May 2017 Colorado AvidGolfer

3 R D A N N UA L H E A LT H & F I T N E S S S P E C I A L

Elevating the Game.

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GET GOLF STRONG! Power Up YOUR GAME

IS FLYING HORSE NORTH

the Next CASTLE PINES? PLUS: The Golden Age of JIM URBINA Golf Gifts FOR MOMS

Anatomy of a Golfer

A HEADTO-TOE GUIDE to getting the most of your 15th Club

Tips on

VISION, FITNESS, EXERCISE, REHAB and MORE

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CONTENTS | May 2017

15TH CLUB HEALTH +FITNESS

57 Body of Knowledge A head-to-toe guide to your 15th Club.

60 Vision Quest

What, exactly is LASIK and can it help your golf game? By Malcolm Dean

62 Get Balanced

It’s about more than just standing on a wobble board. By Jon Rizzi

63 Feeling Pressure?

Learning to relax may be the most rewarding golf lesson you’ll ever receive. By Stephen Walker

64 Blow Up Your Game 17

10 Forethoughts

SIDE BETS

By Jon Rizzi

45 Fareways

12 ’net Score

Masters aftermath, the benefits of #golfpassport, more.

14 Golf102

Rules changes of Biblical proportions.

Redcord therapy can reduce hang-ups after injury or surgery—and make you stronger and more flexible. By Malcolm Dean

Healthy gourmet eats at Zeal, Beet Box, FelFel, Bubu and WaterCourse.

By Gary James

47 Tapping In

Golden’s Holidaily Brewing proves that

By Ed Mate

gluten-free doesn’t mean flavor-free.

By Cody Gabbard

17 The Gallery

49 Nice Drives

The Club at Flying Horse North takes shape, Coal Creek gets Trumped, Superior’s Fairways at the Stable, more.

72 Blind Shot

Raw footage from the cover shoot.

PLAYER’S CORNER 33 Profile

Colorado course architect Jim Urbina is

67 Suspended Play

DEPARTMENTS

A Word or Two on Getting Fit.

Explosive exercises lead to powerfully long golf shots. By Dillon Johnson

The 2017 Porsche Panamera 4S, plus the hybrid Prius Prime, Kia Niro and BMW i3.

By Isaac Bouchard

68 The X Factor

The revolutionary, robotic spine-surgery Mazor X system has arrived in Colorado—and only one hospital has it. By Jon Rizzi

70 Start Low to Go Low

To build a better golf game, you have to begin from the bottom up. By Dee Tidwell

53 NEW MEXICO TRAVEL

Two tribal-owned golf resorts in Albuquerque and Santa Fe represent some of the best hospitality New Mexico has to offer.

golf’s next big star. By Tom Ferrell

38 Lesson

Swing Faster, Not Harder.

By Jason Witczak

42 Gear

A Mulligan-Free Mother’s Day.

By Suzanne Brown COLORADO AVIDGOLFER | May 2017

ON THE COVER Anatomy of a Golfer

Photograph of impact position by Victor Arango/ studiocandela.com. Model: Jason Bowen, Donna Baldwin Agency.

6

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May 2017 | Volume 16, Number 2 publisher

A llen J. Walters editor

Jon Rizzi SALES, MARKETING & ADVERTISING associate publisher

Chris Phillips account manager

Vivian Keesling digital and social media manager

Rob Mestas

office and operations manager

Cindy Palmer

projects and special events manager

Todd Hall

ART & EDITORIAL art director

Jani Duncan Smith editor - at- large

Tom Ferrell

automotive editor

Isaac Bouchard contributors

Sam Adams, Andy Bigford, Suzanne S. Brown, E.J. Carr, Tony Dear, Denny Dressman, Sue Drinker, Dick Durrance II, Chris Duthie, Cody Gabbard, Gar y James, Ted Johnson, Kaye W. Kessler, Phil Mumford, Kim D. McHugh, Jerr y Walters principals

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 :

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Colorado AvidGolfer (ISSN 1548-4335) is published eight times a year by Baker-Colorado Publishing, LLC, and printed by American Web, Inc. Volume 16, Number one. 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 © 2017 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

TWO PGA PROS WHO CAN “TALK” A GREAT GAME.

Stan Fenn and Doug Perry at KCOL 600 and iHeart radio

EVERY SATURDAY MORNING from 7-9 a.m. on radio, computer or phone.

COLORADO AVIDGOLFER | May 2017

PHOTOGRAPH BY JO ANNE HARADA

A Word or Two on Getting Fit THE LANGUAGE of golf abounds with richness and double-meanings.

For example, a club is both an implement to strike a golf ball and a place golfers go to do so. A hole can measure 500 yards long and 4.25 inches across. Good players usually don’t like scramble tournaments but proudly scramble to save par. A lie can be good or bad, fluffy or buried, or it can refer to how many strokes a player has taken on a given hole (“I lie three”). A lie is also how a sandbagger gets “pops,” which are both strokes and orders from the drink cart.

Then we have eponyms—terms named for people. Out of respect for Mickey Mantle, Rodney King, Monica Lewinsky, Saddam Hussein, the Kardashians, Linda Ronstadt, Bernie Sanders, Rush Limbaugh, Adolf Hitler, Fidel Castro, elephants, blind squirrels and anyone named Alice, I won’t repeat what golfers say about them.

Not everyone on the golf course necessarily knows the jargon. I found this out the hard way. Once, after watching a somewhat inexperienced female playing partner chip to 10 feet, I addressed my ball and habitually said, “I’m going to get inside you.”

“Excuse me?” she replied with astonishment.

So, given the potential for misinterpretation, these days when a golfer says he or she is going to “get fit,” the destination could be a PGA Superstore or a Planet Fitness.

While getting custom-measured for one or 14 new clubs has become de rigueur, hitting the gym to condition your body—your 15th club—has become equally integral to successful golf performance. It’s reached the point where golfers now appear on the covers of health and fitness magazines—and where a naked man appears on the cover of this golf magazine (for more on that, flip to page 72.)

Beginning on page 57, this issue provides a head-to-toe body of knowledge on your most critical piece of equipment, including golf-specific exercises and advice on rehabbing after injury or surgery; on new surgical breakthroughs; on sharpening your mental game; on improving your balance, vision, flexibility and more.

Our “Side Bets” section (page 45) also has a health angle. The Fareways and Tapping In columns focus on healthful restaurants and beers, and, in addition to reviewing the dynamic 2017 Porsche PanAmera, Nice Drives columnist Isaac Bouchard takes spins in some slick new hybrids that help keep the air we breathe a little cleaner.

One indicator of the golf industry’s health is new-course construction. Colorado currently has three underway—one of which, The Club at Flying Horse North, traverses topography reminiscent of that which spawned Castle Pines Golf Club 35 years ago.

Phil Smith, whose pedigree includes 25 years on the payrolls of Jack Nicklaus and Tom Weiskopf, is designing it in the Black Forest. An exclusive look at the project starts on page 17.

Another architect getting his shot is Colorado’s Jim Urbina, who is receiving his first solo design commission from none other than Mike Keiser, the developer of Bandon Dunes. To learn more about Urbina’s rise, turn to page 33.

Turn, of course, is another one of those double-barreled golf words. As any golfer knows, a proper body turn leads to a solid, dependable swing. Just don’t play out of turn before making it. — JON RIZZI

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’net Score INFO | BLOGS | DIALOG

None with Sergio

One with Sergio OVER THE YEARS, Sergio García has had his share of shade thrown in his direction—some of it with good reason. While there are still some haters out there, the 2017 Masters champion has received lots of love from the golf community. Congratulations, Sergio, on your chaqueta verde!

SINCE NOBODY PICKED El Niño—a 30-1 shot in Vegas—in our Facebook Masters pool, we threw all the entries into a digital hat and drew three winners. Two received PGA Tour Superstore gift cards; the third received a Golf Passport and a dozen Callaway Chrome Soft golf balls. Look for our next contest this month!

#GolfPassport NOT ONLY should you have your Golf Passport, but always be sure to tag your social media posts with #GolfPassport. You never know whom you’ll meet on the course, or on Instagram!

Get Inside the Gates OUR ANNUAL PRIVATE CLUB GUIDE is a look into Colorado’s best private country clubs. The digital directory provides club features, fees and links to club websites. Explore at coloradoavidgolfer.com.

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NATURAL BEAUTY AT PLAY

With a course designed to highlight the spectacular high-alpine surroundings, Beaver Creek Golf Club offers a mountain golf experience like no other. Known for stunning scenery set against Beaver Creek Resort, the course sits high above sea level for a chance at record-setting drives with equally thrilling views just beyond the greens.

THE ULTIMATE MOUNTAIN GOLF EXPERIENCE Our Stay & Play packages combine upscale lodging and exclusive golf access.

Starting at $135 per person.*

b e av e r c r e e k .c o m / s taya n dp l ay

*Beaver Creek Stay & Play rates include lodging and greens fees. Minimum length of stay and blackout dates may apply.

Starting at rates are based on double occupancy at The Pines Lodge; lodging rates may vary per property.

Golf 102 THE CGA’S SECOND CENTURY

Of Biblical Proportions ILLUSTRATION BY DAVE PALMER

Dispensing with dozens of arcane and punitive rules, golf’s governing bodies intend to modernize the game—book, chapter and verse.

By Ed Mate

I ATTENDED my first USGA Rules of Golf Seminar in 1990. I thought I knew the Rules pretty well—after all, I had been playing golf for many years, caddied at Denver Country Club, interned for the Colorado Golf Association for three summers and read the rulebook cover to cover many times over.

I scored 68 on the 100-question exam at the end of the seminar—a good number on the golf course, but in the classroom, not so much.

Over the next several years I slowly improved my knowledge of the rules, their nuances and complexity. My test scores improved and ultimately, after years of hard work and study, I was welcomed into the elite fraternity of rules experts—a “geek squad” of rules aficionados whose idea of a good time was quoting Decisions to each other by line and verse. I have been a proud member of this group ever since.

Two years ago, I was invited to join the USGA Rules of Golf Committee by former CGA intern turned USGA Senior Director of Rules of Golf Thomas Pagel. (The moral of that story: treat your interns well—you never know where they might end up!)

As I quickly learned, however, my knowledge would undergo an unexpected challenge. The USGA had three years earlier begun a process to completely re-write the Rules of Golf from teeing ground to hole. This process, which has since become known as the “Rules Modernization Project,” started in 2012 when one of the committee members brought up the proverbial “elephant in the room” which happened to be the 1,013page rule book! “Really,” the unnamed committee member said while holding up golf’s version of the King James Bible. “Can’t we do better than this?”

On March 1, 2017, the USGA and the R&A released the proposed changes to the Rules of Golf.

This announcement begins a six-month feedback period wherein John and Joan Q. Golfer have the opportunity to answer a question that golf’s rule makers have never asked since the first 13 Rules of Golf were set to parchment with quill and ink in 1744. That question? “What do you think?”* The changes are comprehensive, logical and much simplified. They reduce the number of rules from 34 to 24 and deliver the information in plain English rather than the thick stuff only lawyers could hack their way out of. Throughout, the proposal takes into consideration pace of play, with numerous changes designed to address the scourge of the five-hour round.

The modernization also reduces or eliminates numerous penalties, removing some of the proverbial salt from wounds that golf imposes very nicely on its own. For example, if you are unlucky enough to have a ball rebound off a tree and hit you, the welt on your body is penalty enough! If you accidently kick your ball while searching for it in deep grass, put it back without penalty—your next shot will be plenty challenging without adding a penalty stroke.

In all, there are more than 30 substantive changes that should greatly reduce the chances of another U.S. Open being held hostage by a discussion of what caused a ball to move or a replay reducing a major championship to the movement of a grain of sand. Who knows, the next young golf administrator might even be able to become a rules expert simply by reading a much skinnier book! *To provide your feedback to the proposed rule revisions, visit usga.org/rules.

Ed Mate is executive director of the Colorado Golf Association.

COLORADO AVIDGOLFER | May 2017

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June 2-3, 2017 A two-day Colorado Golf Experience like no other!

• Pairings Party catered by Del Frisco’s Double Eagle Steak House • Play both of Red Sky’s Signature Courses • Après-Golf and Dinner Party • Luxury Accommodations at the Park Hyatt Beaver Creek • Wine and Cheese Tasting hosted by Inspirato • Thrilling BMW Driving Experiences • A chance to win a two-year lease on a BMW from Schomp BMW • 1 hour Golf Clinic from Jake’s Academy • On-course Food, Cocktail Stations, Prizes and much more To learn about the full experience, please contact Todd Hall | 720-493-1729 ext.15 | todd@coloradoavidgolfer.com coloradoavidgolfer.com/cag-events

The Gallery

STREAMSIDE STUNNER: A CGI rendering of Flying Horse North’s par-4 14th.

NEWS | NOTES | NAMES

The Club at Flying Horse rides its success into the Black Forest.

JEFF AND PHIL SMITH share the same surname but they’re not related.

Jeff founded and owns Classic Homes, the prolific Colorado Springs developer of the luxurious 1,200-home community that pivots around The Club at Flying Horse, with its palatial Tuscan-style clubhouse, expansive athletic facility, lodge, guest villas and 7,300-yard Tom Weiskopf Signature golf course.

As Weiskopf’s exclusive architect for 14 years, Phil Smith played an essential role in designing that course, which opened in 2005 on 194 acres of gently sloping terrain dappled with pines and scrub oak. Moving very little dirt, he created a layout featuring split fairways, inventive bunkering, water hazards, multi-tiered greens and an ingenious routing that continually changes direction to bring the wind into play on every hole.

