JUNE 2015 by Colorado AvidGolfer

LIVING THE DREAM: Golf Course Real Estate Special

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Elevating the Game.

American

Ninja Golfer Denver doctor and

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Grand County • Montrose Steamboat • Grand Junction Durango • Gunnison Colorado Springs

Time Your Swing for Power Manly Happy Returns: Bear Creek Turns 30

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Boutique Living at The Club at Ravenna

In a world where new ranch plans are few-and-farbetween, three top builders arrive to offer ranch designs along the lush fairways of a Jay Morrish-designed course.

By Mark Samuelson

oming into 2014, when the world of golf real estate had already changed a great deal in Colorado, Dale Schossow, Listing Broker and Managing Director at The Club at Ravenna, saw that the housing scene around Denver had suddenly changed, as well. Ravenna, a gated hamlet along the Jay Morrish course, tucked away behind the Dakota Hogback close to where the Platte River winds out of the mountains, is very much a part of the Denver metro housing scene – 25 minutes or so from either downtown or the Denver Tech Center. Schossow realized that although there were plenty of luxury homes on the market in the area, inventories around the city of single-

level ‘ranch plans’ were dropping off at a time when more buyers were seeking them. “We’re at the beginning of a very exciting time at Ravenna,” says Schossow. Now Ravenna is coming on line with numbers of ways to create ranch-type designs in extraordinary surroundings at a time when those homes are increasingly rare, almost desperately coveted. From Ravenna’s visitor center just outside the gates, five minutes south of C-470 on Wadsworth, Schossow and his LIV Sotheby’s International staff can show you plans by three premier builders who have been at the cutting edge of single-level design – and then escort you in to see just how pretty a setting this is: the spectacular rocks, the course, and a wide array of home

sites, many very protected, all with views. “We’re very much about creating a boutique experience for you,” says Schossow. “We greet everybody that walks in, and we want to provide you a very personal tour.” What you’re not going to see at Ravenna or anywhere else in the south/southwest Denver metro area are new ranches ready for move-in – not in this market. Even with the fast pace of sales in Colorado now, it’s much tougher for builders to do spec-versions of a luxury ranch now than it was a decade ago,” Schossow adds. But that’s not to say you won’t see lots

from the $900s that have 360-degree views; and by Tom Burdick of Burdick Homes, from the mid-$800s. Each builder, says Schossow, shows sites that are well positioned to increase in value in this market. “Prices will be going up,” he adds. During your excursion you’ll also experience the duality of Ravenna’s setting – just minutes from burgeoning office campuses in metro Denver, but with an ambience that feels as if it could be a hundred miles away, a sensation you get as soon as you pass through the hogback into its rocklined vales. “It feels like a hideaway,” says Schossow. Meanwhile, Kevin Collins, Managing Partner, who has lived in the community since 2009, is working to enhance Ravenna’s singular sense of being removed from the business of suburban life while fostering a sense of community with events geared towards lasting relationships between neighbors.

of activity happening at Ravenna: luxury designs underway by all three builders, not counting some custom ranches that builders have under way. Buyers can pick from a choice selection of custom home lots near fairways 10 through 15. The builder offerings start with Remington Homes, a Colorado pioneer in building ranch patio homes, with plans priced from the $700s for a dramatic setting along the west side of the Dakota Hogback -- all of them built to Ravenna’s high level of trim in Old World, southern Mediterranean architecture. Also, by legendary custom builder Thomas Sattler Homes, with a set-aside of sites near the Clubhouse for homes

Executive Chef, Christopher Moore (a Mother’s Day brunch lured a packed house). “Club life is increasingly becoming a foodie-type experience,” Schossow adds. “You’re going to see a community that’s noticeably different from anything else you can find; better staff, service, landscape,” notes Collins, who has been active in creating special events, including destination wine tastings and road rallies for car lovers. “Ravenna is becoming the place it was always meant to be.”

“This is a place where you’ll drive in Friday night and you may never get in your car the rest of the weekend,” Schossow said.

Club membership is optional, but Schossow says you’ll be surprised at the value, particularly with respect to the lavishly designed permanent clubhouse now in final planning for a site close to the entryway. “If you can, call ahead before you drive out to Ravenna,” says Schossow, noting that the staff wants to provide the most personal experience possible. Take C-470 to Wadsworth and head south four miles to Waterton Road, turn left a half mile to Dante, and right to the sales center at 11118 Caretaker Rd., Littleton, CO 80125.

Alternative pursuits include the course, where new golf director George Kahrhoff, veteran of the Golf Club at Castle Pines and other prestigious venues, has enhanced the golf experience at Ravenna. Also, the culinary creations of the Club’s

For real estate inquiries, contact Dale Schossow (303-919-7176; dale.schossow@sothebysrealty.com). For membership, contact Erik “Hack” Haberland (720-400-9673; ehaberland@ravennagolf.com). For general information, visit ravennagolf.com or call 720-956-1600.

June

2015

Contents

In Every Issue 10 Forethoughts

The Reality of Perception. By Jon Rizzi

14 ’Net Score

Features 32 L esson

Time your swing for power. By Sherry Smith

SIDEBETS

A Campbell scoop 35 Fareways and more. Rosenberg’s Bagels and Delicatessen. By Gary James 16 Century Links Why Golf in Schools matters. 38 Tapping In Golden’s craft scene. By Cody Gabbard 21 The Gallery Coal Creek reopens, Warren Smith, Marv 40 Risk/Reward Mazone, college What if “what if” happens? golf goes global. By Christian Ravsten

108 The Games

of Golf

States of Omission.

PLAYER’S CORNER

31 Play Away

42 Nice Drives

The Audi Q5 TDI and Nissan Murano SL. ouchard By Isaac B

Bandon Dunes just got a whole lot closer.

73 Getting Home A selective guide to Colorado golf course living. By Kim D. McHugh

88 Fire and Ise For American Ninja Warrior co-host Matt Iseman, the challenges of medicine and stand-up comedy pale in comparison to those of golf—the ultimate obstacle course. By Sam Adams

94 Manly Happy Returns Colorado’s only “company of gentleman golfers,” Bear Creek Golf Club, proudly celebrates 30 years. By Jon Rizzi

102 Grand Once Again Putting pine beetles and the recession in the rearview, Grand County’s four golf courses drive business. By Denny Dressman

Colorado Getaways

An insider’s guide to golf and more in Grand Junction, Grand County, Montrose, Crested Butte, Steamboat Springs, Durango, Gunnison, Colorado Springs and myriad points in between.

On The Cover

Matt Iseman Photograph by Joey Terrill

Colorado AvidGolfer | June 2015

Keystone Resort’s two courses make for the perfect buddy trip (see page 45). Photograph by Leisa Gibson/Courtesy of Vail Resorts

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L i v i n g On

The Green C O L O R A D O

G O L F

C L U B

June 2015 Volume 14, Number 3 publisher

Allen J. Walters editor

Jon Rizzi SALES, MARKET ING & ADV E RT IS ING associate publisher

Chris Phillips account manager

Stunning Homes, World-Class Course Makes Perfect Twosome hose looking to make the move into a luxury home at Colorado Golf Club may find that their timing is ideal. The upscale, gated community, whose Pikes Peak views are complemented by a championship course designed by Bill Coore and Ben Crenshaw, has both a variety of magnificent homes to choose from as well as the opportunity to secure membership in a world-class club. In addition to inspired architectural

designs and appealing floor plans, homebuyers are finding very attractive price-per-square-foot ratios that are, in some cases, below building costs. Enhancing the reasons to own is the community’s accessibility to the Tech Center, DIA and light rail. Families are drawn by the club’s active social calendar, new swimming pool and 9-hole par 3 Coore-Crenshaw course. Allow us to assist you in finding your home by calling today.

“Compared to Denver, the home values in Douglas County are deals and CGC still has membership opportunities.”

Vivian Keesling digital and social media manager

Kate Stromberg office and operations manager

Cindy P. Nold projects and special events manager

Ryan McLean ART & EDIT ORIAL art director

Neal Erickson editor-at-large

Tom Ferrell

automotive editor

Isaac Bouchard interns

Jeff Florence, Chelsea Oglesby contributors

Sam Adams, E.J. Carr, Tony Dear, Denny Dressman, Sue Drinker, Dick Durrance II, Chris Duthie, Gary James, Ted Johnson, Kaye W. Kessler, Todd Langley, Kim D. McHugh, Jerry Walters p r i n c i pa l s

Ray L. Baker, C. Don Baker, Dick B. Baker ADVERTISING INQUIRIES: cindy@coloradoavidgolfer.com EDITORIAL INQUIRIES AND LETTERS: jon@coloradoavidgolfer.com CUSTOMER SERVICE AND SUBSCRIPTIONS: 720-493-1729 MAILING ADDRESS: 7200 S. Alton Way #A-180, Centennial, CO 80112 FAX: 720-482-0784 NEWSSTAND INFORMATION: 720-493-1729

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facebook.com/coloradoavidgolfer @coloavidgolfer youtube.com/user/coloradoavidgolfer instagram.com/coloradoavidgolfer C O L O R A D OAV I D G O L F E R . C O M Colorado AvidGolfer (ISSN 1548-4335) is published eight times a year by BakerColorado Publishing, LLC, and printed by American Web, Inc. Volume 14, Number two. 7200 S. Alton Way #A-180, Centennial, CO 80112. Colorado AvidGolfer is available at more than 250 locations, or you can order your personal subscription by calling 720-493-1729. Subscriptions are available at the rate of $17.95 per year. Copyright © 2015 by Baker-Colorado Publishing, LLC. All rights reserved. Reproduction without permission is prohibited. Postmaster: Send address changes to Colorado AvidGolfer, 7200 S. Alton Way #A-180 Centennial, CO 80112.The magazine welcomes editorial submissions but assumes no responsibility for the safekeeping or return of unsolicited manuscripts, photographs, artwork or other material.

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FORETHOUGHTS

The Reality of Perception

Colorado AvidGolfer | June 2015

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P H O T O BY T E D M C I N T Y R E

HO IS MATT ISEMAN? If this were Jeopardy!, that would be the correct question to the answer: “He gave up a career in medicine to become a stand-up comedian.” The category might be something like “Going Against the Brain.” In Iseman’s case, however, the category was “Doing What Makes You Happy.” That’s what he did. And, as he tells fellow comedian Sam Adams in “Fire & Ise” (page 88), he hasn’t looked back in the 15 years since his decision. The Cherry Creek, Princeton and Columbia Medical School grad currently lives large in L.A., hosting American Ninja Warrior and working on his entertainment career more than on his golf game—which, it turns out, can be pretty entertaining as well. Like the golfer who knows he should lay-up in front of the pond but instead tries to carry it, Iseman followed his gut and managed to hit the green on the other side of the water. He weighed the risk, took his shot and is reaping the rewards. He didn’t should himself. Moreover, he didn’t allow others’ perceptions of what he should do influence the only reality that mattered—his own. You see, perception and reality don’t always agree. Take Bear Creek Golf Club, which celebrates its 30th birthday this year. As most readers of this magazine know, men comprise the entire Bear Creek membership. The club calls itself “a company of gentlemen golfers,” and the perception of most people is that females are barred from the premises. “If a woman comes to pick up her husband, she has to wait for him at the gate,” more than one “authority” has told me. “Only men work there.” With the exception of awarding the club well-deserved CAGGYs, we last covered Bear Creek back in 2003. That was when Leo Bradley, the club’s creator, found himself collaterally involved in the contretemps between Augusta National and National Council of Women’s Organizations. Bradley remained resolute. He passed away a year later, and the club has sustained his vision. I’ll admit part of my reluctance in writing about Bear Creek stemmed in part from my perception. The other part owed to my education at the formerly all-female Vassar College, which inculcated a feminist sensibility and a profound distaste for institutional sexism. So, given what I’d heard of Bear Creek, our lack of coverage amounted to an unintentional boycott. However, I realized I hadn’t based my perceptions on anything more than hearsay and abstractions of injustice. I knew I should oppose what Bear Creek represents, but my gut told me to check it out for myself. I’m glad I did. The first positive sign was arriving via Vassar Avenue. The second was the gorgeous Palmer-Seay layout that revealed itself as I drove up. The third involved, yes, women, at the club. To find out what they were doing there, turn to “Manly Happy Returns,” on page 94. Oh, and in case all this heavy non-golf talk about perception, reality and sexism is getting you down, guess what? I know this great doctor who can cheer you right up. —JON RIZZI

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Wrong Willie In the write-up of Colorado Springs in The Back Forty article (May issue), the author incorrectly attributes the Town and Gown Golf Club to Willie Campbell, who also designed The Country Club in Brookline, MA. Around that time, there were actually two men by the name of Willie Campbell who were golf course architects—one from Boston, one from Philadelphia. The Willie Campbell who designed Town and Gown (now known as Patty Jewett) was from Philadelphia, formerly of the Philadelphia Country Club. He learned the game at St. Andrews and was a multi-talented man who, in addition to being a golf professional and course architect, also excelled at club making. In fact, it was in the golf shop of Old Tom Morris in St. Andrews that Campbell passed his club making apprenticeship before coming to the United States. Campbell ended up staying in Colorado Springs as a professional for a couple of decades. The Willie Campbell of Brookline fame died in 1900. Also, the original course that Campbell laid at Town and Gown was only 9 holes, not 18 holes. That fact is verified in an 1899 edition of the Colorado Springs Gazette. The course was expanded to 18 holes around 1910, with Campbell as the designer. Who would have ever thought that there were two men named Willie Campbell involved in the relatively new field of golf course architecture? Probably only an architecture geek like me would have that kind of useless knowledge! Allan Long Via email

Winning Smiles Congratulations to Contributing Editor Denny Dressman, whose CAG feature about golf in North Dakota, “Next on the Tee: Lewis & Clark” (May 2014), won the prestigious Colorado Authors League Writing Award for Feature Articles.

SEVENSOME Six players make up a hockey team. And a golf group has…seven? Why not? This early-season all-star group on the 16th tee at Bear Creek Golf Club included, from left to right: Altitude Network’s Mark Rycroft; Colorado Avalanche players Jarome Iginla, Cody Mcleod and Alex Tanguay; 99.5 FM The Mountain’s Rich “G-Man” Goins; Altitude’s Kyle Keefe; and former Av and current Carolina Hurricanes player John Michael-Liles.

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Colorado AvidGolfer | June 2015

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other. “Working together maximizes the impact we can have on the game,” says CGA Director of Development Ryan Smith. “The spirit of collaboration plays a critical role in our Century of Golf celebration this year.” And when it comes to bringing the game to young people, nowhere does that collaborative spirit play a more critical role than in the five-year-old Colorado PGA (CPGA) Golf in Schools Program. The joint effort between the CPGA, CGA, Colorado Women’s Golf Association and Colorado Open Golf Foundation (representing The First Tee Green Valley Ranch) has introduced nearly 40,000 schoolchildren to the game, according to Colorado PGA Executive Director Eddie Ainsworth. Coordinated by the CPGA through participating schools and courses, the free program currently serves 37 schools across the state, with a long-term participation goal of

The Colorado PGA’s Golf in Schools program is an object lesson in collaboration. By Jon Rizzi

T LAST MONTH’S Player’s Championship, leaders of the United States Golf Association, PGA of America, PGA TOUR, Masters Tournament, LPGA, and the World Golf Foundation announced a “spirit of collaboration to grow, protect and perpetuate the health of the game.” The chief area of development? Bring the game to young people. For the leaders of the Colorado Golf Association (CGA) and Colorado’s allied golf organizations, the announcement served as a ringing endorsement of the cooperative approach they have always taken with each

Colorado AvidGolfer | June 2015

60. The program consists of three days of atschool PGA Professional golf instruction using golf and “near-golf ” equipment and then transitioning the kids to the course on a field trip. While at the course, the resident member of the Rocky Mountain Superintendents Association often provides STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) education. In 2014, 22 PGA instructors and 26 courses participated. CommonGround Golf Course, which is owned by the CGA, regularly hosts Golf in Schools field trips for students from eight schools. On May 12, 142 fourth and fifth graders from nearby Virginia Court Elementary School participated with PGA Professionals Gary Davis, Tom and Andy Connell, Chris Schultz and CGA Managing Director of Programs Erin Gangloff. The school and course have partnered for four years. “We love working with them!” MacKenzie Petersen, the school’s physical education specialist, says. “Not only do our kids get personalized, individual instruction, but they are also taught lessons that apply to coloradoavidgo lf e r.c o m

P H O T O G R A P H BY E . J . C A R R

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For information on Century of Golf Gala, contact Ryan Smith (rsmith@coloradogolf.org; 303-974-2108). For Golf in Schools, contact Erin Gangloff (egangloff@ coloradogolf.org; 303-974-2102) or Katie Ann Robinson (krobinson@pgahq.com; 303-996-1591). coloradoavidgo lf e r.c o m

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golf and everyday life. For 98 percent of our kids, this is the first time they have held a golf club or stepped onto a golf course. Introducing lifetime sports is a priority for me as a PE teacher, and CommonGround keeps it fun so the kids are easily hooked!” “I would challenge anyone to be pessimistic about the future of golf after seeing the Colorado PGA Golf in Schools program,” says CGA Executive Director Ed Mate. “When you see the excitement in kids’ eyes as they see a golf ball fly, you just know the game has a bright future.” Ainsworth, like Mate, sees the program as an “on ramp” to participation in organized juniorlevel and high school programs—and beyond. Despite its success, however, the program requires funding. Staged by Colorado AvidGolfer at Red Sky Golf Club June 5-6, the Audi Corporate Cup annually benefits Golf in Schools. So do donations to the Colorado Open Golf Foundation and the Colorado Golf Foundation, the latter of which intends to provide additional Golf in Schools funding through contributions to the Century of Golf Gala to be held November 14 at Hyatt Regency Denver Tech Center. Jack Nicklaus will speak at the event. “We’re great friends and great allies in what we’re doing,” Ainsworth says of Mate and the CGA. Mate seconds that emotion. “Working together, I am very bullish on the future of golf. We just need to put this great game in the hands of golf ’s future, and that’s the kids. They’ll take it from there.” CAG

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P H O T O G R A P H BY E . J . C A R R

FESCUE CLUB: Coal Creek’s 16th now sports collared bunkers and a repositioned green.

Coal Creek’s Flood of Changes

N JUNE 29, more than 21 months after the Flood of the Century nearly washed it away, Louisville’s Coal Creek Golf Course will reopen to the public. And while the basic routing of the 25-year-old Dick Phelps layout remains the same, an entirely different experience awaits golfers. The differences start at the clubhouse, where The Mine, a privately contracted restaurant, will operate from refurbished digs. A hopper car now modifies the course logo, and the mining theme continues on the scorecard, which features tees labeled TNT, Pick and Shovel, Coal Car, and Lantern. Eight shiny new Golf Bikes stand alongside the carts by the clubhouse. A few yards north, a roiling, 21,000-square-foot mini-version of Bandon Dunes’ Punchbowl Course welcomes all levels of putters—especially younger and inexperienced ones—to roll for free. “The putting course differentiates Coal Creek from other munis in the area,” golf course architect Kevin Norby explains. “It’s a fun way to get kids and non-golfers into the game.” co l o r a d o a v i d g o l f e r. c o m

A principal in Minnesota-based Herford-Norby Golf Course Architects, Norby included the massive green as part of a 2011 long-range master plan to upgrade the course over five years. But after the September 2013 storms destroyed most of the course, the timetable for executing that plan—which called for hole lengthening, bunker remodeling, removing and relocating trees, constructing curbed cart paths, re-contouring greens and modernizing irrigation—accelerated, due in large part to enthusiastic community support and FEMA funds earmarked for “engineered landscapes.” Collaborating with Jeff Matthews of Landscapes Unlimited, Norby naturally re-engineered and re-graded the course to protect it from the kind of devastation it suffered during the 2013 deluge. The course passed a critical test when a surging Coal Creek overflowed during last month’s downpours and the drainage and collection areas functioned as planned. Function married form, however, as many of those little hills, pockets and collection areas added distinctive contouring to the formerly flat fairways and green surrounds. This not only produces more challenging lies; it also adds visual interest, dimension and strategy. The tree-encroached playing corridors, especially on holes 2, 4, 5, 6, 10 and 17 have become much wider. You can now actually see the fairway from the sixth tee and hear the June 2015 | Colorado AvidGolfer

theGallery babble of the stream near the first landing area. The green on the 514-yard eighth no longer hides behind the trees. It moved 60 feet left to become a true risk-reward par 5. Norby redid every bunker on the course. He also added, moved and removed many of them, bordering most with fescue. He realigned every teeing area, sodded the green surrounds and even moved cartpaths to direct play away from homes along certain fairways. Back nine changes included bringing the fairway bunkers into play on hole 15 and flipping the greenside bunker from the right to the higher left side of the green, which is now wider, deeper and has three “shelves.” The downhill 16th, visible to

drivers along US 36, now sports berms and 36 new trees between it and the highway. Norby put a centering cross-bunker 70 yards from the center of the green, and big hitters might also find the right fairway bunker now that is has been moved deeper down the fairway. The biggest change on that hole is the green now sits 70 feet further from the road. Players used to having their tee shots carry the pond at the elbow of Coal Creek’s right-dogleg finisher might not be happy with the extra 25 yards added by the new TNT tee. But they’ll no longer hit through the fairway to the left. A shelf now bisects the previously nondescript green, giving it more movement.

