nov. 26-29. A “family tradition” for motocross enthusiasts, a slate of nightly activities are offered for the entire gang. thanksgivingmx.com
COLORADO AVIDGOLFER | Fall 2020
Should you hop in your car, heading south out of Mesquite, and find yourself mesmerized by all the glittering lights about an hour or so into your automotive foray...well, who are we to judge? Two words: Vegas, Baby. lasvegas.com
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PHOTOGRAPH COURTESY OF MESQUITE MX VIA FACEBOOK (LEFT)
TURKEY WITH A 10W-40 CHASER
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lf o G & Room
CasaBlancaResort.com 877-438-2929 One Night Stay and Play 18 Championship Holes at CasaBlanca or Palms Golf Club!
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T
here’s more than The Palms and Casablanca when it comes to local golf. Golf Mesquite is your one-stop shop to gain access to a number of compelling courses like Falcon Ridge Golf Course and the Coyote Springs Golf Club, where the individual holes have colorful nicknames like “The Flop,” “Splash The Pot” and “On Tilt.” Meanwhile, The Oasis Golf Club is an Arnold Palmer design. Rumor has it that “The King” thought the fifth, sixth and eighth holes were among the best 18 he’d ever designed. golfmesquitenevada.com
Falcon Ridge Golf Course
PHOTOGRAPH COURTESY OF PARKS.NV.GOV
Oasis Golf Club
PHOTOGRAPHS COURTESY OF CAMEL SAFARI VIA FACEBOOK
SURFIN’ SAFARI
COLORADO AVIDGOLFER | Fall 2020
How many times have you woken up in the morning wishing you could go on a camel safari? Well, if you’re in Mesquite, you’re in luck. Besides its 30 camels, Camel Safari also has a two-toed sloth, an African-crested porcupine and six-banded armadillos on every tour. camelsafari.com
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INTO THE FIRE World-renowned for its 40,000 acres of bright red Aztec sandstone outcrops nestled in gray and tan limestone, Valley of Fire State Park contains ancient, petrified trees and petroglyphs dating back more than 2,000 years. While the park is open, special events—like the intriguingsounding Annual Atlatl Competition (in which participants test their skills with replicas of ancient spears)—are on hold because of COVID-19 restrictions. parks.nv.gov
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Getaways | Utah
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You Can’t Beat Utah Sand Hollow Resort is the gateway to great golf.
NOTHING HOLLOW ABOUT IT
Golfweek has ranked Sand Hollow Resort’s Championship course one of the country’s “Top 100 Resort Courses” every year since 2011 and the No. 1 “Best Course You Can Play” in Utah since 2009, and it’s easy to understand why. The front nine features red rock outcroppings, natural vegetation and indigenous sand bunkers—and then things get really interesting. Resort officials say most golfers drop their clubs and grab a camera before their first shot on the 10th hole. That’s followed by the 190-yard, par-3 11th, which according to Golf Digest, “is to step on the edge of the world.” The resort also features a pair of nine-hole courses, including the aptly named par-3 Wee Course. sandhollowresorts.com PHOTOGRAPH COURTESY OF PARAGON ADVENTURES VIA FACEBOOK
HARD FOUGHT Sand Hollow’s 7,300-yard Championship Course was designed by John Fought, continuing his legacy in Utah. After four years at Brigham Young University in Provo, Fought played on a U.S. Walker Cup team before eventually becoming a regular on the PGA TOUR. He won back-to-back events in 1979. sandhollowresorts.com
PARAGON OF VIRTUE Day hikes, zip lines, rock climbing and rappelling—even photography opportunities are all part of the Paragon Adventures experience. Part of Sand Hollow Resort, guests can arrange a number of, well, adventurous activities that won’t require a sand wedge to enjoy. paragonadventure.com COLORADO AVIDGOLFER | Fall 2020
APRÈS GOLF Featuring a wraparound deck with views of Zion National Park, The Grille is a perfect spot for a post-golf dining experience. A pre-round breakfast isn’t a bad choice either. sandhollowresorts.com/ the-grille
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SOMETIMES “SHORT DRIVES” ARE GOOD, TOO.
Your Southern Utah vacation and resort destination within close driving range. Only a short drive from Colorado, Sand Hollow Resort is your premiere destination to Escape, Play, Discover, and Relax! Play the Championship Course, consistently ranked as a “Top 100 Resort Course” by Golfweek since 2011. Stay for adventure, relaxation, or both in our pristine nightly rentals. Sand Hollow Resort offers adrenaline pumping activities for team building and gorgeous spaces for corporate events.