Phil Smith made a lasting impression on the Classic team, especially Flying Horse General Manager Fredo Killing. Starting his own design firm in 2012—a fallow period in new golf-course construction—Smith worked primarily on renovating existing courses and touring potential sites.

One of those sites lay 10 miles northeast of Flying Horse in the Black Forest area. In 2012, Killing and Jeff Smith invited him to visit a 1,400acre parcel of Shamrock Ranch, a working cattle ranch owned by Dr. David Wismer, from whom Classic bought about 1,000 acres in 1999 to develop the highly successful gated luxury community of High Forest Ranch.

Located due east of that development, the prospective site blew Phil Smith away. “I told those guys, ‘I’ve looked at 100 sites in my career, and this is in the top five,’” he says, marveling at the combination of ponderosa pine forest, rolling ranchland, dramatic elevation changes and views of Pikes Peak.

“You could just see where the holes belonged,” says Smith, who proved as much with his initial routings. It helped, he explains, that Wismer managed the forest, regularly thinning it out, which also protected it from extensive damage during a devastating 2013 fire that claimed 488 homes coloradoavidgolfer.com

in the Black Forest area.

Most of those destroyed homes have been rebuilt. And now that Classic owns the 1,400-acre property, another 283 new ones—all of which will sit on 2.5- to 5.2-acre lots—will soon pop up in the surrounding area. The company completed the deal 14 months ago, and Phil Smith’s first solo design project—The Club at Flying Horse North—will be its centerpiece.

“They allowed me to get in early in the process and determine where the holes would go, which is not usually the case,” says Smith, who, prior to Weiskopf, worked 11 years with Jack Nicklaus. “The real estate often determines where the course can fit in, and that’s not how this worked.”

A tour of the property reveals the brilliance of that strategy. The first hole—a slight dogleg right par 4—packs a wow factor. It starts high above the pinelined fairway, affording a panoramic view of Pikes Peak before tumbling towards a bunkered green. The following three holes thread through the forest, each arboreally sequestered from the next. “What I love about this forest is it has a perfect density of trees,” Smith says. “If you hit it in, you’ll always have a window to punch out.”

You’ll escape the trees on the next six holes, which will introduce you to the broad, sloping open continued on page 18 SECOND TO NONE: Former Nicklaus and Weiskopf architect Phil Smith.

17

RENDERING BY JUSTIN PASTERNAK/ DOUGLAS FREDRIKSON ARCHITECTS

Another Castle Pines?

Willkommen As of this month, Cherry Hills Country Club will have a new general manager and chief operating officer. Born and raised in Germany, Thorsten Loth moved to the U.S. in 1998, starting his management career at numerous Florida clubs before becoming the general manager and COO at the Upper Montclair Country Club in New Jersey. Loth brings considerable strength in optimizing food and beverage programs and service delivery. He’ll replace Head PGA Professional John Ogden, who served as interim general manager during the search. chcc.com

PRESIDENTIAL MOMENT: Matt Kellogg (right) and BoardRoom’s Dick Kopplin.

Special K The BoardRoom, the official publication for the Association of Private Club Directors (APCD), has named Colorado Golf Club president Matt Kellogg its Distinguished Club President of the Year. He is one of two club presidents to receive this recognition; more than 160 club presidents were nominated for the ninth annual award. “I certainly never expected this,” says Kellogg, who received his award March 3. “It caught me off-guard, but I do think it reflects not just on our team at Colorado Golf Club but on the state of Colorado and our support of golf and great golf clubs.” On Kellogg’s watch, Colorado Golf Club secured the 2019 U.S. Mid-Amateur Championship, which will take place Sept.

21-26, 2019. coloradogolfclub.com May 2017 | COLORADO AVIDGOLFER

The Gallery

Non-Shrinking Glacier FIRST LOOK: Ponderosa Pines and Pikes Peak will frame the opening hole at Flying Horse North.

© 2017

areas on which cattle grazed. Three of the course’s four par 5s—holes 5, 8 and 10—will present themselves here, as will the water-carry par-3 sixth and the course’s only contiguous fairways on numbers 7 and 8.

“The beauty of this site is that you get two completely different experiences in the same course,” says Smith, who says he will have to move a few yards of dirt in the open area to create compelling landforms, but he “won’t overdesign; I really believe in letting the land dictate the flow.”

The last eight holes will revisit the woods, and a spectacular five-hole finishing stretch that begins with a streamside par-4 14th, followed by the plunging par-3 15th and two par 4s—the second of which, at 360 yards from the back tees, might be Smith’s only concession to the drivable par 4 hallmark of his former employer.

Reaching it from the tee will require clearing a cluster of boulders blocking a view of the green. “I originally had the green closer to the rocks to make it really drivable,” Smith says. “But that wouldn’t be wise from a liability standpoint.” continued on page 20

Durango’s Glacier Club will open a second clubhouse this month. Called The Cliffs—the 16,000-square-foot, multipurpose event space that occupies part of the footprint of the demolished Lodge at Tamarron—will include a golf shop, bar and grill. Why a second clubhouse? With another nine holes scheduled to open later this summer and bringing the total to 36 holes, Glacier will feature two 18-hole courses, and the second clubhouse will help accommodate event, group and limited public play without impacting the member experience. glacierclub.com

When you play CommonGround, you are supporting numerous Community & Wellness Programs such as PGA Golf in Schools, Big Brothers Big Sisters, Special Olympics, and Boy Scouts that create opportunities for kids to experience the game we love. www.commongroundgc.com | 303-340-1520 COLORADO AVIDGOLFER | May 2017

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DENVER’S PREMIERE

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continued from page 18 Smith calls that hole a “par three-anda-half” and the spectacular 530-yard par-5 closer “a par four-and-a-half” because they’re reachable and carry a risk. Players will then have a 95-yard 19th “bye hole” to settle bets before repairing to the clubhouse, which will be one-third the size of the 40,000-square foot one at Flying Horse. The structure will feature a Modern Mountain Mining design, created by Florida-based Paradise by Design and Utah’s MLD Worldwide Architects.

Classic has not yet selected its contractor and has enlisted renowned shaper Steve Kuhn to work his bulldozer magic on the holes, especially the green surrounds, where Smith likes plenty of movement. The same blend

of rye grass will cover both the fairway and rough—“to ensure flexibility of fairway width and change mowing patterns,” Smith says— and the greens will be bentgrass. Plans call for the The Club at Flying Horse North to open in mid-2019.

Given the equity in the brand, The Club at Flying Horse North will bear the same equine logo as its forebear, but the two experiences couldn’t differ more. Killing and Jeff Smith are banking on those differences to entice existing Flying Horse members to upgrade to a dual-club membership. “There’s no other 36-hole private club on the Front Range,” Killing accurately notes.

Standing where the clubhouse will be

and looking towards Pikes Peak and the clearings for the first, 18th and 19th holes, Killing boldly announces the only course to which he can compare it is Castle Pines Golf Club.

Time will tell, of course, but the bones are definitely there. Smith has the pedigree of having worked alongside both Weiskopf and Nicklaus— who created both Castle Pines courses with Jay Morrish, whose 14-year partnership with Weiskopf produced, among others, The Ridge at Castle Pines North.

“I miss working with Tom,” says Smith.

“But I couldn’t have handpicked a better group of people to work with on this project.” flyinghorseclub.com

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20

coloradoavidgolfer.com

RENDERING BY JUSTIN PASTERNAK/ DOUGLAS FREDRIKSON ARCHITECTS

LONG SHOT: A backtee view of the 548yard par-5 eighth.

The Gallery

The Gallery

PHOTOGRAPH BY E.J. CARR

BEST IN THE U.S.: Coal Creek’s redeveloped facility.

Coal Creek Gets Trumped IN A COMPETITION that included golf course projects worldwide, Louisville’s Coal Creek Golf Course finished runner-up to Trump Turnberry in Scotland as Golf Inc. magazine’s Best Redevelopment of 2016. But Coal Creek has every reason to take pride. After the floods of 2013 left all but two of its 18 holes submerged and its cart paths, bridges, irrigation system ruined, Minnesota-based architect Kevin Norby and Nebraska-based contractor Landscapes Unlimited reconstructed the course from top to bottom, making it more playable, longer and enjoyable. They added a 22,000-square-foot Punch Bowl Green outside the clubhouse. The City of Louisville hired a new staff, embarked on a complete rebranding of the course to leverage its coalmining heritage. They created a new logo, scorecard layout and tee markers (TNT, Pick & Shovel, Coal Car and Lantern). Since Coal Creek reopened in 2015, the number of daily rounds is more than 30 percent higher than it was before the flood. coalcreekgolf.com

Beating the Bolts Lightning annually strikes the ground a half-million times in Colorado. Last year, at least one of those strikes killed a golfer. Bob Dugan thinks that’s one too many. Dugan is the president of Thor Guard, the lightning detection and alert system utilized in all USGA championships that sees “everything electric,” accurately detecting impending strikes whether skies are clear or darkening. “If there’s no energy in the area, there’s not going to be a strike,” he says. Thor Guard kept players safe at The International and will do the same when the U.S. Senior Open comes to The Broadmoor next year.

Colorado courses including The Country Club of Colorado at Cheyenne Mountain, Vail Golf Club and dozens of private clubs use Thor Guard. So do numerous municipalities. ClubCar will soon equip carts with Thor Guard, which is also developing a smartphone app. Detection is the only way to truly protect yourself. “Don’t count to 30 waiting to hear thunder,” Dugan cautions. “By the time you do, you could get struck. When you see a flash or hear the horn, get inside immediately.” Visit our website for more lightning safety tips. thorguard.com

playdeercreek.com • (303)-978-1800 • 8135 Shaffer Parkway • Littleton, CO COLORADO AVIDGOLFER | May 2017

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The Gallery

Eat Something!

WELL-PLAYED: Six simulators, lesson space and a lounge area fill Fairways at the Stable’s 5,000 square feet.

A Superior Complex AT 175,000-SQUARE FEET, Superior’s Sports Stable opened last December as the third-largest privately owned sports center in the country. Located just south of the Boulder Turnpike on McCaslin Boulevard, the facility houses two NHL-sized ice rinks (plus another half-sheet for pee wees); a half-acre of turf fields for soccer, lacrosse, baseball, rugby and more; two full basketball courts convertible for volleyball and pickleball; 12 batting cages; simulated target and skeet shooting; spaces for fitness, training and conditioning; and a full-service restaurant, coffee shop and snack bar. Numerous youth, high school and adult leagues throughout Boulder and Broomfield counties now have a year-round place to practice and play.

And so do golfers from all over. Featuring six individual Full Swing simulator bays (each with a choice of

Mad golf skills are no match for hunger. You start to lose focus and fail to execute. To prevent this you need to eat easily digested snacks that combine protein, carbohydrates and a little bit of fat to maintain stable blood sugar and more consistent golf. So you reach for one of those 1st Tee and 10th Tee nutrition and energy bars you’ve seen in the golf shop. But wait. You’ve also probably seen that they contain that nasty high-fructose corn syrup.

No longer! SCNS Sports Foods is now replacing the four original bars with 1st Tee Plus+ and 10th Tee Plus+ Bars, which no longer include high fructose corn syrup (HFCS), or artificial flavors. The three other bars—1st Tee Honey Almond Gluten-Free Bar, 10th Tee Cranberry Trail Mix Bar, and 1st Tee Dark Chocolate Chip Trail Mix Bars— never included HFCS or artificial flavors in the first place.

Celebrating Over 30 Years As Your Local Golf Shop! continued on page 26

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experienceThe Ridge

Enjoy The Ridge’s Newest Dining Experience

The Ridge, located in Castle Pines, Colorado is excited to announce that we will be re-launching our restaurant this Spring! Newly named Park Place, the restaurant is named after Grace Park, a 12-year LPGA Tour Player who collected a total of six victories and one major. New items will include enhanced ambiance, western theme, new menu and fresh BBQ selections!

Visit www.playTheRidge.com or call 303.688.4575 for reservations today.

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continued from page 26 30+ courses) and a plush lounge area befitting a modern country club, Fairways at the Stable occupies 5,000 well-appointed square feet on the building’s second story. The space sets up beautifully for group or individual lessons, indoor leagues, practice sessions and private parties.

Boulder native Jason Weiman serves as Fairways’ director of golf operations and golf coach, providing instruction on a private simulator equipped with Trackman and high-speed video technology. A pro from the CAGGY Award-winning D’Lance Golf provides onsite custom clubfitting, and PGA Apprentice Chris Melendez runs the junior golf program.

Fairways will be home base for a PGA Junior League team and be onsite at 15 events this year, as well as have a presences at numerous charity tournaments and Junior Golf Alliance of Colorado tournaments.

Plans call for Fairways to become a members-only facility by 2018, with monthly fees ranging from $99 (individual under 18) to $249 (family up to four persons). Membership benefits currently include up to eight hours per week on simulators and 50% off golf lessons and other perks. Until it fills all the membership slots, Fairways welcomes drop-ins.

Simulator fees run $40 per hour, lessons $100. golfatfairways.com; 720-749-6445.