“Everything you thought you knew about Coal Creek, forget it,” says Norby. “It’s a different golf course.” For its new-look course, Coal Creek hired a new Head PGA Professional (David Baril, from Brown’s Run Country Club in Ohio) and Course Superintendent (David Dean from The Raven at Three Peaks in Silverthorne). They’ll both be on hand, as will Norby, City of Louisville Director of Parks Joe Stevens and other dignitaries for the Grand Opening ceremony June 27. Coal Creek is staging a lottery ($100 per ticket) to play in a Sunday, June 28 Shotgun for “stakeholders,” as well as a sealed-bid auction for the first tee time when the course opens on June 29. coalcreekgolf.com; 303-666-7888.

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theGallery

Warren Smith, 1915-2015

Colorado AvidGolfer | June 2015

only pro-am where the best pros (and their amateur partners) from around country are paired with two Cherry Hills members. And until Smith moved from Denver a few years back, there was a button on the dining room computer called “Pro” that logged a BLT and iced tea. It was the regular order for an extraordinary man.

P H O T O G R A P H C O U RT E S Y O F C H E R R Y H I L L S C O U N T R Y C LU B

“It’s the end of an era.” So said Cherry Hills Country Club member Gene Neher at a dinner honoring PGA professional Warren Smith upon his retirement in 1990. Twenty-five years later, those words again apply. Smith, who passed away May 3 in Palm Springs at age 99, spent 27 of his 50 years as a golf professional at Cherry Hills—the longest tenure of anyone to hold the position. He never lost his Alabama accent or the respect of his peers and his members. Known simply as “The Pro,” he was, in the words of the legendary Dow Finsterwald, “the golf professional’s golf professional,” and Hall of Famer Ron Moore called him “the epitome of everything wonderful about this game of golf which we love.” These quotations come from The Pro’s Pro, Tripp Baltz’s colorful 2009 biography about Smith. That a clean-living club pro could generate enough copy to fill a book testifies to the man and his influence. He became an honorary member at Cherry Hills at a time when only Dwight Eisenhower—a close friend of Smith’s predecessor Rip Arnold—and Arnold Palmer had that distinction. Palmer, who won the 1960 U.S. Open at Cherry Hills, helped Smith, who had just earned the PGA of America’s 1973 Golf Professional of the Year award, slip on his red jacket.

The Colorado Golf Hall of Fame inducted him in 1978, and every year since 1986 the Colorado Section PGA has given one of its members the Warren Smith Award for “special contributions to the game of golf, the Colorado Section, junior golf and to their facility.” One wonders why it took until 2005 for the national PGA of America Golf Professional Hall of Fame to enshrine him. During his time at Cherry Hills, Smith presided over the 1976 U.S. Senior Amateur, the 1978 U.S. Open, 1983 U.S. Mid-Amateur, the 1985 PGA Championship, and the 1990 U.S. Amateur. He mentored Cherry Hills members Jill McGill and Brandt Jobe to careers worthy of the Colorado Golf Hall of Fame, and groomed 16 assistants to become head professionals, including his successor, Colorado Golf Hall of Famer Clayton Cole. With a swing as effortless as breathing, Smith played in the 1963 and 1966 U.S. Opens and the 1956 and 1957 PGA Championships, advancing to the quarterfinals in ’57, the last year of the event’s match-play format. His seven consecutive birdies at the 1955 Texas Open tied a PGA Tour record and stood for six years. Every September Cherry Hills hosts the Smith-Cole, an invitation-

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P H O T O G R A P H C O U R T E S Y O F H Y L A N D H I L L S R E C R E AT I O N D I S T R I C T

Even if he had a different name, “Marvelous,” would still be Marv Mazone’s moniker. During his 32 years at Hyland Hills Golf Courses—20 as Head

PGA Professional and 12 as the PGA Director of Golf—“Marvelous Marv” oversaw the expansion of the Westminster facility’s original 18-hole layout and 9-hole par-3 course to its current 27-hole regulation course with two par-3 courses. A Denver North graduate who attended both the University of Colorado and Arizona State, Mazone inspired Hyland Hills’ staff and players with his witty, easy-going style and his prowess as a player. Sixteen of his assistants ascended to head professional positions, and he gave lessons to thousands of players. For his efforts he received dozens of honors, awards and recognition. Among those was the Colorado Golf Hall of Fame’s Lifetime Achievement Award, which he received in 2009, the year of his retirement, and the Colorado PGA Section’s 2011 Warren Smith Award. His commitment to educational programs earned him the Section’s 1979 Horton Smith Award, and in 1988 and

1989 he won its first two Golf Merchandiser of the Year awards for public courses. On his watch, Golf Digest named Hyland Hills one of the “Top 25 Public Golf Courses in America,” and in addition to numerous CGA and CWGA championships, Hyland Hills hosted the 1990 USGA Women’s Public Links. Taking a special interest in making golf available to young players, Mazone committed himself to developing the District’s Junior Golf Program. He coordinated golf outings for patients from The Children’s Hospital, and his dedication to kids and other novice golfers endeared him to the neighborhood and golf community at large. Mazone’s involvement in the local business community and civic associations resulted in numerous Chamber of Commerce awards for Hyland Hills. A gentle, glib and good-natured man, Mazone charmed the staff with his stories. “I remember him telling me he had to give a very unusual ruling to a player during one of our ladies leagues,” longtime colleague and Colorado Golf Hall of Famer Greg Mastriona says. “He said, with a straight face, ‘She wanted to know what the ruling was when her ball fell off the tee in the fairway.’” A large bronze plaque honoring “Marvelous” Marv Mazone greets entrants to the Hyland Hills golf shop. Mazone retired in 2009, and despite battling Alzheimer’s Disease, he often visited his old haunt, courtesy of Kathy, his wife of 53 years. Mazone passed May 5.

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Collegiate golf in the Rocky Mountain region has gone global. Over the past decade, coaches in both Division I and Division II have recruited athletes from Europe and beyond. Five of the nine members of the 2014-2015 University of Denver (DU) men’s golf team came from other countries, including top player Petter Mikalsen. The sophomore from Stavanger, Norway led the Summit League with a 70.57 stroke average and earned All-Summit League first team honors. Although DU failed to qualify for the NCAA Regionals, Mikalsen was selected to compete as an individual. The University of Colorado men’s team, which for the third consecutive year competed in the NCAA Regionals, boasts four European players—Philip Juel-Berg (Denmark) and Germans Ben Bradley and Jeremy and Yannik Paul—and Colorado State features two: Germany’s Max Oelfke and Denmark’s Patrick Winther. The trend isn’t confined to the men. DU’s women’s team—which qualified for the Regionals— features Mariell Bruun, Jessica Carty, Jessica Dreesbeimdieke and Rachael Watton. Dreesbeimdieke hails from Namibia, and Carty plays out of the same Northern Ireland course that spawned Rory McIlroy. Last year’s senior star, Tønje Daffinrud of Norway, now plays on the European Ladies Tour. D-II schools are importing talent as well. This April, for the second consecutive year, Western

New Mexico University won the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference (RMAC) championship. The Mustangs recruited six of their seven players from the United Kingdom—five from England, one from Scotland. “I try hard to recruit every State Champion and then fill out the team with the best players I can,” said WNMU Head Coach Kent Beatty. “I’ve had lots of talented kids from New Mexico that have been big contributors. But we are a small state. There aren’t a lot of kids shooting par—if they are, quite often Silver City isn’t their dream destination.” So Beatty looks internationally for student athletes. “They don’t have a great understanding of ‘DI and DII’,” said Beatty. “They just want to play Yannik Paul

in the USA.” “In Europe there are no high school teams and few college teams, there are only club teams” according to Oelfke. “In the United States, it’s more organized and golf is much bigger and more recognized than in Europe.” “College golf in the US is the best in the world and doesn’t really exist elsewhere,” said Colorado University Head Coach Roy Edwards. “It’s a different, exciting atmosphere and environment for these kids.” “The Europeans are real ‘team’ guys. We see this in the Ryder Cup and I will attest it’s true,” said Beatty. “The Europeans have their own community here and want to see their time here with accomplishing things as a team.” —Jeff Florence

Jeremy Paul

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Travel

Bandon Gets Closer

Direct flights make Oregon’s coastal golf mecca more accessible. By Jon Rizzi

OLF PILGRIMAGES come at different costs. The journey to play Augusta, Cypress or Pine Valley can require years of networking, letter writing and palm greasing. A weekend at Pebble could take years to pay off at prime plus 14 percent. Then there’s Bandon Dunes Golf Resort, the award-winning, walking-only golf mecca hard by the Southern Oregon Coastline— and as seemingly hard to get to. Until now. In April, United Express announced twice-a-week service (Sunday and Wednesday) between Denver International Airport (DEN) and Southwest Oregon Regional Airport (OTH), in North Bend, Oregon—less than a half-hour from the resort. Operated by SkyWest Airlines, the three-hour flights will run from July 1 to October 18. Round-trip airfare costs around $500. So instead of flying three hours to Portland and driving another

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LINKS TO DENVER: Bandon’s cliffhanging beauty is now less than four hours away.

five to Bandon, you’ll save yourself eight hours of round-trip travel. That’s enough time to play two rounds on any of the resort’s four courses—Bandon Dunes (designed by David McLay Kidd), Pacific Dunes (Tom Doak), Bandon Trails (Bill Coore and Ben Crenshaw) and Old Macdonald (Doak and Jim Urbina)—all of which sit 100 feet above the Pacific Ocean and have quickly grown permanent roots on every publication’s ranking of Top 100 U.S. courses. Recent additions include the highly ranked 13-hole Bandon Preserve Par-3 course and the 2.5-acre Punchbowl putting course. Bandon’s accommodations reward those who walk as many as ten miles a day on its links. Amenities include a sauna, whirlpool, fitness center and massage center. Six dining and drinking options include McKee’s Pub, where you can wash down a scotch egg and plateful of Grandma’s Meatloaf with a single malt or a pint of craft brew, as well as the more upscale Gallery, where fresh fish and an extensive (and relatively inexpensive) wine list carry the day. Lodging comes in five equally distinctive flavors: The Lodge and the Inn both offer single rooms with one and two beds; Chrome Lake’s 21 secluded buildings feature private bedroom lofts; the economical Lily Pond cottages; and the 16 designed-for-foursomes Grove Cottages, which will accommodate you and three friends with four private rooms and a shared parlor and patio. Off-property, Bandon is also a cool coastal town bristling with fishing boats, fresh seafood, cheeses and a world-class cranberry festival. And when you do decide it’s time to go, it’s now only a half-hour to the airport and three hours home. bandondunesgolf.com; 888-345-6008. June 2015 | Colorado AvidGolfer

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Timing Is Everything

Minor adjustments on the tee will yield major drives off it. By Sherry Andonian-Smith

F YOU’RE LIKE MOST GOLFERS, you’re looking for more distance with your driver. Sure, today’s technology allows you to adjust your club head to optimize launch angle, loft and spin. But we can also tweak those good old-fashioned concepts of set-up and swing to generate more power. Just remember: The harder or faster you swing, the more power you can lose. You can hit too high or low on the ball—or your clubhead will be out of synch with your hands. The former should not catch up with the latter until the point of impact. Here’s how to synch it up.

Go for a wider stance with your driver—to the outside of your shoulder width. Make sure your upper body is behind the ball (away from the target), which should be easier since your ball position is towards your forward heel.

Rotation behind the ball in your backswing is a key for power. Keeping your hips stable, let your upper body coil. If you need to, let your hips rotate a bit more.

Start your downswing with your lower body, allowing your arms and the club to drop without casting or throwing the club head. When you swing too hard at the beginning of your downswing, the power evaporates before the club gets to impact.

P H O T O G R A P H S BY S T E FA N I E F E R G U S O N

Before impact, the front leg should straighten. Keep your upper body behind the ball. This allows you to hit slightly on the upswing and reduce ball spin. The club head should catch up to your hands only at impact, not before.

Let your arms extend on your follow-through as you release the club.

Your finish should carry you all the way through without slowing down. If you have to force a “fake” finish, then you have lost your power before impact.

LPGA and PGA Class A Member Sherry Andonian-Smith (sherry@pga.com) teaches at Valley Country Club and D’Lance Golf Performance Center. She is the first person to qualify for the HealthONE Colorado Open, Colorado Senior Open and Colorado Women’s Open. CAG

Colorado AvidGolfer | June 2015

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DON’T CHANGE THE LOX: Some of Rosenberg’s deli delights.

FOOD

P H O T O G R A P H BY J O N AT H O N L O E T H E R

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BROAST OF THE TOWN: The Post’s succulent pressure-fried chicken.

The Bagel Has Landed

Using authentic methods and ingredients—right down to the water— Rosenberg’s recreates a New York experience in Five Points. By Gary James

ROSENBERG’S BAGELS & DELICATESSEN

HIS CATHOLIC kid from Arvada came to Boulder to attend the University of Colorado and was adopted by the Kauvar family, who ran the Tulagi nightclub—and Herbie’s Deli above it. Matriarch Gilda fed me my first lox and bagel, and it was “goy meets girl.” I was instantly an honorary member of the tribe, a victim of her schmear campaign. I won’t pretend to know as much as New York transplants, but I’m heavily invested in a quest for a decent New York-style “roll with a hole” in the Mile High City. Not the mushy pre-bagged variety found in grocery stores, but a

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

real bagel—sturdy and crispy on the outside, soft and chewy on the inside. And so my new best friend is Joshua Pollack, “the bagel man.” Josh opened the doors of Rosenberg’s Delicatessen last summer in the Five Points area after years of research and months of construction, spending a lot of…well, dough. “A real bagel is boiled,” he explained during a recent visit. “That’s the difference between what we do and thousands of supermarkets or Einstein’s. Those are steamed. You have to boil the bagel to get the right consistency and texture.” Born and raised in New Jersey, Josh is a fellow CU alum. He returned to Jersey to find what makes a good bagel, studying at classic NYC establishments such

as Katz’s Deli, Ross & Daughters, Harold’s Kosher Deli and Bagel Emporium. “Even in New York, some bagels are better than others. In the beginning, I would travel back from there with a jug of water to bake a test batch of bagels and make side-by-side comparisons. People who aren’t as crazy about them as I am wouldn’t know about the minor tweaks in water, but it’s just five ingredients. It’s not the crazy flavors, it’s the interaction between them.” Josh also attended classes at Cook Street School of Culinary Arts and eventually found three components: One, a great hundred-year-old recipe from Harold’s; and two, a flexible process with the traditional equipment and procedures. “I was a business student, so I underJune 2015 | Colorado AvidGolfer

Colorado AvidGolfer | June 2015

SUCH A SPREAD: Rosenberg’s sells bagels, meats, smoked fish, meats, pastries and more.

The bagels come in the expected varieties: plain, sesame, poppy seed, salt, garlic, etc. My initial order was never in doubt. Gimme the Standard—a bagel (I went with the yolk-colored egg variety) slathered with cream cheese, a tomato slice, red onion and capers with gravlax. I hope Josh is never robbed, because he can’t change the lox. All of the fish is incredible—four types of salm-

on, plus black cod, herring, whitefish and more, smoked and cured in house (except the gravlax, which isn’t smoked). “We’ve done a lot of cold smoking of such a variety of fish, and no one else does it,” Josh said. “We think it’s the best in the world, and we want to source to other restaurants.” He also imports corned beef and other meats from the Big Apple’s Old World Provision. The

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P H O T O G R A P H S BY J O N AT H O N L O E T H E R

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stand efficiencies and cost issues,” he said. “The giant 8’ x 8’ oven and kettle are big, bulky pieces of old-school equipment that people shy away from—they take up space, they’re labor intensive and they’re time consuming. “But that’s what we use. It’s not automated; it’s up to the person making the bagels by rolling the dough, then ‘proofing’ them overnight—that’s the procedure that allows yeast to form all the flavor. There’s a thermostat and humidistat in the room, to adjust the atmosphere—it’s drier here, so it takes three times longer to proof the bagels. After they’re boiled, they’re cooled and put on wet burlap over bake boards and baked on rotating racks in the 500-degree oven for a couple of rotations, which allows the top part to dry out. The perfect bagel should not have a flat side—the bottom and the top look identical.” The third component? Josh figured out how to replicate the mineral content of New York water. He got samples from water-treatment facilities and the aqueduct supplying New York and had them tested at CSU to determine the parts per million. He found that it was richer in calcium and magnesium than Denver’s water, so he built a reverse osmosis filtration system that hangs on the wall in the kitchen. It strips Denver tap water of its natural content—“We’re left with distilled water”—and replaces it with the NYC formula. “It’s not magic, just different levels,” he contends. I disagree. There is some serious sorcery going on at Rosenberg’s (his late mother’s maiden name).

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WAY TO GO: The meaty, cheesy, aptly named “Heart Attack.”

L.E.S. (onion bagel layered with hot pastrami, coleslaw, Swiss cheese and Ba-Tampte deli mustard) and the Reuben (corned beef, sauerkraut, Swiss cheese and Thousand Island dressing on a pumpernickel bagel) are magnificent, perfecting the classic savory balance. Even the kosher dill pickles on the side had the perfect pickling spice combination (I was able to identify bay leaves and mustard seeds). Rosenberg’s also serves salads and breakfast sandwiches. If you’re wondering if all this is Kosher, you’ll find the answer in “The Heart Attack”—a butter griddled bagel with Tender Belly bacon, sausage, Taylor ham, American and Cheddar cheeses and a fried egg—and in the ham and Swiss that define the slyly named “Don’t Tell Ya Mother.” Josh also brought in pastry chef Jay Thomas to make classic Jewish treats like hamenstaschen, rugelach and babka. My two fave desserts are the mini kugel, a sweet noodle pudding full of goodness, and the Rainbow Cookie—the Italian variation with three layers of sponge cake made with almond paste, tied together with raspberry jam. “There’s a connection between Jewish and Italian delicatessens,” Josh noted. “The families all immigrated at the same time to the Lower East Side, people on top of people, everyone showing everyone else how to do things.” He wants to add blintzes and apple turnovers to express the full span of the Jewish pastry scene. Favorites like Zapp’s Voodoo Chips (a regional brand available in Louisiana) and Dr. Brown’s sodas in varieties from black cherry to Cel-Ray (celery-flavored) are the finishing touches for die-hard deli aficionados seeking a haven. “As we expand the kitchen, we want to make everything in house, including our own cream cheese,” Josh enthused. “Someone else will make a water machine for bagels some day. I want to be known for the rest.” He’s already known for the best. 725 East 26th Ave., Denver.; 720-440-9880; rosenbergsbagels.com CAG Gary James is a Boulder-based food and music writer. Read more of his reviews at coloradoavidgolfer.com

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tappingIn SPIRITED AWAY: Golden Moon Speak’s home-crafted hooch.