GET 10% OFF A NIGHTLY STAY WITH CODE AVID20
sandhollowresort.com 5662 W. Clubhouse Dr. Hurricane, Utah 435-656-GOLF
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COPPER ROCK STAR
Located in the heart of Southern Utah in the town of Hurricane, about an eight-hour drive from Denver, Copper Rock is a recent addition to the Beehive State. Designed by Dale Beddo, the 6,823-yard par-72 course offers stunning copper cliffs and sweeping desert vistas. Before the novel coronavirus disrupted its schedule, the LPGA feeder Symetra Tour was slated to play here in September. That’s not the course’s only connection to big-time golf—the head pro at Copper Rock is H. Myatt Green, Jr. He’s the son of World Golf Hall of Fame member Hubert Green, who won a PGA and U.S. Open Championship during his illustrious career. copperrock.com
Be as busy as a bee in the Beehive State Colorado doesn’t have a monopoly on natural scenic beauty. Bryce Canyon National Park claims to have the largest concentration of Hoodoos (irregular columns of rock) on Earth. Bryce Canyon has four main viewpoints, all found within the first few miles of the park: Bryce Point, Inspiration Point, Sunset Point and Sunrise Point. nps.gov/brca An ancient history museum inside a natural sandstone cave makes Moqui Cave a must-stop during a southern Utah excursion. A one-hour tour features dinosaur tracks, fossils and artifacts—along with one of the largest fluorescent mineral displays in the United States. moqui-cave.com
While its 2020 Broadway season has been postponed because of the pandemic, there’s still plenty to do at the Tuacahn Center for the Arts in St. George. Still on the docket were concerts featuring tributes to The Beatles, Eagles and Abba. tuacahn.org
The preserved ancient village at Anasazi Indian Village State Park was one of the largest Anasazi (Ancient Ones) communities in Utah west of the Colorado River. Part of the ancient village has been reconstructed and visitors can go inside the L-shaped abode. A brief excavation period unearthed about 100 buildings, plus thousands of artifacts which are on display in the park’s museum. capitolreef.org
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PHOTOGRAPHS COURTESY OF CAPITOL REEF VIA FACEBOOK (LEFT); TUACAHN CENTER FOR THE ARTS VIA FACEBOOK (RIGHT)
ASTIR IN ST. GEORGE
THE ANCIENT ONE
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COPPER ROCK Hurricane, UT
NATURE’S BEST WORK COPPER ROCK GOLF COURSE
The sun rises on Southern Utah’s newest attraction. Copper Rock Golf Course and community combines innovative design with nature’s best work. Nestled in the colorful cliffs of Hurricane Valley, Copper Rock neighbors the Sand Hollow Reservoir and offers views of Pine Valley Mountain, Zion National Park, Kolob Fingers, and the red Dixie Cliffs.
TEE TIMES AVAILABLE ONLINE OR BY PHONE
8th HOLE Copper Rock
copperrock.com (435) 215-4845 1567 W Copper Rock Parkway
Congratulations to the Winners, Grant Dean and Ryan Hurley
Thank Y ou
to our sponsors and players for making the 2020 Schomp BMW Cup
a huge success!
Colorado Section
TEChnical
GOLFTEC started in a basement—
now, after 25 years, it’s known around the world. And with new innovations on the horizon, the future looks bright. WHEN JOE ASSELL made the decision some 25 years ago to leave his native Chicago and attend Mississippi State University, it was his way of trying to scratch out a toehold somewhere in golf—“I was thinking of trying to get in on the business side of the game,” he says. “Maybe a job with Titleist or something like that.” Chances are he had little idea that someday, he’d be the local personification of the ongoing Cold War between global superpowers. “You hear all about China and them stealing intellectual property from the United States...I had a buddy who happened to be walking down the street there and he texts me,” Assell, the co-founder and CEO of GOLFTEC, recalled recently with a wry chuckle. “He's like, ‘Congratulations on opening in Beijing.’ I'm like, ‘We're not open in Beijing…’ “Somebody had stolen our logo, built a sign and opened up a golf deck—we didn't even know about it.” It likely made perfect sense to the enterprising thief—after all, who would question GOLFTEC making inroads into another lucrative market, particularly one in golf-crazed Asia? By that point, GOLFTEC was growing in such leaps and bounds that if a traveler saw its logo on a sign hovering above The Great Wall, it wouldn’t have merited a second glance. As it turns out, in 2019, the company debuted a performance center in Shenzhen, China. That was two years after the one in Singapore opened, which was a year after GOLFTEC moved into Hong Kong. Today, that ubiquitous logo can be found on more than 200 training facilities in six different countries; in the United States, GOLFTEC is in 88 cities in 38 states—“and we’ve got five under construction right now,” says Assell. “When they open in the next month or two, we’ll be at 220.” In 2017, the magazine Fast Company named GOLFTEC one the 10 most innovative businesses in sports, a list that included ESPN, Twitter, and even the NBA’s Sacramento Kings. “GOLFTEC,” the magazine stated, “crunched roughly 225 terabytes of data—more than 6 million videotaped swings—to produce the most comprehensive analysis of the golf swing to date.” Chances are, the first data collector used by the company would have had difficulty measuring the COLORADO AVIDGOLFER | Fall 2020
B y A N T HON Y C O T T ON Ph ot og ra ph by E .J. CA R R
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Advancements
TIME IN A BOTTLE: GOLFTEC Co-founder and CEO Joe Assell stands amid a display showing highlights from the company’s first 25 years. Assell attended Mississippi State University hoping to find a way to forge a career for himself in the golf industry.
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PHOTOGRAPH COURTESY OF GOLFTEC
DEGREES OF DIFFICULTY: Rather than overwhelm students with massive data points, GOLFTEC instructors like Nick Clearwater often keep the numbers to themselves, instead offering physical cues to help the player reach the analytical benchmarks.