TOP D.O.G.: Fairways’ Jason Weiman

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GOLF COURSE

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AVAILABLE TEE TIMES

WEEKENDS

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Antler Creek, Falcon EXCLUSIVE

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$35

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$30

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$75

$99

$75 SS: M-Sun, any time. PS: S-Th after 12

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The Bridges, Montrose*

$35

$49

$35

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Broadlands, Broomfield

$40

$40

$40

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No

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$33

$33

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M-Th after 12

No

3 P/S = 9

Buffalo Run, Commerce City

$41

$41

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$35

$40

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Yes

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$60

$75/$95

$60

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Yes

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$50

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No

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$45

$49

$45

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$49

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M-Th any time, F-S-S after 12

Yes

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Country Club at Woodmoor, Monument EXCLUSIVE

$36

$45

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Yes

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$35

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$30/35

$30/35

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Yes

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$55

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Yes

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$30

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EagleVail, Avon*

$69

$69

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Family Sports, Centennial

$19

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Foothills, Denver

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Yes

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Four Mile Ranch, Cañon City

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Fox Hollow, Lakewood

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Golf Granby Ranch, Granby*

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$39/49

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Haymaker, Steamboat Springs

$57

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Heritage at Westmoor, Westminster

$45

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Heritage Eagle Bend, Aurora

$34/$40

$50/$56

$34/$40

M-Th any time, F-S-S after 11

Yes

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Grand Elk, Granby Grand Lake, Grand Lake* Green Valley Ranch, Denver EXCLUSIVE

Highlands Ranch, Highlands Ranch $48/$59 $58/$69 $48/$59 M-Th any time, F-S-S after 12 Yes SS: 2, PS: 1 The Homestead, Lakewood

$38

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The Greg Mastriona at Hyland Hills Gold Course, Westminster EXCLUSIVE

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Indian Tree, Arvada EXCLUSIVE

$37

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Any day after 12

Yes

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The Inverness, Englewood*

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M-Th any time, F-S-S after 12

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Keystone Ranch, Keystone*

$75

$105

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Any day after 11

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Kings Deer, Monument EXCLUSIVE

$25

$40

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M-Th any time, F-S-S after 11

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Legacy Ridge, Westminster

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The Links, Highlands Ranch

$34/$39

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Yes

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$56

$64

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Yes

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$40/$54

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The Meadows, Littleton Murphy Creek, Aurora EXCLUSIVE

1/1 - 5/31 6/1 - 8/31 9/1 - 12/31 AVAILABLE TEE TIMES

$37.50/$45 $37.50/$45 $37.50/$45

Omni Interlocken, Broomfield* $60 $70 $60

Pelican Lake Golf Club, Windsor*

$45

$60

$50

M-Th any time, F-S-S after 12

Yes

3

Perry Park Country Club, Larkspur EXCLUSIVE

$89

$89

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No

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$39

$44

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2 P/S = 6

Pole Creek, Tabernash

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M-Th after 11. F-S-S after 12

Yes

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Quail Dunes, Fort Morgan

$20

$25

$20

Any day, Any time

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Raccoon Creek, Littleton

$39/$45

$39/$45

Yes

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The Raven at Three Peaks, Silverthorne*

$55

$89

$55

Any day after 12

Yes

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Redlands Mesa, Grand Junction EXCLUSIVE

$50

$55

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Any day, after 12

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$60/$75

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The River Course at Keystone, Keystone*

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$105

$75

Any day after 11

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Saddle Rock, Aurora EXCLUSIVE

$39/$45 M-Th any time, F-S-S after 12

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South Suburban Par 3, Centennial

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Yes

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Sumo Golf Village, Florence

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Yes

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$45

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Vail, Vail

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Sun-Th after 1

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$32

$32

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Yes

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Yampa Valley, Craig* EXCLUSIVE

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$30

$30

M-Th after 11, F-S-S after 12

Yes

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CommonGround offer: Must be CGA, CWGA or Golf Passport Plus member to get rate.

Family Sports: 9 Hole Executive Course South Suburban:Par 3- Cart not included

M-Th = Monday-Thursday; F-S-S = Friday-Sunday; Sun-Th= Sunday-Thursday; S-S= Saturday-Sunday P/S= Per Season; SS= Shoulder Season; PS= Peak Season SS= Shoulder Season; PS= Peak Season * Some seasons may vary

Player’s Corner PROFILE

Urbina Outfitters Colorado-based course designer Jim Urbina is golf’s next big star.

By Tom Ferrell

PHOTOGRAPH COURTESY OF JIM URBINA

PREFERRED SHARE: The co-designer of Old Macdonald at work.

coloradoavidgolfer.com

PHOTOGRAPH BY EJ CARR

JIM URBINA has a secret that he wants you to know. Of course, for many, the Littleton-based golf course designer is somewhat of a secret (though he won’t be for long if you believe the likes of Bill Coore and Bandon Dunes developer Mike Keiser).

But Urbina’s subversive message is simple and direct—and is the lead statement on his website: Golf is supposed to be fun. Spread the word.

Urbina is doing his part to make golf fun.

His work, starting with Colorado favorites Plum Creek and Riverdale Dunes, delighted golfers for 28 years before he got “name” credit. That came in 2010, when Keiser insisted that Urbina share credit with Tom Doak for their eye-popping Bandon links experience, Old Macdonald.

“Jim was there every day,” says Keiser, who had admired the way Urbina worked as lead associate on Doak’s Pacific Dunes. “So the credit was my doing. He deserved it, just like now he deserves a chance to be able to do his own solo design. And I am going to give him that chance.”

Wait. Did Mike Keiser just say that he is going to give Jim Urbina—the man who grew up

JIM DANDY: Urbina takes pride in CommonGround Golf Course, which bears many of his touches.

“Jim now deserves a chance to be able to do his own solo design,” says Bandon Dunes developer Mike Keiser. “And I am going to give him that chance.” across the street from the steel mill in Pueblo feeling that “golf was not for people like me”—a solo design commission?

“He’s ready, and it’s time,” Keiser confirms.

“I know he’s nervous, but I also know he’s ready.

Jim has the skill of being able to picture the final thing before he begins to shape it. We’re going to tour a site with him next week. He will be architect-ing in front of our eyes and I know we’ll be awed.”

Urbina himself is surprised when I relate Keiser’s frankness about the as-yet-unannounced project. But Keiser, whom legendary designer Bill Coore refers to as “the patron saint of golf architecture” makes no bones about it.

“I’m working very hard to secure our site,” Keiser says. “We expect to be playing a Jim Urbina golf course within three years. He belongs at the top of the game, right alongside Coore & Crenshaw, Tom Doak, Gil Hanse and David McLay Kidd.”

Coore has been briefed on the project. He is well aware that the wheel of Urbina’s fortune is in spin, and he notes that such things do not come about by chance. “I met Jim a long time ago,” Coore says, “and over the years Ben (Crenshaw, Coore’s co-designer) and I became more aware

33

of his passion and talent. He’s organized, knows construction and has great attention to detail, and that lets him take vision to reality. He was always a get-it-done guy, but he’s become even more than that. If preparation and talent count for anything, Jim’s future is very bright.”

THE LONG AND WINDING ROAD Urbina just shakes his head when I relay those comments and cracks a sheepish grin—at once embarrassed and proud. “Wow,” he says. “Bill Coore has been an inspiration to me since the beginning of my career. That’s very nice of him to say.”

Urbina’s success is anything but overnight.

He wandered into golf course construction in the summer of 1982, working for the great Pete Dye at Plum Creek. Dye saw something in the young man and promised him the chance to work a bulldozer.

That got Urbina’s attention, and the next day he was building a bunker, following as best he could Dye’s cryptic instructions.

“There are two worlds of golf course design,” Urbina notes. “There’s one where you get the topographical maps, lay out the course according to them, draw up construction plans and hand May 2017 | COLORADO AVIDGOLFER

THE NEW ORANGE WHIP WEDGE INSPIRED

BY STAN UTLEY

Player’s Corner PROFILE

SUPER SHAPER: Urbina learned course design from the ground up.

on the Nebraska map, Mullen, to see what Dick Youngscap, whom he had met through Dye, had hired Coore to do at a place called Sand Hills.

There, he found Coore dragging the site for the 14th green with a Sand Pro. Not wanting to break the great designer’s concentration, he stepped off to the side and struck up a conversation with a member of the crew. Finally, the crewman introduced himself. “I’m Ben, by the way, Ben Crenshaw.”

“I had no idea who Ben Crenshaw was,” Urbina laughs. “Only one of the greatest ever in the game. That’s how green I was.”

By 1991 Urbina was green no more. He joined Doak’s fledgling design firm, Renaissance Golf Design, and kicked his career into overdrive.

Renaissance valued Urbina’s willingness to work in the dirt and soon established itself as the game’s most sought-after firm.

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Urbina did summer work for Dye in 1984 and 1985 at Riverdale Dunes in Brighton. There, he worked on crews that included a brash young design associate named Tom Doak and another budding architect, the late John Harbottle.

“Riverdale Dunes was kind of a big deal,” Urbina says now. A lot of talented people working there. It’s historic now when you look back at it.”

Soon enough, Dye and his son Perry had convinced Urbina to leave his job as a teacher and go into golf design full time. He worked with Perry Golf and traveled the world. He studied the great courses of Scotland, where the rumpled fairways and random placement of hazards, railroad lines and the presentation of golf as a cross-country journey thrilled him and expanded his imagination.

He read every architecture book he could get his hands on.

Once he drove from Denver to a tiny blip

34

TEAMED UP: Keiser and Urbina at The Dunes Club in southwest Michigan.

coloradoavidgolfer.com

PHOTOGRAPHS COURTESY OF JIM URBINA (TOP) AND KEMPER SPORTS

them off to the contractor, and the course gets built. That’s a world I know nothing about. The world I know is the world Pete Dye showed me, where you get down in the dirt, and you bring the course out of it. And if you change your mind as you’re doing that, you just re-do it. That’s how you develop a feel for how the course fits together and how it relates to the land.”

Urbina is downright giddy, sitting in the dining room at Coore & Crenshaw’s Colorado Golf Club, and telling the story of the time Dye dropped to his hands and knees while they were building Karsten Golf Course at Arizona State University.

Dye shaped the dirt into a model of the hole he was trying to capture in his mind.

“I mean, here’s one of the top designers in the world building a model out of dirt,” Urbina says. “Finally he looks up at me and says, ‘do you get it? Can you convey that to the shapers?’ I said I could, and Pete stood up and kicked the dirt away.

Man, if I only had a camera like we all do today.

But I thought, ‘This is it, this is how you do it.’”

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Colorado Section

Making a Positive Difference in the Lives of Others Through the Game of Golf

Player’s Corner PROFILE

A LITTLE HELP FROM MY FRIENDS His down-home knack for relationships began to pay dividends as well. Youngscap recommended Urbina and Renaissance to a Sand Hills member—Mike Keiser—who was looking to add a second course at his new Bandon Dunes Golf Resort. That one put Urbina on the map.

Urbina’s voice drops a notch, reverent, as he remembers building Pacific Dunes. “What an opportunity,” he intones. “The site was so amazing, everything anyone could hope for. We go. We walk and revise, walk and revise, walk and revise. And I began to realize this was how A.W. Tillinghast did it, how Tom Simpson did it, how Coore & Crenshaw do it. You can’t stick too closely to plan, because on different days, something different comes to you. I understood right then that you weren’t imposing your vision on the land—you were drawing your vision from it.

And I learned that the more great places you saw, the more that vision would come.”

It’s an analog approach in a digital world.

Urbina volunteered for restoration work at classic courses. He served as lead associate in the cradle of American golf, New York’s Long Island where Renaissance collaborated with Jack Nicklaus at Sebonack, in the shadow of C.B. Macdonald’s masterpiece, National Golf Links of America, which itself stood in the shadow of a storied shrine, Shinnecock Hills. The experience overwhelmed him.

BY THE BOOKS: Tools in Urbina’s kit include C.B. Macdonald’s Scotland’s Gift, Alister MacKenzie’s Golf Architecture and Robert Hunter’s The Links.

OUTSTANDING

COURSES The City of Lakewood has two outstanding municipal golf courses that offer golfers of every level an exciting golfing experience, coupled with spectacular views of Denver’s iconic skyline and the snowcapped peaks of the Rocky Mountains.

Fox Hollow and Homestead offer a unique mix of terrain types and course challenges. Nestled next to Bear Creek Lake Park on native rolling prairie lands, both courses offer an opportunity for escape and relaxation with tranquil lakes, quiet streams and spectacular vistas.

LakewoodGolf.org COLORADO AVIDGOLFER | May 2017

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“I mean who wouldn’t love working all day and then walking next door to view the Rembrandts and Van Goghs of classic design?”

He also got to know Nicklaus as few do. In classic Urbina fashion—sincerity mixed with a bit of naivety about the Nicklaus legend—the upstart took it on himself to argue against the Golden Bear about the placement of a certain bunker.

After going back and forth, Nicklaus flashed a grin and said, “Remind me again, Jim, how many major championships have you won?”

TICKET TO RIDE

PHOTOGRAPH BY EJ CARR

After receiving a co-design credit for Old Macdonald, Urbina left Renaissance and set up his own shop. Surviving lean times on a steady diet of restorations (“Urbina Renewals,” if you will), he received what he calls his “professional education” reviving the classic works of Golden Age masters. Among them: Chicago’s Bob O’Link Golf Club (Harry Colt & Charles Allison); San Francisco Golf Club and New York’s Paramount Country Club (A.W. Tillinghast); California’s Valley Club of Montecito and Pasatiempo Golf Club (Dr. Alister Mackenzie): Long Island’s Garden City Golf Club (Walter Travis); South Carolina's Yeamans Hall Club (Seth Raynor); Nantucket’s Sankaty Head Golf Club (little-known Emerson Armstrong).