Golden’s beer scene goes beyond the largest singlesite brewing facility in the world. By Cody Gabbard 38

Colorado AvidGolfer | June 2015

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P H O T O G R A P H C O U RT E S Y O F C A N N O N B A L L C R E E K B R E W I N G C O M PA N Y

Craft in a Company Town

HE MONOLITHIC PRESENCE of MillerCoors Brewing stands in striking juxtaposition to the serene backdrop of ruddy foothills and frontier buildings that define this historic foothills town of 19,000. But the handful of new craft breweries and distilleries that have sprouted seem right at home—even in Golden’s touristy downtown. One of these newer breweries, Cannonball Creek, lies on the edge of town, occupying a bright, sprawling space replete with views of the surrounding mountains. Upon first glance at the menu—a seven-tap list with three of the beers being some version of pale ale—I dismissed it as another pandering purveyor of hop-bombed brews. I rectified this misconception upon tasting the first, the second and finally eagerly downing the third. The strongest of the three, Mindbender IPA, had moderate bitterness, with the piney and dank aromatic qualities of a West Coast-style IPA. Hints of citrus and grapefruit pith accompany a medium-bodied ale, with beaded bubbles continually streaming to the surface. Featherweight Pale Ale was the most sessionable at 5 percent ABV, and balanced a fairly bitter backbone with crisp effervescence and sweetness from Munich malts. The newest offering, Prison Bound Pale, rounded out the pale portfolio with a low bitterness profile and a wallop of hop flavors including tropical fruit and orange rind. Cannonball is a true brewer’s brewery. Every beer is well built, and the individual flavors are easily discernable without being in-your-face. Even the logo pays homage to the process of brewing. Instead of using clichéd hops and barley, Cannonball shows a tri-clamp, a ubiquitous piece of equipment used in modern breweries to connect hoses and secure clamps on tanks. Brewers immediately recognize it; the drinking public might not. A more adventurous offering of libations awaits at Barrels & Bottles. Twenty-two craft beer taps— six being Barrels & Bottles’ own—and 24 wine taps offer a flavor for everyone. Of the 15 or so guest taps, most hail from well-known breweries but feature their rare specialties. It was a treat to see the likes of Odell (Fort Collins) and Stone (California) but beers of theirs I’d never heard of. Not to be outdone, most Barrels & Bottles brews have a unique flair: from a Peanut Butter Chocolate Mallow Stout to a Cherry Saison and a Gin Barrel-Aged Pale Ale. Barrels & Bottles also designed its own draught infuser, which can be packed with fruits, spices, and sundry other concoctions with select beers. You’ll find something stronger than beer at Golden Moon Speak, a 1930s-style prohibition speakeasy that hides in an alley a block off Washington Street. Golden Moon embraces the patron with a cozy atmostphere and an ever-attentive staff. The bar showcases handcrafted spirits ranging from gin and whiskey to rarer herbal liqueurs such as crème de violette and absinthe. The scope of spirits encourages experimentation, something the highly skilled bartenders are eager to do. If you’re lucky enough to have bartender Carly

GOLDEN SUDS: Cannonball Creek’s logo reflects its homebrewed heritage; Barrels & Bottles boasts a pooch-friendly porch and a drinker-friendly draught infusion tower.

Reamer, order an Old Fashioned. Although variations are available, I stuck with the classic, which in itself was unique in its abundance of rye spiciness, a trait that blends seamlessly with herbal bitters and a hint of sweetness from sugar and orange rind. Carly crafts each drink with panache, while still adhering to classic methods. Like the unique golf experiences offered in Golden by courses such as Fossil Trace, this new breed of craft beer and spirits continues to redefine what a good drink can be. With more craft-savvy breweries planning to open in the coming years, more established institutions stand to lose market share. The white flags at Applewood Golf Course in

Golden could symbolize surrender in the not-toodistant future as well, as the intertwining of golf and beer come to the forefront of the Molson Coors (MillerCoors)-owned course. The joint CanadianAmerican owned brewery is in contract to sell Applewood to a real-estate developer pending a rezoning request, ending more than 50 years of service to the community. Concerned neighbors, worried about the impact of 400 new residences on traffic and property values, have until November to raise $16 million to buy it from the developer. As the business of brewing becomes more like, well, a business, the patronage of local breweries and craft distilleries becomes that much more im-

portant. Ultimately, as long as it tastes good, let the best beer win. CAG Home-brewer and freelance beer writer Cody Gabbard contributes regularly to the Boulder Weekly and to Colorado AvidGolfer.

Cannonball Creek 393 Washington Ave, Golden 303-278-0111; cannonballcreekbrewing.com Barrels & Bottles 600 12th St #160, Golden 720-328-3643; barrelsbottles.com Golden Moon Speak 1111 Miner’s Alley, Golden 720-638-1155; goldenmoonspeak.com

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Risk/Reward

I L LU S T R AT I O N C O U RT E S Y O F I S T O C K P H O T O

What If ‘What If’ Happens?

Preparing for the worst can be a sound financial strategy. By Christian Ravsten

DMITTEDLY, A DYSTOPIAN movie about a zombie apocalypse isn’t conventional inspiration for financial advice, but while watching Brad Pitt in World War Z, I couldn’t help but think about how the story applied to the business owners I serve. If you are like most business owners, you are happy with the business you have built, yet you’re probably always looking for ways to make your enterprise more efficient, competitive and successful. Entrepreneurs are very similar in that they are always looking for ways to grow, evolve

Colorado AvidGolfer | June 2015

and become better than they were yesterday. Most often, these business owners are not aware they are missing out on certain financial aspects that could derail their businesses. So what does that have to do with World War Z? In the film, faced with a global pandemic of “rakshasa,” or “dead spirits,” most countries found themselves ill equipped or unprepared for a viral outbreak. Israel was the one country that had prepared for one, and, for the most part, they were initially spared from the large-scale impact. When Brad Pitt’s character asked the Israeli Mossad leader about how they knew to prepare, the man answered that they had heard rumblings of a pandemic breaking out in India and thought, “What if it is true and we don’t do anything to prepare?” He said, “We always ask ourselves the question, ‘What if?’”’ What a powerful question and statement in two simple words. This statement has caused me to reflect about how well business owners are prepared for the “What ifs” in their businesses and lives. The most common types of what ifs in business are: • What if I lose a key client or customer? • What if I lose a key contract? • What if I can’t get inventory from overseas? • What is my succession plan?

• Does my family want to run this business after I die? • What if I lose my best employee? • How do I retain and attract quality employees? • What if taxes increase? • What if I have to pay more than expected in taxes? • What if there is a better way of running my business effectively? These are questions we don’t like to think about, because they typically involve proactive planning. Yet, when discussed and planned for in an effective manner, the outcome can be very profitable in many ways. Wouldn’t it make sense to actually have a plan in place that will make our businesses more effective, competitive and growing? The objective is to help business owners establish plans that prepare them for the “what if ’s” in life so their businesses can continue to run seamlessly, even when surprises do occur. In addition, the business owner receives a very healthy tax deduction for doing this planning. Thus, the business profits from pro-active planning, helping you obtain your financial goals. CAG Christian Ravsten is the VP of Market Analytics a RiskMD, a Centennial-based financial firm specializing in helping business owners reduce taxation, market risk and legal risk. Reach him at 1-855-448-7463 or Christian@YourRiskMD.com coloradoavidgo lf e r.c o m

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P H O T O G R A P H S C O U RT E S Y O F AU D I A N D N I S S A N

Power and Pragmatism The Audi Q5 TDI and Nissan Murano boldly display both virtues.

SOUPED-UP SUV: Audi’s Q5 TDI is a high-performance crossover.

By Isaac Bouchard

2015 AUDI Q5 TDI EPA RATINGS: 24 / 31MPG; 27MPG COMBINED PRICE AS TESTED: $53,900

F THERE IS ANY VEHICLE class crying out for diesel power, it is the SUV. Economy, towing torque and stout off-the-line acceleration make perfect sense for such practical vehicles. While there are a few such compressionignition engines available in larger models, the Q5 TDI is just about the smallest (and most affordable) way possible to get the benefits that come with such an powerplant. The only giveaway as to which fuel pump America’s best-selling Audi drinks from is the badge on the trunk lid. There’s no smoke or smell, and you can option up a TDI to look just like your neighbor’s SQ5 hot rod. Inside, it is the typically appealing Audi story of solidly constructed, pleasingly styled surroundings.

Colorado AvidGolfer | June 2015

It’s sized really well, packing suitable accommodations for cargo and four humans into a small external footprint. The MMI infotainment interface is still world class as well, and the available sports seats are supportive and comfortable. Where this Q5 really makes hay is in the way it goes down the road. Powered by the same single turbo, 3.0-liter V6 diesel as Audi (and in various other Porsche and VW models), with outputs of 240hp and a staggering 428lb-ft of torque, it hammers away from stop lights after a brief, lung-filling breath and roars to 60mph in only 5.8 seconds, according to independent testing. This places it in the upper echelon of performance-

minded crossovers, yet the TDI will also return mid-20s mpg in the city and low-30s on the highway—something almost unobtainable in any other SUV of any power source. That you can also tow a big boat, smaller horse trailer, snowmobiles or racecar with the

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Q5 makes it a uniquely compelling combination of pragmatic virtues. In other dynamic areas the Q5 is quite competitive, with strong brakes, accurate steering and decent body control. Some competitors, such as the BMW X3 and Porsche Macan outhandle it, and it suffers from more road noise than the Lexus or new Lincoln crossovers. But there is still a reassuring sense of solidity to the way it goes about its business, and simply no other SUV runs with such vigor and such real-world frugality.

very welcome departure from faux tree and the acres of contrast stitching; bright accents and black backdrops are artistically conceived. Sadly, the bean counters undermined some of the materials’ quality; especially disappointing is the otherwise well laid out and copious center console, which is so flimsily attached that you worry for its future. But the large, generously padded seats, comfy armrests and fast, intuitive infotainment

system help make up for such lapses. Cargo room is excellent and helps differentiate the Murano from smaller luxury crossovers. Luxury also describes the way this Nissan proceeds down the road. The ride is smooth, absorbent and very quiet. Wind noise and tire roar are likewise noticeable by their absence; the Murano is in Lexus RX territory here. Steering precision is fine—though there’s no real feel—and the handling improves on

2015 NISSAN MURANO SL EPA RATINGS: 21 / 28MPG; 24MPG COMBINED PRICE AS TESTED: $41,905 When the Murano first showed its radical face 12 years ago it helped to reset expectations of what an SUV could be. While this latest, third-generation model doesn’t go quite that far, it is a worthy successor to the groundbreaking original. The Murano’s audacious skin is an integral part of its appeal; featuring Nissan’s new face, a show car-worthy window line, sculptural taillights and copious—and copiously folded—sheet metal, it is a standout outside. The interior is equally fetching, at least at first glance. The bold, metallic sweeps of trim are a

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AUDACIOUS LUXURY: Nissan’s new Murano SL

June 2015 | Colorado AvidGolfer

P H O T O G R A P H S C O U RT E S Y O F N I S S A N

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its predecessor’s. While not to be confused with more obviously athletic competitors, the Nissan is more than competent in this department. Motivation is provided by a carryover, corporate, 3.5-liter V6, with outputs of 260hp and 240lb-ft; despite the slightly lighter curb weight of this new, larger Murano, and its wider-ratio CVT, it doesn’t feel any faster than the older model, with independent tests showing mid-7s 0-60mph backing up the seat-of-the-pants assessment. Fuel economy ratings have dramatically improved, though realworld numbers are more in line with the older model as well—typical of vehicles with continuously variable transmissions. I commend Nissan for making the new Murano so focused as an on-pavement, luxury crossover. There’s no token third row or off-road hardware; this is all-weather large capacity transport for today’s world. While a lingering sense of insubstantiality intrudes at times (examples include doors— and door handles—that feel cheaply hollow), there are many areas of real improvement. The Murano is larger yet lighter, more frugal but just as fast, quieter and more luxurious, loaded with safety and entertainment tech that is easy to suss out—all while making a stronger visual statement than any recent crossover. CAG Read more of Automotive Editor Isaac Bouchard’s writing at nicedrivz.com and coloradoavidgolfer.com.

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ADV E RTI S E M E N T

3 Ways to Play It Golf getaways take different forms. There’s the buddy trip, the family vacation, and, even the couples escape. Colorado’s golf landscape brims with prime spots for each, but three mountain destinations—Keystone Resort, Vail/Beaver Creek and The Broadmoor—really elevate the experience, no matter who joins you. By Carri Wilbanks

The Buddy Trip P H O T O G R A P H S C O U RT E S Y K E Y S T O N E R E S O RT, VA I L / B E AV E R C R E E K R E S O RT S , T H E B R OA D M O O R

Golf is but one reason to tee up a weekend with your friends. GOLF

STAY

DRINK

Keystone: The resort features two golf courses, The River Course at Keystone and Keystone Ranch. Designed by Michael Hurdzan and Dana Fry, The River Course, set up around the Snake River, features pine-stacked fairways and plunging tee shots. Robert Trent Jones Jr.’s Keystone Ranch feels like two separate courses, with the front nine routing through an open meadow and the back showcasing the pine-studded high country. Other must-plays include the 27-hole Jack Nicklaus-designed Breckenridge Golf Club, about 30 minutes away, and The Raven Golf Club At Three Peaks, a Hurdzan/ Fry collaboration with Tom Lehman in nearby Silverthorne. Vail/Beaver Creek: Red Sky Golf Club’s two eponymous courses, Fazio and Norman, offer such different experiences that you have to try both. The somewhat gentler Fazio winds through groves of aspen and through forest. The Norman sits higher, challenging with steep elevation changes and three-puttable greens. The Club at Cordillera’s three courses—Summit, Mountain and Valley—are equally memorable, while Vail Golf Club and EagleVail are more economical options. The Broadmoor: The site of numerous national championships, The Broadmoor delivers an outstanding troika of courses. The East, which will host the 2018 U.S. Senior Open, and West are a challenging composite of two legendary designers: Donald Ross and Robert Trent Jones Sr. Nicklaus designed the Mountain course, which tucks into the side of Cheyenne Mountain and overlooks the resort.

Keystone: There are plenty of places to meet every budget. Find some of the most affordable options at Keystone Resort. Everything from standard hotel rooms, townhomes and condominiums are spread throughout the village. Book your Stay, Play & Save Golf Trip with exclusive summer rates. Vail/Beaver Creek: Perfect for a group of guys, Beaver Creek Resort rents everything from homes to 1-4 bedroom condos to standard hotel rooms. Locations are set up throughout town in Beaver Creek Proper, Avon, EagleVail and Arrowhead and many spots can be booked with a hot tub and pool. The Broadmoor: The five-star, five-diamond hotel in Colorado Springs offers the ultimate in luxury service. Groups should book a cottage— choose from one to eight bedrooms—that features parlors, high beamed ceilings, wood floors and spot along the East Course’s 18th fairway.

Keystone: Don’t miss Happy Hour at the Ranch 4:30-5:30. Then hit the local craft breweries: the Dam Brewery in Dillon and Breckenridge Brewery. Breck’s classics include Avalanche Ale and Agave Wheat, while Dillon Dam pours a slate of beers such as Chili Lager and Paradise Pilsner. Vail/Beaver Creek: The Red Lion in Vail rocks out with live acoustic music nightly, but get there early for a spot on the deck to enjoy a cold beer first. The Broadmoor: Find a pub style atmosphere at the Broadmoor’s Golden Bee and a long list of English and Irish drafts. A pianist brings in ragtime tunes nightly and after a few yards of beer you’ll find yourself singing along.

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EAT Keystone: In Keystone, find everything from Mexican food, pizza and informal steakhouses. Kickapoo Tavern is a local favorite serving up hearty house favorites like the 2 Mile High Meatloaf the River Run burger stacked with bacon, crispy fried onions, jack cheese and jalapeños. Vail/Beaver Creek: Mountain Standard is a top pick for Vail for both location and a flavorful menu. Good luck choosing between the Corned Pork Shank, Colorado Lamb Sirloin and Prime Flat Iron Steak. The Broadmoor: The resort’s numerous options include the new Ristorante Del Lago, which specializes in Italian fare including wood fired pizzas and fresh house-made pasta. Consider, too, Play, where bowling a few games never tasted so good.

AND… Keystone: Rent a mountain bike from Keystone Sports and pedal through Keystone’s Bike Park, where 100 miles of lift-serviced single track mountain biking terrain spans 55 trails. With clinics, lessons and progressive terrain, the Bike Park welcomes riders of all ability levels. For a milder ride, hop on the miles of paved Summit County trails. Vail/Beaver Creek: In Vail, shops like Gore Creek Fly Fisherman offer full day and half day fly fishing trips and can accommodate large groups and all skill levels. The Broadmoor: Although people can no longer waterski on the lake, the Broadmoor does offer everything from fly-fishing, horseback riding, rock climbing, mountain biking, white water rafting and jeep tours. June 2015 | Colorado AvidGolfer

ADV E RTI S E M E N T

Tee for Two? Golf and romance make the perfect combo, so grab your clubs and get ready to tee off with your gal or guy. SPAS

Keystone: Playing Keystone’s 36 holes with your partner can be as romantic as skiing its 3000 acres together. Both the River and Ranch courses have multiple sets of tees and stunning views. The River’s precipitous drops, water hazards and bunkers make for some friendly competition. The Ranch winds along the Snake River, lodgepole pines, sage meadows and around a nine-acre lake. Vail/Beaver Creek: Red Sky Golf Club’s two courses, Fazio and Norman, consistently rank as some of the state’s best mountain courses—for both men and women. Another option is the Cordillera Couples Experience. Colorado AvidGolfer presents this annual event September 12 & 13 on Cordillera’s Summit and Valley Courses. Choose from competitive and noncompetitive flights and savor world-class food, wine and lodging. The Broadmoor: The Broadmoor’s three championship courses cater to everyone’s golf ability. So do the 18 stunning Pete Dye-designed holes at the nearby Country Club of Colorado at Cheyenne Mountain Lodge.

Keystone: Book a couples massage at Keystone Resort. The Two-Gether Massage comes in 50-minute and 80-minute options and takes place in the Massage Suite For Two. Afterwards, continue unwinding in the resort’s Relaxation Room, Steam Room, sauna, pool or hot tubs. Vail/Beaver Creek: A top pick for a romantic experience is the spa romance package at the Allegria Spa, which includes a wildflower scrub for her, eucalyptus scrub for him, a couples steam shower, 75 minute massage, lavender bath for two and champagne and truffles to top it off. The Broadmoor: Choose from restorative body treatments like a Deep Tissue Massage or an indulgent option like the Chardonnay Scrub at the Spa at the Broadmoor. Or, spend time side by side with your sweetheart with a couples massage. Upgrade the experience with hot stones or aromatherapy oil.

APRÈS-GOLF Keystone: Take a gondola to the top of Dercum Mountain for some yoga where you can stretch out and find Zen with your sweetheart. Classes happen every Saturday on the Overlook Deck at 10:30 a.m. You can also choose from hiking, tennis, horseback riding, fly-fishing, whitewater rafting and plenty more. Vail/Beaver Creek: Step up the adventure with your significant other and hit the water with Alpine Quest for a stand up paddleboard lesson on Nottingham Lake. Other top picks include nature walks, hiking, mountain biking and horseback riding. After a day outside, explore boutique shops, bars, restaurants and art galleries in Vail Village. The Broadmoor: Hop on a hot air balloon ride for aerial views of Colorado Springs, the Rocky Mountains, the Spanish Peaks and Long Peaks. For something more extreme, go rock climbing with skilled guides at places like Garden of the Gods and Cheyenne Canyon. Half-day trips will teach you how to tie knots and climbing safety before conquering challenging routes. See the resorts concierge to book these trips.

