Glenmoor Gets More

Since last August, when work began on an $8 million renovation of their cherished Pete Dye layout, Glenmoor Country Club members have had to play at courses other than their own.

“We had a nice reciprocity with 15 private clubs here and in the mountains,” General Manager Ryan Norris says. “We set up hundreds of tee times—mostly weekday play—for the members.”

Now, however, the course that members are excited to play is the one they hired Love Golf Design—comprised of World Golf Hall of Famer Davis Love III, brother Mark Love and lead architect (and former Dye associate) Scot Sherman to make more playable for higher handicap players without defanging it for those who take pride in its high slope rating.

As of mid-April, it appears that members of the LGD crew accomplished their task. They stretched the course an additional 205 yards, bringing it a scant eight yards shy of the magic 7,000 number by adding substantial back-tee length to the par5 12th, par-4 16th and par-3 17th. They widened the approaches on holes seven and 13, rerouted intrusive cart paths and rebuilt every green to play more consistently and drain more evenly.

Those putting surfaces, which had shrunk considerably since they were built in 1986, have returned to their original sizes to create more pin positions. The bunkers guarding them, as well as those in the fairway, have undergone restoration for uniformity of play. Some were removed, and others emerged—such as a directional bunker between holes 12 and 13—for a net gain of 11 bunkers.

Nearly 4,000 linear feet of signature Dye wood tie walls—both wet (bulkheads) and dry (retaining walls)—required replacement. Love’s crew shifted a number of teeing areas to create new angles, and even dropped the height of some rear teeing areas for visual intimidation.

Members will also see better turf conditions. After struggling for 25 years with brackish water from the runoff pond, the club can now irrigate with a potable water source through a pipe from Denver Water. An additional 200 sprinkler heads will improve coverage and economize consumption.

Norris expects the course to be ready for play by early summer. Even with a delayed start, he maintains, “We’ll be able to capture a full schedule of events like the club championship—and a full calendar of tournaments.”

In addition to the revitalized course, Glenmoor is getting its first new PGA head professional in 25 years. Alan Palmer, most recently of George’s Golf and Country Club in Toronto, has replaced longtime fixture C.J. Parry. glenmoorcc.org

Between its spectacularly expanded clubhouse, its “Little Dry Creek restoration” on the William Flynn layout and its choice of member Peyton Manning as honorary chair of this September’s U.S. Amateur, Cherry Hills Country Club is starting its second century of existence with a flourish.

Worthy of equal fanfare is the club’s desire to create opportunities for Colorado youth through donations to four charitable organizations: the Palmer Scholarship Foundation, Evans Scholars Foundation, First Tee-Colorado Rocky Mountains and the Boys and Girls Clubs of Metro Denver.

“We’re obviously proud to present unparalleled championship golf to the world-class participants and the spectators of the U.S. Amateur at Cherry Hills, but the charitable impact in the community made possible through this championship is a legacy that means everything to the club,” says Cherry Hills President Kim Koehn . “To be able to see what our Palmer and Evans Scholars accomplish nationwide keeps us motivated to do even more to support young people across Colorado.”

1954 U.S. Amateur winner Arnold Palmer’s iconic victory in the 1960 U.S. Open at Cherry Hills inspired the creation of the Palmer Scholarship in 2001 to award assistance to deserving coworkers and golf caddies of Cherry Hills. In the two decades since its inception, the Palmer Scholarship Foundation has served as a turning point for the thousands of students who were