But Urbina also broke new ground with Keiser at the sprawling Punchbowl putting course at Bandon. And he patiently waited for his time to come, learning all the while.

“I have learned a few things,” he confesses.

“I’ve gotten to understand how the great architects blend ground features into their design work, how

they route holes and sequences, how they create multiple lines of play.”

Asked what the average golfer misunderstands about golf course design, he lights up. “Most golfers don’t recognize architecture,” he says, “but they experience it. So there’s a lot of room for a lot more fun. I think people should realize that golf course designers aren’t out to punish golfers, at least good ones aren’t. We’re out to entertain you. No one knows that the second hole at CommonGround in Denver is a tribute to the Eden hole at Saint Andrews, but they enjoy it because it’s a design that has entertained golfers forever.”

Jim Urbina could go on about golf course design and his life in it. And on. The reason, he says, is the people. “Just being a part of this, of so many crews. I’ve gotten to know owners, players, shapers, supers, pros. So many people dedicating so much energy and talent to help people have fun. That’s the message golf has to preach—fun.”

Mike Keiser trusts Urbina’s ability to create a fun golf course—so much so that he has already tapped him to build his next great destination.

Bill Coore shares the belief that Urbina’s time has come. “In just a few years,” he says, “Jim is going to be one of those guys that golfers look at and go, ‘he came out of nowhere.’ Well, he did, but that was when he began appearing like an apparition on job sites 30 years ago.”

Meet Jim Urbina, the 30-year overnight sensation.

Tom Ferrell is CAG’s editor at large.

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37

May 2017 | COLORADO AVIDGOLFER

Player’s Corner LESSON

Swing Faster, Not Harder

Understanding the difference between the two can result in greater distance.

By Jason Witczak

PHOTOGRAPHS BY EJ CARR

DURING MY 20-PLUS years of teaching and competing in golf and long-drive tournaments, one of the biggest misconceptions I have heard is “use your body for power.” People tend to forget that what’s in their hands is ultimately going to send the ball in the desired direction, so they try to hit it further by swinging with all their might, pushing off the ground forcefully and interrupting the natural motion of swinging towards the target.

Remember: the body is a key element in the motion of the swing, but has to respond to the uninterrupted motion of the club being swung towards the target. There is a huge difference between doing something faster and doing it harder. Faster is effortless speed that creates the centrifugal force of the club head to increase. Harder involves effort that fights against the physics of the club.

Moreover, when you swing “harder,” you’re usually focusing your force and energy towards the ball—and making a “hit” not a “swing.” When you swing “faster,” you’re focused on swinging towards the target.

The following exercises help golfers use their bodies correctly to create speed. If done correctly 2-4 times a week, you will start seeing an increase in clubhead speed. You also will notice improved stamina later in your rounds, as your legs are getting “golf strong” with the focus of stability and balance.

INCORRECT

CORRECT

THE BALANCED CORD SWING These two photographs show the proper and improper way to swing. In both, I’m standing on a Dyna Disk and swinging a shaft attached to a bungee cord.

Jason Witczak is the PGA Director of Instruction at The Club at Pradera and Pinery Country Club, both in Parker. For lessons, fitness and oncourse instruction, you can contact him at jwitczak@theclubatpradera.com or 303-607-5677.

COLORADO AVIDGOLFER | May 2017

INCORRECT: x The wrong way to swing is to pull the club with the handle downward, using your body to push off trying to create force.

CORRECT: √ The idea is be balanced and stay off of your toes so the blue bungee cord can swing towards the target while the arms never slow down.

x This produces too much lateral sway and gets you on your toes.

√ As a result, your body simply has to respond by turning to get out of your own way.

x As a result, at impact you will have too much forward shaft lean because your arms slow down as they stop swinging forward.

√ Remember, it is called clubhead speed, not body speed, handle speed or push-off speed.

x The blue cord, which is the clubhead, will not have very much speed. x With too many parts moving independent of each other, your motion has become plural.

√ Make sure the blue bungee cord "clubhead" leads. √ Swing towards the target while you allow your body to respond to the motion of swinging forward. continued on page 40

38

coloradoavidgolfer.com

Excellence Exists at Red Hawk Ridge

continued from page 38

A Golf Digest Top 100, Jim Engh course minutes from the Denver Tech Center, in Castle Rock

COUNTRY CLUB

conditions

At public course prices.

MOUNTAIN-STYLE

play

Along I-25 in the Front Range.

FORWARD-BACKWARD MONSTER WALKS • Put a smaller resistance band around your ankles and hold out a medicine ball to activate your core.

• Stay low, keeping your hip flexors engaged. Move forward, not up and down while you step.

• Focus on holding the medicine ball in front of you, activating arm strength and core golf muscles.

• With your right foot, step forward on a 45-degree angle away from your center, keeping your left foot planted.

PHOTOGRAPHS BY EJ CARR

• Bring your left foot even with your right.

• Step forward in the 45-degree direction with your left foot.

• After taking eight total steps forward, do the exact same thing backwards.

• Do three sets sets with 60-90 seconds breaks.

OPPOSITE LEG-OPPOSITE ARM BALANCE > • Holding an Orange Whip trainer in your left hand, step onto a Bosu ball with your right foot.

• Lift your left foot and balance yourself on the ball with your right foot, achieving posture.

• Extend the arm holding the Orange Whip and get it moving back and forth while keeping the arm extended.

• Once you get the motion of the whip moving back and forth, use your extended arm to slowly make an arc from right to left, then slowly return it back to the starting position. It should take 2030 seconds.

Let us host your 2017 tournament Call 720-733-3504 to schedule a visit or for more information.

For tee times and other information: 720-733-3500 or redhawkridge.com COLORADO AVIDGOLFER | May 2017

• Repeat motion with your left foot and right arm.

• Do three repetitions on each side to start.

• As you progress, your balance will improve as your body responds to the swinging motion of your arm moving around the radial axis of your spine.

This exercise promotes tremendous stability and flexibility.

40

coloradoavidgolfer.com

t AC olo r ven a d o Av i d G o l f e r E

COLORADO NATIONAL GOLF CLUB JUNE 26, 8am

$110 per player

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JOIN US THIS SUMMER for Colorado’s #1 Golf Event Series!

Great prizes, contests and giveaways including a chance to win a two-year lease from Landmark Lincoln.

On-course food & craft beer tastings.

THE INVERNESS GOLF CLUB JULY 31, 7:30am

$125 per player

Amazing gift bags.

Complimentary food & beverage

REGISTER TODAY! coloradoavidgolfer.com/events For more information and to register contact Todd Hall at 720-493-1729 ext. 15 or todd@coloradoavidgolfer.com

THE RIDGE AT CASTLE PINES NORTH AUGUST 28, 1:30pm

$110 per player

BLACKSTONE COUNTRY CLUB

SEPTEMBER 11, 8am

$125 per player

Player’s Corner GEAR

A Mulligan-Free Mother’s Day

Stylish ideas that won’t require a gift receipt.

By Suzanne S. Brown < TRUE BLUE EP New York's Beyond Blue collection includes, from top, a colorblocked visor, $24, water resistant vest with pleated back, $99, socks, $11.50 and mandarin collar color-blocked polo, $73.epnygolf.com

<

TRENCH GOLFWEAR After making an impact on fashion runways, camouflage is now hitting the fairways. Ouul’s stand bag comes in four color combos (we’re partial to “ocean”) and features a six-pocket design with an insulated beverage sleeve, a single strap with padded harness, soft lined pockets, a spring loaded umbrella clip and flex foot base, $320. ouulbags.com

<

GLAD HAND When fashion industry veteran Mossimo Giannulli turned his eye for style and function to his favorite sport, the result was G/FORE, a line of cutting-edge clothing and accessories for the course and beyond. G/FORE cabretta leather gloves come in a wide range of fashion colors and patterns, $35.gfore.com

<

PRETTY PLEATS The slim-fit G/FORE mesh polo, $95, and pleated cotton blend skort, $155, make this outfit a functional and fashionable addition to her golf wardrobe.

G/FORE's waterproof leather Stripe Gallivanter shoes, $195, complete the look. gfore.com

COLORADO AVIDGOLFER | May 2017

42

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Accessories include a visor, $20, and Adipower Boost Boa shoes, $180. adidasgolf.com

<

FANCY FOOTWORK Biion’s retro design sensibility and high-tech materials combine in light, flexible shoes that mold to your foot. The spikeless hexagon-patterned cleat soles offer strength, stability and traction. Biion offers the tropical floral print Oasis and other patterns for women, as well as for men and children, $105. biionfootwear.com

<

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TOP HAT The Bianca visor made of paper braid is part of Wallaroo Hat Company’s new W Collection of natural fiber designs with a touch of glamor. The design has a 3½-inch brim and gold edge suede ribbon at the crown, $30. wallaroohats.com

PATTERN OF EVENT Cool and comfortable, EP New York's sleeveless pique drop button polo, $65, and medallion grid tile border print skort, $89 are built for performance as well as style. epnygolf.com

Suzanne S. Brown is the former fashion and features editor for The Denver Post.

She also contributes to Mountain Living and Colorado Expression.

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Side Bets | FAREWAYS

GRAINS OF TRUTH: Zeal diners dig in; the poached Egg Sammy; Watercourse’s street tacos

FOOD | BEER | CARS

Eating the Greens There’ll be no ham-and-egging—unless, of course, it’s organically, locally and sustainably sourced—at these health-oriented restaurants. By Gary James TIME FOR ANOTHER ROUND of perception vs. investigation. The perception is that most golfers aren’t healthy eaters, and most golf facilities provide burgers, wings and loaded nachos. But investigation shows that you find smoothie bars and a variety of spa food if you go to private clubs. But for us public-course players looking for a healthy bite, a Cobb Salad might be the closest we’ll get.

So we look for other options.

Owned by golfer and triathlete Wayde Jester, Zeal is the real deal. Jester is a low-key presence, a nice change of pace in our celebrity chef culture. He came to Colorado 25 years ago to ski and play golf and run and take in all the other outdoor activities and adventures in our state. He never left, working for a decade in real estate while competing in Ironman triathlons.

As Jester was training, he needed nutrition, and he couldn’t find a single quality restaurant with nutrient-dense food in a fun atmosphere. After competing in

coloradoavidgolfer.com

his final triathlon in 2012, he decided to do something about it.

“Long time fan, first time player,” Jester quips.

“Never owned my own business. Called a restaurant consultant and pitched the idea—and he tried to talk me out of it. But I was resilient.”

Ironically, Jester wanted to open in downtown Denver, but he couldn’t do a deal in the 2013 climate. He then found a location in “crunchy” Boulder, off the Pearl Street Mall in the middle of white-tablecloth restaurants like Frasca Food and Wine and Mateo. He wound up merging his passion and avocation, and three years in, he’s nailed his “diner-for-the-new-foodie concept” with Zeal, a welcoming, casual atmosphere with table service and nutritious eats.

Jester hired a chef consultant to help create the menu, and Leslie White eventually took over the kitchen.

The biggest logistical hill for any accomplished eatery

Vegan Vibe Located less than two miles from City Park Golf Course, WATERCOURSE FOODS started nearly 20 years ago as a breakfast and lunch restaurant serving vegetarian dishes on weekdays; now it’s open seven days a week serving breakfast all day, lunch and dinner, and the menu has been updated to entirely “vegan comfort food.” Eating as a vegan can be a missed steak (get it?), but there’s nothing boring about WaterCourse’s specialties, including French Toast (with a gluten free option), a vegetableladen Street Tacos Platter, and the Southern Plate—fried cauliflower “chicken” served with mashed potatoes & gravy or mac ‘n’ (cashew) cheese. 837 East 17th Ave.; watercoursefoods.com

Beet Box

Hey Yogi

THE CORNER BEET started as a neighborhood café specializing in raw, organic vegetable based juices (try the Carrot Cake, made with coconut water), but it now serves vegetarian and vegan breakfasts and lunches of sandwiches, soups, salads…and toast! Who knew putting sweet and savory toppings on sourdough boule from the Denver Bread Company could be so creative?

The PB&J (local berry jams and organic peanut butter), House (with “beet butter”) and a Farmer (with garlic, hard boiled egg and greens) are the toasts of the town. 1401 N. Ogden St.; cornerbeet.com

Ubiquitous chef Troy Guard’s quick-casual concept is BUBU in Larimer Square, a healthy spin on customized bowls. Pick a bowl—favorites are Thai (green papaya slaw, crispy shallots, Asian herbs, peanuts, toasted rice and Thai dressing) and Chinese (bean sprouts, snap peas, pickled red chilies, broccoli, chia seeds and Chinese dressing)—then build the base with grains, and choose from the many protein toppings and house-made dressings. A second location in the Republic Plaza just opened.

1423 Larimer Square; bubu-denver.com

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May 2017 | COLORADO AVIDGOLFER

Side Bets | FAREWAYS

COLOR ME HEALTHY: Zeal’s hummus and fresh-squeezed juices; the bustling kitchen at Felfel Mediterranean.

WESTWORD’S 2013 & 2015 “Best Neighborhood restaurant”

Alaska King Salmon

“.. imaginative takes on contemporary Italian fare that are masterfully prepared, artfully plated.”

- The Denver Post

COLORADO LAMB

2500 East Orchard Road #C Greenwood Village, CO 303 730 2152 thewoodentablerestaurant.com

COLORADO AVIDGOLFER | May 2017

to climb is high-quality local sourcing, but Zeal is lucky to be based in Boulder, where there are distributors that specialize in grass-fed meats, sustainably sourced fish, organic produce grown in season and healthy oils; Zeal does as much volume as the markets they typically service.

