Introducing The Summit: an exclusive enclave of luxury homes starting from the low $2 millions. Nestled in one of Colorado’s most prestigious communities, these residences are a tribute to the natural elegance of their surroundings. Featuring a blend of relaxed sophistication and contemporary design, each home promises an unparalleled living experience. Call for your personalized tour today to gain exclusive access and discover more about our collection of new homes.
Colorado destinations that offer great golf this summer also deliver the best in festivals, cool nights and fantastic outdoor pursuits
TO THE DOGS// 43
Some players like to have man’s best friend along for the round. Can dogs and golf mix? By Jay McKinney
LESSONS FROM THE OREGON COAST// 48
Bandon Dunes is 25 years old, and the resort’s experience hints at what could be in store for visitors to Dream Golf’s new project, Colorado’s Rodeo Dunes. By Jim Bebbington
8// FORETHOUGHTS
Dads helped many of us learn the game of golf. Pay that forward.
12// THE CGA
People of the CGA – Bill Woodward By Kayla Kerns
16// THE GALLERY
The Inspirato Colorado Women’s Open and The Ascendant presented by Blue; Sonnenalp and others add pickleball pros; U.S. Open qualifier Colorado champions; First Tee scholarships announced.
80// blindshot
Davis Bryant returns home to try to qualify for the U.S. Open. By Jim Bebbington
67// Parents should be patient to help kids enjoy the game first, then get good. By Neil Wolkodoff
69// Celebrating the Par 3 Course – short courses help kids learn, make for a great date, and more. By Jay McKinney
GRINDING FOR THE LPGA
30// TALKING GOLF
There is a new generation of golf commentary thriving through social media; three brands with Colorado ties are part of the stampede. By Jim Bebbington
25// fashion
Taking care of dad. By Suzanne S. Brown
33// FAREWAYS
The golfing world is coming to Castle Pines this August, and they’re going to be hungry. By John Lehndorff
38// nice drives
The Chevy Silverado, Lexus GX550 & Volvo V90 By Isaac Bouchard
JUNE 2024 | VOLUME 23, NUMBER 3
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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. 9350 E. Arapahoe Road #210, Greenwood Village, 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 © 2023 by Baker-Colorado Publishing, LLC. All rights reserved. Reproduction without permission is prohibited. Postmaster: Send address changes to Colorado AvidGolfer, 9350 E. Arapahoe Road #210, Greenwood Village, CO 80112. The magazine welcomes editorial submissions but assumes no responsibility for the safekeeping or return of unsolicited manuscripts, photographs, artwork or other material.
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215 Saint Paul St, Denver, CO 80206
This month’s edition we asked our team to connect the dots between fathers and the game we love.
Like many of us, my dad is a big reason why I began playing golf. I was 8 when I started, and Jack Bebbington of Montclair, New Jersey, dutifully took time away from his work and home dutiesout to par 3 courses all over my hometown in Ohio where I grew up. I stunk, for years. It must have been agony for him watching me do poorly and get mad. But my attachment to the game was cemented because we took vacation time at a campground in Ohio that had a tiny par 3 course. I would take two or three clubs and disappear for hours. It beat hanging around the camp site and being given chores.
So, this edition Tom Wolkodoff kicks off our New Golfer guide with helpful tips and reminders on how best to help kids learn the game. Then Jay McKinney rounded up some of the best par 3 courses around, and reminds us of the value of slowing down – especially when we’re helping a partner or friend or child to pick up the game. Suzanne Brown also rounded up great ideas for our annual Father’s Day gift guide.
Jay has great insight into the state’s golf courses and people, and when I asked him also to write about whether there are any places where dogs are welcome on the courses he knew just where to go.
One of the first rounds I ever played in Scotland we teed off behind a grandpa pulling his clubs on a cart with his gangly grandson alongside spraying his shots back and forth across the fairways. And as they walked, grandpa’s big shaggy sheep dog wandered alongside. It looked like a fantastic way for all of them to spend the day; I think the dog shot even par.
I don’t think dog culture is necessarily going to overtake courses here, but it is a very natural connection. This is a game afterall that got its start with shepherds hitting things with sticks in the fields with their flocks and dogs.
In the same minimalist spirit of the game, we also have a report on Bandon Dunes at 25 years. We wanted to see what that epic facility can tell us about what Dream Golf is attempting to build here in Colorado. Bandon had a celebration of its 25th anniversary on May 2 and invited most of the golfing press in for a visit. As a generation of Colorado golfers already know, the place is a unique experience that is worth visiting with anyone who loves golf.
The quiet, focused golf resort has now grown to five full courses, two par 3s and a putting complex called the Punchbowl that has its own logo. Dream Golf will not be importing ferns and towering pine trees and roaring Pacific waves to Roggen, Colorado. But the bones of how they execute their resorts are things that do travel –golf-focus, unique designs and great experiences. We’ll all be watching to see if they can pull it off here at Rodeo Dunes.
Mothers and fathers introduced many of us to this game. As a father one of the payoffs for me in teaching my children the game is it gives us something to enjoy together. Now that they are adults, time is precious. But because of golf we have an activity we’re willing to do together. For several hours at a time cell phones get turned off, smack talk flies freely, and for just a little while it can seem like it’s just us in our own world again, walking together again through a park, forever young. Enjoy the game, and spread the love.
Jim Bebbington// jim@coloradoavidgolfer.com
Sponsorship opportunities are available. To learn more, please email Allen Walters at allen@coloradoavidgolfer.com
August 11, 2024
•
•
• Eddie V’s Prime Seafood Restaurant
•
• Lavish Hors d’ Oeuvres & Entertainment
• Private Players Clinic hosted by GOLFTEC
• Private Players Clinic hosted by GOLFTEC
• $200 credit to Pins & Aces
• PXG Experience including a Player Gift
• PXG Experience including a Player Gift
• Renowned Mimosa & Bloody Mary Bar
• Mountainside Breakfast
• Renowned Mimosa & Bloody Mary Bar
• Mountainside Breakfast
• 18 Holes of Scenic Golf at Colorado’s Premier Country Club
• 18 Holes of Scenic Golf at Colorado’s Premier Country Club
• Amazing On-Course Food Stations
• Amazing On-Course Food Stations
• Premium Cocktails, Fine Wines, Beer & Hand-Rolled Cigars
• The Gift Bag of ALL Gift Bags!
• Premium Cocktails, Fine Wines, Beer & Hand-Rolled Cigars
• The Gift Bag of ALL Gift Bags!
• Fun & Challenging Player Contests
• BIG Prizes & Giveaways
• Fun & Challenging Player Contests
• Special Awards Party & Auction
• BIG Prizes & Giveaways
• AND SO MUCH MORE!
• Special Awards Party & Auction
• ... AND SO MUCH MORE! OPEN TO ALL
• Specialty Cocktails Featuring the “Smoked Old Fashioned” Scan code or call 720.493.1729 for more details
We offer a wide variety of home financing options. When it’s time to secure home financing for your family, call me!
John Pavlakovich
NMLSR ID: 801982
Sr. Mortgage Consultant
Cell: 720-308-2507
John.Pavlakovich@phmloans.com
JohnPavlakovich.phmloans.com
215 Saint Paul St, Denver, CO 80206
This month’s edition we asked our team to connect the dots between fathers and the game we love.
Like many of us, my dad is a big reason why I began playing golf. I was 8 when I started, and Jack Bebbington of Montclair, New Jersey, dutifully took time away from his work and home dutiesout to par 3 courses all over my hometown in Ohio where I grew up. I stunk, for years. It must have been agony for him watching me do poorly and get mad. But my attachment to the game was cemented because we took vacation time at a campground in Ohio that had a tiny par 3 course. I would take two or three clubs and disappear for hours. It beat hanging around the camp site and being given chores.
So, this edition Tom Wolkodoff kicks off our New Golfer guide with helpful tips and reminders on how best to help kids learn the game. Then Jay McKinney rounded up some of the best par 3 courses around, and reminds us of the value of slowing down – especially when we’re helping a partner or friend or child to pick up the game. Suzanne Brown also rounded up great ideas for our annual Father’s Day gift guide.
Jay has great insight into the state’s golf courses and people, and when I asked him also to write about whether there are any places where dogs are welcome on the courses he knew just where to go.
One of the first rounds I ever played in Scotland we teed off behind a grandpa pulling his clubs on a cart with his gangly grandson alongside spraying his shots back and forth across the fairways. And as they walked, grandpa’s big shaggy sheep dog wandered alongside. It looked like a fantastic way for all of them to spend the day; I think the dog shot even par.
I don’t think dog culture is necessarily going to overtake courses here, but it is a very natural connection. This is a game afterall that got its start with shepherds hitting things with sticks in the fields with their flocks and dogs.
In the same minimalist spirit of the game, we also have a report on Bandon Dunes at 25 years. We wanted to see what that epic facility can tell us about what Dream Golf is attempting to build here in Colorado. Bandon had a celebration of its 25th anniversary on May 2 and invited most of the golfing press in for a visit. As a generation of Colorado golfers already know, the place is a unique experience that is worth visiting with anyone who loves golf.
The quiet, focused golf resort has now grown to five full courses, two par 3s and a putting complex called the Punchbowl that has its own logo. Dream Golf will not be importing ferns and towering pine trees and roaring Pacific waves to Roggen, Colorado. But the bones of how they execute their resorts are things that do travel –golf-focus, unique designs and great experiences. We’ll all be watching to see if they can pull it off here at Rodeo Dunes.
Mothers and fathers introduced many of us to this game. As a father one of the payoffs for me in teaching my children the game is it gives us something to enjoy together. Now that they are adults, time is precious. But because of golf we have an activity we’re willing to do together. For several hours at a time cell phones get turned off, smack talk flies freely, and for just a little while it can seem like it’s just us in our own world again, walking together again through a park, forever young. Enjoy the game, and spread the love.
Jim Bebbington// jim@coloradoavidgolfer.com
Sponsorship opportunities are available. To learn more, please email Allen Walters at allen@coloradoavidgolfer.com
August 11, 2024
•
•
• Eddie V’s Prime Seafood Restaurant
•
• Lavish Hors d’ Oeuvres & Entertainment
• Private Players Clinic hosted by GOLFTEC
• Private Players Clinic hosted by GOLFTEC
• $200 credit to Pins & Aces
• PXG Experience including a Player Gift
• PXG Experience including a Player Gift
• Renowned Mimosa & Bloody Mary Bar
• Mountainside Breakfast
• Renowned Mimosa & Bloody Mary Bar
• Mountainside Breakfast
• 18 Holes of Scenic Golf at Colorado’s Premier Country Club
• 18 Holes of Scenic Golf at Colorado’s Premier Country Club
• Amazing On-Course Food Stations
• Amazing On-Course Food Stations
• Premium Cocktails, Fine Wines, Beer & Hand-Rolled Cigars
• The Gift Bag of ALL Gift Bags!
• Premium Cocktails, Fine Wines, Beer & Hand-Rolled Cigars
• The Gift Bag of ALL Gift Bags!
• Fun & Challenging Player Contests
• BIG Prizes & Giveaways
• Fun & Challenging Player Contests
• Special Awards Party & Auction
• BIG Prizes & Giveaways
• AND SO MUCH MORE!
• Special Awards Party & Auction
• ... AND SO MUCH MORE! OPEN TO ALL
• Specialty Cocktails Featuring the “Smoked Old Fashioned” Scan code or call 720.493.1729 for more details
Bill Woodward has spent most of his life in the great state of Colorado. He graduated from Colorado State University with a bachelor’s degree in finance and real estate. Bill and his wife of 37 years, Laura, have two sons, George and Harry. He has been in commercial real estate since graduating from CSU, and is currently employed by Skye Commercial real estate advisors focusing primarily on commercial real estate brokerage.