Colorado AvidGolfer | June 2015

EAT Keystone: It doesn’t get more intimate than Keystone Ranch Restaurant, housed in a rustically elegant original 1930s ranch homestead. Savor a luxurious five course dinner featuring acclaimed Colorado cuisine and wild game specialties, or choose a more casual fare with soup or salad and an entree. Vail/Beaver Creek: Splendido offers some of the finest dining in Beaver Creek. Start with an appetizer from the raw bar, tuck into some Country Fried Rocky Mountain Trout and then grab a drink at the piano bar. The Broadmoor: For the ultimate dining experience book a table at the Penrose Room, Colorado’s only Five Star, Five Diamond dining experience. The menu abounds with contemporary European cuisine and dishes inspired by the seasons. Expert sommeliers can recommend the best wine to enjoy as you listen and dance to live music.

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P H O T O G R A P H S C O U RT E S Y K E Y S T O N E R E S O RT, VA I L / B E AV E R C R E E K R E S O RT S , T H E B R OA D M O O R

GOLF

ADV E RTI S E M E N T

Bring the Kids A family vacation involving golf means quality time spent on and off the course. GOLF

EAT

Keystone: Families or newcomers can take advantage of ‘Time For Nine’ rates and SNAG (Starting New at Golf ) Golf, a development program designed for new players of every age, in a fun and easy program that begins at just $15 per family, including equipment. Vail/Beaver Creek: At EagleVail Golf Club, the Willow Creek Par 3 course is a great alternative to all 18 holes at an affordable price. The course also hosts footgolfers, so call ahead to know what size ball to bring. Vail Golf Club offers two- and three-day Junior Golf Camps for two hours per day. The Broadmoor: At the Broadmoor, kids under age 12 play free with a paying adult after 2 p.m. and juniors aged 12-17 play for $90 with a paying adult. For a less challenging course, head 20 minutes east to the nine-hole Sand Creek Golf Course, where seven par threes and two par fours accommodate younger and beginner golfers.

Keystone: Bighorn Bistro & Bar offers fine dining for the family, without all the fuss. Come dinner, Der Fondue Chessel offers an authentic fondue experience at the top of Keystone’s North Peak Mountain where you are greeted with a Bavarian-style entertainment. Vail/Beaver Creek: Right in the heart of Beaver Creek Village, Blue Moose Pizza will swap out the red and white-checkered tablecloths for paper ones so kids can color. Chow down on New York Style Pizza like the Big Moose with pepperoni, sausage and Canadian bacon. Salad Pizza is also a hit. Try the Mediterranean with roasted red pepper, pesto humus, onions and feta. The Broadmoor: As elegant as the Broadmoor is, it still incorporates family-friendly dining at spots like the Golden Bee, where pub style food like fish ‘n chips, pizza and burgers satisfy any appetite. The Golf Club Dining Room serves clubhouse classics on a patio where you can roast s’mores in the fire pit come sunset. Don’t miss the sliders at PLAY bowling alley.

PLAY Keystone: Soak up a day at Kidtopia Play Park, inside River Run Village, playing on bungee trampolines, gem panning and rock climbing. New daily Kidtopia Programming ranges from Thursday Family Dodgeball to Sunday Splash Fest. For off-mountain adventure, check out Keystone Stables for a horseback ride or the Keystone Adventure Center where kids and families can kayak, canoe and rent bikes. Vail/Beaver Creek: The Kids Day Camp is open for kids ages 5-13 and offers the chance to visit the Matawin Teepee Village, ride horses and make arts and crafts. For older children, check out Adventure Ridge, at the top of Eagle Bahn Gondola, for rock climbing, disc golf, lawn games and live music. The Broadmoor: Canoeing, electric boats, horseback riding, biking and hiking trails are just the start. Bee Camp is offered for kids aged 3-12 and includes activities like nature walks, arts and crafts and trips to the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo. Camps are offered for full days, half days and also evenings.

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NIGHTIME FUN Keystone: Keystone’s Wagon Ride Dinner takes you on a entertaining 30-minute ride in a hay-free wagon through a remote valley to a historic ranch homestead. Enjoy a buffet dinner under the stars (or a tent if it rains) and live guitar music. Toss horseshoes, learn cattle roping and cook s’mores around the campfire. On Tuesdays, Keystone Stables presents Wild West Nights with a bike-in movie, munchies from the Giddy Up Grill and more. Vail/Beaver Creek: Catch a movie and dinner with your family at CineBistro in Solaris Plaza, an upscale theatre featuring the latest feature films and comfy leather recliners. If you still have steam after, check out bol, a 10lane bowling alley next door. The Broadmoor: Aim for strikes and spares at PLAY., a glamorous sixlane bowling alley at the resort. Chandeliers, cherry wood flooring and cozy leather banquettes dress up the space. Or head to Seven Falls for a night hike to see seven cascading waterfalls. Seven Falls is open Friday and Saturday for a night lighting until 10 p.m.

June 2015 | Colorado AvidGolfer

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ROCKY MOUNTAIN HOME...

Colorado National and Fox Hill provide exceptional views and panoramic scenery. Not to mention, awardwinning golf, tennis, swimming, ﬁtness, food and more. Located just north of Denver, imagine a perfect place in a perfect setting - whether it’s a corporate or charity golf tournament, business meeting, wedding, or a fundraiser, we can make your dream a reality. Our experienced event professionals will share in the enthusiasm for your special day. Our Executive Chefs have extensive experience in the hospitality industry and will work with you to create a customized menu that will delight you and your guests. Let us create a unique affair by delivering picturesque views, secluded space, awardwinning food, impeccable service, and memories that will last a lifetime. It’s deﬁnitely the perfect venue.

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COLORADO

GETAWAYS Grand Lake

A Dive Worth Taking

Best Courses Craft Beer Summer Festivals Resorts & Inns

Rock the Boat Saddle Up for Fun in Steamboat

Gimmes & Grapes Return of an Icon Sip Your Way Through Grand Junction

SPECIAL ADVERTISING SECTION

Cheyenne Mountainâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Revival in the Springs

Not that anything was amiss, but expect to see some significant tweaks this season at The Golf Club at Redlands Mesa, the masterful Jim Engh creation ranked No. 1 public course in Colorado by Golfweek. Among the more notable modifications to this pulse-quickening experience are an expanded junior program and a new daily fee rate that cools the cost of a round of golf from $105 to $65 (or $50, including cart, with a Colorado AvidGolfer Golf Passport).

The Golf Club at Redlands Mesa

GOLF

DELTA • GRAND JUNCTION MONTROSE • GUNNISON

Six Courses, Plenty of Fun

Cobble Creek

SURE-FIRE SIXGUN: Grand Junction’s high desert landscape and moderate year-round climate have long been big-bang draws for sun-loving golfers. Six courses grace the surrounding countryside, including esteemed Redlands Mesa, nine-hole Lincoln Park, 27-hole Adobe National Golf Club in nearby Fruita, historic and recently renovated Tiara Rado Golf Course, Chipeta Golf Course’s executive 18, and members-only Bookcliff Country Club. STAY AND PLAY: Montrose’s Bridges Golf and Country Club, a semi-private facility that—in addition to offering on-property luxury suites, fitness center and exceptional dining—is anchored by a highly regarded 18-hole routing by Nicklaus Design.

ON THE TEE Celebrating its 14th anniversary, Devil’s Thumb Golf Club in Delta remains a well-deserved favorite that, via the creative genius of architect Rick Phelps, significantly contrasts and augments the area’s stark but picturesque Adobe Hills (known locally as the “dobeys”).

Colorado AvidGolfer | June 2015

One of two municipal tracks in Grand Junction (Lincoln Park being the other), tradition-bent Tiara Rado Golf Course is a gem, made even more lustrous following a recent tee-to-green renovation performed by Phelps-Atkinson.

Head-turning highlights at the master-planned Cobble Creek include a meticulously conditioned golf course designed by Craig Cherry and a don’t-miss-it Friday Night Prime Rib Special that, like the golf course, includes all the trimmings.

At Black Canyon Golf Course in Montrose, the newly renovated Brew & Bogey Club restaurant is wowing thirsty patrons with savory microbrews from Horsefly Brewing Company—belly up for the silky-smooth Tobano Red Ale—and a scrumptious Friday Night Fish Fry. co coloradoavidgo lo r ado a vi d g o llffeer. r.c com

ROUND 1: 18

Holes Surrounded by Stunning Backdrops ROUND 2: Relax in Colorado’s Wine Country

Indulge in our reds, whites and greens. Come discover for yourself why people return again and again to Colorado’s Wine Country to golf at The Golf Club at Redlands Mesa and Tiara Rado Golf Course in Grand Junction. So come, stay awhile, and enjoy Colorado’s Wine Country. visitgrandjunction.com/AvidGolfer or call 800-962-2547

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LIFESTYLE

DELTA • GRAND JUNCTION MONTROSE • GUNNISON WHAT TO DO

Colorado National Monument

FREE RIDERS:

Think you’ve fully witnessed the red-rock canyons, tunnels, sheer-wall cliffs and gravity defying boulders of Grand Junction’s Colorado National Monument? Try it at dawn. This 32-square-mile region of quiet, wild country has an otherworldly feel that is seldom more compelling than when the rising sun embraces the monument’s wind- and water-sculpted Window Rock, Pipe Organ, Kissing Couple, Praying Hands or Sentinel Spire formations.

Amongst the seemingly barren wastelands of the 36,000-acre Book Cliffs mountain range roams a wild horse herd that has swelled to more than 120 feral mustangs. Experience this extraordinary scene up close via Rimrock Adventures out of Fruita, which offers guided horseback excursions you’ll want to relive over and over.

So Many Choices SPEAK LOUDER: The 48-mile-long Black Canyon of the Gunnison near Montrose plunges 2,722 feet to a roaring, raging river, a must-see experience that reminds every visitor that Mother Nature, unleashed, is both all-powerful and awe-inspiring.

PEDAL IT, BABY:

GRAND IT IS: Grand Junction is celebrating the just-completed, $9.65 million renovation and restoration of the historic Avalon Theatre. Built in 1923, the 1,090-seat performing arts landmark has been a favored venue for performers from Al Jolson and John Philip Sousa to Pat Benatar, Lyle Lovett and the Grand Junction Symphony.

in-glove in Gunnison—located an hour east of Montrose—where you’ll be treated like family at the impeccably maintained Dos Rios Golf Club. Afterwards, cast for trophy trout on the Gunnison River and nearby Blue Mesa Reservoir, the largest manmade lake in Colorado. 52

Colorado AvidGolfer | June 2015

Dos Rios Golf Club

FISHING TIME: Fishing and golf go hand-

Just completed, the tri-city Riverfront Trail System has transformed the region with 28 miles of manicured pathways—ideal for bikers, skaters, walkers and runners who enjoy unfettered access to Palisade, Fruita, downtown Grand Junction and the resplendent wetlands and groves of the Colorado and Gunnison river deltas.

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PACKAGES INCLUDE: PACKAGES • Stay 2-3 nightsINCLUDE: in Montrose, for a special rate

Stay 2-3 nights at ineach Montrose, •• Golf 18-holes coursefor a special rate Golf hotel 18-holes at eachavailable course (noon) •• Late checkouts •• Late hotelprovided checkoutsfor available (noon) stay and play adventure Vouchers your customized Vouchers provided customized andatplay adventure •• Welcoming gift bag for withyour unbeatable localstay deals check-in •• Welcoming gift bag with unbeatable local deals at check-in Packages start at $340, pre-tax (for a two night stay) • Packages start at $340, pre-tax (for a two night stay) Rates vary depending on tee-time, season, and number of guests and golfers. Other discounts cannot be applied to this package.on tee-time, season, and number of guests and golfers. Other discounts cannot be Rates vary depending applied to this package.

Located Located on on the the Western Western Slope Slope of of the the Rocky Rocky Mountains Mountains and and within within easy easy reach of an exceptional range of recreational possibilities, Montrose, reach of an exceptional range of recreational possibilities, Montrose, Colorado, Colorado, is is the the perfect perfect destination destination for for year-round year-round adventure adventure and and an an excellent excellent place place to to “tee “tee it it up”. up”.

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Hiking in Grand Junction

DELTA • GRAND JUNCTION MONTROSE • GUNNISON

IN THE KNOW IT’S A FEAST-ABLE: Downtown Grand Junction increasingly is becoming a hip destination for restaurants and eateries. Among the area’s favorite lunch spots is Café Sol, which is regaled for using locally sourced organic veggies in its signature salads, smoothies, soups and paninis.

PRETTY FLY: Named for the Uncompahgre Plateau’s highest summit, Montrose’s Horsefly Brewing Company rocks Main Street with its eight small-batch brews (try the Tabano Red), seasonal ales and a wide-ranging pub menu (including 10 wing sauces). Horsefly’s fun-loving vibe spills onto the patio all summer long.

LOCAL KNOWLEDGE: Grand Valley’s wine country now brags 22 wineries, including just-opened Red Fox Cellars, which offers a number of hard ciders and fruit wines, many of which are matured in whiskey and bourbon barrels. (Ask about the label’s increasingly popular Bourbon Barrel Merlot.) “Ride your bike there and all around Colorado Wine Country,” said resident Mystalynn Meyeraan, “but resist sampling too much of the hard cider or you’ll have to call a taxi!” 54

Colorado AvidGolfer | June 2015

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Montrose, Colorado

With jaw dropping views of the majestic San Juan Mountains, Cobble Creek is a golfing experience you will not forget. Rated by golfers as “Best in the Valley” five times, our 6,982 yard, par 72 course offers a challenging venue for the low handicap golfer. Our wide fairways and ample greens provide the occasional golfer a great experience as well. Our full service on-site restaurant is open for dinner featuring wood fired pizza, steak, seafood, pasta and more . Visit the Creekside restaurant for a look at our

complete menu. The Tavern features all of your grilled favorites and a classic bar menu. Located in the Clubhouse, it is always open for lunch or to grab a quick snack or beverage on the turn. Thinking of relocating to God’s Country? Cobble Creek is the premier residential golf community in Montrose with available homes ranging from low $200’s to $700’s and home sites from the mid $30’s to $80’s. We can build your dream home to your specifications.

TEE TIMES: Golf Pro-Shop (970) 240-9542 | ONLINE: cobblecreek.com CREEKSIDE RESTAURANT: (970) 249-5915 | ONLINE: creeksidecobblecreek.com REAL ESTATE: cobblecreek.com or call (970) 964-4947

GOLF

GRAND COUNTY STEAMBOAT SPRINGS

Pole Creek Golf Club

Warmer late-winter temperatures and frequent rains cleared away much of the lower-elevation snowpack throughout Colorado. In Grand County—home to Golf Granby Lake, Grand Elk Golf Club, Grand Lake Golf Course and Pole Creek Golf Club—it resulted in early golf course openings and much better playing conditions (and some very happy golfers) in usually sketchy May. West on US 40, Steamboat Springs’ courses are enjoying their earliest openings ever, plus a noticeable, joyful absence of frost delays.

High Altitude, Less Spin

Grand Elk Golf Club

DEFCON 4: If you’re smitten by the Bubba ball, you’ll adore the 8,000-foot-high altitude of thin-air Grand County. At this elevation golf balls launch farther and spin less, two seductive incentives for golfers who like to tee it up and go long… long… gone! HOME, SWEET HOME: In addition to great golf, Grand Elk by

Koelbel is a new and vibrant second-home community that includes among its perks walking-distance access to the award-winning Grand Elk Golf Club. Introductory residential offerings are ranch-style golf villas—priced from the high $300s—that offer golf course views plus breathtaking panoramas of the surrounding Rocky Mountains.

ON THE TEE 27-hole Pole Creek Golf Club’s “Discover Golf” summer program is a rousing success. Every Wednesday afternoon families and newcomers play three, six or nine holes for $7, $12 or $19, respectively, including cart, offering relaxed and affordable fun in the sun.

Colorado AvidGolfer | June 2015

Links-style golf is rather unusual for mountain terrain, yet there’s no other way to describe Grand Lake Golf Course. A devastating pine-beetle infestation resulted in a memorable playing experience that’s not found anywhere else.

Minutes from Rocky Mountain National Park and the headwaters of the Fraser and Colorado rivers, Grand Elk Golf Club’s heathland design evokes the layout at Gleneagles in Scotland.

Golf Granby Ranch, formerly known as SolVista, encompasses two entirely different nines—a valley/ wetlands front and a climbing ridgeline back that follows the ski mountain.

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LIFESTYLE

O2, BRUTE:

GRAND COUNTY STEAMBOAT SPRINGS

Aptly named Grand Lake is known for its challenging winds and über-scenic mountain vistas. At an elevation of 8,366 feet, Colorado’s largest natural lake is also the world’s highest registered yacht anchorage. Bonus tip: Moose are often spied amid the water’s pristine outlet.

NATURE UNLEASHED:

Grand County is a vacation-rich destination renowned for adventure and authentic Americana heritage. Punctuated with historic towns like Fraser, Granby, Grand Lake, Hot Sulphur Springs, Kremmling and Winter Park, the region is a vast, high-country respite bejeweled with majestic treasures like Grand Lake, Rocky Mountain National Park and the headwaters of the Colorado River. HOT LICKS: The 33rd Annual Winter Park Jazz Festival, scheduled July 18-19, features another heady lineup of celebrity performers including 11-time Grammy winner Kenny “Babyface” Edmonds and Morris Day & The Time. Kids 12 and under will be admitted free with each ticketed adult.

HOLES HOLES OF OF

LOCAL KNOWLEDGE: Near the headwaters of the Colorado River, Shadow Mountain Lake is prized for its picturesque landscapes, fishing, jet-skiing and more. “Rent a pontoon boat, ride to the middle of the lake and take in Mother Nature’s handiwork,” said 37-year Frazier resident Mary Moynihan.

Rocky Mountain National Park boasts almost 266,000 acres, 150 lakes, more than 350 miles of hiking trails and 60 miles of road bicycling (including America’s highest continually paved byway). Indulge your inner Robert Frost and experience Timber Lake, the eight-mile trek to Haynach Lakes, or the 14,259-foot breath-stealing summit of Longs Peak.

CLASSIC MOUNTAIN GOLF

Pole Creek Golf Club Winter Park, Park, Colorado Colorado Winter

ONLINE TEE TEE TIMES TIMES AND AND SPECIALS SPECIALS ONLINE

800.511.5076 970.887.9195 970.887.9195 POLECREEKGOLF.COM POLECREEKGOLF.COM 800.511.5076

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June 2015 | Colorado AvidGolfer

Steamboat Springs might be known best as “Ski Town USA” and for its affable 1964 Winter Olympic medalist Billy Kidd, but someday soon this northwestern Colorado community might be know as “Tee Town USA.” Featuring three outstanding 18-hole golf courses— Sheraton Resort’s Rollingstone, Haymaker and Catamount Ranch— plus the always-entertaining Steamboat GC’s nine, and you have a compelling argument for making Steamboat a regular golf getaway.

Rollingstone Ranch Golf Club

1300 Ten Mile Drive Granby, CO 80446

To make your tee time call 970-887-9122 or go to www.grandelk.com

As the proud Homeowners of Grand Elk say. “It’s our course now, and you are cordially invited to come play”

Colorado’s Heathland-style masterpiece designed by Craig Stadler and Tripp Davis

GRAND COUNTY STEAMBOAT SPRINGS

IN THE KNOW

Haymaker

PLAY LIKE JAGGER: Your turnkey golf vacation awaits at the Sheraton Steamboat Resort, which is made even more enticing by the Robert Trent Jones Jr.-designed and Troon Golf-managed Rollingstone Ranch Golf Club, recipient of a 2014 CAGGY Award (Best Mountain Course) from Colorado AvidGolfer.

DRIVE & FLY: Call in a favor from a well-connected friend and go play private Catamount Ranch & Club, designed by Tom Weiskopf. Repay the kindness by sharing a guided float on the trout-infused Yampa River for outstanding catch-and-release fly fishing. MAKIN’ HAY: The ranch-like setting of Haymaker Golf Course offers stunning views of Mt. Werner, to say nothing of the challenging, links-style routing designed by Keith Foster. The city-owned track is a pure-golf experience—no housing suffocates its fairways or greens—that’s enhanced by broad open spaces, native grasses and verdant wetlands.