The menu reveals a variety of tasty items. The Cauliflower Wings bring the heat as readily as any drummette; florets are roasted in a diavolo sauce with potent Calabrian chili peppers from Italy for a fruity, spicy flavor and bright color (there’s a house BBQ sauce option).

The “build your own bowl” craze is sweeping restaurants, but Zeal’s process is somewhat unique—they slice and roast the root vegetables (parsnips, sweet potato, radishes and other tubers) to caramelize them for an added flavor profile. They’re then tossed in the wok and put over rice, quinoa, and a wealth of sauces and protein add-ons.

The Pesto Chicken BKT is the most popular sandwich.

Grilled chicken, pastured bacon, tomato, pesto and tarragon aioli…and massaged kale. How do you get therapeutic with such a, um, sturdy green? “Kale is a little like leather,” Jester allows. “You can’t bruise it, so we slice it, toss it with salt and olive oil and get rough with it—and it gets better.”

Entrees include the Harrison River Wild Salmon, Roasted Acorn Squash, and a Marinated Flank Steak. The Lamb & Pork Bratwurst, locally ranched at Boulder Lamb and Meats, is served with sautéed mushrooms, onion and spinach and a wonderful cherry mostarda as a condiment, with house-made sauerkraut and a cranberry and orange polenta from Aspen Moon Farm that’s sweet enough to be a dessert.

The beverages and desserts eschew the bad stuff, and Zeal serves breakfast as well. Weekday mornings offer a nice on-the-go touch—a breakfast cart in front of the restaurant cranks out a breakfast sandwich called the Egg Sammy (two eggs with cashew cheese or grass-fed cheddar and tomato preserves on a wheat bun) and Kickstarter Coffee (organic Silver Canyon coffee brewed in a French press and blended with virgin coconut oil and grass-fed butter).

This vibrant—and filling—vibe could make a junk-food junkie into a...zealot.

“I’m intersecting with all sorts of interesting customers,” Jester enthuses. “That’s how I met my girlfriend, when she came in. I tell her that, even if Zeal goes away, I’m still coming out ahead in the deal.”

1710 Pearl Street, Boulder zealfood.com; 720-708-6309 Read more of Contributor Gary James’ Fareways columns on coloradoavidgolfer.com.

46

What About Kebab?

If you’re craving authentic Mediterranean cuisine but can’t go to Southern Europe for lunch, FELFEL MEDITERRANEAN is a fastcasual spot serving delicious and nutritious favorites like falafel and schwarma and a wide selection of salads. Factor in fresh preparation, a spotless dining area, reasonable prices and a very hospitable staff and you’ll root for the avuncular owner, Ishmael, who is always on the premises to explain and suggest dishes. He hopes to open nine more locations.

4401 S. Tamarac Pkwy; eatfelfel.com

coloradoavidgolfer.com

Side Bets | TAPPING IN

Bonfire Brewing (Eagle)

GLUTART RASPBERRY ALE Made with sorghum and molasses in a facility that uses non-gluten-free ingredients, Glutart won the silver medal in the gluten-free category at the 2014 Great American Beer Festival. It pours a bright, ruby red and is brilliantly clear. Candied fruit dominates the aroma and carbonation pricks at your nose. It has a very light body and high carbonation that creates a dry finish to balance any residual sweetness. It drinks more like a raspberry-flavored soda and goes well with rich, chocolate desserts that call for a flavorful palate-cleansing.

Epic Brewing Company (Denver) GLUTENATOR CHEERS! Holidaily brews with millet varieties, not wheats or barleys.

Going Against the Grain Golden’s Holidaily Brewing proves that gluten-free doesn’t mean flavor-free.

Also brewed in a facility with non gluten-free ingredients, Glutenator uses mostly millet, but with additions of brown rice, sweet potatoes and molasses. This whiskey-colored amber should be poured hard to get the quickly dissipating head to form. A unique aroma of candied orange and floral perfume lasts throughout the glass.

High carbonation and a snappy finish temper a light body. Orange marmalade flavor dominates with a barely perceptible bitterness to balance any sweetness. A tangy, sweet potato-like aftertaste lingers, similar to a fruity saison.

PHOTOGRAPHS BY KIMBERLY SWANSON

By Cody Gabbard BARLEY AND WHEAT—two of beer’s chief ingredients—contain gluten. So the prospects of finding a delicious gluten-free beer are pretty slim. And if you ask the folks at Colorado’s only 100-percent gluten-free brewery, they’ll agree with you, and then accept the challenge.

Holidaily Brewing Company of Golden, Colorado was born out of the life events of founder and owner Karen Hertz. An MBA in entrepreneurial studies who worked for MillerCoors for 10 years, Hertz was diagnosed in 2007 with melanoma and, later, with thyroid cancer and Hashimoto’s Thyroiditis, an autoimmune disease for which her doctor suggested eliminating gluten from her diet.

“That was over six years ago,” Hertz says.

“And I love beer, so I just put all of those things together.” Following extensive research and the discovery of Grouse Malt House—a gluten-free maltster in Fort Collins—Hertz then worked with the fermentation science school at Colorado State University to develop special brewing methods. With a proof-of-concept in hand, she coloradoavidgolfer.com

hired 25-year brewing veteran Wayne Burns and opened Holidaily in 2016.

Unlike many gluten-free brewers, Holidaily eschews the gluten-free ingredient sorghum in favor of millet (a grass and cereal crop similar to barley and wheat) and smaller portions of buckwheat and rice. Whereas sorghum beers tend to be fairly thin and lacking complexity, the millet malt roasts found in Holidaily beers such as Fat Randy’s IPA are stylistically on par with beers by barley-based commercial brewers.

“They don’t taste the same, but this tastes just like a good IPA,” head brewer Burns explains, referring to Fat Randy’s IPA. “Nothing about the malt character of this beer waves a red flag and says this isn’t real beer.” Millet distinguishes itself from barley, he says, by having a slightly sweeter flavor that’s more of a perceived sweetness since the actual beer finishes dry.

Holidaily also differs from other glutenfree brewers—who risk cross-contamination by brewing barley and wheat-based beers in the same facility as the gluten-free ones—in that its entire

47

BREWISTA: Holidaily founder Karen Hertz

May 2017 | COLORADO AVIDGOLFER

Side Bets | TAPPING IN

Beers to Your Health!

• In 2002, a meta-analysis by the American Heart Association of 15 studies on the effects of alcoholic beverages and cardiovascular disease showed that the relative risk associated with moderate beer consumption was decreased 78% compared to non-drinkers.

• A 1999 study of more 36,000 men in Eastern Europe published in the Journal of the American Medical Association suggested moderate intakes of both wine and beer was associated with lower relative risk for cardiovascular deaths (heavy drinking was associated with a significantly increased risk of death, however).

• A person who consumes about two beers a day over their needed caloric intake will result in approximately two pounds of weight gain a month.

• Antioxidant levels in beer are of the same order of magnitude as those found in fruit juices, tea and wine.

• Alcohol consumption speeds up the emptying of the gallbladder after dinner, so moderate drinkers develop fewer gallstones as well as kidney stones.

• A 2003 study suggests that drinking 1-6 alcoholic drinks per week lowered the risk of dementia in older adults.

• Two-thirds of the energy value (i.e. calorie count) of a beer originates in the alcohol, so a general ruleof-thumb for counting calories is checking alcohol percentage. As a rough gauge, multiply the ABV (Alcohol

By Volume) by 2.5 per ounce of beer to estimate the caloric content. This means a 12-ounce bottle of New Belgium Fat Tire (5.2% ABV) contains 156 calories, while the same amount of rich Guinness Stout (4.2% ABV) sets you back 126 calories. The chart to the right estimates the calories in a given serving size of craft beer by ABV, and it assumes a beer with an “average” amount of residual sugars remaining.

CALORIES IN CRAFT BEER SERVING SIZE ABV

10oz.

12oz.

16oz.

3.5%

87.5 105 140

4%

100 120 160

4.5% 112.5 135 180 5%

125 150 200

5.5% 137.5 165 220 6%

150 180 240

6.5% 162.5 195 260 7%

175 210 280

7.5% 187.5 225 300 8%

200 240 320

8.5% 212.5 255 340 9%

225 270 360

9.5% 237.5 285 380 10%

250 300 400

10.5% 262.5 315 420 11%

275 330 440

11.5% 287.5 345 460 12%

300 360 480

12.5% 312.5 375 500 13%

325 390 520

13.5% 337.5 405 540 14%

350 420 560

14.5% 362.5 435 580 15%

375 450 600

* When dealing with a heavy or sweeter beer (like a stout or barleywine), increase the figures by one third. (e.g. a 10% ABV Imperial stout is closer to 35 calories per ounce than 25 cal./oz.). Source: beeroftomorrow.com

facility is 100% gluten-free. “We have to test everything in order to keep our gluten-free certification,” explains Burns. “They want us at ten parts-per-million (ppm), but we test at five ppm or below.”

Hertz notes that gluten-free and gluten-reduced are not the same. “A gluten-reduced beer is a beer that’s made with barley or wheat or rye and then at the end Clarity Ferm or Clarex (commercially produced enzymes) is put in it,” Hertz explains. “A gluten protein is a certain length and the enzyme chops it into tiny pieces. Some people can tolerate that, but some sensitive people still get sick.”

Outside the taproom, you can find Holidaily’s Favorite Blonde Ale and Fat Randy’s IPA in 16-ouncecan four-packs along the Front Range and west to Glenwood Springs, with expanded distribution coming. Plans also call for the release of a summer flavor.

Not what Burns calls another “training wheel” beer, Favorite Blonde Ale is a highly drinkable session ale (5% abv) with a noticeable bitterness. The malt has a subtle earthy, grassy flavor, hints of lemon and would be a perfect partner in the golf cart. A nod to West Coast IPAs, Fat Randy’s froths with big, resinous pine aromas and flavor. It has a medium body and additional hop complexity with some earthy and spice notes to round out the flavors.

Other Holidaily notables include Riley’s Red and its rice-based cousin, Sake Red. One of the more complex gluten-free beers in the marketplace, Riley’s highlights malt-forward flavors, with caramel malt in the forefront, a thick moussey head and light body similar to a Vienna Lager. Sake Red is a bit more earthy and spicy than Riley’s, with little to no bitterness, a lighter body and drier finish. Compare these two—and any of Hollidaily’s offerings—with your favorite wheat- or barley-malted beer. You’ll be pleasantly surprised.

Read more of Cody Gabbard’s Tapping In columns at coloradoavidgolfer.com.

COLORADO AVIDGOLFER | May 2017

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Side Bets | NICE DRIVES

Porsche & the Hybrids

PORSCHE PANAMERA 4S

Meet an unlikely band of game-changing vehicles.

By Isaac Bouchard

2017 PORSCHE PANAMERA 4S MPG: 23/35 (city/hwy) Price as Tested: $141,685 Completely in line with the current political zeitgeist is the second generation Porsche Pamamera. This all-new model is more beguiling to drive and certainly to look at than the first Panamera. Porsche’s forms flow more freely over its skin, and it now really does rather resemble a four-door 911.

Based on a new architecture labeled MSB (which will also serve duty in Bentley’s upcoming car and the new Cayenne), it is stronger and lighter than its predecessor. The cozy and cosseting four-place cockpit that it contains is beautifully designed and quite radical in some ways. Gone is the “flight deck” of buttons between the front seats. Now there are multiple gloss black touch screens to control most every function.

Most work brilliantly, and the lovely 12.3inch center screen is very thoughtfully laid out.

About the only analog gauge left is the classic Porsche tachometer, flanked by twin seven-inch screens that can be configured to show maps, music or virtual gauges. The driver needs to access menus even to move the center air vents, which is not necessarily optimal.

What can be described as optimal, however, is the manner in which the Panamera drives. The volume 4S model now is powered by a new, 2.9-liter, twin turbo V6, whose 440 coloradoavidgolfer.com

horses and 405 lb-ft of twist are adroitly deployed by an equally new 8-speed twin-clutch transmission. This PDK gearbox is now the gold standard, with luxuriously fluid gear changes when proceedings aren’t rushed, and instantaneous seeming cog swaps when in Sport or Sport Plus modes, whether computer- or human-controlled.

While this engine is nowhere near as aurally compelling as the older V8, it certainly breathes better in our air, and flings the Porsche down the road with the expected velocity often lacking in the predecessor at lower RPMs. While no independent testing has been released, it feels like a mid-4 second car, which is to be expected at its price point; V8 Turbo and Turbo S models will no doubt rival the latest Tesla for fastest accelerating sedan honors.

The Panamera feels special just cruising in Normal, with a stiffly controlled yet generally supple ride, superb electric-assist steering, feelsome brakes and a coiled readiness that explodes once the systems are ramped up in the more dynamic modes. Handling is secure yet interactive, high speed cruising quiet and refined, and long distance comfort seems excellent. Like many cars with air suspension (optional here) some high-frequency jitter filters through, but overall few will find reason to complain, even if they come out of more overtly luxurious transport.

The Porsche shrinks around the driver when driven hard; here the optional four-wheel steering shows its benefits, making directional changes

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quickly yet in a stable manner.

This new Panamera also offers a good look at Porsche’s latest safety tech, with great lane assist and tracking, emergency braking and traffic-jam assisted cruise control. These very sophisticated systems take much of the fatigue out of our typically congested commuting and bode well for next-level autonomous systems.