Bill is involved in several business and civic organizations including being past president of the Metro Denver Executive Club, a past board member of Cherry Hills Country Club, and is a mentor for The Challenge Foundation. He is passionate about golf and feels lucky to call Cherry Hills Country Club his home club.
KK: Where did you grow up?
BW: I grew up in Littleton. Just off Arapahoe and University. When I was in 9th grade, my dad got transferred to Dallas for work, so from 9th through 11th grade I went to high school there. Then we moved back to Littleton when I was a senior.
KK: When did you start playing golf and who introduced you to the game?
BW: I started playing golf when I was about 11 probably. At the time, my father had a membership at Columbine Country Club and the head pro, Tony Novitsky, introduced me to the game. I was involved in the junior summer programs there.
KK: Did you play in high school, then?
BW: I did. I played at Plano High School in Metro Dallas. When I moved back to Denver, I played here at Arapahoe High School as well. I then went to college, and played at Point Loma College in California my freshman year.
KK: How was that experience?
BW: I enjoyed it, but I knew that I wanted to be back in Colorado. I burnt out of playing competitive golf for a while. I played in a tournament in college at Torrey Pines and I think I shot 75. That was a pretty good round for me. It was an invitational tournament so UCLA, USC and San Diego State were all there. I went over to the giant scoreboard and saw Corey Pavin’s name. He happened to be a senior at UCLA that year. When I looked at the scoreboard, I saw my 75 next to his 67 and I was like, “Well, maybe I should go back to school in Colorado.” That really happened.
KK: Do you play in CGA events now?
BW: I do. I’m still working, so I don’t play in as many as I’d like to, but I play in the CGA Senior Four-Ball every year.
KK: What is your current involvement with the CGA and what does that entail?
BW: I’m the vice president of the CGA Board. So, I’ll be president in two and a half years. And right now, I’m the chair of the CCGO and CRE committee, which is the committee that, from a board perspective, oversees CommonGround Golf Course.
KK: What is the biggest impact you have made as a board member of the CGA?
BW: I just have such great enthusiasm for CommonGround. It’s a very simple answer, really. I spend a lot of time out there and I play there quite a bit. The biggest impact I have made on the CGA Board is just advocating for CommonGround.
KK: Can you tell me a bit about what you do?
BW: My primary job is leasing and sales of commercial real estate, but I do some asset management as well. I find people who want space and/or I handle buildings where there are vacancies and fill them up. I also sell land and buildings. I’ve been doing this for a long time. I am 64 years old, and I’ve been doing it longer than I’ve not been doing it. I’ve done a lot of different things in Commercial Real Estate over my career.
KK: How long have you been a member at Cherry Hills Country Club and what is your favorite part about being a member?
BW: I have been a member there for 29 years. It’s been a big part of my life and I’ve enjoyed every minute of it. It’s just wonderful. It is a wonderful golf course that’s very well taken care of and has a very rich history.
I love playing golf there and I’ve made a lot of great friends. I’ve been very involved in all the tournaments we have put on from the 2005 U.S. Women’s Open to the 2012 U.S. Amateur to the 2014 BMW Championship to last year’s 2023 U.S. Amateur.
KK: What is your favorite golf memory?
BW: So, I told you that I moved to Texas in the 9th grade. Well, we lived on a golf course, and I wanted to play golf on the high school team. I tried out for the team, and it was just a qualifier, so they took the ten lowest scores over two days.
I knew I wasn’t going to make the team, but the golf coach saw me playing in the second day of the qualifier, and I will never forget this: I must have taken a swing and he called me over. He said, “What’s your name? You’ve got a very nice swing.” I said, “Bill Woodward and thank you,” and that was that. There was a meeting after the qualifying rounds where coach said, “These are the people that made it, the rest of you guys can leave, but Bill Woodward, could you stay?”
So, I stayed, and I was asked to be the manager of the golf team. That meant I got to play every day with the team and that’s how I really got into golf. That guy, Jay Stevens is his name, is still one of my very close friends and I often think about the difference he made in my life.
KK: Wow, what an impact he made in your golf journey! What is one piece of advice that you would give to your younger self or younger generations?
BW: What I always tell my boys is that “persistence is omnipotent.” Some days are bad, some days are good, but if you just keep showing up, you will be successful.
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The 30th Inspirato Colorado Women’s Open returned to its familiar late-May time slot this year after moving to mid-June in 2023 in order to stay on the same weekend as the U.S. Women’s Open.
The U.S. Women’s Open was moved last year in order to take advantage of the first time the tournament was to be played at Pebble Beach.
This year’s U.S. Women’s Open is May 28 to June 2 at Lancaster (Pa.) Country Club. Many of the top women players in the world who missed qualifying for Lancaster will be in Denver for the Inspirato Colorado Women’s Open largely due to its unique prize. The winner receives one of the largest checks for a non-LPGA event, $100,000. That brings in players from all over the globe as well as many players competing on the LPGA’s development league, the Epson Tour.
Among them are Annabelle Pancake, who besides having one of the greatest names in sports, plays for the Clemson Tigers and was runner-up in the 2023 Women’s Amateur Championship.
Top Colorado pros and players slated to compete include Paige Crawford of Colorado Springs, Sherry Andonian – one of the top senior women
players and a teaching professional at Spring Valley Country Club, Stephanie Ferguson of Broomfield. 2023 Champion Hayley Harford is returning, as is 2022 champion Clariss Guce, as is Becca Huffer of Denver, who has won twice and finished runner-up twice. The tournament has long been a proving ground for the state’s top high school and college players, many of whom get their first taste of competition this high at this tournament. This year is no different. Local phenoms scheduled to play include Logan Hale and Hadley Ashton of Erie, Brenna Higgins of Littleton and Emma Bryant of Aurora.
Where: Green Valley Ranch Golf Club
When: May 29 to May 31
The Field: 40 professional golfers and a group of amateurs with handicaps below 5.4
Format: Multi-day pro-am similar to the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am. Approximately 40 female professionals will be invited to be paired with pro-am contestants to compete in a pro-am competition, while simultaneously participating in the Open Championship. The winner has lowest individual score after 54 holes.
The Korn Ferry Tour’s annual event held at the TPC Colorado course, The Ascendant presented by Blue, has received so many awards for ‘best tournament’ that it is probably running out of room in its trophy shelf.
The tournament was again named the Tournament of the Year in 2023 by the Korn Ferry Tour, the PGA Tour’s developmental league. It has won the award two of the past three years.
It routinely ranks highly for fan and player experience. Having the stunning backdrop of the Rocky Mountains does not hurt either.
This year the tournament is a continuation of a good thing. The course is in great shape and some modifications the course made to lengthen tee boxes in 2023 are still in place.
TPC Colorado’s PGA professional, Stephen Arendt, said the course is already in good shape by early May. “The golf course is in tremendous condition; we aerated during Masters week so we’re already healed,” he said.
The Korn Ferry tournament field is not set yet, but the level of play on the tour is consistently high.
The most famous past winner remains 2020’s Will Zalatoris who parlayed his win into PGA Tour access later that year, finished top 10 in that year’s U.S. Open and finished second in the following year’s Masters. Zalatoris has won nearly $18 million on the PGA Tour since.
The course remains a bear; more than 8,000 yards with three par 5s topping 600 yards and one measuring more than 700 yards.
Tournament officials work to keep the course competitive and try to keep the winning score in the teens-under-par. Lindheim is the first winner at 20-under.
For all its length, last year’s tournament stats show the players know how to respond. Numerous drives approached 400 yards on the final round and the hole that proved the most difficult was not a par 5 at all. No. 17, a nearly 500-yard par 4, had the highest scoring average above par of all the holes.
When: July 8 to 14
Where: TPC Colorado, 2375 TPC Pkwy, Berthoud, CO 80513
For More information: TheAscendant.com
Tickets: Tickets begin at $10 for the Wednesday pro-am/practice round, $25 for an any-day ticket, and $60 for the week. Children 15 and under are free. TheAscendant.com/tickets/
Pickleball got its nose under the golf-tent long ago, and the two sports are now treated by many Colorado private clubs as near equals.
Enter: the pickleball pro.
The sport of pickleball has grown so much in the past decade that several Colorado clubs have added pickleball pros. The Sonnenalp Club in Edwards hired pickleball pro Brandon Hear this winter.
Hearn has been a tennis pro for 25 years. Ironically, he played pickleball as a kid in the 1980s because his parents bought a game set for their house and it included the rules and equipment for pickleball. “Then I did not hear about the game again for almost 30 years,” he said. Working at private clubs teaching tennis in Arizona, Heard said he began to hear about the game again in the early 2010s.
Pickleball was created by a Washington state family in the 1960s when they had a badminton court but no raquets. They used ping-pong paddles and a whiffle ball. Legend has it their dog was named Pickle.
Now clubs throughout the state have built or are building courts.
“Pickleball is a little more social,” he said. Pinehurst Country Club has a full-time pro, Heidi Gurley, who books a full calendar of drills, clinics, mixers and other events for pickle-heads. “The members love working with Heidi and the program has grown immensely under her leadership,” said membership director Tiffany Messer.
In the city of Denver several early courts had to be removed from city parks because the crowds and game noise bothered homeowners nearby. Leagues fill up quickly, and rec centers have put courts up by just stringing the nets sideways on basketball courts. One basketball court becomes two pickleball courts very easily.
Before pickleball took over everyone’s lives, Hearn was the captain of the University of Arizona tennis team. He turned pro as a pickleball player in 2018 and began teaching professionally. He teaches at Sonnenalp in the summer and Phoenix-area clubs in the winter.
COLLINDALE AND BROADLANDS GOLF COURSES AND WALNUT CREEK GOLF PRESERVE HOSTED
THE MEN’S AND WOMEN’S COLORADO QUALIFIERS FOR THE U.S. OPENS
Jimmy Makloski, a former Colorado State golfer who is assistant coach of the Air Force Academy team, was medalist of the U.S. Open qualifier at Walnut Creek Golf Preserve in Westminster May 7 and 8.
The 18-hole competition took place over two days because heavy winds forced the suspension of play on May 7 after just a few holes. Winds blew balls off of greens and some players had already four-putted. Play resumed Wednesday and conditions remained challenging. None of the 80 participants broke par and Makloski won with a store of 73, one over par.
“It was definitely pretty tough out there,” Makloski said. “It wasn’t much different than yesterday, just colder.” Makloski, a native of Pueblo, is in his third season as an assistant golf coach at the Air Force Academy. After graduating from CSU he competed for several years on professional mini tours and state opens. He won the Colorado Golf Association’s four-ball tournament the week before, teamed with his friend Parker Edens. He said that in college they often had to play in the wind so he had experience in dealing with it.
Davis Bryant of Aurora finished second at two over par. Bryant is in his first year as a touring professional after graduating in December from Colorado State.
The top five finishers moved on to the U.S. Open qualifier finals. Denver University graduate John Sand finished third at three over par. Former Stanford University golfer Franklin Huang, who lives in Lafayette, finished fourth at four over par.
Three players tied at six over par in fifth place: Hunter Swanson, who is a sophomore at the Colorado University, Lakewood-based professional Griffin Barela, and DU player Brayden Bozak of Chandler, Arizona. Twenty-five players did not finish, and the top score at the challenging course was a 95, 23 over par.