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Rollingstone Ranch

LOCAL KNOWLEDGE:

Steamboat Springs is less than a three-hour drive from Denver, placing this remarkable summer destination well within reach. “Steamboat is a great place to golf, hike, bike and discover some really outstanding restaurants,” said 30-year Denver resident Dan James. “After a round at Haymaker or a bike ride along the river, there’s nothing better than a cold microbrew and a plate of fresh tuna ceviche at ‘The Hog,’ Mahogany Ridge Brewery.”

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experienceTroon Golf At Rollingstone Ranch Golf Club Rollingstone Ranch Golf Club is one of Colorado’s best mountain courses, featuring an 18-hole championship course designed by Robert Trent Jones ll, that offers incredible views of the Steamboat Spring’s Yampa Valley. Call the Sheraton Steamboat Resort at 970.879.2220 to book your next Golf Package.

2200 VILLAGE INN COURT, STEAMBOAT SPRINGS, CO 80108 | 970.879.2220 | ROLLINGSTONERANCHGOLF.COM

ROLLINGSTONE RANCH GOLF CLUB IS mANAGEd By TROON GOLF,® THE LEAdER IN UpSCALE GOLF COURSE mANAGEmENT

LIFESTYLE

GRAND COUNTY STEAMBOAT SPRINGS

Steamboat’s ranching heritage is complemented by its artistic one. For 41 straight years, Art in the Park (July 11-12) has displayed local talent.

FLYIN’ HIGH:

Steamboat Springs is no one-trick pony. Besides skiing, the town offers a hip cowboy undercurrent, premium art and culture, live entertainment, events, and a boatload of recreation including golf, hiking, biking, camping, hot air ballooning, horseback riding, hot springs soaks, and Yampa River fly-fishing, kayaking and paddle boarding. SUNSET SENSATION: For breathtaking sunsets that envelop the Yampa Valley and Flat Top Mountain, ride Steamboat Ski Resort’s gondola to the outdoor deck of Thunderhead Lodge. The Sunset Happy Hour is $12 and includes drinks, live music and a $5 coupon for food and beverage.

COWBOY COUTURE:

Colorado AvidGolfer | June 2015

STREET DANCE: Steamboat’s music scene

is smokin’, especially in summer when its Free Concert Series is in full swing. Every week the town hosts foot-tapping performances from premier performers like Ziggy Marley, Johnny Lang, the Jeff Austin Band, New Orleans Suspects and others.

Also on July 11-12, Steamboat’s 34th Annual Hot Air Balloon Rodeo takes flight with camera-worthy spectacles that include titillating lake-dip challenges on Bald Eagle Lake. Saturday evening, don’t miss the balloon glow on Mt. Werner.

WILD & WET: For an exhilarating sight, head to Fish Creek Falls. Minutes from downtown. the 280-foot cascade attracts ice-climbers in winter.

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GOLF

DURANGO

Glacier Club

The extended economic recession put the brakes on new golf course construction throughout America, but not so at Durango’s Glacier Club. In July the exclusive golf community will open a new mountain-style course designed by Hale Irwin and Todd Schoeder—nine brand new, nine newly renovated—that will bring the high-altitude property to 36 holes, a sweet complement to the semi-private Cliffs Course crafted in the 1970s by Arthur Hills.

Four-Corner Fun COWBOY UP: Just a few miles north of the Glacier Club is one of the

region’s more amazing amenities, Rapp Corral, a four-season horseback and sleigh ride operation celebrated for its forays into the San Juan Mountains. Guided giddy-ups include excursions into water-carved caves, over historic wagon trails and above timberline to Nikon-prompting panoramas of Southwest Colorado’s magnificent fourteeners.

IRWIN GOLF EXPANDS: Last year, Irwin Golf Management took over

Dalton Ranch Golf Club, generating capital with a membership drive and upgrading the clubhouse, practice area and non-golf amenities. Open to public play, the course was crafted by Ken Dye, best known for his praise-worthy handiwork at Piñon Hills Golf Course in nearby Farmington, N.M.

Sporting some of the slipperiest push-up greens in the state, Hillcrest Golf Course is planning a major late-summer rebuild to its tees, greensites and bunkers. The popular, tradition-steeped routing sits high atop a mesa overlooking Durango, the Animas River and the surrounding La Plata Mountains.

Colorado AvidGolfer | June 2015

Tom Wishon could live anywhere, yet in 1994 he opened his internationally acclaimed golf club design and engineering business in Durango. Wishon’s R&D operation is based at Dalton Ranch Golf Club, which also serves to professionally custom-fit avid golfers from throughout the Four Corners.

Nearby Cortez, just 45 minutes west of Durango, offers two rewarding golf options—the historic Press Maxwell-designed Conquistador Golf Course (fourcornersgolf.com) and the ninehole South Forty Golf Course (southfortygolf.com), a homespun par-3 layout.

Dalton Ranch Golf Club

ON THE TEE

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LIFESTYLE

BITCHIN’ BIKIN’: Before

LUSCIOUSLY LOCAL: At the Electra Lake Sporting Clubhouse, located 20 minutes north of Durango, Chef Joey Hughes stages a mouthwatering menu of steak, lamb, trout, pasta, ahi tuna and secret-recipe meatloaf, all amid the water-reflected surrounds of the Rocky Mountains. B.Y.O.B.

BEE BEE KING: Since 1918,

Few experiences demonstrate Durango’s sun-spiced sizzle more than Soaring Treetop Adventures. Located just north of Durango and accessible only via the Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad, the 27 ziplines link old-growth Ponderosa pines and crisscross the roaring snowmelt of the Animas River. The all-inclusive fee includes private-car train transportation, guide, instruction, equipment, 5.5 hours of exhilirating ziplining, gratuities and a four-course gourmet lunch.

tackling the five-star-rated Colorado Trail, mountain bikers steel their mettle on local challenges like Horse Gulch Trail, a 60-mile, 1,000-foot-vertical, piñontreed climb and descent of gnarly, heart-pounding single-track. Rentals are readily available at Pedal the Peaks.

WOOF-DOWN ZONE: High on Durango’s list of high-end restaurants is the Lost Dog Bar & Lounge, which on Saturday nights swiftly sells out of its popular pork, beef and chicken tacos. At two bucks a pop, they’re a sinful complement to the eatery’s on-tap selection of locally produced microbrews.

Honeyville has made the best wildflower honey in the Four Corners, and now it’s expanding into spirits. Its branded Honey House Distillery is bottling a scrumptious and highly potent whiskey (Colorado Honey), and early this summer it will release a mead-based vodka (Hex). The store is located 12 miles north of Durango on Highway 550.

•

Special Discounted Concert Rates

•

Official Hotel Sponsor of Fiddler’s Green Amphitheatre

•

Join us before and after every Fiddlers Green concert for food and drink specials

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June 2015 | Colorado AvidGolfer

GOLF

With the impending debut of four gorgeously appointed two-bedroom villas and the November 2015 completion of a 40-room luxury guest lodge, Flying Horse Colorado is well positioned to welcome overnight resort guests to its splendid, community oriented enclave. Among the über-perks: Tom Weiskopf-designed golf, 50,000-square-foot spa and athletic club, executive conference rooms, four pools and a nine-court tennis complex that includes indoor red clay surfaces.

Flying Horse Colorado

COLORADO SPRINGS

Cheyenne Mountain Resort

Sun in the Springs PLAY, PLAY, PLAY: Breathtaking backdrops and five-star memories are very much part of the Colorado Springs golf scene, which began in 1898. It starts with a well-deserved nod to The Broadmoor, followed by stalwarts like Cheyenne Mountain Resort, Flying Horse, Garden of the Gods Club & Resort, historic Patty Jewett Golf Course, the U.S. Air Force Academy’s Eisenhower Golf Course and Monument Hill Country Club in nearby Monument. TO DYE FOR: Recently renovated by Phelps-Atkinson design, Cheyenne Mountain Resort’s Pete Dye-designed golf course—The Country Club of Colorado—anchors a superb guest amenities package that includes 316 guest rooms and suites, three restaurants and an overhauled fitness center.

ON THE TEE Garden of the Gods Club & Resort has broken ground on a new 2.5-acre short game practice area, just one of several major enhancements now underway at the 69-room luxury property, which also features the 27-hole Kissing Camels Club and a recently completed Sports Club.

Colorado AvidGolfer | June 2015

The USGA plans to return the U.S. Senior Open to The Broadmoor in 2018, a decade after the major event played there in 2008—and a century after the resort opened. This July 26-30, the premier men’s amateur event Broadmoor Invitation returns after being resurrected last year.

Newly opened to the public, Monument Hill Country Club offers a championship golf course designed by J. Press Maxwell featuring long, narrow fairways with elevated greens. The 46 yearold-course sits 7,300 feet in elevation and 22 miles north of Colorado Springs.

The Air Force Academy’s storied Eisenhower Golf Course is not entirely off limits to civilians. Arrive with a friend or family member with a valid Department of Defense or U.S. military ID can get you on the highly regarded, 36-hole facility designed by Robert Trent Jones. co coloradoavidgo lo r ado a vi d g o llffeer. r.c com

Elevate your conference experience

Come play in our backyard

Introducing The New Fitness Center at The Country Club of Colorado The Country Club of Colorado is excited to announce our new 9,000 sq. ft. fitness center featuring: Multi-tier fitness floor with Life Fitness cardio equipment and free weights Juice Bar featuring Colorado Fresh healthy cuisine Dedicated studio rooms for yoga, zumba, spin and private training Rejuvenating spa opening in June 2015 Memberships at The Country Club of Colorado offer an unparalleled line-up of year round activities and unlimited opportunities to enjoy the great outdoors and form bonds that will last a lifetime. A host of fitness and wellness programming combined with championship golf, indoor/outdoor tennis, a private lake and aquatics center, grant you and your family access to the Authentic Colorado Lifestyle.

The Country Club of Colorado at Cheyenne Mountain Resort

AUTHENTIC. COLORADO. EXPERIENCE.

3225 Broadmoor Valley Road | Colorado Springs, CO 80906 | p 719.538.4080 | cheyennemountain.com

LIFESTYLE

COLORADO SPRINGS

IN THE KNOW TO BEACH HIS OWN: While most try to avoid the sand at a golf resort, Cheyenne Mountain Resort encourages you to lay in it. Literally. The resort is home to a private, 35-acre lake along a sandy beach that’s great for volleyball, sand castles and laying under the sun. Before hitting the beach, get in a workout at CMR’s new 9,000-sf fitness center and 5,000-sf spa. LEGACY: The Broadmoor’s moniker as Golf magazine’s No. 1 golf resort in North America isn’t likely to change soon. In June the landmark property brings back to the fold two remarkable guest amenities that were sold off years ago: Fish Camp, a rustic outdoor experience in nearby Taryall that will offer guided fly fishing, lodging, chef-prepared meals and every gracious necessity; and Seven Falls, a natural, waterfall-rich riparian area for hiking, meditating, meandering and noshing, located 1.5 miles from the resort in North Cheyenne Canyon. TERRIFIC TRINKETS: While in Manitou Springs, explore the town’s historic district, a veritable goldmine of galleries, pubs, restaurants, boutiques and souvenir shops. It’s also an excellent starting point for hiking the Barr Trail to Pikes Peak. HORSE WHISPER THIS: The just reopened Flying Horse Colorado’s La Fortezza restaurant is now open to the public for dinner. Following an extensive remodeling and the appointment of Executive Chef Ketil Larsen, the casual fine dining venue has debuted a locally sourced steak and seafood menu that’s as compelling as it is savory. 70 70

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Discover the Unbridled Majesty of Flying Horse.

Born of legend, bred for pleasure, Flying Horse is a place of extraordinary possibilities. With breathtaking views, beguiling recreational amenities, magnificent custom-crafted homes

by the area’s most celebrated builders, luxury guest accommodations, and yes—a pulse-fluttering 18-hole championship golf course designed by the legendary master, Tom Weiskopf—this storybook community reflects the absolute finest in luxury.

Bold. Beautiful. Wildly Original. Real Estate Opportunities: 719-886-4800 Club Membership Opportunities: 719-494-1222 Luxury Guest Accommodations: 844-768-2684

www.FlyingHorseColorado.com

1880 Weiskopf Point, Colorado Springs, CO 80921

COLORADO GETAWAYS RESOURCES DELTA • GRAND JUNCTION MONTROSE • GUNNISON

FEATURED COURSES

ADOBE CREEK NATIONAL GOLF COURSE Fruita 970-858-0521 adobecreekgolf.com THE BRIDGES GOLF & COUNTRY CLUB Montrose 970-252-1119 montrosebridges.com CHIPETA GOLF COURSE Grand Junction 970-245-7177 chipetagolf.com THE LINKS AT COBBLE CREEK Montrose 970-240-9542 cobblecreek.com

IL BISTRO ITALIANO Grand Junction 970-243-8622 ilbistroitaliano.com

GRAND LAKE GOLF COURSE Grand Lake 970-627-8008

DURANGO FEATURED COURSES

grandlakerecreation.com/golf_main.html

GRAND JUNCTION VISITOR AND CONVENTION BUREAU 970-244-1480 visitgrandjunction.com

HAYMAKER GOLF COURSE Steamboat Springs 970-870-1846 haymakergolf.com

DALTON RANCH GOLF CLUB Durango 970-247-8774 daltonranch.com

HORSEFLY BREWING CO. Montrose 970-249-6889 horseflybrewing.com

POLE CREEK GOLF CLUB Winter Park 970-887-9195 polecreekgolf.com

LOS ALTOS BED & BREAKFAST Grand Junction 970-256-0964 losaltosgrandjunction.com

ROLLINGSTONE RANCH GOLF CLUB Steamboat Springs 970-879-1391 rollingstoneranchgolf.com

RED CANYON GRILLE Grand Junction 970-243-7736 redlandsmesa.com

DEVIL’S THUMB GOLF CLUB Delta 970-874-6262 devilsthumbgolfclub.com

BLACK CANYON OF THE GUNNISON NATIONAL PARK Montrose 970-641-2337 nps.gov/blca

DOS RIOS GOLF CLUB Gunnison 970-641-1482 dosriosgolf.net

CREEKSIDE RESTAURANT Montrose 970-249-5915 creeksidecobblecreek.com

LINCOLN PARK GOLF COURSE Grand Junction 970-242-6394 golfgrandjunction.net

REMINGTON’S Montrose 970-252-1119 montrosebridges.com

THE GOLF CLUB AT REDLANDS MESA Grand Junction 970-263-9270 redlandsmesa.com TIARA RADO GOLF COURSE Grand Junction 970-254-3830 golfgrandjunction.com

DELTA • GRAND JUNCTION MONTROSE • GUNNISON

DO & DINE

THE ALE HOUSE Grand Junction 970-242-7ALE alehousegj.com

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GRAND COUNTY STEAMBOAT SPRINGS FEATURED COURSES CATAMOUNT RANCH & CLUB Steamboat Springs 970-871-9300 catamountranchclub.com GOLF GRANBY RANCH Granby 970-887-2709 granbyranch.com GRAND ELK GOLF CLUB Granby 970-887-9122 grandelk.com

STEAMBOAT GOLF CLUB Steamboat Springs 970-879-4295 steamboatgolfclub.com YAMPA VALLEY GOLF COURSE Craig 970-824-3673 yampavalleygolf.com

GRAND COUNTY STEAMBOAT SPRINGS DO & DINE GRAND LAKE LODGE Grand Lake 970-627-3967 grandlakelodge.com INN AT SILVERCREEK Granby 970-887-2131 innatsilvercreek.com HOT SULPHUR SPRINGS RESORT & SPA Granby 970-725-3306 hotsulphursprings.com MAVERICK’S GRILLE Granby 970-887-9000 mavericksgrille.com FONTENOT’S FRESH SEAFOOD AND GRILL Winter Park 970-726-4021 fontenotswp.com

GLACIER CLUB Durango 970-382-7800 theglacierclub.com HILLCREST GOLF CLUB Durango 970-247-1499 golfhillcrest.com

COLORADO SPRINGS FEATURED COURSES THE BROADMOOR Colorado Springs 888-974-4990 broadmoor.com CHEYENNE MOUNTAIN RESORT Colorado Springs 719-538-4080 ccofcolorado.com EISENHOWER GOLF COURSE U.S. Air Force Academy 719-333-2606 usafasupport.com/eisenhower-golf-course. html

FLYING HORSE COLORADO Colorado Springs 719-494-1222 flyinghorsecolorado.com GARDEN OF THE GODS CLUB & RESORT Colorado Springs 800-923-8838 gardenofthegodsclub.com MONUMENT HILL GOLF COURSE Monument 719-481-2272 monumenthillcc.com PATTY JEWETT GOLF COURSE Colorado Springs 719-385-6934 springsgov.com/pattyjewett

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GETTING HOME CAG’s selective guide to golf course living.

PHOTOGRAPH ©CHRISTOPHER MARONA.

By Kim McHugh

GLACIER CLUB: Homes in this Durango enclave can go for $2 million.

N THE 2009 ANIMATED MOVIE UP, a man’s home is lifted skyward by hundreds of helium-filled balloons where it stays in the stratosphere for much of the film. That, metaphorically speaking, describes Colorado’s real estate market as a whole, including the one centered on many of the state’s golf communities. “In recent months I’ve sold in Blackstone, Heritage Eagle Bend, and The Heritage at Westmoor,” said Jack O’Connor, broker/owner, The Denver 100 LLC. “The opportunities for buying within or close to public, semi-private and private golf communities are terrific, and the luxury real estate market affords the buyer some really nice choices.”

