Dallas Morning News Circulation: 374653 City: Dallas DMA: Dallas Fort Worth, TX State: TX
182500 Account: 06/10/2012 Date: Pub Num: TXD280SUN 128 Section/Page: 1 / 3 Page Count:
Par for
paradise The links lure summer crowds
to Vail Valley resorts By MICHAEL HILLER Special Contributor
Ifyou thinkColorado sVail andBeaver Cre k resorts are famous only as ski destinations
you re missing out on the true allure ofthe valley Somewhere between the last snowmelt and
the first snowflake Colorado transforms into a golfer s dream Crowds thin out the air warms up and moun tain eddies blow the stars around an inky sky While the —
weather is heating up in Texas it s the golfthat s hot
mountains right now
— in Col rado s
When I first moved to
Colorado it was for the winter ski season said Pentti Tofferi
a golfer and ski instructor but I quickly fell in love with the spring summer and fall All over the Vail Valley from the tony town ofVail on the east to the swanky Beaver Creek resort farther west the call to action is unmistakable
Hikers bikers paragliders climbers rafters kayakers and golfers flock to this area during spring and summer to take advantage ofthe cool air and blue skies
There s no better place to swing your 9 iron than on the second hole of Beaver Creek
GolfClub The mountaintop elevation gives you a two club advantage since balls travel farther at these high eleva
tions The 190 yard par 3 drops nearly 10 stories from tee to green trimmed by a creek on the right From the elevated tee the enormity of Beaver Creek s village spreads out below you in the distance After years ofunscripted nips
and Beaver Creek hotels
Red Sky s two courses are the gems ofthe Valley No detail seems to have been too
small Service is enthusiastical
ly attentive whether on the practice range or on the course Tinted cart paths blend in and tucks a recent renovation naturally with the reddish soil returned the course close to its More than 25 000 sage plants original design No one seems were sheltered in greenhouses during course construction to have told the beavers who then transplanted back so the still like to dam the creek chew land would retain its natural the trees and occasionally look interfere with the routing Fazio and Norman took full At the base of nearby Vail Mountain skirting the narrow advantage ofthe wide vistas from Red Sky s elevated perch strip offlatland between In terstate 70 and Gore Creek the painting the high desert with sinuous lines ofgreen white Vail Valley golfcourse serves and brown From a distance tall pines and log homes lend a planted vertically at the edge of finger painted texture to the more formal contours of Fa the rough mark fairway yard ages If an errant shot happens zio s and Norman s square tee to find its way into Gore Creek boxes and curled fairways Red Sky is quiet and re you may find that an upstream mote From the apex of Fazio s kayaker spotted your shot and
double duty as a Nordic ski
track in the winter Old skis
will guide you to it A few miles away between Vail and Beaver Creek a pri vate residential development called Red Sky Ranch offers two outstanding courses one designed by golfpro Greg Norman and another from
famed golf architect Tom Fa zio Nonmember play is re stricted to guests of several Vail
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Dallas Morning News Circulation: 374653 City: Dallas DMA: Dallas Fort Worth, TX State: TX
course you can make out Bea ver Creek s Gold Dust ski run
in the distance
Up here the only sounds you re likely to hear are the clicks of well struck irons and
182500 Account: 06/10/2012 Date: Pub Num: TXD280SUN 128 Section/Page: 2 / 3 Page Count:
the occasional puttering ofthe beverage cart as it makes its way up the hill MichaelHiller w a Dallas
based golftravel writer and the editor ofEscapeHatch Dallas com After the
snow melts the Vail Golf Club trans forms from a Nordic ski area back to
a golf course
John Marshall The Associated Press
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Michael Hlller Special Contributor
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182500 Account: 06/10/2012 Date: Pub Num: TXD280SUN 128 Section/Page: 3 / 3 Page Count:
Dallas Morning News Circulation: 374653 City: Dallas DMA: Dallas Fort Worth, TX State: TX
Michael Hlller Special Contributor
Red Sky Ranch offers two outstanding courses One is designed by golf pro Greg Norman and another is by famed golf architect Tom Fazio
When you go Vail Golf Club Vail Colo 970 479 2260 vailgolfclub net Green fees through
45
cart through June 28
64 with
88
107 with
cart from June 29 Sept 6 Beaver Creek Golf Club Beaver Creek Colo 970 754 5775
beavercreek com golf Green fees
92 through Junel4
190
from Junel5 Sept l5
Red Sky Ranch and Golf Club Wolcott Colo 1 866 873 3759 redskygolfclub com
Green fees
250 June 8 Sept l6
stay and play packages available
Kayakers and golfers both
enjoy the views from the Vail Golf Club
Michael Hlller Special Contributor
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