Golf

Play

Back in the Swing

A mother and daughter learn golf fundamentals and tackle The Broadmoor’s iconic East Course. BY BRITTANY ANAS

During a recent mother-daughter trip to The Broadmoor, I signed my mom and myself up for beginner golf lessons. On a sunny Saturday morning, outfitted in our crisp Polo shirts and rental shoes, we eagerly met our instructor, Debbie Zamprelli, the head teaching professional at The Broadmoor Golf Club and a life member of the LPGA. “When’s the last time you played golf?” Zamprelli asked as she loaded our clubs into the cart and we made our way to the putting green.

That’s when I made a confession that I had been harboring for several decades: “My parents signed me up for golf lessons when I was 9, but I habitually climbed the fence and went swimming,” I said. My mom looked at me a little shocked, but I figured there was a statute of limitations. As I approach my 40th birthday, I’m too old for her to ground me anyway.

Suffice it to say, I’m a beginner. A golf school dropout ready to redeem myself. Zamprelli is up for the challenge, putting me at ease as she lays out her theory about golf: “The golf swing is pretty simple if you start with a simple swing and build upon it,” she advises.

And with that, we take to the practice green and begin by learning the most approachable stroke—putting.

I consider myself lucky that my introduction to golf (rather, reintroduction) is with Zamprelli, who has developed a curriculum on “Logical Golf for Women” classes and schools and helped thousands of women enjoy the game of golf through her easy-to-grasp analogies and enthusiasm. I’m also excited to be learning the game on The Broadmoor’s East Course, which is consistently ranked among the best in the country, with tree-lined fairways and gorgeous mountain vistas in the backdrop. Despite its beauty, I’ve read that players have loved the course one moment and cursed it the next—with the putting greens especially tough to read. The trick, I’m told, is to remember that putts break away from the mountains. But for now, I’m focused on keeping my putter flat on the ground, practicing a straight back and straight through stroke.

The East Course has hosted many major tournaments, including the 1959 U.S. Amateur, when a 19-year-old Jack Nicklaus captured his first major win. The victory, he said, “was my stepping-stone to realizing that I might really have a future in the game.” Another golf legend, Annika Sörenstam, won her first major title on the East Course during the 1995 U.S. Women’s Open. Like Nicklaus, she said The Broadmoor has a special place in her heart because it kick-started her career.

Nicklaus and Sörenstam have 210 professional wins between them. Indeed, it could feel intimidating to be a novice learning on the same course where legends have been born. But Zamprelli is a pro at breaking down the game, presenting the fundamentals as building blocks, and assuring us that people on the course are welcoming to players of all abilities.

As it turns out, beginners are plentiful on golf courses these days. The National Golf Foundation saw a surge in the number of new players picking up the sport in 2020, as the golf course became a socially distanced oasis for people looking to get out of the house and be active. The NGF count shows 24.8 million golfers in the United States in 2020, up 500,000 from 2019. It’s the largest net increase in golfers in nearly two decades, and female golfers new to the sport particularly helped drive the surge.

For those who are brand-new to golf, Zamprelli likes to break up lessons so they are spaced a week apart, giving newbies time to practice in between the sessions. But if you’re vacationing at The Broadmoor, like my mom and I were, and want a solid introduction to golf in a weekend, you can certainly learn the basics. Starting with putting, we then moved on to chip shots before graduating to full swings

18TH HOLE, EAST COURSE

on the driving range. After that, it’s time to play a few holes—and, because the tee box can be intimidating when you’re just learning the game, Zamprelli likes to start those who are new to the sport twenty to twenty-five yards out from the hole so that it takes them no more than four shots to get the ball in the hole. Then, she moves them out to fifty yards, a progression that helps beginners learn the game’s flow, teaching them how to score and helping to improve their aim.

But the lessons start on the practice green, where putting is all about muscle memory, Zamprelli explains. “Everyone can be a good putter,” she says. To help build confidence, we start by putting from eighteen inches out. From there we gradually move farther away,

“My parents signed me up practicing the same stroke. for golf lessons when I was 9, Zamprelli reminds us that people have a hard time putting not but I habitually climbed the because their direction is off, but rather because their distance is fence and went swimming.” off. A perfect putt is one that rolls the right distance. As we move to chipping, she tells us our goal is to get the ball onto the green and then in the hole in two putts. Then she tells us in a matter-of-fact tone that 80 percent of our score happens from twenty yards in. That was just the confidence-boosting fact this beginner needed to hear. Our two days of lessons culminated with Zamprelli giving us each a customized notecard of the clubs we should use at varying distances. It’s now tucked in my new golf bag, as I have my own set of shiny new clubs ready to embrace a new hobby this summer and in preparation for a trip to Scotland, where I’ll play a round. After our lessons concluded, my mom and I had lunch on the patio at The Grille, complete with golf course views. Then we hit the outdoor whirlpool—no fence hopping required.

Tips from the Pros

The Broadmoor’s famed East Course has long vexed golf’s greats and amateur players alike. Its demanding layout, tight fairways, and punishing greens each present their own challenges, but there are a few general tips for playing well on this beautiful mountain course.

EAST COURSE

EYES ON THE SHRINE

Players should narrow their focus to a specific spot—the eighty-foot-high Will Rogers Memorial Shrine of the Sun on the flanks of Cheyenne Mountain. Putts tend to break away from the monument on nearly every green. “The main thing is keeping the ball on the other side of the flagstick from the monument,” says golf great Tom Watson.

TAKE A MEASURED APPROACH

Two-time Masters champion Bernhard Langer described the East Course’s greens as “some of the most severe and punishing in the world.” Shoot for the front, rather than at or above the pin, to set yourself up for a more forgiving putt.

.ESSENTIALS. GOLF AT THE BROADMOOR

The Broadmoor features two golf courses—the West Course and the famed East Course, where many USGA championships have been decided and where the USGA Senior Open will return in 2025. The pro shop is stocked with Callaway clubs, clothing, and available instruction. To book a tee time, schedule a lesson, or get more information, contact the Golf Pro Shop at (855) 498-7558.

Scan the Code for Information About The Broadmoor’s Golf Program

UPS AND DOWNS

“Always keep the hole between your ball and the mountain,” says Director of Golf Russ Miller, “which will always ensure an uphill putt, even if it doesn’t appear to be uphill.”