tiniest fraction of that amount. As part of his golf management program at Mississippi State, Assell spent his summers interning at courses around the country; one of those stops was Cherry Hills Country Club, then under the direction of the legendary Clayton Cole. “I was there in 1993,” Assell says. “The next year I was finishing school and Clayton called me and said he had a computer in the basement at Cherry Hills that measured the golf swing and that the members kind of liked it. He wanted to open it up to all of Denver; he couldn’t do that at the club, so he said if I wanted to move back out, we’d put it in a store and I’d work there.” Thus, the first GOLFTEC, located in a strip mall storefront in the Denver Tech Center, was born—but not really—initially, the operation was called Driving Obsession. The business grew in fits and starts, branching out to the Midwest and Texas. As time went on, it was clear that it had the potential to completely disrupt an industry that had previously relied on someone, maybe a club pro or an assistant pro—if the student was lucky—taking that student outside, and, depending on how motivated the teacher was, watching a number of swings while offering a number of suggestions over the course of 30 minutes or an hour. How much progress the student made when he or she returned to the course largely depended on what the instructor was seeing with their eyes—which often boiled down to that universal refrain, “Try keeping your head down.” Assell says he knew there was someCOLORADO AVIDGOLFER | Fall 2020
thing else out there, a better way to go—but getting others to share that vision was another story. “Everybody but the consumer thought this was a bad idea; I mean, this was a failed business idea—teaching golf indoors?—nobody would do that,” he says. “Teaching golf by using technology? Up until then, it was all about feel; the older way of teaching golf said you had to actually see the ball and where it was going to know what you were doing. “So there were a lot of doubters. Virtually everyone in golf I think in the early days, was a doubter.” In 1995, GOLFTEC’s initial year, the company gave 2,000 lessons and totaled just $90,000 in sales. There were certainly a number of things GOLFTEC had in its favor—the location of the performance centers lent themselves to a certain clientele: rather than leave their jobs, drive to a course, change into golf clothes and spend an hour on a lesson before reversing the process and trying to get back to work, a GOLFTEC might literally be downstairs, or around the corner. Following an initial one-hour evaluation session, lessons are no more than 30 minutes, giving students a chance to get in and out and continue on with their day. Even so, there was still the stigma that it was all just...weird. Computers, players attached to sensors like they were part of a video game—“When I first started coming, they had a skeleton with a spine and a head— it was kind of eerie,” says Bo Moorhead of Denver, a long-time GOLFTEC client. Twenty five years and 10 million lessons later, it’s obvious there was an alternative
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method lurking somewhere in the madness. “More of the criticism early was from people who just didn’t know; people who had never come into one of our centers would be out there saying things—it was ignorance and not being educated about what we do,” Assell says. “The reality is that we’ve tested hundreds of swings of PGA, LPGA, Champions Tour players with our sensors and collected this giant database of the best swings in the world. Everything we do is based on that research; it’s facts, not anybody’s swing thoughts or philosophies or opinion… “The only thing that matters is the split second the club and ball touch—that impact determines everything. By testing the best players in the world, we know the most efficient way to get to that point. But everybody in the world is different; every swing is different, even the tour players. “But we know from our data that the average shoulder turn for a tour player hitting a 5-iron is 89 degrees—if a golfer walks in and has a shoulder turn of say, 55 degrees, I may not be able to get him to 89 degrees, but if we can get him to 75, that’s a better golf swing.” Aside from a physics or geometry major, trying to enter those types of data points into the brain of someone who just wants to clobber the ball further down the fairway might seem like a disaster waiting to happen. Instead, says Nick Clearwater, GOLFTEC’s Vice-President of Instruction, their teachers just take the advanced math out of the equation. “If you were left to your own devices, coloradoavidgolfer.com
then yeah, trying to figure out all the data could be super complicated,” says Clearwater, who appears regularly on Golf Channel and is a staple on “Top Instructor” lists—including in 2019-20, where he registered at No. 33 on Golf Digest’s Best Teachers in America list. “So while in my head, the lessons are data-oriented, I’m just going to give you a cue—‘Move your hands inwards more on your backswing’—that will more or less accomplish what the data is saying.” TY-BO In his office in the Tech Center, Ty Walker, a regional manager for GOLFTEC, keeps a piece of paper—a tee sheet as it were—filled with the names of students and the number of lessons they’ve taken. Most of those figures are somewhere in the low double digits—until an entry at the bottom of the page. There, alongside Moorhead’s name, the total is over 300. “And this is only from after we went electronic in 2002; so there’s also everything between 1995 and then,” Walker says. “So really, he’s probably had around 500 halfhour lessons with me.” If Walker was the first employee Assell and his co-founder Mike Clinton hired, it wouldn’t be a stretch to say that Moorhead was one of the first customers to walk through the door. “It’s basically been about 24 and a half years of me taking half-hour lessons,” he says. “I used to be the guy looking at all the golf magazines, their instruction sections, looking at the hints then running out to the course and trying different things.” Initially, when he came to GOLFTEC, Moorhead was seeking the golfer’s Holy Grail—greater distance. To that end, Walker admits, he’s failed Moorhead. “The guy could hit it into a thimble 140 yards from here, but if you moved it back two yards he couldn’t get to it, so he’s always wanted more distance,” he says. “To be honest, I haven’t delivered on that—he’ll hit it a few more yards, but there’s never been any great leaps of distance.” But Moorhead has won numerous club championships since linking up with Walker. Perhaps even more importantly, a friendship has developed; these days, Moorhead’s lessons often consist of the long-time pupil hitting about a dozen shots, then sitting down with Walker to solve society’s ills or give each other a hard time about the $2 bill that’s on the line in their running major championship pool (Moorhead’s choice of Xander Schauffele put him on top in the coloradoavidgolfer.com