Top finishers at Fort Collins’ Collindale Golf Course were Jason Preeo, Derek Fribbs, Jake Staiano, AJ Ott and Connor Jones. From Broadlands Golf Course were Jack Castiglia, Colin Prater, Cade Kilkenny, Jack Dozer and Tyson Shelley. All move on to the qualifying finals.
On the women’s side, 70 players squared off for three slots in the U.S. Women’s Open. The top finishers who earned spots in the U.S. Open were Isi Gabsa of Germany, who shot 4-under-par 144, and Thailand’s Moriya Jutanugarn, who finished the day at 2-under-par 142, and Celine Borge of Norway with an even par 144.
The USGA uses only a two-tournament system for U.S. Open Women’s qualifiers, so this tournament attracted players from around the world. Qualifiers here moved directly into the field of the U.S. Women’s Open.
The top Colorado finishers were defending 3A high school state champion Madeline Bante of St. Mary’s Academy and 4A champ Logan Hale of Erie. Both finished +9 and tied for 22nd place.
University of Denver women’s team members Emma Bryant, Katarina Drocarova, Brooke McGlasson, Haven Ward, Anna Zanusso and Kaitlin Zingler, among many other Colorado university players.
Also in the field were University of Northern Colorado’s Timbre Shehee, Hale’s Erie
High School teammate Hadley Ashton, the 2022 state champ. Former Loveland High School and University of New Mexico player Lauren Lehigh was among the top amateurs after the morning rounds, posting a score of even par 72.
Professionals in the field included DU alum Alyson Bean, CU alum and current LPGA Tour player Robyn Choi of Australia, CU alum Haylin Harris, Parker teaching professional Kelli McKandless and Morrison’s Turkey Creek Golf Academy professional Ashley Tait.
The First Tee – Colorado Rocky Mountains chapter recently gave two $10,000 scholarships to Denver-area students.
Loren White, a student at Denver’s East High School, was awarded one $10,000 scholarship sponsored by Girls in Golf. White holds a 4.3 GPA and was captain of the varsity basketball team as a junior. She also plays on the varsity golf team. White plans to attend Colorado State University.
Grace Farrell, a George Washington High School senior, was awarded the $10,000 scholarship sponsored by the O’Sullivan Law Firm. Farrell is a team captain of the cross-country and track teams and plans to attend either the University of Colorado or Miami University of Ohio.
By Suzanne S. Brown
FATHER’S DAY GIFTS HE’LL WANT TO SPORT AT THE COURSE AND BEYOND
Classics with a twist are the forte of Bristol, Tennessee-based Turtleson. The company’s 2024 golf and lifestyle collection includes the Collins polo, printed with a Tom Collins-inspired cocktail motif and is made of four-way stretch pique fabric, $115. Activewear pieces include the heathered fabric Wallace Hoodie, $150, and quickdry Mitch trunks, $125. turtleson.com
Water and stain-resistant mesh are among the performance features of OluKai’s Ka’anapali lightweight golf shoes, while leather details add style, $150. The foot bed is inspired by the feeling of bare feet in wet sand, and a unique feature is the drop-in heel, which transforms the shoe into a slip-in for ease after playing a round. olukai.com
A smart watch to measure distances on the course and capture data is many a golf fan’s favorite device. Shot Scope’s new V5 Golf Watch has a full-color screen readable in daylight and features maps on more than 36,000 preloaded golf courses. The watch offers access to more than 100 statistics to track your game, and has no subscription fees, $250. At PGA Tour Superstore and Shotscope.com
After 19 years in the women’s golf apparel business, Golftini has introduced its first men’s collection. Company founder and SEO Susan Hess says she wanted to broaden the brand’s reach by entering the men’s market and will be donating a portion from each sale to the American Cancer Society and Pink Aid, among other charities. Included in the debut collection are such pieces as the martini polo, $100, striped sleeve sweater, $160, and shorts, $125. gofltiniwear.com
Few athletes have captured the public’s attention like Tiger Woods. In his new book on the golf legend, “Drive: The Lasting Legacy of Tiger Woods,” Bob Harig charts Woods’ impressive wins and the determination it took for him to come back after surgery to win the Masters in 2019, 22 years after his first win in Augusta. $30 At us.macmillan. com and book sellers
Original Penguin believes golf clothes should be fun and fashionable in addition to being functional. For summer the brand offers such styles as the Player polo decorated with martinis, playing cards and dice, in a moisture-wicking, polyester-recycled poly blend, $90. It’s worn with 8-inch inseam shorts, $80, and a reversible leather belt, $45. At Nordstrom stores and originalpenquin.com
Team USA golfers will be wearing fashion-forward outfits by J. Lindeberg when the Olympics are held in Paris beginning in late July. The Swedish brand, known for its bold prints and performance fabrics, will dress coaches, caddies and staff as well as the athletes for the Olympics. The brand will develop a line of USA-branded apparel in addition to outfitting the athletes, such as the Alois print polo, $95. At PGA Superstore and jlindebergusa.com
Adding to its lineup of luxury travel gear, Tumi recently debuted a golf accessory and bag collection. In sleek black or chic off white and tan, the Golf Stand Bag in ballistic nylon, $1,295, has a backpack strap, multiple zip pockets (including an insulated cooler), stand legs that extend and retract, and holds up to 14 clubs. At Colorado Tumi stores by special order and tumi.com
Golf podcasts have taken off, and Coloradans are part of the charge
By Jim BebbingtonAs interest in golf and interest in podcasts exploded since the pandemic, it’s only natural that the Venn diagram of golf podcasts is getting bigger.
Ten years ago there were few golf podcasts. Now every day streams of content is produced by teams of people talking about everything from the PGA Tour, LIV, golf course architecture, golf humor, golf lifestyle, women’s golf, men’s golf, golf insight, golf gear and golf travel.
And people with Colorado ties are at the forefront. One of the most popular golf podcasts nationally, No Laying Up, is recorded partially locally because one of its founders, Phil Landes, moved to Denver. The Cincinnati native helped start the No Laying Up brand with some college roommates, and as the audience grew he moved to Denver – along with a few thousand other Buckeyes – because he thought it might be a cool place to live.
Closer to home, when the All City Network –a national network of sports podcasts with events as well as a popular sports bar on Colfax Avenue in Denver – wanted to launch a national golf podcast, they turned to Denver natives Spencer and Mitchell Smith. The Smith brothers created Big Drive Energy. They are both scratch players and both have worked as teaching PGA professionals. Their podcast blends deep Colorado knowledge, humor and insight about the golf industry and its top players on the PGA and LPGA tours. And Fort Collins native Drew Stoltz got into the podcast game after a nearly 10-year career as a touring professional. Stoltz now lives in Scottsdale, but he and fellow PGA Tour graduate Colt Knost host the GOLF’s Subpar podcast, an offshoot of the GOLF Magazine brands.
Here’s your guide to these Colorado-infused golf podcasts:
For a decade PGA pros Spencer and Mitchell Smith saw it all. They begged their patrons not to carry their clubs into the Colorado pro shops where they worked. They daily dealt with people who thought that the specificity of tee times – like 8:52 a.m. – was merely a suggestion. They had stories you wouldn’t believe.
Enter Spencer’s employer, Denver-based sports commentary platform DNVR, and its parent company, the national syndicate All City Network. All City Network wanted to start a golf podcast; were Spencer and his better-golfing-brother Mitchell interested? Yes.
They dubbed their project ‘A drinking podcast with a golf problem,” and launched in July 2020, the summer in which the world emerged from its quarantine slumber.
They launched with the idea of using their experience as PGA teaching pros to help the newbies flocking to the game get the most out of it while embracing the six-pack and cart-speaker culture that the new arrivals were bringing to the sport.
“On the surface, people think we’re just two 25 to 30-year-old kids,” Spencer said. “But were both been PGA pros. We’re not just two guys.” “At the core of it Spencer and I have been best buddies the most of our lives,” Mitchell said. “This is something we would do regardless of whether this was recorded or not. Very Pardon The Interruption. There’s definitely a dynamic with us being brother’s – we argue, we bust each other’s chops. We like to talk about personal life - everyday golf happenings, favorite courses in the area.” That is what sets Big Drive Energy apart for the Colorado listener.
Both brothers grew up here. They played high school golf here. When Mitchell talks about how cool a cucumber reigning U.S. Open champ Wyndham Clark can be under pressure, it’s because he saw it first-hand as a high school player getting ground to hamburger by Clark and his Valor Christian golf teammates.
While they may talk a lot about the world domination of Scottie Scheffler, when they talk about favorite courses, they toss around names like TPC Colorado.
They were still working in a local clubhouse when they began to dabble with content creation.
“We started filming videos almost as a joke –making fun of the average golfer but doing education,” Spencer said. “Don’t Be This Golfer. Don’t bring your full bag into the proshop. We thought this would be the perfect thing to do. We used to do once a week, shared the mic, and produced this one thing.”
Now they’re typically cranking out a podcast every five days. They have recently added video shorts, telling stories from their days in the pro shops on YouTube and Instagram. And they’re trying to grow their audience, fulfilling the dreams of two brothers who grew up in Colorado playing golf and talking about sports.
“That was my dream as a kid was to be a sports broadcaster,” Spencer said. “Me – I have the gift of gab. I could talk to a blank wall,” Mitchell said.
In April, when Nelly Korda tied the record for most consecutive wins in LPGA history by taking the season’s first major, she had every golf media enterprise asking for her time.
Of them all, she called into the No Laying Up podcast and talked to them for about 15 minutes.
What had started in 2014 as a semi-regular hour-long talk among a group of buddies from Ohio’s Miami University, No Laying Up is now consistently ranked as either the No. 1 or No. 2 most-listened to golf podcast. Much of the ‘on-air’ reason for their success is that each of the friends got very good at some very specific roles.
One of the three Miami U. founders, Chris Solomon, founded the brand by putting up the then-invisible Twitter feed; he has evolved into an excellent host – filling the gaps between interviews and getting the most from his partners and their interview subjects. Fellow Redhawk Todd Schuster adds funny and provocative questions and insight.
And then there is Phil Landes, Big Randy by his on-air moniker. He too is a Miami grad, and has combined his friendly on-air demeanor with significant guidance of the brand’s business operations behind the scenes.
They have since added other names who have become very familiar to their fans, but the popularity of the podcasts often still comes back to the Big Three.
Landes’ move to Colorado came while the No Laying Up members were transitioning from doing the podcast as a side gig into one-byone going full-time. Now with the travel, video, social media and other brand partnerships has come a larger staff and plenty for the founders like Landes to do.
Landes said he first got the bug about how cool Denver is when No Laying Up held its first tournament, in 2019 at CommonGround Golf Course in Denver, organized by Denver-based tournament partner Erin Gregory of PrivateCollectionGolf. He was living in Florida at the time working in finance. As the effects of the Covid-quarantine eased, he decided it was time to try living in a new city. He records his part on the podcasts from his home in Denver.
“We have found ourselves in a position that our flagship podcast is significantly the first or second podcast in the golf space,” Landes said. What had begun as a little bit of a joke was now serious.
“Hey, we’re here so let’s try to stay here. With that always comes the fear of complacency. (Staying No. 1) certainly is our goal. I think we’ve achieved that most weeks. It’s a space that is becoming much more crowded.”
The Korda interview, for example, is something that Landes said they worked for years to be in a position to get. He said they realized in 2022 they were big enough that they had a responsibility to do better by many aspects of the golf game – and women’s golf was at the top of the list.