Porsche has some of the highest profits per vehicle of any car company. Combined with robust volumes, this means it can develop incredibly cohesive and captivating cars. Such is this new Panamera 4S.

Hybrid Vigor

A concerted, multiyear effort to improve economy and reduce the environmental impact of automobiles has created some amazing technology. While the take-rate remains low—2.5 percent of the market—for cutting-edge vehicles such as the BMW i3, Kia Niro and Toyota Prius Prime, the hardware and software that makes them such masters of mileage will trickle down to more conventional machinery over time, benefiting a significant portion of the buying public.

TOYOTA PRIUS PRIME Price as tested: $36,305

Toyota is the undisputed leader in hybrid sales with the Prius family, but only very recently has committed to the concept of plug-in models, which can run on electricity alone and whose larger and more powerful batteries can be charged from the grid.

The Prime is a stopgap until more fullyfledged Toyota models come online. It therefore doesn’t convey the pure electric vehicle (EV) experience, since it often uses its gasoline engine to supplement the electrons flowing from its 8.8kWh battery. Either way, it isn’t a quick car, with 0-60mph taking 10-12 seconds May 2017 | COLORADO AVIDGOLFER

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depending on which mode it is in.

But the Prime is otherwise actually a fun car to drive, thanks to the company’s all-new TGNA platform; it rides decently, steers sweetly and handles well. Road noise is better isolated than prior Prii, but this is still a rather loud way to get about. Toyota’s renewed focus on quality is evident in the radically colored and designed cockpit, assembled out of nice materials and full of fun details like the anodized blue bezels around the vents.

The Prime also debuts the company’s new, vertically oriented, 11.6in infotainment interface, which is fast and fairly intuitive, if lacking in brightness and resolution. The Prime loses the center back seat and some cargo capacity to the larger battery but is otherwise a more interesting option than the normal model, especially as its frontal design aspect is less willfully bizarre. The Prius Prime will recharge itself in about five hours from a normal outlet, and routinely get over 50 mpg.

KIA NIRO

KIA NIRO

Price as tested: $30,545

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The Niro comes across as a fairly conventionallooking crossover—though no AWD variant is offered. Its blocky exterior means it is incredibly practical for sole transportation duties. While not yet available as a plug-in, like the Prius, it uses a very high thermal efficiency, Atkinsoncycle four, electric motor and very advanced, lithium ion polymer battery pack design.

The Niro’s 139 system horsepower make it a bit fleeter than the Toyota. Even the lessefficient, more luxurious Touring model made mid-9 runs to 60mph. However, it feels much sprightlier than that, as it has 195lb-ft of torque to call upon.

In normal hybrid mode the interchange between the gas and electric drives isn’t handled as seamlessly as it is in the Prius— Toyota’s experience here is evident, as it is when using the regenerative braking system— but put the Niro into Sport mode and Kia’s inclusion of a twin-clutch transmission over a continuously variable one starts to make sense.

Driven in this manner, the Niro’s performance also feels more cohesive, given that the chassis and large wheels means it rides quite stiffly.

Mileage drops into the low-30s, still not bad for a “crossover,” but nowhere near the numbers achieved by less well-equipped Niros.

That’s forgiven when a hot day encourages you to turn on the ventilated seats, or use the heated steering wheel on a chilly morning. The

50

TOYOTA PRIUS PRIME

Kia UVO infotainment system is a conventional, well-resolved touch-based system, and those who choose it wont feel like they are missing out on the other luxuries in life.

BMW i3

Price as tested: $54,695 BMW’s i3 does force one to make choices; thankfully it thrills in other ways the Asian duo can’t. It is an almost perfect city car, with the ability to turn around almost on its own axis. It also offers great ride quality and a very quiet ride. The i3 has really strong off-the-line urge (0-60mph in 7 seconds but it feels faster), meaning you can punch into any available gap in heavy traffic with ease and beat everyone from the lights, along with interactive steering and kart-like feel to the handling.

But there are no power seats available (and the manual ones limit adjustments), its displays look like placeholders until something better comes along, and it gets very expensive—and has tended to depreciate—very rapidly. The 2017 model has significantly more range—both as an electric car, or in the Range Extender model, whose 2-cylinder gasoline motor adds 30-40 more miles of driving to the 33kWh battery’s 120.

The i3 is the coolest looking, nicest finished, most advanced and most entertaining of this trio, but the ferocious pace of advancement in EV tech means it almost starts to feel as obsolete as a smartphone now does after a few years.

The BMW and Toyota also can qualify from large state and federal tax incentives. This may change with the current review of automotive emissions at the EPA, so if this type of vehicle speaks to you, it might be best to act quickly.

If efficient and pragmatic transport is all that is necessary, the Kia makes a compelling alternative.

Automotive Editor Isaac Bouchard is president of Bespoke Autos (isaac@bespokeautos. com; 303-475-1462). Read more by him at coloradoavidgolfer.com and bespokeautos.com.

BMW i3

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Power to the Pueblos

Two tribal-owned golf resorts in Albuquerque and Santa Fe represent some of the best hospitality New Mexico has to offer.

ALBUQUERQUE Sandia Resort & Casino “This is for you, Albuquerque!” native son Notah Begay III shouted to the cameras after winning the 1999 Michelob Kingsmill Championship, the second of his four PGA Tour victories.

But is Albuquerque for you? If you like great golf, it certainly is. The Duke City and surrounding area boasts miles of highly regarded layouts such as Paa-Ko Ridge, Twin Warriors, Santa Ana, Isleta Eagle and the University of New Mexico Championship Course.

You’ll find Albuquerque’s top golf offering on the north side of town at the Sandia Resort & Casino. Entering its second decade, the Sandia Pueblo-owned resort— which takes its name from the beautiful watermelon-colored Sandia Mountains that dominate the resort’s eastern views —continues to the standard for luxury in Albuquerque.

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The resort’s Sandia Golf Club boasts a challenging Scott Miller-designed layout, which stretches from 5,112 to 7,755 yards and this September will again sponsor and host the $85,000 New Mexico Open. The club operates from the stunning Sandia Golf Event Center, a sprawling facility appointed with modern New Mexican décor and high end finishes. Its 5,300-square-foot ballroom divides into as many as four separate spaces, with an all-glass north wall facing the Sandias. Another collapsible glass wall erases the boundary between indoor and outdoor patios.

The Event Center spills onto a dramatic private lawn, making for an especially memorable tournament or wedding venue.

The building connects—conveniently, through the Bridal Suite/Dressing Room— to the equally magnificent Green Reed Spa and its 14 new treatment rooms and salon.

Green Reed’s encyclopedic menu of natural treatments and therapies means guests get pampered and rejuvenated in luxury.

All 228 of Sandia’s lavishly decorated rooms and suites showcase views of the city skyline or the Sandias. Sandia’s plush, 140,000-square-foot casino features myriad gaming options, and the resort’s 4,000seat outdoor Amphitheater has scheduled a rocking summer lineup featuring Train, Jason Mraz, Bush and the Tedeschi Trucks Band. On May 28, Sandia will also kick off the 7th Annual ABQ Beer Week with the ABQ Blues & Brews festival, which features

53

four blues and unlimited samples from more than 70 breweries.

Other outdoor pleasures await at Sandia’s fabulous pool and, nine stories above, at the lively rooftop patio and lounge connected to the resort’s five-star restaurant, Bien Shur. Martin Torrez’s superlative menu changes seasonally, and number of his savory appetizers—including the Gambas Torrez, a piquant combination of shrimp and chorizo—are available in the lounge.

Order up a signature watermelon-mint martini—which matches the magical color of the mountains viewed from the patio during happy hour—or choose from a selection of 20 wines at only $20 per bottle.

Sandia provides the ideal base from which to explore Albuquerque’s other culinary options, including the fabulous Scalo Northern Italian on Central Avenue and the New Mexican food mecca of El Pinto on Fourth Street in the North Valley.

Sandia Resort & Casino 30 Rainbow Rd. NE, Albuquerque sandiacasino.com; 800-526-9366 May 2017 | COLORADO AVIDGOLFER

SPECIAL ADVERTISING SECTION

SAWGRASS WEST: Buffalo Thunder’s Towa Golf Club boasts the only island green in New Mexico.

SANTA FE Buffalo Thunder Resort & Casino You don’t expect to find a former PGA Tour winner giving golf instruction in New Mexico, but Jeff Mitchell, the winner of the 1980 Phoenix Open, does precisely that at Towa Golf Club, the 27-hole facility at Santa Fe’s Hilton Buffalo Thunder Resort Casino.

Mitchell, whose first-round 66 in the ’80 Masters tied for the lead with David Graham and eventual champion Seve Ballesteros, also coached the men’s golf teams at Texas Tech and Stanford as well as the North Texas University women’s team.

He brings more than 45 years of experience and knowledge to teaching resort guests and locals, all of whom can also now benefit from the only FlightScope system in northern New Mexico.

Golfers also benefit from one of picturesque golf facilities anywhere. Framed by the Sangre de Cristo and Jemez mountains, Towa sports three nines—Piñon, Valley and Boulder—that roil dramatically through

COLORADO AVIDGOLFER | May 2017

surreal rock formations and outcroppings.

Ironically, CU alum Hale Irwin designed all but the Boulder nine, which William Phillips authored in 2001.

Thanks to a mild winter and unusually wet spring, the course greened up early and is already in tournament condition. One tournament, October 1’s Gruet Golf Classic, caps off Santa Fe Wine & Chile Fiesta, which features gourmet food and drink every third hole. “What better way to spend a Sunday afternoon,” says Director of Golf Laurie Meredith, “than eating, drinking and playing 18 holes?”

Towa always discounts golf for resort guests whether they’re staying at Buffalo Thunder or any other Santa Fe resort. But Buffalo Thunder, Santa Fe’s only golf resort, gives you every reason to stay there.

Located 14 miles north of Santa Fe’s bustling plaza, Hilton Buffalo Thunder Resort Casino brings the art and food of Santa Fe into a place far from the crowded streets. Owned by the Pojoanque pueblo, Buffalo Thunder Resort Casino proudly displays more than 400 works—including pottery, paintings, sculpture, mosaics, weavings and designs—representing every Native Tribe within New Mexico.

Pueblo pride radiates from the resort’s traditional architecture to the detailed, handmade valences and headboards in the 398 lushly furnished rooms and suites—all of which have keyless smartphone entry.

Swirls, so predominant in New Mexican Pueblo culture, manifest themselves in the

54

curving lobby that leads to the enormous casino, the décor of which echoes the curvilinear forms. They also appear in the swirling staircase that brings you to Wo’ P’in Spa, a sanctuary of indigenous healing, serenity, health and balance.

Serving mouthwatering meals and a wine list worthy of Wine Spectator Award of Excellence, Red Sage tops the list of Buffalo Thunder’s six restaurants. A more casual option—as well as a fabulous breakfast buffet and killer margarita—awaits at the Iguana Café. The resort recently added the Wine Buff at Buffalo Thunder, which offers a wide selection of liquor, beer, cigars and, of course, wine, which can be purchased by the bottle or by the glass and savored in the well-appointed wine room.

You’ll naturally find plenty of fine dining just south in downtown Santa Fe. With restaurants worthy of San Francisco, culture on par with New York’s, stores with Dallas prices and a population comparable to Loveland’s, New Mexico’s charming capital can feel like an intimate adobe wonderland.

It certainly earns its nickname as “the city different,” as there’s nothing else like it in New Mexico or the United States.

Buffalo Thunder Resort and Casino 30 Buffalo Thunder Trail , Santa Fe buffalothunderresort.com; 877-455-7775 coloradoavidgolfer.com

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Vision Quest

What, exactly is LASIK and can it help your golf game?

By MALCOLM DEAN RORY McILROY had it done. So did Tiger Woods. John Elway swears by it in commercials. And avid Colorado golfers by the thousands have reaped its benefits.

An acronym for laser-assisted in situ keratomileusis, LASIK is an outpatient refractive procedure to treat vision issues resulting from irregularities in the shape of the eyeball such as nearsightedness, farsightedness and astigmatism.

The popular procedure—more than 604,000 people in the U. S. received LASIK in 2015, according to the ophthalmic news source Market Scope—has progressed immensely during the last few years as technology has improved. Initially, LASIK utilized small thin razor blades called microkeratomes that would crisscross the cornea, and cut the top layer, which would then be folded back. This technology, however, had limited accuracy, and the more items that physically touch the eye, the greater the chance for infection.

The newer technology, WaveLight LASIK, eliminates these drawbacks. Instead of razors, it uses two cold lasers—the Femtosecond and Excimer—that cut without burning skin or tissue.

Ophthalmologist Matthew J. Robinson, M.D. of the Eye Center of Northern Colorado performs the WaveLight LASIK procedure.

It begins with an evaluation that scans the eyes for astigmatism, myopia, hyperopia, cataracts (in which case, Robinson refers the patient to a specialist) and other conditions.

A computer stores the patient’s information, which will direct the laser on which types of cuts need to be administered the following week.

With the patient lying on a table, Robinson places a speculum over one eye to hold the eyelids open. A technician adds numbing drops to the eye and then marks the eyeball with a blue marker dye to allow the laser to center itself over the pupil.

“The Femtosecond laser is first used to COLORADO AVIDGOLFER | May 2017

create the flap in the cornea, which is the clear front surface of the eye,” explains Robinson.

“The energy imparted to the eyeball forms micro-bubbles, which are sticky like Velcro.

Then the second laser—the Excimer laser— reshapes the eye to the desired correction.