recent U.S. Open). Now 64, Moorhead says these days he’s not hitting it as far as he used to—even with whatever improvements came from working with Walker. Ty says Bo should consider concessions like moving up a set of tees in order to even things out a bit, but the teacher admits that the student is being a bit stubborn about it. “Ty tries to help me with it, but it’s hard mentally; I’m competitive, and so now that it’s tough for me to break 80 because I don’t hit it far enough, the fun of playing golf has really gone down for me,” Moorhead says. “It’s my biggest struggle right now, but I’ll still come in for lessons because it’s just been a fun, fun thing to do.” “I think it’s therapy for him,” Walker says. “He came in on the day his Mother died, because he said she would have wanted him to...he’s got my prime spot, Friday afternoons at 4:30, and it will always be his for the rest of my teaching days.” LETTER PERFECT A common misperception is that the TEC in GOLFTEC stands for technology; no surprise given all the innovation the company has brought to the game. In reality, each letter stands for something different— Technique, Equipment, Conditioning. “Only if you have all three of those can you play your best,” Assell says. Clearly, technology has been a major component of the company—in the past, as well in the days ahead. As it turns out, some time in the very near future all those sensors, attached to the body to measure the swings of all those players, will be disappearing—the company will soon roll out a system that captures a player’s movements and swing, minus the harness. That’s been made possible by a new camera developed by GOLFTEC. “It’s our own proprietary camera; we engineered the whole thing,” Assell says. “The faster the shutter speed, the sharper your image—the shaft isn’t going to be blurry at 100 miles an hour; you’re going to see it, you’re going to see the grooves of the club and the grip during the swing. “We had about 15 camera companies give us their best shot, their best cameras, and nobody could meet our requirements, so we developed our own.” Along with numerous instruction studios, GOLFTEC headquarters in Englewood also features space that might best be described as paradise for a tech nerd. But alas, there isn’t a yoga studio or Pilates
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reformer to be found. In its relentless climb to the top, Assell says the company has essentially focused on one thing at a time— “we try not to be mediocre at anything; we became No. 1 in the world in golf lessons and we’re trying to be No. 1 in club fitting, and we’ve had great momentum there. “I give Clayton Cole a lot of credit; now, everybody on tour is a fitness buff, but that wasn’t the case when we started—23 years ago (when Driving Obsession became GOLFTEC) he knew that being strong and healthy would be an important part of playing your best golf...but we have not rolled out a fitness product, a fitness experience. But we know we’re going to need it, so conditioning is moving up on our list.” Over the course of a quarter century, Assell says GOLFTEC has weathered four different crises that threatened the operation: when the dot-com bubble burst and money from investors all but dried up; when Golfsmith, which had partnered with GOLFTEC, bringing performance centers into their stores, went under—“we lost 51 GOLFTECs just like that—a major crisis,” he says. The third flash point was the recession of 2008; 10 years after coming through that economic downturn, GOLFTEC hedged its bets against future calamity by selling a controlling interest in the company to GDO Sports, a Japanese-based concern. The fourth crisis didn’t occur until 2020—the novel coronavirus. The global pandemic forced GOLFTEC to close its doors for approximately two months. However, as has been the case with most things in golf this year (the sport has emerged as an economic outlier in the pandemic), the company has rebounded. “There’s been this surge of business through our doors; the energy around golf is flowing through us as well,” Assell says. “We set a record for the best June in the history of our company, and we did the same thing in July—we had a strong August and now we’re completely rewriting our September record books.” Not bad for the quirky little company with the funny ideas about how to teach golf. “As we went around the country, cityby-city, we were always the new guy with the weird thing using a computer indoors,” Assell says. “We always had to pioneer our way through, but at the end of the day, the results are speaking for themselves.” Anthony Cotton is the editor of Colorado AvidGolfer. Fall 2020 | COLORADO AVIDGOLFER
KRISTINE THE MACHINE: Since getting her amateur status reinstated in 2017, Franklin has been a consistent winner in state events.
Colorado Golf ’s KIM EATON needs one victory to become the winningest woman in state history, and nobody wants her to get it more than KRIS FRANKLIN, the player who has repeatedly thwarted her. By JON RIZZI
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PHOTOGRAPHS COURTESY COLORADO GOLF ASSOCIATION
PLAYING THROUGH: Despite battling numerous injuries since turning 50, Eaton has won 10 events in Colorado and another 18 in Arizona.
Greatest
Rivalry
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IN MAY OF 2018, all signs pointed to Kim Eaton easily breaking the all-time record for wins by a woman in Colorado state amateur championships. Partnering with fellow Colorado Golf Hall of Fame member Janet Moore, the Greeley native had just won her seventh Brassie Championship—a four-ball strokeplay event—at The Club at Flying Horse in Colorado Springs. The victory marked the 25th in her 43-year career, tying her with the great Carol Flenniken for most Colorado Golf Association victories by a woman. And with that year’s CGA Women’s Senior Stroke Play taking place at Greeley Country Club—the home course of her youth and the site of her victory, by 16 shots, in the 2012 edition of the same event—the stars seemed aligned for Eaton to triumph in a championship she’d won five previous times. But win No. 26 didn’t come at Greeley. Nor did it happen at the following year’s Senior Stroke Play at the Country Club of Colorado or at the 2019 or 2020 Senior Match Play events at Firestone’s Saddleback Golf Club. In all four instances, Eaton lost to Kristine Franklin, a one-time professional player who’d returned to competitive golf in 2017 after an 18-year hiatus. Their first
stroke play went to a playoff; a single shot decided their second. Their two match-play finals produced identical 3 & 2 scores. Whispers now circulate that Franklin has gotten into Eaton’s head. As a fellow competitor said after watching the two battle at Saddleback in July, “Kris has Kim’s number.” If so, that number might be seven—as in the years separating the 54-year-old Franklin from the 61-year-old Eaton. “I would love to get the record,” said Eaton, who now lives in Mesa, Ariz. “It’s not out of sight, but I’m getting older and the competition is younger.” And healthier. Since turning 50 in 2009, Eaton has had a torn rotator cuff, a bilateral knee replacement and three cervical vertebrae ablated. She suffers from arthritis so severe that she hasn’t walked 18 holes since 2015, and the USGA has given her an exemption to use a golf car during competitions. Despite those injuries, during this time she’s won 10 senior championships in Colorado and 18 in Arizona. She also played in August’s Senior Stroke Play with a completely torn left biceps tendon—and still
carded the lowest final round in the field. “My body is saying ‘give up competitive golf,’ but my mind isn’t listening,” Eaton jokes. “While those two battle it out, I take a Percoset and go play.” “Each year as a senior isn’t just a year,” Franklin says. “There’s more difference between a 54-year-old and a 61-year-old than between a 23- and a 30-year-old, which is what makes Kim playing at her level so remarkable. Can you imagine how much tougher she’d be if she were completely healthy?” Franklin insists she gets no pleasure from playing the role of the spoiler to Eaton’s quest. “I really think the world of Kim,” she says. “She is always so kind to me, and she accepted me when I started competing again.” Prior to 2017, Franklin hadn’t competed since losing the 1999 Colorado Women’s Open in playoff, shortly after which she had her amateur status reinstated and started a family. Nor had she won a state amateur event since taking the 1986 Colorado Women’s Golf Association (CWGA) Stroke Play when she was a 20-year-old known as Kris Hoos.