They decided “We are going to start dedicating real time and resources to covering the LPGA,” he said. “I think we’ve gained their trust.” Now – like nearly every other golf commentary brand – they are seeking to be all-platform. Their partner DJ Piehowski recently had a film crew with him and others while he played in the Bandon Dunes 25th Anniversary weekend matches in Oregon; the videos will feed their YouTube pages and social media.
From his perch in Denver, Landes and his partners are looking to keep a good thing going. “One of the hardest things about setting out and creating a company isn’t necessarily the content people see but just having to make ourselves – what’s our mission statement and what’s our north star – create goals and one year and three-year strategy,” Landes said. “That’s something we spend a lot of time on that people probably don’t realize. We want to entertain and inform avid golfers world-wide.”
The pride of Poudre High School, Drew Stoltz took a long way to podcast stardom.
Stoltz won the 2001 Colorado 5A state championship and turned professional in 2014, working through the Korn Ferry Tour in hopes of making the leap to the PGA. When he got to the age of 30 and was still toiling in the Korn Ferry vineyards, he decided his dream was over.
First, he tried to leave golf behind for good. He began to work for Merrill Lynch in private banking in Chicago. That lasted 18 months.
“I was very uncomfortable talking to people about their money, which is probably something I should have figured out before going into that line of business,” Stoltz said.
But Gary McCord, the former CBS golf broadcaster with the signature handlebar mustache, has a home in Edwards, Colorado, and has known Stoltz for many years. “Gary came to me after I stopped doing finance and said, ‘you need to do what I do,’” Stoltz said.
Like everyone else in this story, he began talking into a microphone largely as a way to have fun. He began doing a show on Sirius radio that was primarily about golf gambling. When Golf.com called and asked if he wanted to transition to longer-form interviews and podcasts, he jumped. He called his friend, fellow PGA Tour pro Colt Knost, whose playing career was winding down too.
Together they launched Subpar in 2019. Their niche is as former Tour insiders, they know a lot, share a lot, and get some of the best names in the game to come on their shows.
Case in point: When Jon Rahm won his Masters green jacket in April 2023, he was asked by every golf podcaster in the game to come on their show. On only one did he wear his actual green jacket for the video recording: Subpar.“If you had asked me would I get into this space after I quit golf the answer would have been no,” Stoltz said. “I was burned out on golf. I tried to put my head down and say ‘this is my next chapter.’”
Stoltz now lives in Scottsdale with daughters Palmer and Quincy and his wife Marissa. “I’m honestly doing everything I want to do,” he said. “I wake up every morning and I enjoy everything I do.”
Castle Pines BMW Championship moment is coming, and visitors will want a firstclass, splurge-worthy dining spot
The last time Castle Pines Golf Club hosted a PGA tournament, George W. Bush was President and Tiger Woods ruled the PGA. During The International in 2006, dining options within 20 miles of the course were pretty limited. When world-class golfers, attendees and dignitaries arrive for August’s BMW Championship, they’ll find a vastly expanded local restaurant landscape.
The culinary bounty is especially rich in Castle Rock, only a 15-minute drive from the club. Besides diverse spots dishing burgers, pizza and fried chicken and Cuban, Italian, Mexican, Japanese and Indian cuisines, Castle Rock is home to independent restaurants that offer the state on a plate – fine food and drink with an only-in-Colorado accent. A word of advice: Like premiere tee times at Castle Pines, 7 p.m. dinner reservations for a party of six at the following destinations should be reserved well in advance.
When you head out for a post-tournament dinner in Colorado, why order the same ribeye and creamed spinach you can eat in Anycity U.S.A.? At Tribe at Riverwalk , the scratch-made fare is labeled “modern cuisine of the West” which means the best dishes and seasonings from Napa and Santa Fe to the Rockies.
Colorado-inspired big plates include brown-butter steelhead trout, rack of elk with hunters sauce, and pork chops drenched in mead-infused gastrique over creamy polenta. The Southwest shines in Tribe’s fall-apart braised lamb shank under a red chile-honey glaze with black bean puree and spaghetti squash.
Regional entrees range from comfy beef short ribs and spätzle stroganoff to well-spiced al pastor mahi-mahi. Stand out sides include sweet potato chorizo hash and tempura-fried asparagus. Diners at this upscale Castle Rock destination can start with big flavor apps like rock shrimp ceviche with pico de gallo and duck leg carnitas with salsa macha, or a thick slab of foie gras. Whatever gets ordered, addictive goat cheese brulee is a must along with green chile cheddar cornbread and rosemary-honey butter.
Tribe’s late summer specials will take advantage of Colorado’s prime produce season such as sweet Palisade peaches starring in seasonal desserts. For the big kid at heart, nothing beats the deconstructed s’mores with toasted marshmallow and chocolate. Tribe’s spacious, aspen tree-lined patio is a relaxed setting for sunset dining and well-crafted cocktails like the Orange Julius Margarita or Rosemary Paloma. Behind the bar is a noteworthy array of whiskeys and hard-to-find tequilas.
Canine family members are not left at the curb. Tribe’s Doggy Menu offers them sweet potatoes with quinoa and black beans, or a Niman Ranch beef patty. And a bowl of water. Tribe at Riverwalk, 115 Wilcox St., Castle Rock
Trestles Coastal Cuisine may be situated near the Rocky Mountain foothills, but its chill blue vibe echoes those Southern California coastal spots dishing the best, freshest seafood.
Out-of-staters are always surprised to discover that Front Range eateries receive overnighted fresh fish at the same time as many restaurants near the coasts. Owner/chef Jose Espinoza offers an expansive sea-worthy menu including the day’s fresh catches in three preparations: macadamia-crusted Maui-style; broiled Cali-style with roasted pineapple; and Sicilian sauteed with artichoke hearts and olives in Sherry sauce.
Trestles’ inventive surf-and-turf allows diners to mix and match. On the surf side are lobster tail, crab cakes or sea scallops. Turf choices are filet mignon, rack of lamb or an ostrich steak. (The latter tastes more like beef than chicken.) Turf-and-turf is even allowed.
Dishes ranging from Gruyère grits topped with seafood and baked oysters prepared five ways to spot-on duck a l’orange can be paired to a large wine list. Choices range from reds like ZD Cabernet and Mount Peak Rattlesnake Zinfandel to exceptional whites, roses and Taittinger Champagne. Two wine flights – red and white – are always available. Save a little room for Trestles’ secret weapon. An in-house pastry chef plates smile-producing finales like towering carrot cake layered with jalapeno cream cheese frosting. Beyond dinner, this busy, family-run Castle Rock restaurant provides breakfast (with a breakfast happy hour) and lunch daily. Weekend brunch must-tastes include a Hangtown Fry (with oysters and bacon) and fried chicken and waffles with house-made vanilla syrup.
Trestles Coastal Cuisine, 880 W. Happy Canyon Road, Castle Rock, trestlescastlerock.com
Trestles Coastal Cuisine has several brunch options for the hungry golf spectator
NEW YORK GRILL WITH A NEW YORK ITALIAN ACCENT
Anyone who has enjoyed meals at East Coast urban bistros will feel right at home at Danielle’s Scratch Kitchen . Opened in 2015 by New Yorkers Dan and Vincent Pisarra, this Castle Rock destination is a classic American grille with an Italian accent and the kind of familial service that elevates the experience. Set in a modern, casual dining area, comfort fills the menu, not chef-y modern experiments. Lovable appetizers include burrata, baked brie, and classic calamari with fried cherry peppers, marinara and lemon aioli. A towering Romaine wedge salad is blanketed with bacon and gorgonzola.
The people’s choice entrees range from salmon piccata and T-bone Berkshire pork chops to Southern fried chicken with bourbon gravy, potatoes and green beans. The exceptional Vadouvan halibut is served over butternut squash risotto with basil pesto and blistered tomatoes.
Golfers looking for a little extra luck may want to order Danielle’s bestselling Chicken Parm with linguine, tomatoes and pecorino Romano.
For a grand finale on Danielle’s patio, pose with an Instagram-worthy smoked Old Fashioned with a dark chocolate brownie and vanilla bean ice cream.
Danielle’s Scratch Kitchen, 872 W. Happy Canyon Road, Suite 100, Castle Rock, daniellesscratchkitchen.com
John Lehndorff is the former Dining Critic for the Rocky Mountain News. He is the Food Editor of the Boulder Weekly and hosts Radio Nibbles weekly on KGNU.
DANIELLE’S CLASSIC BURGER lettuce, tomato, red onion, pickle
If you are coming to Castle Pines for the BMW Championship, a wide range of first-class eateries are on the menu a few miles up I-25. While you may not score a reservation at the famous Casa Bonita , you can sample Michelin award-winning cuisine, over-the-top wine lists, and splurge-worthy desserts.
The debut Colorado Michelin Awards in 2023 included several Denver fine dining eateries. Beckon was awarded one Michelin star (out of three). Bruto and The Wolf’s Tailor were each awarded one star as well as a green star (for their sustainability efforts).
The Michelin Guide also lists many recommended restaurants worth checking out in Denver. Top choices on that list include The Ginger Pig, Ash’Kara, La Diabla Pozole y Mezcal, Barolo Grill, and Tavernetta
Craving a large steak, a giant baked potato and a big red? A slew of traditional steakhouses are grouped in Denver’s south suburbs ranging from Shanahan’s Steakhouse (complete with the NFL coach’s Lombardi Trophies) and Ruth’s Chris Steak House to Del Frisco’s Double Eagle Steakhouse and Perry’s Steakhouse
As the Ford Lightning and Rivian R1T have proliferated, the limitations of fully electric pickups have become evident.
Massive torque matters little if you can’t tow your trailer more than 100 miles, and the risk of running out of juice while offroad keeps ‘em close to basecamp. The environmentally acceptable answer: The Silverado ZR2, powered by Chevrolet’s latest inline six cylinder Duramax turbodiesel.
ZR2s have a two-inch lift, enough skidplates to stop an IED, three locking differentials and newly designed bumpers and exhaust routing to increase approach and departure angles. There’s 33-inch all-terrain tires and some pretty buff-looking wheels, too. Finally, there are the special “spool valve” DSSV shocks.
The Ascendant presented by Blue returns for the sixth year to TPC Colorado. This remarkable Front Range experience features 156 of today’s brightest professional golfers teeing it up for a $1 Million purse, amazing food and hospitality, an outstanding Kids Zone and so much more. Scottie Scheffler (World Ranking #1), Will Zalatoris and Nick Lindheim have all played here… Join us! Enter code: Avid24 to receive a 10% discount on admission excluding Summit Club.
The Silverado ZR2 isn’t a high-speed desert warrior like a Ford Raptor or Ram TRX, but being much nar rower, it works better in overlanding Colorado’s trails. Getting there too would be very comfortable, thanks to Chevy’s redesigned interior; it is full of big, bright screens, classy materials and supportive, roomy seats. A payload capacity of 1,550 lbs and tow rating of 8,700 mean that this halfton truck has much greater band width than midsize pickups.
There’s an optional 6.2L V8 for the ZR2, but the diesel’s the star, being far and away the finest light-duty one yet developed, with virtually zero lag, massive torque peaking at 495lb-ft, more than enough horsepower and great economy. So equipped, it is hard to imagine a better combination of virtues that blend urban use with true trail capacity so well.
Over its previous two generations, the Lexus GX series—a more luxurious version of the Land Cruiser Prado sold in other markets—has carved out a niche as a truly tough, off-road capable SUV. With the all-new GX550, Lexus has gone all-in on all these virtues.
