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