PHOTOGRAPHS COURTESY COLORADO GOLF ASSOCIATION
ONE MORE TIME: In 2017, Eaton won the CWGA Senior Stroke Play Championship at Mariana Butte (right). Her 25 victories in Colorado Golf Association events during her 43-year career ties her with Carol Flenniken for the most all-time by a woman.
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LASTING MEMORY: Franklin won the 2020 CWGA Senior Match Play Championship (left). After returning to amateur play in 2017 at the urging of friends and family, she won the Senior Stroke Play. The triumph brought a smile to her biggest supporter, her father George, who passed away a month later after battling leukemia. PHOTOGRAPHS COURTESY COLORADO GOLF ASSOCIATION
In 1979, Eaton won the same CWGA event—also at the age of 20. The parallels between the two women’s careers don’t stop there. Both come from strong golf pedigrees. The niece of Colorado Golf Hall of Famer Larry Eaton, Kim was a prodigy who “had more mothers than I knew what to do with,” referring to Flenniken, Katie Fiorella, Lynn Larson, Eleanore Pellegrini and the other iconic women golfers who nurtured her talent. Kris and her brothers—Jon (a former club pro) and Eric (who coached the University of Denver men’s team for 15 seasons)—had for a father George Hoos, the legendary golf coach at Boulder’s Fairview High School. “Flatirons Golf Course was daycare,” she says. Eaton played for the University of New Mexico before spending seven years as an LPGA professional, winning the 1982 LPGA Western Sectional Teaching Division Championship and making the cut at the 1983 U.S. Women’s Open. By 1994, she’d become a police officer for the City of Evans, regaining her amateur golf status and winning CWGA events. Franklin also headed southwest for college, competing for the University of Arizona before she, too, spent seven years as a professional golfer. While playing on coloradoavidgolfer.com
the Japanese LPGA Tour, she met Brent Franklin, a future Canadian Golf Hall of Famer who would become her husband, golf coach and the father of their two sons, Jaxon and Walker. Both boys excelled as prep golfers, with Walker earning a scholarship to the University of Louisville. Knowing the pleasure it brought her to watch her boys shine as junior players, Kris recalled the joy her father took in watching her and her brothers compete. It took a little coaxing from her former Arizona teammate and two-time U.S. Senior Women’s Amateur champion Lara Tennant, but with George battling leukemia, Franklin returned to competition as an amateur in 2017. The following year, she defeated Eaton, bringing home the Senior Stroke Play trophy—and a huge smile to her father’s face—a month before he passed away at age 84. Above all, both players share a respect for each other and for the game. “Kris is so courteous and encouraging,” Eaton says. “Her play is so steady, you can’t make a mistake against her.” “I really think the world of Kim,” Franklin counters. “She has a great heart. Golf is her badge of honor, her passion. I really want her to achieve the record.” She told Eaton as much during August’s CGA Senior Match Play at the
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Olde Course in Loveland. Going into the 36th and final hole of competition, Franklin had a one-stroke lead over Eaton … only this time their battle was for runner-up to Marilyn Hardy, who stood six shots clear of the field. Ever since tying Flenniken’s victory total, Eaton insisted she wanted to set the outright record in an individual event. But as she and Franklin headed to the green on the par-3 finisher, her rival asked whether all her titles were individual ones. When Eaton said 15 came as an individual and 10 in partner events—and that they all counted the same—Franklin popped the question. What if the two of them joined forces next year in either the CGA’s Mashie (fourball match play) or Brassie (four-ball stroke play)? As if a giant weight had been lifted from her injured shoulders, Eaton promptly sank a 15-foot birdie, drawing even with Franklin, who parred. “Next year, Kris and I are going to be partners,” Eaton now says with anticipatory enthusiasm. “Watch out for this senior team!” Franklin cautions. Jon Rizzi is the founding editor of Colorado AvidGolfer. Fall 2020 | COLORADO AVIDGOLFER
Bring the
Payne!
With PAYNE’S VALLEY, Tiger Woods’ first public course, Branson has truly arrived as a golf destination. By JON RIZZI
HONOR GUARD: Tiger Woods designed Payne’s Valley, his first public course, to honor PGA TOUR great Payne Stewart. Woods wanted the 7,370-yard course to be mentally challenging but also player-friendly.