Lexus’ design seems spot-on: bold and modern, yet evocative of classic bush-bashin’ machines of decades past. There is some wonderful architectural sculpture in its fenders and flanks, and its face is very distinct. Inside the GX550 is extremely well built of highquality materials, with large displays and tactile buttons and knobs.
The upright seating and narrow footprint give it a very classic, Range Rover-esque feel. This is complemented by the hood’s shape and big windows, which make it easy to maneuver this Lexus in both tight urban confines and trails.
On the road this is the best GX yet; there is sometimes the slight shimmy that body-on-frame machines have, but it never feels less than composed. It rides Lexus-smooth, even on the Luxury+ model’s 22-inch wheels (basic Premiums get 20s and the dirt-oriented Overtrail gets 18s);
steering is very accurate and has that oldschool feel that makes a Jeep Wrangler or Rangie fun to drive. This Lexus is also very quiet and refined at high speed. The GX550 shares its gutsy, smooth and refined powertrain with the bigger LX: a 349hp, 3.5L twin-turbo six and 10-speed auto. Economy is slightly better, and this is the fastest GX ever, with 60 arriving in 6.2 seconds. It can also tow up to 9,000 pounds—a big deal for this market niche. All GX550s have that special something, though, and it seems Lexus has built the perfect SUV at the right time to cut through the sea of soft roaders that now define modern luxury family vehicles.
EPA MPG Ratings: 15/21/17 0-60mph: 6.2sec
Wagons, once directly correlated with domesticity (think 70s Country Squires and VistaCruisers) are now cool. As high-riding SUVs proliferate, these sleek but practical machines have become a desirable alternative.
Audi and BMW are now back in the wagon business, but Volvo never lost the faith. The V90 Cross Country is one of the company’s flagships, and a recent freshening keeps it desirable. The V90 might just be the best looking wagon extant, with long, taught feature lines and subtle detailing that let the athletic shape shine through. Inside it’s a stunner too, with gorgeous materials and intriguing textures that invite touch. The seats are insanely comfortable for long stints at the wheel (a Volvo tradition) and backseat and cargo room are copious.
The V90 drives well, with a smooth new powertrain comprised of a turbo- and supercharged 2L four-cylinder with 48volt electric boost for the low end and 8-speed auto. This combination works much better in the real world than the older T6, which had a very nonlinear power delivery and frankly atrocious fuel economy.
The new B6’s 295-hp get it to 60mph in 6.4 seconds and returns high-20s mpg on highway runs. The V90, despite the increased ride height of the Cross Country trim, still handles athletically, showing the benefits of a lower roofline and CG (center of gravity) that wagons bring. Steering is accurate, making it easy to nail the apex of a corner.
What the V90 still doesn’t do is ride elegantly, being more susceptible to sharp impacts than is ideal. But overall this Volvo is a very special place to while away the miles. It can also swallow the kind of lifestyle loads SUVs and crossovers are bought to handle and tackle fireroads and trailheads. Beyond those attributes it proffers an ineffable cool factor; clearly illustrating that style outlasts fashion.
EPA MPG Ratings: 23/29/25 0-60mph: 6.4sec (est)
Golf courses are like reverse dog parks - people wander around outdoors and bark angrily when their ball runs astray.
And for golfers who bring their dogs with them, the dogs typically just sit there and think ‘Oh, settle down.”
Which is why, for some, the game is best played with a dog alongside.
In the UK, it is common. Well-trained dogs – many of them sheep dogs trained to come instantly at a whistle – wander happily alongside fairways while their owners toddle up and down the course.
Golf is a sport that is best played with friends and there is no better friend than a dog.
Bringing a pooch to tag along for a round of golf is possible at many Colorado golf courses. Of course, not every dog is fit to be on a golf course. But for those that are well-trained, they may love walking the fairways if their owners are willing to take on the challenges of the game and the responsibility of their pet.
All the city of Denver public courses are dog friendly and have been for more than 15 years. Leslie Wright is the director of marketing for the City of Denver Golf and estimates that approximately half of the courses around the front range would allow dogs.
“It has just been such a cool part of the community that I didn’t anticipate”
“I think it mostly depends on the city policies in the different metropolitan areas,” Wright says. “We go off the city-wide policy. You must keep your dog on a leash, you must clean up after it and be courteous of other people that maybe don’t feel comfortable with dogs.”
Common courtesy dictates that it’s probably best to bring a dog only when playing with friends who are OK with it, rather than possibly being paired up with a stranger who doesn’t care for dogs. Standing over a birdie putt is nerve-racking enough. The golfer with a phobia of German Shepherds doesn’t need one staring him down as he reads the break.
The City of Denver and other metropolitan areas may not be actively promoting dogs on their golf courses, but there’s no denying the joy that dogs can bring to the game.
Chris Melendez is a golf instructor in Boulder County and brings his emotional support dog
Cheyenne to Coal Creek Golf Course with him every day. Melendez can spend up to eight hours a day on the driving range, and meanwhile Cheyenne patiently lounges in a cart and greets all the golfers.
“The kids, they just love it,” Melendez says. “I mean their favorite part of coming to golf class is the dog. They are in that cart, crawling all over her, petting her, giving her treats, taking selfies with her, and these kids will stay for hours just hanging out in my cart. It has just been such a cool part of the community that I didn’t anticipate.”
While Coal Creek Golf Course doesn’t have a set policy that allows dogs, Melendez says the head pro is open to allowing them if they are well-behaved. However, Melendez also works two days a week at Walnut Creek Golf Course, and he says they do have a policy that allows dogs as long as golfers sign a waiver to acknowledge the rules. He is grateful to both
courses for allowing Cheyenne to be by his side and they have embraced her presence. She’s the unofficial mascot of Monarch High School where Melendez volunteers as an assistant golf coach, he said.
When Melendez isn’t teaching the next generation, he still brings Cheyenne out to play rounds of golf. He says her kryptonite is rabbits and laughs about the videos he’s taken of her shaking as one taunts her just six feet away. Thankfully, she’s been trained so well that to this date she’s never left the cart.
The Colorado golf community has mixed thoughts, according to a very informal poll on Colorado AvidGolfer’s social media posts.
“The key wording is well-behaved and on a leash, but yah!,” one commenter wrote when surveyed about whether they would be OK with seeing more well-behaved dogs on courses. “I would love to take my dog, unfortunately I think he would drive me nuts.”
Many responded with a clear, concise: “No.”
Some dogs seen on golf courses are there to chase rather than sit in a cart. Among maintenance departments it’s very common for superintendents or their assistants to bring their dogs to work. They might be paid in treats and back scratches, but most maintenance dogs are working by helping control geese populations.
Scott Ellis has been the superintendent at Wellshire Golf Course since 2015 and brings his loyal companions Juno and Cham to work every day. Juno and Cham are Australian Shepherds and fit the mold of the dogs that are best equipped to control geese.
“I think any dog that has the inherent need to chase, can make a good golf course dog,” Ellis says. “Most of the time, herding dogs like Australian shepherds, border collies, blue heelers, things like that are used. You go through calendars of golf course dogs and 75 percent of them are probably going to be those three breeds, or variations of those three breeds.”
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They might be paid in treats and back scratches, but most maintenance dogs are working by helping control geese populations
Growing up on the golf course since they were eight weeks old, Juno and Cham know no other way. Now ages nine and four, they are welltrained, dedicated employees that perform their job great and are certified through the city. Ellis initiated the certification program for the City of Denver golf maintenance dogs along with Director of Agronomy, Pam Smith. Within its parameters, any full-time employee can bring their dog and do the proper training before they must pass a test. The most important thing is that they follow voice commands and actually do work as geese chasers.
“They’re integrated into the staff, and they’re integrated into the golf course rather than having them be a nuisance,” Ellis says. “We have the geese that are a nuisance that you’re trying to take care of, we don’t want the dogs to be a nuisance as well.”
While Ellis will occasionally bring them out to play golf after work, he says a lot of the time they are tired and prefer to lay in the shade. After all, chasing geese all day is tiring.
Jay McKinney is a writer and photographer based in Denver.
The Rodeo Dunes development, nearing its groundbreaking, hopes to repeat some of the successes of Bandon Dunes
By Jim Bebbington
On May 2, the operators of Bandon Dunes Resort invited hundreds of guests to their enclave on Oregon’s southwest coast to celebrate 25 years of unique golf.
In 1999 the resort’s first and most-famous course – Bandon Dunes – opened. Developer Mike Keiser had created a home for quiet, remote, beautiful golf in the style of the great links courses of the UK and Ireland. The first year they had a goal of serving 10,000 rounds of golf and ended up with more than 25,000.
As word spread golfers from across the globe made sojourns to North Bend, Ore. More courses were built – and more golfers came. Last year they hosted 270,000 rounds.
The complex now houses five par 70+ 18-hole courses, two par-3 courses of wild variety, and a putting complex large enough to host hundreds players at one time. The courses wind through the dunes and forests near North Bend, Ore., and are bordered by dozens of cabins, two modest hotel-style buildings, and restaurants and bars tucked among the pine forests.
Founder Michael Keiser made a rare and unannounced public visit on the night of the celebration, and over the course of three days patrons played the great courses and were hosted by engaging and energetic staff. They celebrated too the opening of the complexes newest addition, a short-course named Shorty’s that adds still more reasons to visit.
Tee times are routinely booked up more than a year in advance, and greens fees in 2024 top out at $400 a round for people who are not staying at the resort.
The grounds are nearly silent. There is no spa – although there are massage tables. All the courses are walked – golf carts are only rarely seen and then used only by marshals. Caddies, carry-bags and push-carts prevail, and all the guests hoof it up and down the dunes and hills themselves.
“Mike Keiser is undeniably the most influential developer of golf courses in the world over the past 25 years,” golf course architect Bill Coore told a crowd of several hundred at the 25th anniversary celebration.
Coore said the complex today is the result of hundreds of people and thousands of decisions – but all guided by the clear vision that began with Keiser.
“Mike Keiser encouraged people to be creative (when building his courses), gave us sites that were amazingly gifted naturally for golf and gave us them the freedom to work with those sites,” Coore said.
Mike Keiser’s sons, Michael and Chris, are now on their own, taking the lessons of Bandon and applying them to their Dream Golf developments. They have brought the recipe of quiet, complex and creative golf first to Cabot Cape Breton in Canada, then Wisconsin’s Sand Valley Golf Resort. If their plans for Colorado come fully to fruition – they have acquired or leased 3,300 acres, enough for up to six courses near Roggen, about 45 minutes from downtown Denver – it would create a magnet that could draw players from around the world.
The Keiser brothers are not their father – their projects already have unique differences from Bandon. But there is a strong philosophy undernearth them all and which Colorado will experience first-hand if the project comes to fruition.
“Mike
is undeniably the most influential developer of golf courses in the world over the past 25 years.”
When Bandon Dunes’ developers build courses they seek to give players something unique. As the complexes have grown and new courses have been added, they have attempted to add variety so that visits can be longer and players can still find something new. The Bandon formula includes several aspects that would make a complex in Colorado something special:
There is magic in the details: Throughout the Bandon complex there are thousands of small details that add up to the full experience. It is nearly silent – no carts and few cars ply the grounds. Small signs, special trees, a tweak on a tee box and another on a green, all provide an overwhelming and unique experience.