Once that’s accomplished, the bubbles allow the flap to adhere to the eye, serving to promote faster healing. ” Dr. Robinson treats one eye with both lasers before starting on the patient’s second eye. “The entire procedure usually takes 20 seconds per eye with each laser,” he says.

In addition to performing these corrective surgeries, Dr. Robinson also received one. He previously wore glasses and, occasionally, contacts. He experienced many of the issues he hears his patients describe—glasses slipping off, scratches in the lenses, dirty contact lenses or contact lenses falling out.

A lifelong golfer, he has found many benefits. “LASIK gave me a much better field of view,” he explains. “The biggest difference was gaining the entire field of view of the golf course, tracking the ball and being accurate at gauging flag distance.” Improved depth perception made him more accurate at judging distances to the pin, and, he says, no longer needing corrective lenses allowed him to wear performance sunglasses, which helped him read greens better than he’d been able to read them in years.

In addition to golf, LASIK enhances other outdoor activities, such as cycling and snowboarding. The first couple of days after treatment, a patient’s eyes may feel slight irritation, like an invasive eyelash, but it goes away. “As far as vision improvement, patients will see a difference right away,” Robinson says. “It’s immediate—you can play golf the next day if you feel like it.” The eyes continue to heal, with the best results coming about a month after surgery.

The new WaveLight technology also

60

reduces the need for patients to return for additional correction. “Previous technology had six to ten percent needing enhancements after five to six years,” says Dr. Robinson.

“Now it’s pretty close to permanent, especially after WaveLight; less than one percent come back after five to six years.”

LASIK technology has made huge leaps and bounds since being approved by the FDA in 1996—and especially after WaveLight technology received approval six years ago. Lasers sound less frightening than razors, and they’re less invasive and more accurate. “Now we’re making little tweaks here and there for improvement,” says Dr. Robinson. “Who knows what technology we will see in 15 years.”

Malcolm Dean is CAG’s editorial intern. For more information on LASIK, visit aao.org. coloradoavidgolfer.com

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Get Balanced It’s about more than just standing on a wobble board.

HOW MANY TIMES have you heard about the “balanced finish” in golf? But you can’t finish balanced if you have trouble starting there. Balance results from several body sensorimotor systems working together: visual (eyes), vestibular (inner ear) and proprioception (the body’s sense of where it is in space).

Any impairment can lead to a lack of balance.

VISUAL: Our vision deteriorates as we age, and all forms of reduced vision affect balance. According to a 2013 UC-Davis study of 4,590 adults aged 40 or older, participants with visual impairment and those with uncorrected refractive error had significantly higher rates of falling. Poor vision compromises the vestibular-ocular reflex that keeps us constantly stable.

WHAT TO DO: Get your eyes checked often and make sure your glasses or con-

tacts are the correct prescription. People with vision issues can do exercises to address balance and joint stabilization. Visit visionaware.org for dozens of exercises.

VESTIBULAR: During the 2015 U.S. Open Jason Day famously suffered from Benign Paroxysmal Positional Vertigo (BPPV). This is a common vestibular disorder, in which dislodged calcium carbonate crystals enter fluid canals and cause the inner ear to send false signals to the brain, which lead to dizziness and nausea. Another common disorder is mal de debarquement—or what we know as “sea legs.” This illusion of movement can last hours or days, so it’s best not to play golf immediately after disembarking from a boat, rough flight or drive down a twisting road.

WHAT TO DO: For any suspected vestibular issues—dizziness, disorientation—con-

sult an otolaryngologist. In the case of BPPV, a doctor or specialist can maneuver the head and utilize gravity to guide the crystals out or return them to their appropriate chamber.

PROPRIOCEPTORS: These are the sensory nerve receptors in muscles, joint capsules and surrounding tissues that signal information to the central nervous system about position and movement of body parts. They allow us to dress in the dark and gauge our backswing without looking over our shoulder. Joint injuries, broken bones, nerve damage, poor circulation and age-related muscle deterioration weaken proprioceptors, resulting in balance loss and falls.

WHAT TO DO: See a physical therapist or trainer. A regular, progressive routine of balancing, strength and closed-eye exercises will rekindle your proprioceptive awareness.

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Pressure Pushing Down on You?

Learning to RELAX may be the most rewarding golf lesson you’ ll ever receive.

By STEPHEN WALKER, PHD THERE’S A ONE-WORD answer to why so many good golfers tend to play better in meaningless rounds than they do in championships: pressure.

Pressure tightens a golfer’s muscles, chokes off their breathing and robs them of confidence. Big-tournament pressure can make a fundamentally sound golfer feel completely out of synch after the first hole.

The biggest secret to playing well when it counts is to keep loose and calm. The more relaxed you are, the smoother your muscle function, the faster your club head speed, the better your feel, the softer your hands.

Relaxation is key to playing in synch with smooth rhythm and crisp ball striking.

Unfortunately, few golfers understand this important connection. And even those who do aren’t mentally disciplined enough to take that time to relax their muscles deeply and efficiently when they need to.

Because golf is such a result-oriented game, and the slightest bit of doubt can fill a golfer’s mind with chatter and things he or she “must do” before teeing off, most tend to start a round by putting too much pressure on themselves. “I’ve got to make the cut.” “I have to beat Bob!” “I’ve got to go low.” These kinds of pre-round thoughts will make it impossible for you to relax and, as a result, deprive you of confidence, focus and a smooth swing.

The bigger the tournament, the more important it is for you to stay cool and calm before teeing off. This should be your goal before every important event. However, too many golfers, coaches and parents don’t focus on it. They get caught up in the “outcome” goal. Outcome goals will take care of themselves if you make staying loose before your tournament your primary goal.

Now that I’ve told you something you probably already know, what can you actually do to stay calm when the heat of competition is turned up really high? coloradoavidgolfer.com

1. STRETCH. It’s a great way to calm yourself and stay loose as long as you focus entirely on your stretching. Visualize your muscles getting warm, supple and relaxed as you also “breathe” into them.

2. FOCUS ON YOU. Paying attention to your competition will raise your level of nervousness. Limit your conscious awareness to those things you control.

3. TALK WITH TEAMMATES/FRIENDS. If hanging with your buds before a tournament distracts you from thinking too much about the event, make that an important part of your pre-round ritual. Avoid the “coach” who wants to psych you up.

4. GET A READ. Have some inspirational quotations or witty reminders that golf is a game—not mortal combat—taped on your bag or inside your hat.

5. LISTEN TO MUSIC. Be sure your pre-round tunes calm you and don’t amp you up. Let them aid you in finding your perfect rhythm and focusing your relaxation.

6. DISTRACT YOURSELF. Before teeing off, many golfers think too much about their event, a part of their game, or their opponents—and work themselves up at the worst possible time. Find other pre-round distractions like chirping birds.

7. GO SOMEWHERE RELAXING MENTALLY. I teach many of my golfer patients to go to a “safe place” in their mind’s eye—a beach, vacation spot or childhood home. If you mentally practice visiting this special place at night before bed, it will be available to you on any day….especially tournament day.

8. BREATHE DIAPHRAGMATICALLY. It is physiologically impossible to freak out if you are “belly breathing.” Sit quietly, inhale through your nose to a slow count of 4, pause, then exhale through your mouth to a little

63

faster count of 7 or 8. As you do this, focus on the rise and fall of your diaphragm. Practice this at home for four minutes a repetition, 10 times a day. When under pressure, one or two of these breaths will then help you chill out.

9. PRACTICE YOUR ROUTINES. Subject yourself to “pressure situations” and require yourself to become centered, loose and focused before you hit your next shot.

These pressure situations can be “recall” of a

situation you’ve already played.

Don’t underestimate the ability to relax, channeling that neuromuscular sensation into every muscle in the body. Those who make relaxation a daily ritual and incorporate some specific relaxation techniques throughout their warm-up and during their rounds can and will perform their best.

Relaxation separates those who choke under pressure from the champions. It’s a learned skill, just like you the knockdown shot—only the times you need to summon it are far more frequent than the times you need to hit it low.

Reach Boulder-based sports psychologist Dr. Stephen E. Walker at 303-530-4439 or drstephenwalker@gmail.com.

May 2017 | COLORADO AVIDGOLFER

Blow Up Your Game Explosive exercises lead to powerfully long golf shots. By DILLON JOHNSON

COLORADO AVIDGOLFER | May 2017

phase (while the muscle is lengthening under load) of the exercise but accelerate with intensity when performing the concentric phase (exertion portion). These all-out efforts should result in only performing 6-8 repetitions of each exercise, per side.

Plyometrics are a great simple example of power and speed training.

This stimulus or training protocol activates muscle fibers specific to explosivity (type IIB fibers), uses energy system specific to explosivity (ATP-PC Energy System) and teaches our nervous system to coordinate efficient, powerful movements. Adaptations occur in all these areas, and we become a player capable of new levels of club head speed, distance, and consistency.

For each of these exercises, do 2-3 sets of 6-8 repetitions per side with 90-120 seconds rest between sets.

PHOTOGRAPHS BY TANJA MELONE

“WHAT DO I need to do to hit the ball further?” is one of the most frequent questions I am asked as a Performance Golf Fitness Specialist—and it’s a loaded one.

The answer clearly depends on the client. For a lean, hyper-mobile high-school player, I would recommend developing joint stability and overall body strength. For a 75-year-old player with limited range of motion, I would likely increase mobility and specifically teach their nervous system how to work in an explosive manner (a skill that often declines with age). Between these extremes are clients of varying ages, fitness levels, health and abilities.

Every player is different, and I take that into account before strategizing an optimal plan for power and clubhead speed development. I can, however, offer some general guidance towards making you a more powerful player.

My first bit of advice is to make sure you have spent plenty of time in Golf Training Phases 1 & 2, which have appeared in the previous two May issues and online. (Visit coloradoavidgolfer.com/magazine/magazinearchive.)

Those phases concern developing stability, mobility and strength—which, for performance and safety reasons, are essential before diving into Power Training.

When training for power we want to choose exercises that are very short in duration but are explosive, high- paced, fullout efforts. You want to be fairly slow and in control when you load into the eccentric

1. HANDS OVER SHOULDERS, SQUAT HOPS • Cross your arms over your chest and place your hands on your shoulders with feet hip width apart.

• Slowly lower your hips towards the ground until you feel you have reached your maximum depth.

• Explosively jump from this bottom position.

• Land softly and absorb down into your next repetition.

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2. NO-BOUNCE MEDICINE BALL OVERHEAD SMASH • Start with your feet about hip width apart.

• Slowly lift your no-bounce medicine ball overhead until your arms and body are fully extended.

• Using your arms and core, throw the ball on the floor as hard as possible between your legs.

• Let your hips travel down into a squat position as you throw and pick up from this position for your next repletion.

3. NO-BOUNCE MEDICINE BALL SIDE-STEP GOLF THROW • Start with your stance perpendicular to a concrete wall with your feet together.

• Step laterally towards the wall.

• During this lateral step, coil with your upper body into a backswinglike motion with the ball.

• When your lead foot plants down, accelerate and throw the ball as hard as possible at the wall. Catch the ball and repeat.

4. SIDE STEP LIGHT CLUB SWOOSH (about 10-15% lighter than your normal iron)

• Performing your swing with a slightly lighter object at full effort on both your dominant side and offside can provide great increases in clubhead speed.

• Start with your feet together, club in address position.

• Step laterally. When your lead foot plants swing at your greatest effort looking for the loudest “swoosh” you can make with the club just past where ball impact would be.

• Repeat.

coloradoavidgolfer.com

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May 2017 | COLORADO AVIDGOLFER

PHOTOGRAPHS BY TANJA MELONE

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• Slowly coil your torso as if you were rotating into a backswing.

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A co-owner/partner of RallySport in Boulder, Dillon Johnson serves as director of golf and customer service. A PGA Professional, he is a Certified Personal Trainer and a Titleist Performance Institute Golf Fitness Specialist Level 3. rallysportboulder.com; 303-928-9007. coloradoavidgolfer.com

Suspended Play REDCORD THERAPY can reduce hang-ups after injury or surgery—and make you stronger and more flexible. By MALCOLM DEAN

MARK RUNYAN, a 68-year-old golfer who looks ten years younger, is recovering from a full ball-and-socket left hip replacement— including his femur—performed November 10th, 2016. A 1.5 handicap, Runyan also had his right hip replaced in 2000. After his first hip replacement, Runyan went with traditional physical therapy. “It took too long to recover, and I wasn’t seeing results,” he remembers. “This time I wanted physical therapy that was golfspecific, so I found Nick.”

Nick Holm, a Titleist Performance Institute (TPI)certified physical therapist at ActivCore in Denver, uses Redcord, the zero gravity suspension exercise system developed 25 years ago for physical rehabilitation, sports performance and injury prevention. Using pulleys and slings to offload body weight, Redcord eliminates the compensatory muscle patterns impeding recovery from injuries and surgeries.

“If you’re able to have the right muscles working without compensations, you gain mobility,” Holm says. “With conventional training and rehab, as you strengthen your muscles, you often lose mobility. With Redcord this doesn’t happen.”

The system allows therapists like Holm to treat and train golfers of all ages— including, and especially, older ones.

“With the Redcord physical therapy I was back to hitting balls in six weeks,” Runyan says, “As of February 27, I hit balls for an hour, went through a whole bag. I started therapy with Nick three days per week, then two, now I’m down to one.”

According to Holm, Redcord therapy works neuromuscularly to isolate the muscles that need to be strengthened.