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June 2015 | Colorado AvidGolfer

State of the Market Propelled by an improving economy, low interest rates and a generally favorable value/pricing ratio, all signs seem to indicate that things are looking more promising for buyers and sellers alike. Since May 2010 the Dow has moved from around 10,600 to the 18,000s, while the NASDAQ has ballooned from 2,340 to around 4,900. In short, bolstered by stronger financial markets and more robust portfolios, consumers are reenergized about buying real estate. According to research collected by the Colorado Association of Realtors (CAR), the real estate market is certainly flexing its muscles. In its March 2015 statewide report the association listed Average Sales Price for a single-family home at $362,053, up 10.8 percent as compared to $301,211

es, even bidding wars. “Lack of inventory has been an issue,” explains Kelly Kniffin, an agent for Legacy Properties West Sotheby’s International Realty. “That is especially true with aging homes and the buyer’s demand for new product.” Still, Kniffin, whose market includes Dalton Ranch in Durango—a community developed primarily in the late 1990s and early 2000s—is seeing an uptick in both sales and home values. Much of the success in finding a home in or close to a golf course community depends on where buyers are looking and what they are able to spend. For example, those in the market for a single-family home in the Colorado Springs area have a choice of two- to five-bedroom properties at Flying Horse ranging in price from around $330,000 to just over $700,000. People considering a two- to five-bedroom home associated with Colorado National Golf Club in Erie have options priced from just north of $300,000 to the upper $500,000s, while Green Valley Ranch east of Denver has builders featuring two- to seven-bedroom homes costing between $206,900 and $319,800. Buyers seeking homes in the highest pricing spectrum can find properties both along the Front Range as well as in mountain communities. The Denver 100 LLC has homes listed at Colorado Golf Club in Parker priced from $1,190,000 to $3,900,000, while homes at Cherry Creek Country Club in Denver are priced between $859,000 and

FRONT RANGE COMMUNITIES: Flying Horse | Colorado Springs | 4 Miles East of I-25 flyinghorsecolorado.com | 719-886-4800 • # of Existing homes: 980 • # of New Single Family Homes: 24 • # of New Townhomes/Duplexes: 4 • # of New Patio Homes: 4 • # of Available Lots: 25 • Range of home size: 4BR – 5BR, 2,682 SF - 4,614 SF • Range of home price: $321,832- $634,900 • Range of patio home size: 3BR – 4BR, 2,682 SF - 4,800 SF • Range of patio home price: $330,966- $701,900 • Range of Lot Sizes: .20 acre – 3.31 acres • Range of Lot Prices: $110,000- $550,000 • School District: Academy School District 20 • HOA dues: $165 -$1,080 quarterly; most homes: $195/quarterly

The Pinery

The Timbers & The Pinery | Parker | 9 Miles South of E-470 timbersatthepinery.com | 303-841-5044

Castle Pines Village| Castle Rock | 2 Miles West of I-25 taylormorrison.com | 303-325-2454 • # of Existing homes: 1,500 • # of Available Lots: 52 • Average home size/Range of home size: 3BR – 5BR, 2,600 SF – 3,893 SF • Average home price/Range of home price: $601,000 - $784,491 • School District: Douglas County • HOA dues: contact the HOA

Flying Horse

Colorado AvidGolfer | June 2015

• # of Existing homes: 2,415 • # of Available Lots: 19 (The Timbers) • Average home size/Range of home size: 3BR – 6BR, 3,864 SF – 9,080 SF (The Timbers); 3BR- 5BR, 2,296 SF – 5,210 SF (The Pinery); 2BR – 5BR, 1,441 SF - 3,044 SF (Pinery West) • Average home price/Range of home price: $725,000 - $2,100,000+ (The Timbers); $295,000 - $615,000 (The Pinery); $330,495 - $404,495 (Pinery West) • School District: Douglas County • HOA dues: The Pinery: $30 annually, The Timbers: $284 monthly Pradera | Parker | 12 Miles South of E-470 praderacolorado.com| 720-851-9411 • # of Existing homes: 705 • # of New Single Family Homes: 23 • # of Available Lots: 23 • Average home size/Range of home size: 2BR – 4BR, 2,756 SF – 4,709 SF • Average home price/Range of home price: $844,300 - $1,270,000 • Range of Lot Sizes: .7 acre -1.7 acres • School District: Douglas County • HOA dues: $216 annually

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in March 2013. The Average Sales Price in the Townhouse and Condo column was $299,219, up 11 percent versus the $240,372 Average Sales Price from March two years ago. Perhaps as relevant to sellers were CAR’s Days on Market Until Sale numbers, which in March of this year were 71 for a single-family home and 57 for a Townhouse and Condo. The figures in March 2013 were 82 and 91 respectively. In a kind of “good news, bad news” scenario, CAR’s statewide report also references inventory—the number of available single-family homes, townhomes and condos. There were 2.8 months of single-family home inventory in March 2015 versus 4.4 months in March 2013, while in the Townhome and Condo category there were 2.1 months of inventory last March versus 5.1 months of inventory during that month in 2013. The good news seems to favor sellers that, with a limited inventory, are in a better position to command a higher dollar amount for their property. That having been said, buyers may face potentially fewer PRADERA: Outdoor choices, higher prices living spaces in Parker. and, in some instanc-

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taylormorrison.com Offer void where prohibited by law. All incentives, pricing, availability and plans subject to change or delay without notice. Communities are adjacent to the respective two 18-hole championship private, members-owned golf courses and memberships are by invitation only. For inquiries regarding membership opportunities, please contact the Country Club at Castle Pines directly at (303) 688-7400 and the Columbine Country Club directly at 303 794 2674. Taylor Morrison has no control or affiliation with the above facilities, including but not limited to membership opportunities, features and pricing. Home ownership does not grant special golf or social membership rights and complete details available. Square footage is approximate. Please see a Taylor Morrison Sales Associate for details and visit www.taylormorrison.com for additional disclaimers. © May, 2015 Taylor Morrison Colorado, Inc. All rights reserved.

The Right Time to Buy? “If you want to get into a luxury home, this is probably your best opportunity to do so,” said Jim Romano, an agent with RE/MAX Professionals in

Highlands Ranch. “Lower price points are selling very well, but we haven’t yet reached that velocity with higher price points. However, that gap is as small as it has been in a while, and eventually the upper markets are going to start taking off.” A conundrum facing a percentage of buyers in the luxury category along the Front Range is whether or not they can secure a club membership. As reported in this magazine, Boulder Country Club, Broadmoor Golf Club, Glenmoor Country Club, and Lakewood Country Club all have waiting lists to get in. “Because the real estate market has improved, people’s willingness to join a country club has increased,” O’Connor explained. “When you start thinking about where you’re going to live I think the options

start to narrow themselves pretty quickly.” It is important for buyers to confirm the availability of club memberships or how long they may have to wait to get into a club once they’ve purchased their residence. Another thing for buyers to be mindful of is whether or not the communities in which they are interested have so many members that getting a tee time is a challenge.

CORDILLERA: The three-course community is hot right now.

Black Bear • Canterberry Crossing| Parker | 5 Miles East of Parker Road tollbrothers.com/303-955-5031

Colorado Golf Club

Colorado Golf Club | Parker | 8 Miles South of E-470 coloradogolfclub.com | 303-880-8561

• # of Existing homes: 2,500 • # of New Single Family Homes: 192 • # of Available Lots: 67 • Average home size/Range of home size: 3BR – 4BR, 3,630 SF - 3,999 SF (The Highlands at Parker); 3BR- 5BR, 2,629 SF - 4,627 SF • Average home price/Range of home price: $542,000+ - $598,995 (The Highlands at Parker); $535,000 - $610,000 • Range of Lot Sizes: .176 acre – .387 acre • Range of Lot Prices: $15,000 - $275,000 • School District: Douglas County • HOA dues: $500 annually, plus sub–assn. fees from $170 - $1,080 annually

• # of Existing homes: 20 • # of Available Lots: 32 • Average home size/Range of home size: 5,640 SF – 17,437 SF • Average home price/Range of home price: $1,748,873 - $3,900,000 • Average townhome size/Range of townhome size: 3BR – 5BR, 5,640 SF – 17,437 SF • Average townhome price/Range of townhome price: $1,170,438 - $1,530,000 • Range of Lot Sizes: 1.8 acres - 5.94 acres • Range of Lot Prices: $275,000 - $1,350,000 • School District: Douglas County • HOA dues: SFH: $206 annually, $110 annually for lot owners Blackstone | Aurora | 3 Miles North of E-470 lennar.com, 303-680-0245; centurycommunities.com, 303-680-2644. richmondamerican.com | 888-500-7060 • # of Existing homes: 324 • Average home size/Range of home size: 2BR – 4BR, 2,185 SF – 3,265 SF (Century Communities); 3BR – 5BR, 2,719 – 3,937 SF (Lennar) 3BR – 6BR, 2,500 SF – 4,804 SF (Richmond American) • Average home price/Range of home price: $394,950 – $474,950 (Century Communities); $447,900 - $534,900 (Lennar); $531,950 - $604,950 (Richmond American) • Average villa size/Range of villa size: 2BR – 4BR, 1,900 SF – 3,546 SF (Richmond American) • Average villa price/Range of villa price: $380,950 - $446,950 (Richmond American) • School District: Cherry Creek

Colorado AvidGolfer | June 2015

Black Bear

Columbine Country Club | Littleton | 7 Miles East of C-470 taylormorrison.com | 303-325-2448 • # of Existing homes: 3,000 • # of New Single Family Homes: 41 • Average home size/Range of home size: 2BR – 4BR, 2,193 SF – 2,822 SF • Average home price/Range of home price: $655,990 - $949,118 • School District: Jefferson County • HOA dues: 9 different HOAs, $676/annual Burning Tree HOA

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$2,295,000. As one would expect, areas like Aspen, Crested Butte, Steamboat, Telluride and Vail command premium pricing. “Summit County’s general real estate market follows Denver’s real estate market by about two years,” comments Debbie Nelson, broker/owner, Colorado Real Estate Company. “We are now seeing a big demand for properties $600,000 and under, but most of the homes in our golf course areas are over the one million dollar mark, and we are beginning to see an increased demand for these homes.” In CAR’s March 2015 report the Average Sales Price for single-family mountain homes was $952,951, an increase from $830,843 from two years earlier. At Cordillera, the luxe golf community in Edwards, Slifer Smith & Frampton Real Estate has listings ranging from a six-bedroom home for $975,000 to an eight-bedroom home for $7,250,000. The Glacier Club north of Durango has homes priced from $425,000 to more than $2 million.

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All in the family. When contemplating a purchase, homebuyers, besides factoring in location and price into the equation, need to consider the hardwiring of the community. And, in the case of clubs requiring membership, the demographics

WATER VALLEY: Pelican Lakes G&CC anchors the community.

of the members deserves a long look as well. Families with young or teenage children should confirm whether or not the community is oriented towards kids, and has the amenities and year-round programming to back that up. When Fletcher Flower, his wife and young sons decided to buy at The Bridges at Black Canyon, it was in part because their automotive businesses were located in Montrose, but they were also drawn by the quality golf experience and opportunity to socialize. “At this point in our lives we were not really thinking retirement or vacation homes,” said Flower. “We are very social people, liked the proximity to the clubhouse, which is a short walk away, and the fact that the club is also very kid-friendly with great golf programs for our boys.” Many communities across the state are hybrids, if you will, where couples sans children, pre-retirees and empty nesters happily coexist with younger families that have pre-school to high-school-aged children. “Dalton Ranch is always in high demand with baby boomers,” commented Kniffin. “But it is also attracting younger families for the ‘country club’ environment as well as an elementary school that is very close by.” Examples of family-centric communities include Aurora’s Blackstone, Water Valley in Windsor, River Valley Ranch in Carbondale, Pradera in Parker,

Green Valley Ranch | Aurora | 2 Miles South of I-70 oakwoodhomesco.com | 303-486-8500

Pelican Lakes – Water Valley | Windsor | 5 Miles East of I-25 homesfortcollins.net | 970-686-5828

• # of Existing homes: 7,312 • Average home size/Range of home size: 2BR – 7BR, 1,160 SF – 4,107 SF • Average home price/Range of home price: $206,900 - $319,800 • School District: Denver Public • HOA dues: included in property tax bill - $19 per each $100,000 of home value/yearly (e.g. if home costs $300,000, dues are $57/year)

• # of Existing homes: 1,475 • Average home size/Range of home size: 2BR – 3BR, 1,708 SF - 2,734 SF (Ryland Homes); 2BR – 4BR, 1,782 SF – 4,105 SF (DR Horton) • Average home price/Range of home price: $315,000; $338,490 - $382,990 (Ryland Homes); $327,950 - $483,950 (DR Horton) • Range of Lot Sizes: .114 acre - .413 acre • School District: Windsor RE-4 • HOA dues: $140 annually

Cherry Creek Country Club | Denver | 5 Miles South of I-25 off Evans cherrycreekcountryclub.com | 303-489-5505 • # of Existing homes: 199 • # of New Single Family Homes: 4 • # of New Villas: 1 (The Villas) • # of Available Lots: 10 • Average home size/Range of home size: The Villages 3BR – 5BR, 3,132 SF to 4,700 SF • Average home price/Range of home price: $740,000 - $920,000 • Average Villa size/Range of Villa size: 3BR – 5BR, 3,200 SF to 5,000+ SF • Average Villa price/Range of Villa price: $1,150,000 - $1,350,000 • Average Estates size/Range of Estates size: 3BR – 5BR, 4,577 SF to 7,000+ SF • Average Estates price/Range of Estates price: $1,700,000 - $3,200,000 • School District: Cherry Creek • HOA dues: $275 month - $510 month

Vista Ridge | Erie | 2.5 Miles West of I-25 centurycommunities.com | 303-468-2302 • # of New Single Family Homes: 15 • # of Available Lots: 70 • Average home size/Range of home size: 2BR – 3BR, 1,949 SF – 3,075 SF (Century Communities) • Average home price/Range of home price: $469,950 – $519,950 (Century Communities) • School District: St. Vrain, Boulder Valley • HOA dues: $60 monthly; select enclaves also play sub-assn. fees.

Willow Springs (Red Rocks Country Club) | Morrison | 2 Miles West of C-470 kbhome.com; 303-323-1197 | cardelhomes.com; 303-697-0778 • # of Existing homes: 975 • Average home size/Range of home size: 2BR – 7BR, 1,747 SF – 3,606 SF (KB Home); 2BR - 3BR, 1,882 SF – 3,034 SF (Cardel Homes) • Average home price/Range of home price: $523,995 - $600,995 (KB Home); $524,900 - $644,900 (Cardel Homes) • School District: Jefferson County • HOA: call 303-468-3712

Cherry Creek Country Club

Ravenna | Littleton | 5 Miles South of C-470 ravennagolf.com/real-estate/303-919-7176 • # of Existing homes: 30 • # of Available Lots: 105 • Average home size/Range of home size: 2BR – 6BR, 2,500 SF -12,000+ SF • Average home price/Range of home price: low $700s - $6,000,000+ • Range of Lot Sizes: .22 acre – 1 acre • Average lot price/Range of lot price: mid-$200s - high $600s • School District: Douglas County • HOA dues: SFH: $243 monthly; $200 monthly for lot owners

Colorado AvidGolfer | June 2015

Ravenna

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Denver’s Green Valley Ranch and Singletree in Edwards, the latter whose Sonnenalp Club recently created a multigenerational membership.

Oldies, but goodies. On the flipside of communities oriented to younger families are age-restricted communities catering to buyers fifty and up. Places like Anthem Ranch in Erie, Fairway Villas at Green Val-

ley Ranch in Denver, Verona in Highlands Ranch, and Heather Gardens and Heritage Eagle Bend in Aurora were specifically designed for owners 55 and over with, in most cases, no children under the age of 18 permanently residing with them. “Golf wasn’t in my plan, it wasn’t a driver for me,” said Perry Karraker, a resident of Flying Horse. “I looked throughout Colorado Springs for nearly six months and, when I found this style of

On or off the course?

FLYING HORSE: The Colorado Springs community has trappings of a resort.

One question to consider in purchasing a home is do you wish to live within a golf community or simply nearby? If the decision is made to buy within the community, buyers need to weigh the pros and cons of owning right on the golf course versus away from it.

MOUNTAIN COMMUNITIES: Raven at Three Peaks | Silverthorne | 3 Miles North of I-70 debbienelsonrealestate.com | 970-368-4448

Raven at Three Peaks

• # of Existing homes: 476 • # of New Single Family Homes: 10 • # of New Duplexes: 4 • # of Available Lots: 30 • Average home size/Range of home size: 2BR – 4BR, 2,500 SF – 6,000+ SF • Average home price/Range of home price: $675,000 - $2,375,000 • Range of Lot Sizes: .25 – 1.86 acres • Range of Lot Prices: $160,000 - $495,000 • School District: Summit School District RE-1 • HOA dues: $200 - $400 annually Keystone Ranch, Keystone River Course | Keystone | 6 Miles South of I-70 debbienelsonrealestate.com | 970-368-4448

Cordillera | Edwards | 6 Miles South of I-70 vailrealestate.com/communities | 970-926-3505

• # of Existing homes: 222 • # of New Single Family Homes: 2 • # of New Townhomes/Condos/Duplexes: 10 • # of Available Lots: 6 • Average home size/Range of home size: 2BR – 5BR, 2,500 SF – 6,000+ SF • Average home price/Range of home price: $725,000 - $2,499,000 • Range of Lot Sizes: .08 acre - .26 acres • Range of Lot Prices: $225,000 - $379,000 • School District: Summit School District RE-1 • HOA dues: $200 - $400 annually

• # of Existing homes: 570 • # of New Single Family Homes: 74 • # of New Townhomes/Condos/Duplexes: 2 • # of Available Lots: 40 • Average home size/Range of home size: 3BR, 4,509 SF – 6BR, 15,614 SF • Average home price/Range of home price: $975,000 - $7,995,000 • Average duplex size/Range of duplex size: 4BR, 3,733 SF – 4BR, 5,118 SF • Average duplex price/Range of duplex price: $1,300,000 - $1,550,000 • Range of Lot Sizes: .35 acres – 35.37 acres • Range of Lot Prices: $109,000 - $1,995,000 • School District: Eagle County • HOA dues: $2,800 annually

EagleVail | Vail | 1 Mile South of I-70 vailrealestate.com/communities | 970-926-1923 • # of Existing homes: 1,446 • # of New Single Family Homes: 3 • # of New Duplexes: 5 • # of Available Lots: 4 • Average home size/Range of home size: 5BR, 2,906 SF – 6BR, 12,420 SF • Average home price/Range of home price: $995,000 - $4,500,000 • Average duplex size/Range of duplex size: 3BR, 1,875 SF – 5BR, 6,439 SF • Average duplex price/Range of duplex price: $649,000 - $2,350,000 • Range of Lot Sizes: .26 acres - .95 acres • Range of Lot Prices: $299,000 - $425,000 • School District: Eagle County • HOA dues: $335 annually

Colorado AvidGolfer | June 2015

EagleVail

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patio home living, now I’m just loving it.” The 66-year-old Karraker, who plays golf three to five times a week, appreciates the low maintenance aspect of ownership. “Everything outside my front door is taken care of by Flying Horse—landscaping, snow shoveling,” he added. “It doesn’t get any better than that.” Phil Harper, who retired a few years ago, moved from Arizona with his wife, purchasing a patio home at The Bridges. “We looked at a second home in Tucson, however, the numbers never seemed to work for us,” Harper commented. “The home design, size and included finishes here were perfect for our needs, and the current owners, manager and staff all seem very committed to the long-term success of the property.”

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From a financial standpoint you may find that homes adjacent to the course are more expensive than similar ones, say, one street over. Conversely, homes within golf communities may hold their value or appreciate in value more quickly than non-golf course residences. Statistically, more golfers are right-handed and on average drive between 180 and 200 yards off the tee. Homes on the right side of a fairway at those distances could be in the flight of sliced shots. Also take into consideration the roar of mowers maintaining the course, voices carrying from the tee boxes, fairways and greens, and golfers looking for errant shots in your back yard. In the case of the Cox family, their decision to buy away from the course in their community was driven by a number of factors. “We relocated here from Ohio, and looked at both golf and non-golf communities all over Douglas County,” said Mike Cox. “We came from a more rural setting and wanted to find a home, neighborhood and community with access to a variety of activities and amenities for our family.”

THE PINERY: The mature Parker neighborhood holds great appeal

Singletree • Sonnenalp Club | Avon | 1 Mile North of I-70 vailrealestate.com/communities | 970-477-5300 • # of New Single Family Homes: 13 • # of New Townhomes/Duplexes: 1/5 • # of Available Lots: 7 • Average home size/Range of home size: 4BR, 2,379 SF – 6BR, 6,890 SF • Average home price/Range of home price: $795,000 - $2,995,000 • Average townhome size/Range of townhome size: 2BR, 1,422 SF • Average townhome price/Range of townhome price: $469,000 • Average duplex size/Range of duplex size: 3BR, 2,081 SF – 4BR, 4,490 SF • Average duplex price/Range of duplex price: $645,000 - $1,749,000 • Range of Lot Sizes: .37 acres - .45 acres • Range of Lot Prices: $325,000 - $475,000 • School District: Eagle County • HOA dues: $150 Eagle Ranch | Eagle | 2.5 Miles South of I-70 vailrealestate.com/communities | 970-328-2550

Singletree

• # of Existing homes: 850 • # of New Single Family Homes: 34 • # of New Condos: 7 • # of Available Lots: 49 • Average home size/Range of home size: 4BR, 3,215 SF – 5BR, 5,708 SF • Average home price/Range of home price: $575,000 - $1,375,000 • Average condo size/Range of condo size: 2BR, 908 SF – 2BR, 1,072 SF • Average condo price/Range of condo price: $219,000 - $280,000 • Range of Lot Sizes: .3870 acres – 1.24 acres • Range of Lot Prices: $89,900 - $225,000 • School District: Eagle County • HOA dues: $300 annually

Red Sky Ranch | Wolcott | 3 Miles South of I-70 vailrealestate.com/communities | 970-754-8411 • # of Existing homes: 49 • # of New Single Family Homes: 12 • # of Available Lots: 7 • Average home size/Range of home size: 3BR, 2,033 SF – 6BR, 7,088 SF • Average home price/Range of home price: $625,000 - $3,450,000 • Range of Lot Sizes: .34 acres – 2 acres • Range of Lot Prices: $239,000 - $550,000 • School District: Eagle County • HOA dues: $1,500 annually Grand Elk | Granby | .5 Miles South of U.S. 40 W koelbelatgrandelk.com | 970-726-517

Eagle Ranch

Colorado AvidGolfer | June 2015

• # of Existing Homes: 185 (125 single family homes/townhomes, 44 condos,16 Casitas) • # of New Golf Villas: 2 • # of Available Lots: 545 • Average home size/Range of home size: 1,800 SF – 2,200 SF • Average home price/Range of home price: high $400s - low $500s • Average Golf Villas size/Range of Golf Villas size: 1,458 SF – 1,638 SF • Average Golf Villas price/Range of Golf Villas price: $360,000 - $395,000 • Average River Cabin price/Range of River Cabin price: low $300s • Range of Lot Sizes: .25 acre - .43 acre • Range of Lot Prices: $13,500 - $60,000 • School District: East Grand School District • HOA dues: $220/month

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What’s in a name?