One example: next to the clubhouse for the Pacific Dunes course, lies the Punchbowl putting course. It is simply enormous – 100,000 square feet. Players can use any corner of it to work on their game, but the fun is trying to ‘play’ it from hole 1 to 18. The green carpet is filled with giant rolling hills and dips and walking it is alone a workout. It can take a half hour, and if you keep score your number at the end of No. 18 will be something that will bring you back.
At Rodeo Dunes the early vision is for a Punchbowl-style putting complex adjacent to the first tee and the initial clubhouse. The size remains to be determined, but early visitors are being shown a penciled-in area that is larger than Bandon’s Punchbowl.
The Staff: Bandon staff know that they are a big part of the experience. Beautiful grass and wonderful golf challenges are what bring people here, but the overall experience is defined by the hundreds of resort staff who visitor’s encounter along the way.
will be very different from those at BandoN
Van drivers who shuttle players around the enormous grounds are quick, helpful and encouraging. The cabin rooms are tidy and cleaned. The post-round dinners are served with as much – or as little – conversation as the players seem to want. (Bad round = very little talking.) The best caddies do what all caddies do – combine course knowledge and competence with the right mix of encouragement, fun and sometimes needling that make a round of golf a full experience. The people of Oregon who run Bandon are world-class at making visitors feel welcome.
For the Rodeo Dunes project the template and expectations are going to be similar. Clubs all over Colorado deploy a helpful, fun and welcoming experience, and the people who work at Rodeo Dunes will ultimately be asked to provide the same.
The courses: Let’s get this out of the way right off the bat – Rodeo Dunes golf courses will be very different from those at Bandon. The Oregon coast is essentially Scotland – lush green trees, regular rains, cool-ish temperatures year-round and stunning cliff-top views of the ocean. Northeast Colorado this is not.
The template for Bandon Dunes courses is clearly the Scottish greats. The look and feel of the fairways is nearly identical to the St. Andrews and Carnousties of the world.
The original 18 – Bandon Dunes – plays out over gently rolling ocean-front acreage. Next came Pacific Dunes, which is even more adventurous and routes some holes so close to the water that erosion is a regular issue to combat. Bandon Trails came next, with the holes heading away from the coast and up and down steep, forest-lined hills. Old Macdonald and Sheep Ranch extended the grounds even further along the coast. The Preserve was added – a 13-hole par-3 course with its own traditions, including most players hitting putter off the tee on the final hole. The newest, Shorty’s, is named after the complexes original caretaker, Shorty Dow, who showed Keiser the land during his tour in the 1990s.
But the terrain that Michael and Chris Keiser have acquired near Roggen, Colorado, provides an almost infinite amount of possibilities. The undulating dunes have to be seen to be believed. Two early courses are expected first – one from architects Coore and Crenshaw and the second from their associate Jim Craig.
Routings at Rodeo Dunes are still in the works, but the dune-scape provides possibilities for 20-foot deep waste bunkers, blind shots on nearly every hole, and golf on undulating terrain that is currently only available at the ultra-exclusive Ballyneal Golf and Hunt Club in Holyoke on the state’s eastern edge.
But as golf architect Coore pointed out, the baseline for Dream Golf is giving course designers and builders latitude to make something great.
“(Rodeo Dunes) will be a continuation of what happened here (at Bandon), and what has happened in Sand Valley,” he said.
Colorado Springs is a hustle-and-bustle city, but on its western flank is home to spas and hotels which bring their guests immediately into the peace, quiet and relaxation of a mountain retreat.
Chief among these is Garden of the Gods Resort and Club. The resort a year ago underwent a $40 million renovation that upgraded and updated rooms, dining, spa services and the entire grounds.
Garden of the Gods offers world-class golf and tennis, the Strata med spa, pools and hot tubs and proximity to the hiking, biking and trails of the Rocky Mountain foothills and the resort’s namesake, Garden of the Gods Park.
The resort’s 117 rooms range from 57 well-appointed rooms and suites in the main lodge, with one, two and three-bedrooms cottages and casitas available across the grounds. Each casita has a private patio and outdoor fireplace, and are nestled beside a stream that winds through the complex.
The resort’s Strata Spa is a 10,000 square foot salon that is part of the complex’s Strata Med facility. The spa offers massage and body treatments, skincare and salon services, while the adjoining facilities house fitness and performance facilities and the Strata Med offerings.
Resort visitors have access to the 27-hole championship Kissing Camels Golf Club and practice facility. The course features sensational conditions and a classic layout designed by architects J. Press Maxwell and Mark Rathert.
PIKES PEAK: No summer visit for the active traveler to Colorado Springs is complete without a visit to the iconic peak. The famous mountain on the city’s western edge inspired ‘America the Beautiful’ and its summit can be accessed by car, tram or hike. The 13-mile Barr Trailhead is just outside of the western boundary of Garden of the Gods Resort and summiting on foot means the spa services at are ready and waiting. ColoradoSprings.gov/drivepikespeak.
ART & MUSIC: Downtown Colorado Springs and nearby concert halls burst to life in the summer for residents and visitors. The Classic Tuesday Summer Concerts in Old Colorado City, just down the hill from the resort, run 6 to 8 p.m. Tuesday nights at Bancroft Park. Friday nights see the Summer Concert Series at First and Main Town Center all June and July. The first Friday of each month downtown comes alive from 5 to 9 p.m. with galleries and the arts on display. VisitCos.Com
GOLF HALL OF FAME: The Broadmoor Resort hosts the Colorado Golf Hall of Fame in its spa and golf building, and it is an information-packed experience. The Hall celebrates world famous players and the people who worked behind the scenes who make Colorado golf great. The world-renowned resort course hosts the 2025 U.S. Men’s Senior Open June 26 to 29.
It’s golf season, Colorado. The breeze is warm, the beer is cold, and every hole offers majestic mountain views. This is your sign to book a golf staycation at Garden of the Gods Resort and Club. Named as a staff pick from Avid Golfer and only one hour south of Denver, our 27-hole Kissing Camels Golf Course offers both serenity and challenge. After hitting the links, unwind and recharge with local cuisine or a relaxing massage, followed by a restful night in our newly renovated lodge rooms, each with their own view of Garden of the Gods Park. An unforgettable golf getaway awaits you. Are you ready?
COME FOR THE GOLF, STAY FOR THE EXTRAORDINARY. YOUR PERFECT GOLF ESCAPE AWAITS.
27-hole, award-winning golf with mountain views
Award-winning golf shop
Luxury lodge rooms
Fine dining
When the Rocky Mountain snows melt off in April and May, the beauty of Grand County and its summer golf opportunities emerge.
Central to those is Grand Elk Golf Club, a heathland-style course designed in homage to the inland courses of the UK. Grand Elk has matured since opening in 2002 into a unique, rolling mountain experience. The course, designed by PGA champion Craig Stadler and Tripp Davis, offers an array of options – from 5,400 front-tees to a full-throated screamer of 7,100 from the back.
The complex’s clubhouse is the centerpiece and community center to the adjacent Grand Elk community, a project of Koelbel Mountain Communities. The clubhouse includes a pool, family hot tub and the Grand Elk Grille.
The development took off during 2020 and became a remote-work enclave. Situated between Winter Park and Grand Lake, the development is popular as a location to beat the heat in the summer while being near the winter ski scene. East of the Eisenhower Tunnel along Interstate 70 it is also an easy ride to and from Denver.
MORE GOLF: Looking to drive your ball further? Nestled 8,000 feet above sea level, the thin air makes for a longer drive. Grand County is the perfect place to unwind with a round of golf. With four world-class courses, this region is quickly becoming a mountain golf paradise. Grand Elk is one of four courses in Grand County and all are open to public play. The others are Pole Creek Golf Club, Granby Ranch Golf Club and Grand Lake Golf Course. VisitGrandCounty.com.
WINTER PARK JAZZ FESTIVAL: Calling all Jazz music lovers! The 41st Annual Winter Park Jazz Festival is ready to welcome you back to Winter Park on July 20-21 at the Rendezvous Event Center. General admission is $80 for the two-day festival with five acts each day. PlayWinterPark.com.
GRAND LAKE: Summer is when Grand County is truly grand, and it is the lakes which make it that way. Grand Lake, Lake Granby and Shadow Mountain Lake offer sailing, swimming, kayaking, canoeing and fishing. Just being close to the shore can make the lakes feel like the anchor to the summer experience in the mountains. GoGrandLake.com.
The Red Feather Lakes region of Colorado sits at 8,000 feet and is an easy, welcoming way to beat the summer heat, enjoy extensive water access, and play one of northern Colorado’s most unique golf courses.
The Golf Club at Fox Acres is a 6,500-yard experience with holes woven through the lake region. From the gate, you will see the lodge, then the course with holes wrapping around the many lakes that dot the region. Forest cover is heavy in this part of the Rockies, and pines and aspen trees are both beautiful to look at and avoid when playing golf. The course climbs the foothills briefly with striking rock formations adjacent to several holes.
But it’s the lakes that are the signature experience. Ponds and lakes are placed throughout the course with some fairways touched by homes and cabins and others nestled within the native pines.
Fox Acres has 13 lakes for fishing and 16 stay-and-play club rooms. Camping options are plentiful in the area, and the golf provides the perfect activity for a vacation otherwise filled with fly-fishing, camping and meadow hikes.
The club’s Fox Grille is available all summer. Summer stay-and-play packages begin at $199 a night and include two rounds of golf. GolfClubFoxAcres.Com
The Red Feather Lakes region offers outstanding hiking, fishing, rafting and golf all summer. There is no reason to leave. But a one-hour drive down the hill either north or south brings a quick day-trip possible in either Cheyenne, Wyo., or Fort Collins.
FORT COLLINS – CITY OF DISTILLERS: FoCo is a burgeoning locale for whiskey and lager tourism. Downtown Fort Collins has the mecca of Colorado brewpubs, the New Belgium Brewing Company; tours run daily and on weekends the front lawn becomes a community festival all day. There are also eight whiskey distilleries in Fort Collins, and some of the best offer tasting rooms here and market their award-winning drams nationwide. Old Elk Whiskey and Copper Muse Distillery tasting rooms are about a block apart and offer the perfect way to explore whiskey culture.
CHEYENNE – MORE THAN FRONTIER DAYS: The annual Frontier Days festival in Cheyenne is a world-class blowout of rodeos, concerts, carnivals and chuckwagons. This year’s celebration of western culture runs July 19 to 28 and concerts include shows from Turnpike Troubadours, Jason Aldean and Jelly Roll to Machine Gun Kelly and T-Pain. But throughout the year downtown has enticing restaurants and shops.
The southern portion of the Colorado Rocky Mountain range is home to some of the oldest towns in the state, national parks unlike any other, and beautiful waterways.
A trip based near South Fork puts visitors within an arm’s reach of them all, and provides access to Rio Grande Club and Resort . The club can be a base camp for exploring all that the region provides. Or it can be a standalone destination, with golf, fly-fishing and dining on the grounds.
Nearby mountain peaks top 12,000 feet and the golf course uses all the terrain of the Rio Grande valley. The front nine hugs the river and holes go along and over the water. The back nine takes players several hundred feet up into the foothills and then back down to the clubhouse.
The club members get first dibs on tee times, but visitors are welcome. The grand members’ clubhouse, home to the Big River Grille and Timers Restauran, is perfect for larger events, while the intimate riverside Fishing Lodge is ideal for small-group gatherings.
The surrounding hills provide access to ATV and 4x4 excursions, fishing, rafting, climbing, hiking and mountain biking. RioGrandeClubandResort.com
GREAT SAND DUNES NATIONAL PARK: One of Colorado’s most unique parks, Great Sand Dunes allows visitors to roam the largest sand dunes in North America and peer into a night sky of stunning clarity. Hiking – and sliding down the dunes – is the order of the day, although in summer the sands can reach temperatures of around 150 degrees and early morning or evening sand excursions the best way to beat the heat.