“It’s not one-dimensional training,” Holm coloradoavidgolfer.com

explains. “It allows strengthening in multiple directions, and movements making the most of your therapy.” During one session, while suspended in the air on his right side, Runyan used his surgically repaired left side to pull himself up, conditioning the muscles weakened after surgery. Holm gradually increased resistance, promoting greater strengthening and conditioning.

Additionally, this exercise, according to

back pain. The findings suggest that Redcord hip exercises for lumbar instability provide better recovery and reduction of low-back pain than conventional therapies do.

Additional studies looked at maximum club head velocities in junior competitive golfers. The training was split into two groups—one using conventional training; the other with Redcord Sling Exercise Training (SET). The trial concluded that the Redcord therapy increased the maximum club-head ON THE ROPES: Redcord therapist Nick speed of junior competitive Holm trains a client. golfers. This translated into a 11- to 16-yard increase in drive distance compared to that achieved using conventional therapies.

“Most of my clients come to me for rehab, but more are coming for performance,” Holm explains. “For example, a lot of golfers with tight hamstrings stretch and stretch and never get loose.

A common reason is they’re not engaging their glutes or the abdominals that Holm, isolates the muscles used during golf stabilize their pelvis.” Isolating those muscles to improve stability. on the Redcord and doing exercises and “If there’s a weakness or injury, it alters treatments, Holm can loosen those hammies your neuromuscular control,” Holm explains. because they no longer have to compensate.

“The Redcord system allows me to isolate Muscular inefficiencies caused by pain the muscles, joints and tendons that need or injury naturally rob golf swings of their strengthening and stabilizing. It puts them power. Holm strings up his clients to restore in an unstable situation that prevents other it. After surgery, Runyan admits his biggest muscles from compensating. That provides concern was losing distance, but, he says, neuromuscular feedback and reeducation. he’s again hitting drives in the 270-yard We reboot the muscles. We defrag you.” range like he was doing pre-surgery. Runyan Independent medical studies support says he no longer has any lower back or hip the Redcord approach. One evaluated the pain and returned to playing competitively range of hip motion between a lumbar in late March, four months after surgery. He instability group and lumbar stability group carded a 74 in one of his first rounds. using the Owestry Disability Index and Visual Analog Scale to determine the level Malcolm Dean is CAG’s editorial intern. ActivCore is located in Cherry Creek. Contact Nick Holm at of disability, along with the severity of low- nholm@activcore.com or 303-395-2931.

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May 2017 | COLORADO AVIDGOLFER

The

X Factor

HIGH-TECH HEALING: Mazor X uses robotics and 3D imaging for precise spinal surgery.

MAZOR X, a revolutionary spine-surgery system, has arrived in Colorado—and only one hospital has it.

By JON RIZZI

COLORADO AVIDGOLFER | May 2017

things worse,” says Michael Mulder, a 49-year-old Aurora resident who last year started to experience stabbing pains in his lower back and buttocks area. Mulder initially ascribed it to his active lifestyle that included golf and frequent hikes in the national parks. But with a family history of spinal stenosis, he suspected that, like his mother and siblings, he was also beginning to experience a degenerative narrowing of the spine.

A visit to the orthopedist last June confirmed his suspicion. “My L3 and L4 vertebrae were pressing together, pinching off the nerves,” Mulder remembers. In September, he received the first of three

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THE BACKBONE: Phil Jaklich (second from left) and the team at Sky Ridge Spine and Total Joint Center. team.

cortisone injections, “and to the doctor’s surprise, I got no relief.” With surgery as the only option, the orthopedist referred him to the Sky Ridge Spine and Total Joint Center at Sky Ridge Medical Center in Lone Tree.

Having watched family members endure and recover from major spine surgeries, a somewhat apprehensive Mulder was intrigued when Neurosurgeon Brent Kimball, MD told him about the Mazor X—a technologically advanced surgical guidance system that employs digital data analysis, robotics and 3D modeling for precise, predictable and minimally invasive spine surgery.

On February 15, 2017, Sky Ridge became the first hospital in Colorado—and a 10-state region—to use the Mazor X. Exactly one month later, Mulder underwent spinal fusion surgery.

So what’s so amazing about the Mazor X? “The thing about the Mazor X is it’s an adjunct for more accurate diagnosis and planning,” explains Phil Jaklich, director of the Spine and Total Joint Center at Sky Ridge Medical Center. “Its pre-operative analytics suite of tools allows the surgeon to match up a CT scan and overlay it with an x-ray to create a 3D model of the affected area and map out a precise surgical plan for different spine angles.”

The surgeon programs the plan into the Mazor X system. When the plan moves into coloradoavidgolfer.com

PHOTOGRAPHS COURTESY OF SKY RIDGE SPINE AND TOTAL JOINT CENTER

MEDIAL EPICONDYLITIS may be better known as “golfer’s elbow,” but as those who play the game can attest, golf attacks another region of the body with far more frequency.

Back pain is endemic to a sport that requires repeated torquing of your torso while maintaining the same spine angle.

The range of resultant problems—from tissue inflammation to muscle strains to nerve impingements to arthritis to compressed, herniated and degenerative discs—pretty much defies defining a single “golfer’s back” condition. The variety of treatments therefore varies accordingly.

“I tried chiropractic, acupuncture and stretching, but they only seemed to make

procedure, the Mazor X’s intra-operative guidance follows the plan precisely as it assists the surgeon robotically and also provides real-time verification by comparing the performance to the plan with 3D imaging tools and data-enabled tracking technology.

The precision with which the Mazor X accomplishes all this greatly reduces the amount of tissue and muscle damage that can occur during delicate spinal surgery.

This results in less post-operative soreness, fewer complications, shorter recovery times and hospital stays.

“The incision was less than an inch, and the precision with where they put in the screws was micronic,” Mulder marvels.

“I was walking around the block within a week.” He went back to work two weeks after that, and less than a month removed from surgery, he started physical therapy to regain muscle mass in his core. As of April 12, his pain relief regimen consisted of two Tylenol a day. Tee times are coming.

The success of Mulder’s surgery is immensely gratifying but not surprising to Jaklich, who praises the Mazor X’s capabilities not only surgically but also diagnostically—it sometimes precludes the need for surgery. “We like to have the big picture,” he says. “Can it be treated with physical therapy? Injections? Diet? Exercise?

We focus on health, movement and mobility.

For someone with an apparent structural issue, we’ll make a recommendation depending on how active they are.”

Activity levels in Colorado are high, notes Jaklich. The average age of patients has dropped from around 60 to early 50s, not only because people engage in more activities, but they want to keep doing them into their golden years.

“We’re part of their retirement planning,” he says. “Most people aren’t willing to give up activities just because of pain in their spine and joints. They’re okay with modifying their pursuits, but if they physically can’t do something like ski or play golf—or play with their kids or grandchildren—they’d rather get surgery than give it up.”

And when they do, they know that the Mazor X system—and the Sky Ridge team of neurosurgeons and orthopedic surgeons who use it—will get them back to their lives faster.

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303.388.6050 For more information, or to make an appointment, visit SkyRidgeSpineSurgery.com or call 720-624-4906 to schedule an appointment. coloradoavidgolfer.com

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Official Document Solution Provider of Colorado Avid Golfer Magazine

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May 2017 | COLORADO AVIDGOLFER

Start Low to Go Low To build a better golf game, you have to start from the bottom up. By DEE TIDWELL The dominant weakness in every golfer I’ve ever worked with is posture.

Posture isn’t just about standing straight. It’s the ability to maintain a position for an extended time, while allowing the prime movers to create locomotion.

Why do golfers struggle with posture? Most of you spend, on average, 11-12 hours per day seated—at a desk, in a car, at a meal, in front of TV. Yet every time you show up at the range or first tee you expect to play better just because you had a lesson.

Sitting negatively influences your body and doesn’t promote proper golf posture. To build a proper posture with a hip hinge, you literally need to start from the bottom with your lower body. It is the foundation of your posture and source of mobility and power.

Done in sequence, these five exercises will help your posture, your posture will help these exercises, and it all will help your golf game.

1. BENT-KNEE CRAWL: FORWARD/BACKWARD/ SIDE-TO-SIDE

• Get on your hands and toes with your toes bent and wrists under your shoulders.

• Make your arms and thighs vertical and maintain them in that position throughout.

Few golfers focus on properly preparing the feet and ankles to deal with ground reaction forces and the transfer of energy up to the head and back down to the ground. The following exercise can also help encourage joint circulation and hydration of the synovial fluid—the “WD-40” for joints—within each of these joints.

• Bring your feet and knees together and place your hands on top of knees.

• Perform a clockwise circular pattern for the recommended reps and counterclockwise way for the same.

• Lastly, perform figure eights both ways for allotted reps.

Perform 10-20 reps each side, and in the figure eight movement.

• Perform 6-10 reps each side and do 2-3 sets.

• Crawl with small arm moves and push off from your toes with no leg movement.

Perform 10-20 steps per side, one to three sets.

2. SINGLE-LEG DEAD LIFT WITH FOOT ON BENCH The dead lift is one of the best hip-hinge exercises you can perform. Using just one leg increases the difficulty and challenge. It will strengthen your hip hinge using the gluteus and and your lateral glutes. It will also help prevent a sway or slide in your golf swing.

• Place a foot on a bench.

• Make sure your hips are square, and be sure to keep them square, just like in your address stance.

• Keep your chest up and keep your balance leg knee soft like in your address posture.

• Hinge forward from your hips, keeping your lower back flat or unchanged from the start position.

COLORADO AVIDGOLFER | May 2017

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PHOTOGRAPHS BY TANJA MELONE

This “primal movement” taps into the crawling pattern of an infant. When bent, the knee is a big stabilizer, while the hip helps to stabilize the leg, ankle and foot move in a functional pattern. This exercise also helps create trunk, shoulder, arm and hip stability

3. KNEE CIRCLES

4. CLOCK SINGLE LEG SQUAT AND REACH I love this exercise for golf athletes because it challenges the mobility of the hip joints, the flexibility of the hips, balance, coordination and stability through the entire body. Many golfers—especially men—don’t have very good awareness of where their body is in space, and this exercise helps tap into the conscious awareness of where exactly each part of your body is.

• Start by keeping a good neutral spine with chest upright, head neutral and abs firm.

• Pretend you are standing on top of a clock and 12:00 is in front of you.

• Step out and tap your foot on every hour and a half: 12:00, 1:30, 3:00, 4:30, 6:00, 7:30, 9:00, 10:30 and back to 12.

• Pay attention to the toe taps of 10:30, 12:00 and 1:30. They are different because for those three you will simply squat down, extend the working leg and tap the heel toward those times on the clock.

• For the rest, reach with a straight working leg and simply tap each of the times and return back to the standing position.

• Be sure to watch the kneecap of the non-reaching leg—that it tracks over the second toe, and that the same heel stays on the floor.

Doing the right and left leg around the clock is considered one rep. Perform 1 to 4 reps around the clock going both directions. Do 1-3 sets.

5. CABLE/BAND IN-POSTURE HIP TURN Directly related to posture is “separation.” You’ve all been told to “separate your lower body from your upper body,” especially in the downswing. This drill teaches you how to turn your pelvis “onto” the backswing leg and then through impact “onto” the target leg.

• If you do this at the gym, use a cable machine set up to chest height. If you do this at home, grab a light resistance band and close the one end into a door, then grab the other end. Align it to about chest height.

• Get into a golf posture—you know, hip hinge, knees soft but not too bent, chest up, chin slightly tucked , equal pressure on your legs and feet, a little more pressure into your heels than your fore-foot • Grab the handle with the hand that’s farthest away from the origination point of the cable or band, and with straight arms, hold it in front of you about six inches above where you’d hold your club.

10:30

12:00

• Now, with straight elbows, hold the handle still and begin to slowly rotate your pelvis underneath your torso.

• Keep your arms and torso still while your pelvis turns onto your right leg (femur to be specific) and then turn your pelvis onto your left leg, all while maintaining perfect posture. This, my friends, is called separation!

Perform- 12-20 reps each direction, and do 2-3 sets.

You can also use this as part of your golf practice or playing warm-up!

7:30

9:00

Dee Tidwell is the owner of Colorado Golf Fitness Club, the state’s only golf fitness studio, located in the Denver Tech Center. He is a level 3 TPI professional, Soma Golf Trainer and muscle therapist. Reach him at 303-883-0435; dee@coloradogolffitnessclub.com

6:00 coloradoavidgolfer.com

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Blind Shot

PHOTOGRAPH BY VICTOR ARANGO

THE UNSEEN GAME

Shot Maker Creating a cover with impact.

STUDIO PHOTOGRAPHY has for me always been about finding the perfect balance between movement and stillness. The model moves. I move. And when the shot feels right, I freeze it in time. Nude photography amplifies this experience by celebrating the form of the human body. Enter the visionaries at Colorado AvidGolfer with a challenging assignment for the cover of their annual fitness issue: a naked golfer. We put him in the impact position for obvious “fig leaf” reasons, but also because the photograph itself—no American golf magazine, to the best of anyone’s knowledge, has ever featured a nude man on its cover—makes an impact. To get us there, tactfully, took a great team: lighting maestro Daniel Hirsh; Dillon Johnson, our unflappable golf professional (far left); and Jason Bowen, the agreeable model who “dropped trou” and on whose “equipment” I would have to fixate in order to make sure you didn’t.

Such are the sacrifices one makes for art—and history.

—Victor Arango/studiocandela.com

COLORADO AVIDGOLFER | May 2017

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