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PHOTOGRAPH COURTESY OF BIG CEDAR LODGE
THIS IS NO fish tale. After dominating the 1997 Masters to win his first major, the 21-year-old Tiger Woods spent a portion of his $486,000 check on a Bass Tracker, the country’s best-selling professionally rigged boat, motor and trailer package. Introduced by Bass Pro Shops in 1978, the Bass Tracker revolutionized the marine industry in the same way Tiger Woods would revolutionize golf. Upon learning of Woods’ order, Bass Pro Shops founder and CEO Johnny Morris brought his nine-year-old son, John Paul, to deliver it in person to golf ’s bright young star. The three spent the day on the water. “My boy and I were both very impressed by how down-to-earth and engaging Tiger was,” Morris, now 72, remembers, “and by how much he loved to fish.” A close friendship developed, and this fall—23 years and another 14 major titles after that initial encounter—Woods made a delivery to Johnny Morris: Payne’s Valley Golf Course. The Woods-designed layout, his first public course, joins the courses designed by Jack Nicklaus, Gary Player, Tom Fazio and the team of Bill Coore and Ben Crenshaw at Big Cedar Lodge, Morris’s spectacular wilderness resort tucked amid the abundant hardwoods and dramatic outcrops overlooking Table Rock Lake in the southwestern corner of Missouri’s Ozark Mountains. Far from the hillbilly backwater portrayed in Netflix’s Ozark, this stunningly picturesque region orbits around Branson, a town of around 10,000 to which more than 7 million vacationers annually flock for its profusion of natural beauty, country-music performances, theme parks, museums and down-home restaurants. In 1991, a 60 Minutes report anointed Branson “the live music capital of the universe.” Back then, performers like Roy Clark, Bobby Vinton, Glen Campbell and Andy Williams performed in their own theaters. Today, Branson claims to have more theater seats than New York’s Broadway does, with those filling them treated to country acts such as Gene Watson, the Haygoods and the Presleys; rock, soul and country tribute bands; music-comedy revues; and dinner theaters like Dolly Parton’s Stampede. Increasingly, world-class golf has also become a calling-card for the region. Payne’s Valley honors the late World Golf Hall of Famer Payne Stewart, who grew up in nearby Springfield, the same town that spawned Johnny Morris and the first Bass
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Pro Shop. Born 18 years apart, Stewart and Woods both lived in Florida’s posh Isleworth enclave and shared the glory of winning 1999 U.S. Ryder Cup a month before Stewart’s fatal Learjet accident. In addition to winning 11 PGA Tour events (including three majors), Stewart left a legacy of philanthropy that’s immortalized by the PGA TOUR’s annual Payne Stewart Award and continues through the Payne Stewart Family Foundation. So when Payne’s Valley celebrated its Grand Opening September 22, it did so with a mic’d-up, made-forTV Golf Channel event to benefit the Foundation. The inaugural Payne’s Valley Cup starred the U.S. team of Woods and Justin Thomas versus Europeans Rory McIlroy and Justin Rose.
EYE OF THE TIGER Having designed private courses at Diamante in Cabo and Bluejack National near Houston, Woods says he wanted to “honor Stewart” with Payne’s Valley, the first public course in his TGR Design firm’s portfolio. Accomplishing this required a layout that rewarded the kind of strategic course management and shot-making for which the famously beknickered star was known. However, it also had to provide the vacationing bogey golfer—as well as his buddies and family—with an enjoyable, memorable round. Payne’s Valley succeeds on both counts—and does so with eye-catching style. Your first view of it is a droneworthy panorama from the clubhouse it currently shares with Big Cedar’s aptly named Mountain Top Course—a 13-hole Gary Player-designed roller-coaster ride of cliff hanging par 3s with views all the way to Arkansas. From this perch, Payne’s Valley is no less stunning. Its flashed, smoothedged, blindingly white bunkers suggest Augusta National, while its liberal use of outcroppings, water and rolling terrain unify it with its lush surroundings. Creating that unity demanded significant work. “It was a rock,” says Woods’ Senior Design Consultant Beau Welling of
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the location. “The Ozarks are solid limestone finger ridges, so we had to do some considerable blasting to tame the site.” They cleared enough to fit in more than 200 acres of playable turf, with nearly half coming in the form of wide, undulant, firm and forgiving fairways carpeted in Meyer zoysia. Should you somehow stray from the short grass, a playable—rather than penal—fescue awaits. “Tiger doesn’t want you to remember the course by the number of balls you lost,” notes Bryon Bell, the president of Tiger Woods Design, who has caddied for his boss and known him since childhood. Closely mown, finer-blade Zeon zoysia surrounds the huge, undulant bentgrass greens. “Cutting the Zeon to a quarter-inch allows Tiger to put the putter in the golfer’s hands off the green,” Big Cedar’s Director of Agronomy Todd Bohn explains. “This way higher handicappers don’t have to chip, while the players who like playing their wedges have tight lies.” “I want the ground to be a player’s friend,” Woods said last September. “Tightly mowed green surroundings allow players the option of using everything from a putter to a lob wedge when recovering from a missed green. I believe this allows players to play to their strengths versus forcing them to hit a lob wedge out of thick rough. It also promotes creativity.” And, notes Bell, it fosters doubt: “When you give players multiple options it creates indecision and makes it harder for them to commit to a shot. It becomes a mental challenge.”