RAVENNA: Tuscan style alights in the Colorado foothills.

The family, who at that time weren’t members of any golf club, chose a home in The Timbers at The Pinery for its setting comprised of ponderosa pines and rolling hills. Shortly after they settled

in nine years ago they became members of The Pinery, and then added The Summit membership, which allows them access to The Club at Pradera.

How much the name of a course designer means to the price a seller can command is hard to say, but it is worth working into your equation. With courses designed by Greg Norman and Tom Fazio, Red Sky Ranch likely sees its homes realizing prices similar to properties on the market at nearby Cordillera, whose courses were designed by Fazio, Jack Nicklaus, and Hale Irwin. But the absence of a big name on a course shouldn’t dissuade you from taking a look and ultimately buying at a community. In the case of buyers it comes down to what you’re willing or able to spend, how much golf is part of the experience and personal preference. For sellers, it usually is driven by the price you ultimately get for your home. What ultimately matters for buyers is what they are willing or able to spend, how much golf is part of the experience and simply being happy. The Miller family, who purchased at Ravenna in

MOUNTAIN COMMUNITIES: The Bridges of Montrose | Montrose | 1.5 Miles North of U.S. 50 montrosebridges.com | 970-249-2449

• # of Existing homes: 275 • # of New Single Family Homes: 7 • # of New Townhomes/Duplexes: 3 • # of New Cabins: 4 • # of Available Lots: 35 • Average custom home size/Range of home size: 2,500 SF – 11,500 SF • Average Townhomes size/Range of Townhomes size: 1,500 SF – 1,650 SF • Average Townhomes price/Range of Townhomes price: $450,000 - $500,000 • Average Duplexes price/Range of Duplexes price: $375,000 - $395,000 • Average Cabins size/Range of Cabins size: 2,100 SF – 3,500 SF • Range of Cabins Lot Sizes: - .160 acre – .275 acres • Average Cabins price/Range of Cabins price: $629,000 - $809,000 • Range of Custom Lot Sizes: .558 acre – 2.278 acres • Range of Lot Prices: $210,000 - $1M+ • School District: East Grand School District • HOA dues: $825 annually; sub-assn. dues vary

• # of Existing Homes: 40 • # of New Single Family Homes: 2 • # of New Patio Homes: 2 • # of Available Lots: 45 • Average home size/Range of home size: 2BR – 4BR, 1,800 SF - 4,000 SF • Average home price/Range of home price: $299,000 - $700,000 • Average patio home size/Range of patio home size: 2BR – 4BR, 1,650 SF - 3,800 SF • Average patio home price/Range of patio home price: $299,000 - $380,000 • Range of Lot Sizes: .195 acre - .459 acre • Range of Lot Prices: $19,000 - $80,000 • School District: Montrose Area School District • HOA dues: $250 annually The Bridges of Montrose

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Granby Ranch | Granby | 1 Mile North of U.S. 40 W granbyranch.com | 970-887-5250 • # of Existing homes: 130 • # of New Single Family Homes: 4 • # of New Townhomes/Condos/Duplexes: 350 • # of Available Lots: 37 • Average home size/Range of home size: 2,000 SF – 3,800 SF • Average home price/Range of home price: $400,000 - $650,000 • Range of Lot Sizes: .33 acres - .75 acres • Range of Lot Prices: $95,000 - $195,000 • School District: East Grand School District • HOA dues: $1,484 annually

Colorado AvidGolfer | June 2015

Cobble Creek | Montrose | 1.5 Miles from Major Centers cobblecreek.com/866-964-4947 • # of Existing homes: 270 • # of Single Family Homes: 12 • # of Available Lots: 19 • Average home size/Range of home size: 3BR – 4BR, 1,600 SF - 4,000+ SF • Average home price/Range of home price: $225,000 - $795,000 • Average patio home size/Range of patio home size: 3BR – 4BR, 1,700 SF - 2,200+ SF • Average patio home price/Range of patio home price: $330,000 - $430,000 • Range of Lot Sizes: .172 acre - .321 acre • Range of Lot Prices: $40,000 - $129,500 • School District: Montrose Area School District • HOA dues: $192.50 annually, plus social clubhouse fees coloradoavidgo lf e r.c o m

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Littleton, considered location, lifestyle and home design in reaching their decision. “We considered Castle Pines, Deer Creek and Cherry Hills Village,” said Bryan Miller. “But it was the surrounding beauty of this community—the Tuscan architecture, world-class golf, and close proximity to hiking, mountain biking and fishing at Waterton Canyon—that really appealed to us.” How could you not have a smile on your face? CAG

The Glacier Club

Kim McHugh, a Lowell Thomas award-winning writer and member of the Golf Writers Association of America, is a contributing editor for Colorado Avid Golfer. He is also a resort real estate marketing consultant.

Questions To Ask Before Buying in a Golf Community 1. Is our home / yard / patio in the flight path of golf balls? 2. Is club membership included in the purchase price? 3. Why should we buy at one community versus one close by?

5. Are golf course homes more likely to appreciate? (Do they appreciate more in value than non-golf course homes?) (Do they have higher property value?) 6. What can we do if our community goes into bankruptcy? 7. Does our community allow us to own a personal golf cart and are there rules for its use? 8. If the community is a start up how can we be sure the proposed amenities will be built? 9. How can we determine if the community is financially stable? 10. If we buy a home site are we required to start construction within a specific time period? 11. Is it better to buy at a community with a big name course designer? 12. Does the HOA have rules against putting up netting, a privacy fence or a wall in our back yard? 13. How much should we factor in player traffic and course maintenance noise into our buying decision? 14. Can we rent out our home and, if so, are our rental guests allowed access to the club and its amenities? 15. Are we required to become members of the golf club?

Redlands Mesa | Grand Junction | 7 Miles South of I-70 redlandsmesa.com | 970-255-7400 • # of Existing Homes: 105 • # of New Patio Homes: 2 • # of Available Lots: 40 (15 RMD) + (25 Porter Homes) • Average home size/Range of home size: 2BR – 5BR, 1,800 SF – 3,000+ SF • Average home price/Range of home price: $440,000 - $2,495,000 • Average patio home size/Range of patio home size: 2BR – 3BR, 2,400+- SF • Average patio home price/Range of patio home price: $570,000 - $599,000 • Range of Lot Sizes: .24 acres – 1.72 acres • Range of Lot Prices: $72,000 - $295,000 • School District: Mesa County Valley School District • HOA dues: $350 annually The Glacier Club | Durango | 18 Miles North of Downtown Durango theglacierclub.com | 866-521-8575 • # of Existing homes: 75 • # of New Single Family Homes: 2 • # of Available Lots: 75 • Average home size/Range of home size: 1,250 SF - 6,500+ SF • Average home price/Range of home price: $425,000 –$2,000,000+ • Average Cottages, Condos size/Range of Cottages, Condos size: Cottages: 2BR, 1,250 SF – 2,016 SF; Condos: 2BR, 2,100 SF – 2,700 SF • Average Cottages, Condos price/Range of Cottages, Condos price: Cottages: $595,000 - $865,000; Condos: $425,000 - $678,440 • Average Cabins, Villas size/Range of Cabins, Villas size: Cabins: 3BR, 2,400 SF – 2,550 SF; Villas: 3BR – 5BR, 2,510 SF -5,180 SF • Average Cabins, Villas price/Range of Cabins, Villas price: Cabins: $948,000 $1,035,000; Villas: $1,345,000 - $1,840,000 • Range of Lot Sizes: .39 acre – 2.6 acres • Range of Lot Prices: $160,000 – $1,000,000+ • School District: Durango School District 9-R • HOA dues: $135 monthly, plus sub-assn. fees Dalton Ranch | Durango | 9 Miles North of Grand Ave/U.S. 160 homesdurangoco.com | 970-749-3867 • # of Existing homes: 260 • # of Townhomes/Duplexes: 86 • # of Available Lots: 42 • Average home size/Range of home size: 2BR – 4BR, 1,850 SF – 2,500 SF • Average home price/Range of home price: $399,000 - $1M+ • Average townhome size/Range of townhome size: 2BR – 3BR, 1,800 SF – 2,600 SF • Average townhome price/Range of townhome price: $399,000 - $600,000 • Range of Lot Sizes: .25 acre - 1.45 acres • Range of Lot Prices: $220,000 - $419,000 • School District: Durango School District 9-R • HOA dues: SFH - $200 quarterly, TH - $1,150 quarterly

Dalton Ranch

Colorado AvidGolfer | June 2015

* Information presented on the chart was compiled from community, golf course and real estate company web sites. It is accurate to the best of our knowledge, but note that inventory and pricing are subject to change. Visit denver.coloradohomefinder.com.

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For Colorado-born American Ninja Warrior co-host Matt Iseman, the challenges of practicing medicine and stand-up comedy pale in comparison to those of golfâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;the ultimate obstacle course. By Sam Adams | Photographs by Joey Terrill

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t’s a sunny mid-March afternoon in Los Angeles—a day better suited to lounging in sand by the ocean than to hacking out of it on the local links—and Matt Iseman has slept through most of it. He finished taping American Ninja Warrior, the show he cohosts, at 5 a.m. Iseman appears rested as he barely beats his scheduled tee time at Roosevelt Municipal Golf Course. He flashes a chiseled, made-forHollywood smile, his muscular frame giving the impression that his tee shots may travel to the deepest parts of the fairways. But today, finding the short grass at this relatively tame municipal course proves far more elusive than he or I expect during a fastpaced nine holes. Sand, trees, rough —escaping trouble is the order of the day. Thanks to a lukewarm putter, par presents a challenge, though not nearly the one presented by the Spin Bridge, Warped Wall and dozens of other physics-defying obstacles on the set where Iseman recently spent eight hours. Iseman, who graduated from Cherry Creek High School in 1989, has hosted American Ninja Warrior for seven years. Before that, he received degrees from Princeton University and Columbia School of Medicine, did his residency at the University of Colorado Hospital and decided to trade in his stethoscope for a microphone more than 15 years ago, doing stand-up comedy and succeeding in the harsh world of entertainment. After his last putt sinks with the sun, Iseman leads a drive to Big Wangs—yes, Big Wangs— a sports bar in nearby Hollywood, where he readily confesses his golf game needs work. He counts an 88 at Park Hill as his personal best. But his passion for the game is no act.

He orders a brew and begins to draw a parallel between golf and the endeavors that have led him to a career in entertainment. “For me, having been a student my whole life, going to medical school, I realized I try to do things right and really try to study—which serves me well to a certain point. But then I can just get in my head,” he says. “That’s one of the things I found with comedy and hosting—sometimes I can get in my head.” Golf, he says, serves as “a good metaphor. I’m always trying to figure it out instead of having a feel for it. What I really like about golf is, you’re trying to get to that swing moment where you stop thinking and just execute. It’s so damn hard and such a challenge for me. I only do it once or twice a round. But when you do it and when you feel it, it really makes a big difference. It’s hard, and that’s why it drives me nuts. I’m battling my mind, and most of the time I’m losing. “It’s a such a mental game and I think the older I get, the more I realize the value of that. I also realize how bad I am at it. That’s why I’m working on it.” Iseman’s hard work on American Ninja Warrior—the NBC/ Esquire Network show where male and female ultra-athletes compete on the world’s most difficult obstacle course—recently paid off in the form of an Reality TV Awards nomination in the category of Host/Hostesses. The comedian/actor/show host’s name appeared among a list that included Ryan Seacrest (American Idol) and Tom Bergeron (Dancing With The Stars). In a field where so many people are hoping for a break that leads to stardom, he’s managed to achieve it. “This isn’t life and death out here,” Iseman says. “This really is entertainment. But I love what I do. I love being on-set . . . I’m looking at this million-dollar production and I feel like

“What I really like about golf is, you’re trying to get to that moment where you stop thinking and just execute. I’m battling my mind, and most of the time I’m losing.”

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I’m throwing a huge party. I’ve got a microphone and I get to be a little kid up there. It’s amazing. It makes me appreciate the roundabout path I took to get here, and makes me really glad that I took the chance to come here—and that it worked out.” In the early 1990s, it appeared that Iseman was following the path set by his father, Michael Iseman, M.D., a world-renowned pulmonologist and tuberculosis expert who had gone to Princeton. Whereas Michael had started as running back for three years on the Tigers football team, Matt achieved Ivy League baseball immortality on March 31, 1993, when he combined with two other pitchers to throw a no-hitter in a 4-0 win against Manhattan College. Then it was off to medical school—a decision Matt made not out of some burning passion for helping people, but “because I looked around, and I saw my dad loved medicine. He’s probably the person I respect the most. I thought it’d be a good career, and I thought it was what I was meant to do. “I got into med school and I enjoyed the intellectual challenge. But it wasn’t until I was in residency that I started to realize people are putting their lives in my hands. I started asking myself, ‘Am I giving these people the kind of care that I would want to receive?’ More so than a lot of careers, medicine’s a calling where you really have to give a lot of yourself to it. I felt I wasn’t doing that.” He also felt he had a greater passion for something different: comedy. “Did you hear the one about the guy who gave up doctoring broken bones to tickle funny bones?” Iseman recalls disclosing his feelings to his father and mother, Jan, at a Chinese restaurant: “The first words out of my dad’s mouth were, ‘Life is short. Do what makes you happy’—which I still can’t believe he said.” “It’s funny, because a lot of my friends— especially the friends in medicine—really thought that I would be crestfallen, be really distressed,” Dr. Iseman recalls. “I never had a bad minute about it. Matt had done so well in college, and he was absolutely at the top of his class at Columbia Medical School. I was really tickled when he chose to come to Colorado to continue his training. But you know how it is with people you’re close with, you kind of read them. I knew that it wasn’t really where he wanted to be.” Matt “decided to take some time off.” During his self-imposed hiatus from medicine, he connected with his high-school friend,

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P H O T O G R A P H BY J O E Y T E R R I L L

THE ICEMAN DRIVETH: “I clench my butt cheeks, pop up on my toes and swing as hard as I can.”

Brad Nieder. The duo once played the roles of Saturday Night Live sketch characters “Hans and Franz” to entertain classmates and the audience in attendance for their high school graduation ceremony. “People still remember that skit,” says Nieder, an M.D. currently known on the speakers’ circuit as “The Healthy Humorist.” When Nieder was giving stand-up comedy a try, while living in New York and making his own decisions about attending med school, Iseman went to a few open mic nights to support his friend. He soon felt an urge to go on stage himself. When the pair returned to Denver to ponder their futures, Nieder chose to start medical school. Iseman went to L.A. “Matt went to L.A. with all the tools to succeed—the smarts, the talent, the looks and the charisma,” Nieder says. “To see him succeed in the industry . . . I won’t say it was expected because a lot of people go out there and wind up in porn, or waiting tables or something.” Iseman had only performed at random open mics around town, most notably the New Talent nights at Comedy Works before moving to L.A. “I figured I’d do stand-up for a

Colorado AvidGolfer | June 2015

year and figure out what my life is all about,” Iseman says. “I didn’t think I would end up doing it. I thought it was like a ski bum year— you know, like when people move to Jackson Hole, bartend and then they figure out what they really want to do. “I wasn’t funny. But within a few weeks I felt I was coming alive every time I hit the stage.” He rapidly worked his way up from the ranks of a newcomer who gladly accepts a few minutes of stage time to a national headliner at comedy clubs across America. “Walking away from something that was a respectable and solid career to go do comedy . . . I also felt an urgency. I couldn’t sit around and piss it away. If I’m going to do this, I’ve really got to have a fire under my ass to see if : one, I’m good, and two, if I am good, then try to make it and make something of it.” Iseman’s comedy tour schedule has taken a backseat to his television work. In addition to American Ninja Warrior, he currently holds a role on Hallmark Channel’s Home & Family series. Past roles hosting E! Network’s Sports Soup and co-hosting Style Network’s Clean House appear among his many TV credits.

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His one attempt to marry golf and entertainment ended rather comically, though that was hardly his intent. “My friend had a son who passed away at two years old,” he recalls. “We decided to hold a memorial tournament at Tapatio Cliffs in Phoenix and raise some money for charity. I got this GoPro. I was going to hit some really cool shots and use them on the Home & Family Show, to show people they can be active by playing golf. I decided to get a cool shot of me hitting a monster drive and I put the GoPro about four feet from the ball, back and at an angle. “Somehow, my horrible swing reaches back, hits the GoPro on the forward swing. I don’t know how I looped it—literally, there must’ve been a magnet in it. The case, the camera went about 25 yards. The GoPro— in a protective case—shattered into a million pieces. We didn’t even get footage of the driver hitting the GoPro. “That’s why I tend not to bring the driver out of the bag. I overswing. There’s no subtlety. I know golf is about an easy swing, rhythm and tempo. And then I step to the ball, clench my butt cheeks, pop up on my toes and swing as hard as I can.” But instead of taking much-needed golf lessons, he’s taking acting lessons with hopes of landing more TV and/or movie roles. “Part of being motivated, I think, is never being content,” Iseman says. “It’s so funny, having gone from regimented life of medicine, where you know exactly where you’re going to be for the next 20 years, to entertainment—where a lot of times I don’t know where I’m going to be tomorrow. I’m always trying to hustle and figure out what’s going to be the next thing. I love what I’m doing. “I’m licensed as a general practitioner and I could practice medicine. I keep my license current in case everything goes to hell. But at this point it’s been 15½ years. I wouldn’t feel comfortable prescribing aspirin to someone.” Iseman knows quite well that golf can provide its share of headaches. He keeps a few extra punch lines in his bag, which usually turns out to be the best cure. “I don’t play enough to expect to be good,” he admits. “Golf is a reminder that if you want to be good at something, you’ve got to dedicate yourself to it.” CAG Contributor Sam Adams is an award-winning journalist and stand-up comedian. This is his 22nd cover story for CAG.

