Forethoughts
WE GIVE A DIME
PHOTOGRAPH BY JO ANNE HARADA
Life in the Key of Golf
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FOR THE THIRD consecutive year, our August issue celebrates “the good life,” which also means for the third straight year, I find myself constantly singing that classic lounge tune by the same name. “Singing” might be a generous description, judging from an exchange with my golf buddy Bob. Me: Oh the good life, to be free and explore the unknown. Bob: Who does that song? Me: Tony Bennett. Bob: Let’s keep it that way. Ouch. I mean, it’s not like I was crooning during his backswing. Not until then, anyway. His ensuing struggles off the tee thus prompted the following exchange: Me: What’d you do with the money? Bob: What money? Me: The money your mother gave you for golf lessons. And so it went—the two of us cracking up each other, making long putts and missing short ones on a course that wouldn’t appear on anyone’s bucket list. A few post-round brews, some nachos and hot wings, and we were living the good life—or at least the “Life is Good” t-shirt version of it. This issue presents a decidedly more aspirational ideal. In the case of cover subject Brent Handler, it’s also an inspired one. His Denver-based destination club, Inspirato (Italian for inspired), translates into highly personalized, memory-making travel experiences for roughly 15,000 members. More than 900 luxury vacation options comprise Inspirato’s global collection, with destinations from Vail to Vietnam and full-on “experiences” ranging from Arctic expeditions to attending the Masters. As CAG Contributor Kim McHugh discovers on page 48, Handler’s personal journey hasn’t taken him far from the city in which he grew up. He graduated from the University of Colorado and lives not far from his childhood home in Southmoor Park. However, his experiences founding two successful destination-club companies here—Exclusive Resorts and Inspirato—suggest a perspective that’s anything but provincial. And as a member at both Colorado Golf Club and Glenmoor Country Club, the 13-handicap is also well along on his journey to get into the single digits. Contributor Andy Bigford’s profile of another good-life purveyor, Bob Parsons, appears on page 56. With his earring, tattoos and love of Harley-Davidsons, the 66-year-old Arizona billionaire has shaken up the staid golf world with his nontraditional proprietorship of the exclusive 45-hole Scottsdale National Golf Club and creation of the high-end equipment manufacturer PXG (Parsons Extreme Golf). On the market less than two years, PXG clubs have found their way into the bags of dozens of touring pros, including major winners Zach Johnson and Lydia Ko, and enjoyed brisk sales in Colorado and around the world. In addition, this year’s good-life coverage delivers some sought-after cars, fashion, restaurants, wines and information about the new TPC Colorado. I’ve long said you can’t spell good life without g-o-l-f. So whether your version of it involves teeing off in an exotic destination, arriving at the club in a plush sports car or just snagging one of the 21 discounts that begin on page 15, this issue should strike a chord. Feel free to sing along. — JON RIZZI
38 LOCATIONS FROM DENVER TO DURANGO INCLUDING THE DENVER NEIGHBORHOODS OF CHERRY CREEK AND UNION STATION
COLORADO AVIDGOLFER | August/September 2017
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