The doorway to the Sands is the visitor center near Pinon Flats, one hour drive east from South Fork. There is no timed entry, just a $25 fee for a carload of visitors for ten days. Rent sand sleds at nearby businesses. The park is a certified International Dark Sky Park, and the distance from most cities makes a moonless night sky breathtaking.
MUSIC AND ARTS ALONG THE RIO GRANDE: All summer long the Creede Repertory Theatre in South Fork anchors a season of theater and music for residents and visitors. Performances ramp up Memorial Day weekend with performances of a comedy from the Sherlock Holmes universe - ‘Baskerville.’ Performances continue most weekends through the summer. SouthForkChamber.com
Wyndham Clark has enjoyed a meteoric rise towards the top of the golf world of late. Thanks to his U.S. Open win last year in Los Angeles, the Denver native has attained world-wide recognition and catapulted into the top echelon of Tour stars. On top of that, he’s playing all the signature events and even dropping course records at some of them like February’s AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am. He sat down recently and reflected on his memorable breakthrough at Los Angeles Country Club last June and looked ahead to Pinehurst No. 2 and his title defense.
Q: U.S. Open Champ - How does that sound as part of your name?
Clark: It never gets old (smiles). It’s always nice when they announce me on the first tee as the reigning U.S. Open Champion. It’s pretty awesome when I hear that at different tournaments. It’s a great feeling for sure. To hear US Open champ attached to my name is something that never gets old for me.
Q: What moment from that weekend looking back gives you a lot of pride now?
Clark: Probably my mentality. There was a lot of adversity in that round on Sunday, and I think I just handled the adversity really well. Mentally I felt really strong. I think that’s in the end what got me the W. My game wasn’t as sharp that week as it was at Quail Hollow the month before. In that Wells Fargo event I was hitting the ball amazingly well. But that week at LACC I wasn’t hitting my irons that well, but I was putting and chipping really well and drove the ball well. But overall, mentally I was just so strong. That’s really what I look back on with the most pride-my mentality at the U.S. Open as the best thing in my game that week.
Q: How fun has it been celebrating with that trophy and what kinds of drinks have gone into it?
Clark: The trophy’s been a lot of places (laughs). I’m not ready to give up the trophy, but I’m ready to not have to do things with the trophy if that makes any sense. A lot of friends will come into town and will want to do things with the trophy or they’ll want to see it and party with it. Then I go ‘alright guys, I’m kind of done with celebrating. I want to be focusing on this year.’ But honestly I think almost every kind of alcohol has been in there. This is not very sanitary but I think 1,000
people have had a drink out of my trophy. It’s been at my home club at Whisper Rock in Scottsdale, Arizona, it went to Vegas for some fun, it went to Cabo San Lucas for my 30th birthday, it went to New York, it went back home to Colorado.
Q: Now that you have a major under your belt, how do you feel about your mindset for major championships?
Clark: I think the great thing is if I find myself in contention again for a major I know I’ve already pulled one off before and done it – there won’t be any doubt there which is huge. I feel like my game has always been a good fit for majors because of my short game and length. I think those are two huge things for a major championship to be able to hit it far off the tee, but when you are out of position because courses are so demanding I will have a lot of chances to get up and down and I’m good in those spots and I think my chances to get up and down under pressure. So I like my chances in majors, and it’s just a matter of where my game’s at that week and where I’m at mentally.
Q: Do you know much about Pinehurst No. 2 for this year’s U.S. Open where you’ll defend your title?
Clark: No, I haven’t been out there much. I’ve never played Pinehurst Number two. So I’m going to have to go in there and do some prep on it, but I know the course is just amazing. But I’ve been in the area and played some of the other Pinehurst courses, but I really don’t know much about number two other than the fact that it’s got a bunch of turtle-backed greens, so I’m looking forward to working on a lot of putts, and 3-woods, and chips off the greens as they go up hills around the greens. I think right now my focus is on these other tournaments in front of me and majors like the Masters and PGA Championship before we get there.
Q: What does success look like for you now with your goals?
Clark: I’m trying to stay away from results goals and more focused on process. I’m more focused on growing my mental game and all of what that is every week in tournaments and in off weeks. I feel like if I get better in those areas then the results are going to take care of themselves. I really am trying to stay away from results. I think in my previous years as a pro, that’s all I’ve focused on, and I didn’t win and also didn’t have much success. Last year I didn’t focus on winning and I won a couple big tournaments, so that’s what I’m doing now.
Garrett Johnston, @JohnstonGarrett, is a golf journalist of 15 years and the host of the Beyond the Clubhouse Podcast with players, broadcasters, and caddies.
As parents, we all have dreams of seeing our children excel in various fields, and golf is no exception.
Whether it’s just for fun or with the hope of seeing them become the next golf champion, the journey of introducing your child to golf is a special one. It’s a journey that should be guided by principles that foster a strong parent-child bond and a love for the game that lasts a lifetime.
ENTERTAINMENT PLUS GOLF: An excellent way to start is a driving range or Topgolf, where there can be an introduction to swinging the club. When you are not playing a course, it’s all about contact and sending the ball. Any ball that goes reasonably far forward is a good shot and reinforces the experience. They see success as whacking it as far as they can. Kids will have limited endurance for something new with this level of muscular control; 30 minutes is likely all they can reasonably perform and maintain focus.
KIDS LEARN DIFFERENTLY: I have observed parents feeling they need to be complex in teaching their children the game. They use too many words and concepts and give too much feedback. Even if you are an accomplished golfer, teaching golf, especially to kids, is another universe. Get them into a golf camp or group lessons with someone tuned to their needs.
Kids want to have fun, experience success, and be with other kids. A few times each week will let them get a taste of the game. Group camps have a more relaxed approach than you will as a parent, with less formal instruction. Ask your PGA/LPGA pro what group opportunities are available in your area. And this is really important - when they come home ask them: “Did you have fun?”
MORE SPORTS ARE BETTER THAN FEWER SPORTS: The research and experience are clear - multi-sport athletes growing up perform better than those who specialize at a very young age. Each sport has a particular set of physical and mental skills that are developed and will enhance any one sport later. Serving in badminton or tennis is a directed activity with a target, like a golf shot. Respect injury potential from constant use of the same motions and play what is in season. Let them chime in on what they like best and what they enjoy.
WORRY ABOUT CONDITIONING LATER: If your child is 15 years old or older, introducing them to conditioning and training outside of golf can be a positive. The key is an agematched program where they learn about conditioning, exercises, and progressions. While they will get something physical out of weekly sessions, a key is for them to understand that if they want to play collegiate golf, this will be a part of their weekly schedule.
Because growth plates at the end of significant bones have closed on average for girls by age 15 and with boys by 17, heavy training loads should be avoided until after these age marks. A balanced program with moderate-level resistance training, cardiovascular training, and agility exercises is the best start.
PLAY SHORT-COURSE GOLF: When you play with a child, start with a short course, a limited number of holes, and a shorter distance. Keep instruction out of it unless they ask, and up the fun quotient. It is difficult to go wrong with having them focus on hitting it as far as they can and keep hitting until they get to the green. A bit of praise for a good shot, silence on a miss. Encouragement and support, ditch the instruction.
So your child feels free of tee sheet pressure, try afternoon or evening golf with less demand. Re-teeing a ball for another try is more manageable when no one is pressing on the hole. Resist the temptation to keep score; that helps the fun quotient.
THEIR GOLF CLUBS: You simply cannot shorten adult clubs to fit a child. They are too stiff, too long, overly heavy, and have too big grips. Once they have tried golf a time or two, a child’s starter set can be had with a bag for less than $200. Even less if it’s been used. Kids like their own stuff, and their own set is a motivator and a source of belonging. Remember that adult golf balls are too dense for kids, so find some extremely low-compression golf balls that will help their performance.
The journey of introducing your child to golf is a special one
Par 3 golf courses take the anxiety out of the game
GROW THE GAME THROUGH THE PAR 3
BY JAY MCKINNEYAverage golfers know how daunting it can be to step onto the tee of a lengthy par 5.
The flag (if it can be seen) looks miles away. Hazardous native borders the fairway. It’s easy to get distracted wondering how to get to the green in regulation. For tour pros par 5s pose scoring opportunities, but for many golfers they induce anxiety. It’s these types of holes that can cause first-time golfers to post a two-digit score, then decide the game is not for them.
Every golfer lost to the game because they struggled at a regulation course has an oasis awaiting them – the old-school par 3 course.
Par 3 golf courses take the anxiety out of the game. Not only is the green reachable from every tee shot, but par 3 courses often have a much more laid-back atmosphere in general. The greens fees are the lowest in the game, golfers tend to walk, flip flops aren’t frowned upon, and the twilight rounds may be the most sought after as golfers scramble after work to get nine in before the sun sets.
The first known par 3 golf course was opened in 1914 in Portsmouth, England according to golf course architect J. Drew Rogers. Since then, they have become increasingly more popular around the world even as traditional 18-hole monsters still dominate the golf course market.
In 2023, the National Golf Foundation reported that there were just over 700 par three golf courses in the United States. Teagan Underwood is among the believers. He has been playing golf for nearly four years in and around Denver and says he plays a par 3 course about once a week, in addition to playing par 72 courses as well. “It’s great for beginners but it’s also good just for improving your midrange game,” he said. “You know some of these strokes are earned in the mid-range, so I think really dialing your irons is beneficial.”
Some 18-hole courses such as Foothills Golf Course in Denver or Indian Tree Golf Club in Arvada have nine-hole par 3 layouts. Others stand alone. Harvard Gulch Golf Course located in the Rosedale neighborhood is one of two par 3 courses for the City of Denver with the other being located at Kennedy Golf Course. It’s the perfect course for those looking to enjoy the game and have fun rather than sweat their scores. Golfers can frequently be seen carrying one or two wedges, a putter, and a six pack of beer.
John Stachowski, pro shop employee and de facto starter at Harvard Gulch, estimates nearly 10 percent of the golfers who visit the course are beginners playing one of their first rounds ever. It’s also a popular golf course among seniors because of its short distances and ease to walk. “Let’s face it, I can’t reach the 450-475 (yard) par 4s in two, I can’t reach them,” Stachowski says. “So, what do you have to rely on, you have to rely on that 30–50-yard shot, and guess what we got here? A lot of that. It helps me to play here and then go out on 18.”
Another reason first time golfers should visit courses Harvard Gulch is because hundreds of used golf clubs, balls, bags, and other accessories are donated to the course by individuals
and the nonprofit organization, First Tee. The items are sold for cheap and can help build a starter set. While the course is perfect for golfers who are starting out, any par 3 can elevate a golfer’s game and get them hooked.
“For me it was good for learning how to use my wedges and putt better and kind of understand golf before I actually got on 18,” says Conner Hammond who took up the game within the last two years. “I’m pretty sure we did a few different par 3 courses before I even got out on 18.” Hammond and his friend Paul Smith who has been playing for nearly seven years enjoy a post round putting contest on the practice green at Harvard Gulch. They love the short distances the course offers and try to play a par 3 course once or twice a week.
“The Broken Tee par 3 is super fun,” Hammond says. “If you play the back tees at their place you can get into some cool clubs.”