PLAYING THROUGH PAYNE Payne’s Valley stretches to 7,370 yards, but those are called the Tiger tees for a reason. Even moving up a set or two presents a delightful test. Existing and dynamited rock formations abound, as does water in the form of streams, waterfalls and lakes. The riskreward par 5s on holes four and 18 both flirt with boulders and large ponds. The par-4 third, seventh and 12th are potentially drivable, but not when the air drips with the kind of Midwestern humidity that makes holes like the 653-yard 13th Fall 2020 | COLORADO AVIDGOLFER
PHOTOGRAPH COURTESY OF BIG CEDAR LODGE
play much longer than their stated lengths. (For this reason, consider visiting in fall when the air dries and the region’s deciduous forests—thick with hickory, ash, white oak, maple and sycamore—burst with color.) The course’s four par 3s are picturesque, especially the fifth, which demands a full carry over a lake, and the 10th, bordered by a stream and waterfall at the green. “That waterfall was Johnny’s idea,” Welling says, adding that Morris was heavily involved in every step of the process. “He is so passionate about the Ozarks and sharing this area with as many people as possible, and with Tiger being a very client-oriented person, we made sure we did everything we could to achieve Johnny’s vision.” Among Morris’ many contributions was the cart-path routing. “We usually want to hide the paths and make them as short as possible to save the client money,” Welling notes. “Johnny saw them as an asset, a chance to showcase the beauty of the area with the best possible views.” Calling him “the greatest choreographer of experiences I’ve ever met,” Welling says Morris made “us see the world differently. He was so concerned with how you flowed through the property, what you experienced as you waited to putt or tee off. He saw possibilities everywhere.” (As example of that vision, Bell and Welling both cite Morris’ reaction to the 2015 sinkhole that collapsed a Tom Watsondesigned Himalayas Putting course at Big Cedar Lodge. Rather than filling the COLORADO AVIDGOLFER | Fall 2020
BERTSCH’S PERCH: In August, Buffalo Ridge, also a part of Big Cedar Lodge, hosted a PGA TOUR Champions event won by Coloradan Shane Bertsch with an eagle on the first hole of a four-way playoff.
40-foot-deep by 70-foot-wide chasm and reseeding, Morris excavated further, revealing the caves and caverns that now form the resort’s 350-foot-wide “Cathedral of Nature” attraction. In 2018 Watson rebuilt the Himalayas near the clubhouse Payne’s Valley shares with the Mountain Top course.) At Payne’s Valley, Morris saw the formidably steep cliffside climb from the 18th green to the clubhouse as the perfect place for a par-3 match-settler called “The Rock”—replete with an island green created by a creek that completely rings the putting surface. Even better, by this time next year multiple cottages will also alight on this west-facing mountainside to provide golf groups with two-, three- and four-bedroom accommodations, spectacular sunsets and a luxury-suite perspective of the on-course action.
A BUDDING GOLF MECCA The advent of Payne’s Valley and attendant cottages continues to elevate the golf reputation of Big Cedar Lodge that began with the 2014 debut of the Shangri-la known as Top of the Rock. Winding through the verdant woodlands overlooking glorious Table Rock Lake, this nine-hole Jack Nicklaus Signature Par-3 Course also became the first-ever par-3 layout to be included in a professional championship. Between 2014 and 2019, it co-hosted with other Big Cedar courses the PGA TOUR Champions Big Cedar Lodge
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Legends of Golf Tournament. Top of the Rock—which, in addition to the lemonade-from-lemons Cathedral of Nature, also features a barn that Morris relocated from Arnold Palmer’s family home in Pennsylvania and the chapel where golfer Scott McCarron got married—remains the only Big Cedar Lodge golf course located on the same property as the resort. The other four, including Payne’s Valley, lie seven miles northeast in Hollister; all have come online within the last seven years. In 2013, Morris purchased Faziodesigned Buffalo Ridge (then known as Branson Creek) and Murder Rock, a John Daly (yes, that John Daly) layout Morris promptly shuttered. Renovated by Morris and Fazio, the challenging Buffalo Ridge has become the highly regarded host of the AJGA’s annual Bass Pro Shops/Payne Stewart Junior Championship. This August, it served as the site of the PGA TOUR Champions Charles Schwab Series at Bass Pro Shops Big Cedar Lodge (won by Coloradan Shane Bertsch with an eagle on the first hole of a four-way playoff ). Murder Rock’s erstwhile front-nine acreage would eventually comprise parts of Payne’s Valley, while Ben Crenshaw and Bill Coore used some of the land occupied by the defunct course’s back nine to build Ozarks National Golf Club, rated Golf Digest’s “Best New Public Course of 2019” and the co-host of last year’s final Bass Pro Shops Legends of Golf event. coloradoavidgolfer.com
UNCOMPROMISED MISSOURI In Branson, theme parks abound. Experience everything from frontier blacksmiths and glassblowers to heart-racing rides with names like PowderKeg and Firefall at Silver Dollar City, which turned 60 this year and still accompanies dinner with a show.
PHIL’S THRILL: In August, Ozarks National hosted the Charles Schwab Series PGA TOUR Champions tournament. Phil Mickelson shot 22-under par to run away from the field in his 50-and-over debut.
Bigfoot Fun Park will test your nerves with the Gravity Bomb’s 200-foot free fall and an Adventure Golf putt-putt traversing Sasquatch habitats such as woodlands, caves and frozen tundra. This visitor set course for the marvelously interactive Titanic Museum, housed in a re-creation of the doomed ship, with thousands of original artifacts retrieved from the wreck and stories of all classes of passengers. Don’t let the sensation of standing on the listing deck and plunging into freezing water deter you from enjoying a sunset cruise on the Branson Belle, a paddlepowered riverboat that plies Table Rock Lake while keeping you fed and entertained. Staying at Big Cedar Lodge affords access to scores of amenities you’d expect from “America’s Premier Wilderness Resort.” Among them: fishing, shooting, waterskiing, spa treatments, pickleball, swimming, hiking, biking, three stellar restaurants, the Ancient Ozarks Natural History Museum, Cathedral of Nature and a sunset salute at Top of the Rock featuring a bagpiper and the firing of Civil War-era cannon.