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Manly Happy Returns

Colorado AvidGolfer | June 2015

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Colorado’s only “company of gentleman golfers,” Bear Creek Golf Club proudly celebrates 30 years. BY JON RI ZZ I

EASY HOLE, TOUGH PAR: Bear Creek’s par-4 16th “took Mr. Palmer and Mr. Seay about 15 minutes to build,” according to Jeff Bradley. (Photograph by Kirk Rider)

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

T’S AS PREDICTABLE AS A Sunday morning hangover. Every year in this magazine’s CAGGY Awards balloting, some wiseass votes Denver’s private Bear Creek Golf Club in the “Best Course for Women” category. In case you don’t get the attempt at humor, Bear Creek only has male members. And if anything is predictable, it’s the eyebrowraising over that particular policy. Unlike, say, Chicago’s Bob-O-Link or D.C.’s Burning Tree, Bear Creek doesn’t predate women’s suffrage and invoke a century of “tradition” to justify its policy. The Golden attorney Leo Bradley opened the club 30 years ago as “a company of gentleman golfers,” and ever since his death in 2004, his son, Jeff, and the club’s board of directors, have run the club as he did. Over the past few years, they’ve seen the venerable Augusta National and St. Andrews admit female members. They have also watched the club scene in Colorado become decreasingly golf-oriented. Prospective club members want “programming.” They want tennis, swimming, childcare, hot yoga and spinning classes—a place to bring the wife and kids, not escape from them. At least that’s the conventional wisdom. Located on 520 rugged acres that Bradley developed north of Morrison Road, Bear Creek has none of the above amenities. It has golf. It has dining. And guess what? It has signed on 60 new members over the past three years. “People ask how I can belong to a place where women aren’t allowed,” says Rich “G-Man” Goins, who has been a member for 10 years. “It’s not like that at all. Members bring their wives, their girlfriends and their kids to have lunch and dinner. Women shop in the clubhouse. They work here. We have girls in our caddie program. We have a woman massage therapist.” None of those women can play the course. Two years ago, the affable Goins—a sports reporter whom Denverites might remember spent 33 days living on a billboard during a 1990 Broncos losing streak—became the club’s membership director. He always needs to set people straight on the policy. “A lot of them have heard their wives have to meet them outside the gate,” he says, shaking his head. June 2015 | Colorado AvidGolfer

converted almost all of them,” says Goins. The club tiers the initiation and dues for different ages. Men 26 and younger pay $3,333 to join. It jumps to $4,000 if you’re 27, $6,000 if you’re 28—and goes up in $2,000 increments until age 45, when joining costs the full price of $40,000, for which the club offers interest-free financing. Monthly dues run $675 for members 40 years old and up, but members 32 and younger pay ½ dues ($396.50); members ages 33 to 39 pay ¾ dues ($593.75)

In addition to unlimited golf, Bear Creek membership also comes with free lessons, membership for sons until age 25 and access to one of the most elaborate practice areas in Colorado—complete with fairway and green-side bunkers, chipping and putting greens, Pro V1X range balls, professional instruction with video, custom club-fitting programs and threehole practice area. You never need to make a tee time, and rounds rarely exceed four hours. “It’s such an attractive deal,” says financial analyst

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1/22/2015 1:14:18 PM

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P H O T O G R A P H BY J O E L S I LV E R M A N / C O U RT E S Y O F B E A R C R E E K G O L F C LU B

Another misperception “is that we’re a bunch of old, rich guys,” says Goins, who admits neither to being rich (except, well, for his name) nor old (he’s 55). “We have all ages of people here—from guys in their 20s and 30s all the way to their 70s and 80s—and many of them are just regular guys who would otherwise be spending the same kind of money playing munis.” He says this over breakfast in the spacious, richly wooded locker room, where the procession of men reveals a range of ages. That they’re going out to play on a drizzly Saturday May morning testifies to their passion for the game. Through the window, we see Head PGA Professional Kirk Rider leading a group of 23 raingear-clad junior caddies—including a few ponytailed females—in an orientation. Bear Creek’s caddie program has produced seven Evans Scholars, including Karissa Godin in 2008. Jeff Bradley joins Goins and me at a table a few feet from his father’s locker—No. 1 of course— which, I’m told, remains as he left it more than 10 years ago, back when Bear Creek membership was much closer to its 350 cap than it is today. The good news is that a growing number of Bear Creek lockers now contain items belonging to younger members who have been enticed by a $1,000 trial membership offer, wherein the prospective member pays monthly dues for six months and enjoys all the privileges of a full membership. If the person converts to full membership, Bear Creek credits the $1,000 towards the initiation. “We’ve

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Chris Thayer, the club’s current stroke- and matchplay champion and winner of last year’s Colorado Golf Association Mid-Amateur. A Northwestern teammate of Luke Donald’s, Thayer, 34, joined Bear Creek three years ago, a year after moving to Colorado. “I calculated what I’d spent on muni golf, and it made complete financial sense to join—especially at age 31, and also because the money I pay goes to golf, not to tennis or social events.” Money aside, Thayer says he joined primarily because tee-time access was so easy, the practice facility was excellent, he could always get a game

and “the course challenged me to a better player with every club in my bag because it makes you play them all.” He’s got that right. Traversing streams, lakes and ravines, mature stands of cottonwoods and heaving terrain, the 7,276-yard Arnold Palmer-Ed Seay layout can humble the most proficient player. Although a few widened fairways have made the course “softer” than it was when it originally opened, it remains a true members’ course, with a number of blind and deceptively difficult tee shots, numerous forced carries, and fairways that place a premium on ball position. “You can’t pull driver on every par 4,” says Kirk Rider, “and you absolutely need to select the right club and play each shot to the correct area.” Playing to the correct area especially applies to Bear Creek’s multi-tiered greens. Hitting one in regulation hardly guarantees par, let alone a birdie, especially if you find one of the two tiers without a pin. As TINY TARGET: The peanutshaped green on the par-3 13th. equipment technology has somewhat

shortened the course for longer hitters (and kept it playable for the “less ductile” ones, as the 61-yearold Bradley describes himself ), these greens play a pivotal role in defending par. Superintendent Eric Woody, whom members rave about, doesn’t have them Stimping faster than 10.6 because there’s no reason to do so. “Mr. Palmer said he wanted to design a course that when guys come up the drive they can’t wait to put their spikes on,” Bradley says. “And he certainly succeeded.” Bradley says his father had a special relationship with Palmer. “Both came from humble beginnings, learning the game of golf and all its lessons from their fathers. That’s how Dad learned; that’s how I learned. He didn’t understand ‘quality time.’ He believed in ‘quantity time,’ which I now try to give my sons Ross and Sam.” All of which explains why Bear Creek grants members’ sons full membership privileges until age 25. “For 12 years, after my son turned 13, I got two for the price of one,” says attorney Hal Morris, a member since 1987. “It was a huge thing for me and my son, Tom. We spent more time together than we would have otherwise. And as my wife always said, ‘Where else can I drop off a teenaged boy at 7 a.m., pick him up 12 hours later and not worry about him?’ “We’ve always been a pretty respectful, affable bunch,” Morris continues. “Everybody’s there for same reason: They’re serious about the game.” That doesn’t mean 10 of them aren’t above playing an occasional game of pig or wolf, or going out during

Cool Clubs Tour Trailer is coming to Colorado National Golf Club

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Cool Clubs is the world’s leading custom club fitting company and is devoted to helping golfers of all abilities “Play Better Golf” Schedule your custom club fitting appointment. Cool Clubs Tour Trailer 480.739.7465 or Colorado National Golf Club 303.926.1723 Additional summer dates coming soon.

Colorado AvidGolfer | June 2015

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shoulder seasons and playing “cross-country golf.” “We do stuff you can’t do anywhere else,” he says. Moreover, he adds, the long-tenured staff really takes care of the members. He calls Woody, Rider, Assistant J.P. Hachey, Locker Room Manager Bryan Mosher and Executive Chef Dave Tannaccio his “friends” and Bradley, like his father before him, “a benevolent dictator.” Leo Bradley had a reputation for being as tough as his course. But he wasn’t too proud to blow up and redo the fifth green when members complained that the rear tier was impossibly small. Jeff has responded similarly to members suggesting he re-route the stream bisecting the ninth fairway and cutting back—or down—the trees and bushes that compromised the playability of a couple of holes. The one nonnegotiable item is the single-sex composition of the membership, about which, he says with a laugh, nobody has asked “this year... that is, until today.” He sees it as a “marketing advantage” in attracting passionate golfers like Thayer and men who aren’t into the social status and trappings of a country club. “It’s recreation,” he says matter-of-factly. “We still need a place to get away from our daily concerns. You can come out here anytime you want and play. No tee times. No cliques. It’s about golf. That’s how we’re steadily bringing in new guys who want to thrive.” CAG

WH E R E T H E B OY S PA R

Bear Creek is one of a handful of U.S. golf clubs with a men-only membership.

Bob-O-Link

Adios Golf Club Arnold Palmer (1982) Coconut Creek, FL 954-429-0990 adiosgolfclub.org

Bob-O-Link Golf Club Donald Ross (1913)/ Harry S. Colt (1924) Highland Park, IL 847-432-0917

Black Sheep Golf Club David Esler (2001) Sugar Grove, IL 630-879-2000 BlackSheepGolfClub.com

Burning Tree Club Alister Mackenzie (1922) Bethesda, MD 301-365-2588

Jon Rizzi is CAG’s editor. For more information about Bear Creek Golf Club, visit bearcreekgolfclub.net or call 303-980-8700.

Butler National Golf Club George and Tom Fazio (1972) Oak Brook, IL butlernational.org 630-990-3333

Garden City Golf Club Devereux Emmet (1899) Garden City, NY 516-747-2880 Lochinvar Golf Club Jack Nicklaus (1980) LochinvarGolf.com Houston, TX 281-821-0220

Pine Valley Golf Club George Crump/ Harry S. Colt (1918) Clementon, NJ 856-783-3000 The Golf Club Pete Dye (1967) New Albany, OH 614-855-7326

Old Elm Club Donald Ross (1913) Highland Park, IL 847-432-6270

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Golf in Grand County isâ&#x20AC;Ś

GRAND

ONCE AGAIN By Denny Dressman

Photograph courtesy of Grand Lake Golf Course

A MOUNTAIN OF CHANGES: Grand Lake Golf Course now sports fewer pines and more fabulous views.

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and Grand Lake Golf Course. “We share the view that Grand County is an undiscovered golf mecca,” says Mike Ritter, general manager at Grand Elk and president of the Grand Links branding partnership. “People don’t realize that Grand County offers one of the best mountain golf experiences available in the state.” Greens fees are 20 percent to 30 percent below most other mountain TOP SHELF: Granby Ranch’s back nine climbs above the front nine in the valley. courses, Ritter notes, ticking off a series of selling points: Lodging is simi- the Denver Golf Expo in March, and presented a larly affordable; the area is easily accessible from group discount offer on iDealGolfer.com through Denver and other points along the Front Range; most of May. An effort is underway to attract some and “all of the courses are different.” funding from tourism grants, and every pro shop Ritter and Burks were the driving forces behind will make referrals to other courses in the area. the previous iteration of Grand Links, which op“We’re here to develop Grand County golf,” erated between 2003 and 2009. Back then, Grand says Burks, “and in the process help Grand CounLinks included marketing efforts in places as disty succeed. A million people come through Rocky tant as Kansas City and Dallas, and a “golf train” Mountain National Park to our side every year, that ran between Denver and Fraser, with fourand it will be more than that in the 100th anniverpacks good for a round at each course, along with sary year. If we get just a small percentage of those lodging at Silver Creek Inn and dinner at Grand visitors to play golf here, it will be a big number.” Lake Lodge. There won’t be a Grand Links website this sea“It fell apart when the economy fell apart,” son, though everyone recognizes the role technolBurks says. ogy should play in marketing efforts long-term. The 2015 version of Grand Links is more mod“We’re getting back into it slowly,” Ritter explains. est. The consortium handed out coupon books at After a mild winter, all of the Grand Links

MISTY MOUNTAIN HOP: Pole Creek’s three different 18-hole combinations make for plenty of options.

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he beetles are gone, and the burnt red hue of dead pines has faded. “We’re over it,” says a longtime Grand County golfer of the insect infestation that deforested much of the Grand Lake and Pole Creek golf courses. “Frankly, we’re tired of hearing about it.” The “bust” end of the recurring economic cycle that the Colorado mountains know so well has bottomed out, too, and the pendulum has begun to swing toward the other side – though “boom” might be saying too much just yet. “The economy is starting to change for the better up here,” says Larry Burks, who doubles as course superintendent at Grand Lake Golf Course and general manager of Grand Lake Recreation District. “It follows about two years behind Denver. We’re starting to see more tourists. People here are starting to release the money they’ve been saving.” Burks has lived in Grand County for decades; he spent 29 years at Pole Creek, as course superintendent and general manager, before moving to the Grand Lake jobs last year. So he’s seen the good times and the bad—more than once. “Grand County is ripe for a change,” he says. “I saw it in the mid-’80s when we tanked and things sold for pennies on the dollar. Then it came back in the ’90s. It’s a cycle that’s always there. I see everything improving again.” Evidence of the revival is as obvious as the return of Grand Links, the marketing collaboration of the four golf courses in the tourist region that stretches north from Winter Park to Grand Lake. They are: Pole Creek, Grand Elk, Granby Ranch

courses are planning earlier-than-usual openings. Despite a dump of wet snow in mid-April, golfers were able to play Pole Creek, Granby Ranch, Grand Elk and Grand Lake in early May, about three weeks sooner than usual. Here’s what awaits:

Golf Granby Ranch:

The first thing most golfers will notice is the construction project where the putting green was formerly located. A clubhouse is being built to replace the temporary structure that has served the course since it opened. The new facility is targeted for completion in time for the 2016 season. Meanwhile, the experience many call “The Tale of Two Nines” will continue to test the fortitude of all who play 18. “A lot of players comment how different the two nines are,” says head PGA Professional Don Campbell. There may not be a more diverse course anywhere in Colorado with a front nine that’s a valley/wetlands layout, and a back nine that climbs above that valley and follows the ridges near the ski mountain of Ski Granby Ranch. It’s similar to Quarry Pines, north of Tucson. “The back nine is harder,” says Campbell, “Especially 14 through 16—three par fours” The 14th plays 402 yards from the back tees, 378 from the whites. Number 15 is 406 or 384 yards—uphill. Number 16 sweeps downward alongside 15, but it’s the longest and toughest of the three at 455/433 with a ravine cutting across the fairway about 80 yards from the green. On these holes, the thin, high-country air works both ways—more distance, heavier breathing.

Pole Creek Golf Club: As everyone who has played here in the past already knows, one of the most attractive features of Pole Creek Golf Club is its three nine-hole layouts: Meadow and Ranch, which opened in the ’80s, and Ridge, which was added in ’99. Most days, golfers can combine them as they choose to make a customized 18-hole round. “I have my staff ask which nines golfers would like to play when they call for a tee time,” says clubhouse manager Mary Moynihan. Whatever the combination, though, there’s a definite challenge. Meadow-Ranch has a rating/slope of 71.1/144 from the Blue tees, 69.0/129 from the Whites and 69.3/130 from the Reds. Meadow-Ridge goes 71.0/138 from the Blues, 68.8/127 from the Whites and 67.9/128 from the Reds. Ranch-Ridge is 72.1/137 from the Blues, 69.8/131 from the Whites, and 69.0/131 from the Reds. In addition to enabling golfers to design their own 18-hole course, Pole Creek’s three nines provide other notable benefits. “We can close a different nine for a couple hours each morning during the week, to allow our crew to maintain the course, without interrupting play,” Moynihan notes. As the only 27-hole layout in Grand County, not to mention one of the few in the state, Pole Creek can accommodate tournaments and daily co l o r a d o a v i d g o l f e r. c o m

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play at the same time. Tournaments are making a comeback, she says, another sign of an improving economy. “Company tournaments just weren’t happening much for the last few years,” she said. “It started to pick up last summer.” As of April, she already had 27 such outings booked for 2015. The pine beetle plague caused some tree loss at Pole Creek, but Moynihan views it as a blessing from Mother Nature. “I think it’s the best thing that ever happened,” she says. “It improved the look of the course.

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Colorado AvidGolfer | June 2015

BLESSED HEATH: Grand Elk’s heathland style suggests Gleneagles in Scotland.

“We have more flowers—it’s absolutely gorgeous in the summer! The views are more outstanding; we see peaks you couldn’t see before. More trees are growing now. The snow melts faster. And the grass on the course is better because it gets more sunlight.” A 30-year veteran of Pole Creek, Moynihan is enthusiastic about the Grand Links cooperative effort. “The four courses working together only helps all of us,” she said.

Grand Lake Golf Course: Rocky Mountain National Park is so close to parts of Grand Lake Golf Course that it’s hard to tell in some places where one ends and the other begins. Larry Burks is trying to make it even harder to know for sure. He’s introducing a rustic, park-like ambience at the county’s oldest course. “We’re using logs (deadwood from the beetle kill, which is in the past, thank you) as tee markers and range markers, to define cart paths and as traffic control barriers,” he reports. He’s also building small log cabin-like enclosures around the porta-potties on the course, to improve aesthetics. There’s a new emphasis on “guest services,” too. “The bag drop will be staffed,” Burks says. “Someone will welcome you, load your clubs on a cart,

Grand Elk Golf Club:

There’s an understandable feeling, evident in Mike Ritter’s comments, that Grand Elk Golf Club has turned a corner much the way the Grand County economy has. That’s because the homeowners at Grand Elk Ranch collectively shelled out more than a million dollars to buy their golf club. The sale took place a couple years ago, but this season the change will be felt in full. “There’s a lot of stability now,” Ritter says, “a lot of enthusiasm, a lot of optimism. And capital to work with. It’s ‘their’ golf course, and they’re investing in it—new carts, maintenance equipment.” Ritter himself is part of Grand Elk’s renaissance. He served as the club’s Head PGA Professional and club manager from 2003 to 2009 and returned as Grand Elk’s general manager last November after serving in a similar capacity at Heather Ridge Golf Club in Aurora. “The course is in the kind of shape it was famous for,” he says with excitement about his new home. Grand Elk is unlike any of the other courses in the Grand Links quartet, in that it’s largely flat. At 7,144 yards from the back tees, 6,607 from the Blues and 6,126 from the Whites, it’s plenty long for players of all abilities. And, most of all, it’s deceptive, with willows and creeks making play interesting. coloradoavidgo lf e r.c o m

P H O T O G R A P H S C O U RT E S Y O F G R A N D E L K G O L F C LU B A N D G R A N D L A K E G O L F C O U R S E

Nature has chosen its course.

answer questions, and direct you to the golf shop. When you enter the golf shop, you’ll be greeted and made to feel welcome.” Switching to his course superintendent hat, Burks raves about Grand Lake’s trademark feature. “This course has always been known for its greens, for the subtle breaks. Our greens came out of winter as good as I’ve ever seen greens up in the mountains.” Adds his Grand Links colleague Mike Ritter of Grand Elk: “Grand Lake is in the best shape it’s ever been.”

TREES TO TEES: A new life for a Grand Lake pine.

“I was watching the Ryder Cup at Gleneagles in Scotland on TV last year,” Ritter remarked, “and I could have sworn the pictures were coming from Grand Elk.” Gleneagles was the inspiration for the Craig Stadler-Tripp Davis design at Grand Elk, Ritter explained. “This isn’t a links-style course, because we’re not near an ocean,” Ritter clarifies. “It’s a ‘heathland-style’ course. And our course superintendent Austin Anderson has it in great shape.” Broadening his perspective to the revived Grand Links program, Ritter hopes for a return to the days when golf, according to a tourism study during the last boom, contributed as much as $4 million to the local economy in lodging, meals and other visitor expenditures—“in just five months,” he says. His partner Burks has a grander vision. “I’d like to see this lead to a countywide championship,” he says. “Golfers come from all over, play a round at each of our four courses, and we crown a true Grand County champion.” Not this year, but maybe soon. CAG

Contributing Editor Denny Dressman’s piece for Colorado AvidGolfer, “Next on the Tee: Lewis and Clark,” won the 2015 Colorado Authors’ League Award for Feature Articles.

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GRAND LINKS

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grandelk.com; 970-887-9122

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Golf TRIVIA

PUZZLERS

games Of

States of Omission

What states have never hosted a major? You’d be surprised.

his month marks the first time the U.S. Open has come to the state of Washington, as eight-year-old Chambers Bay serves as the host course. But while it took the USGA 120 years to bring our national championship to the Evergreen State, Spokane Country Club hosted the very first U.S. Women’s Open in 1946. The only other major championship to come to Washington was the 1998 PGA Championship at Sahalee Country Club. Of the 50 nifty United States, only 15 have hosted both the men’s and women’s U.S. Opens and the PGA Championship. An equal number have hosted at least one of the three. That leaves 20 with no major championships on their resume. Alaska is one; Montana is another.

What are the other 18? Here are some golf-related hints… 1. John Daly hails from there. 2. Southern state with an English Turn. 3. Home state of Colorado architect Jim Engh. 4. Where even the men are Blue Hens. 6

5. Synonymous with Sam Snead. 6. Where George H.W. Bush played speed golf. 7. Home of a floating island green. 8. Original home of the John Deere Classic. 9. Birthplace of Mark Calcavecchia. 10. Michelle Wie’s home state. 11. Where Patty Sheehan lives. 12. Notah Begay’s home state.

13. Where real-life Happy Gilmore grew up. 14. Sutton Bay Golf Club is there. 15. Birth state of Keegan Bradley. 16. Home of Old Baldy Club. 17. Brandel Chamblee lives there. 18. Billy Casper passed away there.

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