Despite golf’s long-standing stereotype as a wealthy sport defined by fancy country clubs, it’s the humble par 3 courses that are growing the game and making golf more accessible. From hyper kids looking to whack a ball around to couples seeking a fun date idea, par 3 courses are responsible for a variety of people catching the golf bug.
When recently asked what his favorite tradition of the Masters was, Jordan Speith said the par 3 contest on Wednesday. He described it as unlike anything else on tour and a super fun day. The day before the best players in the world compete at Augusta National, they have fun with the game on a par 3. It shows that no matter the skill level, everyone can fall in love with golf at a par 3 course.
“It’s great for beginners but it’s also good just for improving your midrange game”
WE ASKED OUR READERS ON SOCIAL MEDIA WHERE THEIR FAVORITE PAR 3 s ARE FOLLOW US! @COLORADOAVIDGOLFER
Greenway Park is a great Par 3 for practice
Cattail Creek in Loveland across from the Olde Course
Don’t forget the beautiful hidden Emerald Greens in Aurora
Kennedy and Family Sports. No pressure vibe at either one and they’re both not very difficult but have some fun shots to make
CommonGround - they shuttle you to the 9 hole short par 3 course
Eagle Vail has a really sweet course where you can golf or foot golf or fling golf
the
DENVER’S BECCA HUFFER ON LIFE JUST A FEW PUTTS AWAY FROM THE BIG TIME
BY JIM BEBBINGTON
Denver native Becca Huffer is one of the LPGA’s grinders. She is among the LPGA pros plying her trade between Epson Tour, state tours, Pro-ams, Q-Schools, Monday qualifiers, and the occasional LPGA Tour opportunities. With solid games, Huffer and the others are often just one or two shots away from bigger opportunities. But after a decade in the trenches, Huffer continues her career and will likely be among the players returning in May to the Inspirato Colorado Women’s Open.
Her story is a small window into the reality that the women’s game has a host of players working every day to keep their dreams alive of touring golf success.
In January Ryan French, who operates the “Monday Q Info” social media platform, sent this tweet to his 160,000 followers: “Because there just isn’t enough money in the women’s game, you just don’t see many grinders. Becca Huffer is one of the few. Played on the Epson Tour from 2013 to 18 before graduating to the LPGA. Then made just one cut in 2019. Kept grinding on back on Epson. Today Monday (qualified) for first LPGA event in over 4 years.”
Why do it?
“I love the competition for me,” she said. “I know I keep improving. I’m a much better player than I was the last time I played on LPGA. I think the competition on the women’s side has gotten so much better. But then also the whole LPGA and even Epson Tour has gotten so much better.
So it’s fun to be part of the growth of women’s golf and it’s one where I know I can compete out there. I just need to get the opportunity to do it again, which right now is what I’m waiting on because there’s a lot of players that I’ve played with over the years that have had a lot of success out there. So it’s kind of like - I could do it.”
It’d be different if I knew something was missing.
“I love the competition for me. I’m a much better player than I was the last time I played on LPGA.”
But I fixed up my putting last year and it’s been good.”
Huffer, 33, grew up in Littleton and played golf at Littleton High School despite neither parent, Mary and Gary, being active in the game. She got her start after her younger brother Zach was born and her mother would drop she and her older brother Chris off for lessons at Wellshire Golf Course. She was six.
She won some AGJA tournaments. She won two state high school titles and played golf at the University of Notre Dame University.
“Her game is just solid all the way through,” said retired Notre Dame women’s golf coach Susan Holt. “When I coached her what really stood out was her ability to create shots. If she got herself in trouble she got herself out of it.”
Huffer is the only Notre Dame golf alumni to make the LPGA Tour. “She’ll always be the first one,” Holt said. After graduating Huffer had almost immediate success.
“I went home from college, finished second at the Colorado Open, qualified for the U.S. Open,” she said.
But she also had a nagging wrist injury. She missed the cut in that 2012 Open and for another two years had to soak her wrist in buckets of ice after rounds to deal with the pain. Even then, she played again in the 2013 Colorado Open and won. (She won a second time in 2019 and finished second last year.)
During the time of her wrist ailments, she worked briefly for a golf course, but decided that tour golf was still what she really wanted to do. It took two years, but doctors eventually removed a cyst that was in the wrist and the pain went away.
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And after the fast/slow start she has been on the Symetra/Epson tours ever since, and is among the players regularly trying to qualify for the LPGA tournaments with their larger purses. She says her pattern has been to play well in tournaments through the Epson season and other state tournaments like the Colorado Open. Then each fall she tries to earn her full LPGA Tour card through their version of Q-School.
“I think for me it’s just one like unfortunately, I play well through the season, but the one that matters is Q-School,” she said. The one Q-School that she did well in, 2018, led her to partial LPGA status for 2019. She played in 15 tournaments but made just one cut and earned a little less than $4,000.
“I tried way too hard that year was just missing cuts by one stroke and, you know, just kind of rest is history,” she said.
Near-misses are part of the job. At the end of last season’s Epson Tour, she was near the top 10 overall on the money list. The top 10 finishers received cards for this year’s LPGA Tour. On the final day of the season-ending Epson Tour Championship in October Huffer fired a final-day 65 and as she walked off the course would have won enough to finish 10th on the money list.
Then Kristen Gillman, a five-year pro from the University of Alabama, finished with a birdie and an eagle, leap-frogged into 4th place in the tournament, and took a top-10 spot in the season-ending money list. Huffer finished 11th on the final money list, $1,700 behind Gillman. This year the Epson Tour changed the criteria and the top 15 will get cards; if that rule had been in place last year Huffer would be playing in more LPGA events this season.
“So I was like, well, you’re too late,” she said. This past December she played well in the six-day LPGA Q-School tournament, finishing at 8-under par at the event held in December at the Robert Trent Jones Crossings and Falls courses in Mobile, Alabama. That was good enough to give her partial access to some LPGA events this year.
“And that’s why no one really likes Q school,” she said. “I mean, maybe the first time it’s an adrenaline rush, but then after that it’s it’s … it’s a tough week.” So, this spring she has pursued a familiar mix of Epson Tour and LPGA qualifying events. The travel can be daunting. She drove from Denver to Beaumont, California in April where she finished 11th in the IOA Championship. She then played in the nearby U.S. Open Qualifier in Ojai, California, and was not one of the top two players to advance. Next it was travel to Tucson where in the first weekend of May she did well in the Epson Tour’s Casino Del Sol Golf Classic in Tucson, finishing 11-under.
She shot a 65 on the second of the tournament’s three days. She entered the Monday qualifier for the LPGA’s Cognizant Founders Cup, but did not make it to that event New Jersey. The Epson Tour stops were next in Scottsdale, Ariz., for the Carlisle Arizona Women’s Golf Classic.
The Monday qualifiers for the LPGA are very competitive. Like with the men’s qualifiers, there is zero benefit to finish anywhere except in the top two or three. Everyone is trying to go low. They cost $200 each to enter, plus the travel and hotel required. This season the LPGA has 15 tournaments with Monday qualifiers.
There are a lot of good players on the LPGA grindtrain. Former University of Colorado player Jenny Coleman has also been out on the tours, and last year finished 10th in the Epson Tour money list including a win at the IOA Classic.
Huffer is planning to return to Denver in May to play in the 2024 Inspirato Colorado Women’s Open. With $100,000 to the winner, the Colorado Open stands out not only from the other state opens but pays more than any of the Epson Tour events. It is typically held opposite the U.S. Women’s Open, and attracts dozens of players like Huffer – great pros who missed out on qualifying for the LPGA major.
“I think just when you accomplish something that is possible with golf, it’s one where it’s like obviously everything isn’t in your control,” she said. “It’s, you know, you never know what somebody else is going to do if they finish birdie/eagle and kick you out.”
Grinder life is not easy. But it’s the one she’s opting for for now.“There are more of us than you think,” she said. “And it’s usually one where it’s like a lot don’t stick around because they don’t have success. There’s not a whole lot of money if you’re missing cuts on women’s side. But if you’re doing OK, you can kinda chug along.”
Huffer is planning to return to Denver in June to play in the 2024 Inspirato Colorado Women’s Open
She does not know how long she will continue. Some peers have dropped out recently and moved on. Huffer feels she is still too close to success.
“It’s not one where I’m like, OK, I’ve just been doing nothing for the last 10 years, you had no success and it’s just like chasing a wild dream and I’ve made $12,” she said. “It’s like, no, I’ve won some tournaments.”
And later this summer, most likely at tournaments like the Inspirato Colorado Women’s Open, she may win some more.
The 2024 Inspirato Colorado Women’s Open is May 29 to May 31 at Green Valley Ranch Golf Course in Denver.
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ByJimBebbingtonPROS OFTEN HAVE NO CHOICE
An NBA player once said the difference between an NBA professional and the great hoopers at the local gym is that pros practice even when they don’t want to.
Turns out the same goes for professional golfers. There is a big difference between playing golf when you want to and playing golf when you have to.
Last month Aurora’s Davis Bryant, who is in his rookie season as a touring professional, came home for a few days to play in the U.S. Open qualifier held at Westminster’s Walnut Creek Golf Preserve.
Bryant had been playing professional tournament golf for four months at that point. He has traveled a little, practiced a lot, and won a little money. But the U.S. Open qualifiers are a big deal. The top five finishers get spots in the qualifier finals and the top players there make it to the U.S. Open, held June 13 to 16 at Pinehurst No. 2 in North Carolina.
If a player does well there, their life can change. High-ranking amateurs and pros from all over the region came to play in the May 7 qualifier. Everyone wanted to be at their best that day.
Then the wind picked up.
Winds of 25 to 40 MPH with gusts up to 60 MPH scoured the course the morning of the tournament. TV weather people said the region was getting a dose of Bora winds – heavy, cold air that gets pushed from the west up over the Rockies, then slides down the front face of the mountains onto the plains below. Walnut Creek is near the base of the foothills and among the first places to get blasted by those winds.
Tournament day is about feel for Bryant. He played golf with friends in the days leading up to the one-day tournament. He played a practice round the day before at Walnut Creek. The morning of the tournament he got up around 6 a.m. with the goal of being at the course at least an hour before he was to report to the first tee. He usually putts, then hits the range, chips, and finishes with more putting. It takes about an hour.
At the course by 7:30 a.m. Bryant warmed up for his 8:40 a.m. tee time. He hit low hybrids and fairway woods directly into the wind. He hit some drives bullet-straight. Some drifted wide right, pushed even further by the wind.
“I don’t try to find my swing; I don’t do a bunch of drills to make sure my putting is perfect,” he said. “I strictly warm up and get loose. I try and attack the course and have a game plan based on the practice round. Today is different because of the wind and the mental grind; if we have to play in the wind, we end up exhausted.”
When it was time to tee off, Bryant and his push cart rolled to the first tee. The threesome in front of him was already poking through the tall grass 30 yards left of the fairway for the errant drive of one of those players.
Early scores soared. Some players were 7, 8 and 11 over par on their first 9 holes. Some players four-putted greens.
Bryant piped his drive and opened with a birdie 3. He was at even par on the fourth tee box when the horn sounded, and play was suspended for the rest of the day because of the winds.
But playing in tough weather – and having weather wipe out good rounds – is part of the business.
In April, Bryant played in a tournament in Texas and was climbing the leaderboard with a great final round when thunderstorms cancelled the final day. His round was erased and instead of finishing in the top 5 he finished in 21st place .
The lost round cost him about $5,000 in potential winnings.
At the U.S. Open qualifier, Bryant completed his round the next day and finished second. He earned a spot in the U.S. Open qualifier finals in late May.
