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Ironbridge’s Next Chapter The largest bankruptcy filing in U.S. history opens this private course to the public. TRANSITION HOLE: The 400-yard 14th eases the changeover from 10-13.
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eceivership has its privileges—at least for golfers heading to Colorado’s glorious Roaring Fork Valley. A breathtaking gem in the now-bankrupt Lehman Brothers empire, Ironbridge Golf Club once commanded a $40,000 initiation, but currently costs $0 to join and $298 a month in dues. Better yet, the public can play for $69 a round. And what a play it is. Located five miles south of I-70 on the road to Aspen, Ironbridge sprawls across the riparian site of the old Westbank Ranch Golf Course, the rolling meadows of Rose Ranch and the limestone cliffs 500 feet above it all. The 7,224 yards in black on the scorecard simply can’t express the enormity of the property over which this Arthur Hills layout winds, climbs, bends, breaks and bows. More than eight miles of cart path ribbon the course, transporting you to some of the most visually and tactically memorable holes in the state. On the front nine those include the 647-yard par-5 second (a strategically bunkered monster that’s a true three-shotter, even at 6,000 feet), the Co l o r a d o A v i d G o l f e r. c o m
lake-lined fifth and the par-3s on holes six and nine. But Ironbridge’s eye-popping glory begins after the long drive up, up, up to holes 10-13, an otherworldly gauntlet that amounts to a Shangri-La of mountain golf. Playing over and around canyons, cliffs and ravines, the par-4 10th and par-3 11th present no shortage of photo and double-bogey opps. On the 467-yard 12th, the snow-covered face of Mount Sopris shines like a beacon as your tee shot parachutes 100 feet to a fairway leading to a shallow, sloping green. The entire 621 yards of hole 13 seemingly cling to the edge of the earth as your grip on par slips away. After catching your breath, it’s a good fiveminute downhill ride to the denouement. Thanks to the budget-stretching ingenuity of superintendent Eric Foerster, Ironbridge’s course conditions remain blue-chip despite the property’s distressed status. For now, with green fees lower than those at those at nearby courses, Ironbridge represents the best golf deal in the area. 970-384–0630; ironbridgeclub.com June 2012 |Colorado AvidGolfer
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