GOLF BEYOND BIG CEDAR Branson Hills Golf Club. Payne’s Valley isn’t the first Branson course named for Stewart. Set amid the densely wooded hills and running streams on the north side of town, the 7,324-yard Chuck Smith and Bobby Clampett-designed Payne Stewart Golf Club opened in 2008. The first-rate facility has ranked atop Golfweek’s “Best Courses You Can Play” in Missouri seven times, the last four coming after 2015, when the licensing deal with Payne Stewart Enterprises expired, prompting the name change. bransonhillsgolfclub.com Thousand Hills Golf Club. Similar to Colorado’s challenging Homestead layout in Lakewood, this 5,111-yard, par-66 punches way above its weight, with mighty elevation changes, plenty of wetlands and fiddly greens. thousandhills.com The Pointe Golf Club. Winding through the gated, tree-lined village of Pointe Royale, which music stars such as Andy Williams and Mickey Gilley have called home, this 6,515-yard course don’t sound tough, but with water on more than half the holes, tight landing areas and abundant uphill and blind shots, this par-71 design hits all the right notes. visitthepointe.com coloradoavidgolfer.com
PHOTOGRAPH COURTESY OF BIG CEDAR LODGE
On August 26, just three days after Bertsch’s triumph at Buffalo Ridge, Phil Mickelson shot a 22-under at the Charles Schwab Series at Ozarks National to win his PGA TOUR Champions debut in a pandemic-induced back-to-back similar to what occurred in July when Muirfield Village hosted the PGA TOUR’s Workday Charity and Memorial events on consecutive weekends. Ozarks National, which will also serve as home to the extraordinary Payne Stewart Learning Facility, masterfully blends multiple ridgelines and divergent landforms into a 7,067-yard work of art. “Johnny has such a sensitivity for the movement of this land, and we would just follow that where it took us,” Coore said of working with Morris. “Everything fell into place. It’s a beautiful place, and a great golf experience.” And a much different one than the lush Payne’s Valley. “We want it to look as though Johnny Morris ran out of money,” Coore quipped, referring to his preference for parched, firm and fast turf conditions and eyebrowed bunkers. The aforementioned Gary Playerdesigned 13-hole Mountain Top layout (as well as a Himalayas-style putting course designed by Tom Watson) round out the golf offerings, and with the forthcoming addition of cottages at Payne’s Valley, Big Cedar Lodge guests will no longer need a car to reach four of the resort’s five courses.
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Barbecue is ubiquitous. Famous Dave’s, which runs the restaurant at the Mountain Top clubhouse, has another outpost at Branson Landing, a retail promenade on the Lake Taneycomo waterfront near the Convention Center Hilton in downtown Branson. For more local flavor, bring an appetite to Big D’s, an award-winning BBQ joint run by pitmaster Dana “Big D” Petersen, whose crisp KC burnt ends, Texas-style brisket, Carolina pulled pork and dry-rub Memphis ribs reflect his wide-ranging passion for lowand-slow-cooked smoked meats. Petersen, who took orders for more than 2,500 turkeys last Thanksgiving, has also come up with the ultimate holiday dessert—a pecan pie made with bourbon and smoked bacon— that’s available year-round. What to do after inhaling this confection? The same thing you do after finishing a round at Payne’s Valley or any of Big Cedar Lodge’s other layouts. Savor the sweet experience—and get ready for the next course. Jon Rizzi is the founding editor of Colorado AvidGolfer.
INFO TO GO Getting There: From Denver, Branson is an 11-hour drive or a two-hour flight. Frontier offers direct round-trip service to Branson Airport (BKG), while United flies direct into Springfield-Branson National Airport (SGF), 60 miles north. Resources: Branson/Lakes Area CVB: ExploreBranson.com; 1-800-296-0463 Big Cedar Lodge: bigcedar.com; 1-800-225-6343 Branson Hilton: BransonConventionCenter.Hilton. com; 417-336-5400 Fall 2020 | COLORADO AVIDGOLFER
Blind Shot THE UNSEEN GAME
What, Me Worry? PHOTOGRAPH COURTESY OF THE COLORADO GOLF ASSOCIATION
THIS FINE FAMILY, out for a stroll at the par-3 11th at Colorado Golf Club, is probably thinking they need to hurry back home in time to catch the rarest of game—for the first time ever, The Masters, that tribute to Spring, with its blooming azaleas and the greenest greens found outside Ireland, the Emerald Isle, will be played in November. The last major championship of a season turned topsy-turvy because of, well, you know, there’s more than a little anticipation for what is simply known as “The Tournament” down in Georgia. For one thing, there’s Bryson DeChambeau, who, given what he did in September at Winged Foot and the U.S. Open, may be threatening to render Augusta National into a pitch and putt—that hasn’t happened since Tiger Woods came on the scene in 1997 and obliterated the course, leading tournament organizers and course designers around the world to add a new entry to golf’s vernacular—“Tiger-proofing.” We shudder to think of the resultant sobriquets that would accompany a win by DeChambeau… As it turns out, Woods will be the defending champion in November, having won his fifth green jacket in the spring of 2019. Is it possible that he’ll salvage a pretty humdrum season by repeating? If not, who will be the title holder when the 2021 edition rolls around? We don’t know—but the hope is that this brood will be around to see it. —ANTHONY COTTON
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