Spring 2016: Colorado AvidGolfer

I S PLU M CR E E K B ACK ? • Y E L LOW ST ON E CLU B R E DU X

Elevating the Game.

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a Side in Arizona

THE SPRING TRAINING GOLF GUIDE

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Tournament Tips VieVage Los Cabos: Mexico’s Next Great Place

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CONTENTS | Spring 2016

FEATURES

75 2016 CAGGY Awards Nearly 4,000 votes determined Colorado's foremost courses, clubs, instructors and destinations.

84 90

DEPARTMENTS 8 Forethoughts

38 Gear

By Jon Rizzi

By Jon Rizzi

It Happens Every Spring.

10 ’net Score

Your golf resolutions, Golf Passport, Rickie Fowler's high-tops.

14 The Gallery

Plum Creek's renaissance, GolfTEC at Family Sports, CWGA Award winners, Colorado Golf Club's USGA event, more.

114 The Games of Golf

Celebrating women of a certain age.

PLAYER’S CORNER

PXG's debut line sets a new standard.

43 Fareways

740 Front Street in Louisville.

By Gary James

48 Tapping In

A Three-Putt worth having.

By Cody Gabbard

52 Nice Drives

Jaguar XF, Subaru Forester 2.0 XT and Nissan Maxima SL.

By Isaac Bouchard

By Elizabeth C. Wheeler

30 Play Away

ON THE COVER

By Eric Levin

Telluride Golf & Ski Club

36 Lesson

CAGGY Winner, Best Western Slope Private Club.

Hole 17. Photograph by Dick Durrance II/ Drinker-Durrance Photography.

How five balls stop three-putts.

By Jerry Walters COLORADO AVIDGOLFER | Spring 2016

90 Developed by the same Colorado company behind Cabo's über-luxe Esperanza, VieVage Los Cabos adds golf, watersports and family-friendliness to the equation. By Jon Rizzi

SPECIAL SECTIONS

59

Spring Training A golfer's guide to courses, resorts and restaurants in Arizona. Plus: A Grapefruit League Primer.

The Passion of AlRuth Toney.

Affordable Palm Beach.

Montana’s renascent Yellowstone Club boasts private powder and a world-class golf course designed by Tom Weiskopf, who was forever transformed by the experience. By Andy Bigford

Mexico's Next Great Place

SIDE BETS

27 Profile

Rocky Mountain Redemption

4

97 Tournament Guide Advice for planners and players in charity golf events. coloradoavidgolfer.com

PHOTOGRAPHS BY FRANCISCO ESTRADA PHOTOGRAPHY (FAR LEFT); JAMIE SCHWABEROW, CLARKSON CREATIVE

27

LAND ROVER

DENVER

Spring 2016 | Volume 14, Number 8 publisher

A llen J. Walters editor

Jon Rizzi SALES, MARKETING & ADVERTISING associate publisher

Chris Phillips account manager

Vivian Keesling digital and social media manager

Michael Petrelli

office and operations manager

Cindy Palmer

projects and special events manager

Ryan McLean

ART & EDITORIAL art director

Jani Duncan Smith editor - at- large

Tom Ferrell

automotive editor

Isaac Bouchard contributors

Sam Adams, E.J. Carr, Tony Dear, Denny Dressman, Sue Drinker, Dick Durrance II, Chris Duthie, Gar y James, Ted Johnson, Kaye W. Kessler, Todd Langley, Kim D. McHugh, Jerr y Walters principals

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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 14, Number 8. 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 © 2016 by Baker-Colorado Publishing, LLC. All rights reserved. Reproduction without permission is prohibited.

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COLORADO AVIDGOLFER | Spring 2016

7:28 AM

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’net Score INFO | BLOGS | DIALOG

co lor ad

LUCKY MAN: Facebook Monthly Contest winner Coble Thurman and sons.

Golf Resolutions

WE ASKED YOU to tell us your 2016 golf resolutions. Our favorites are below. Join our Facebook community at facebook.com/ColoradoAvidGolfer to enter monthly contests for great golf giveaways.

“Simply to get better throughout the year by pushing myself outside of my comfort zone!”– Taylor Osieczanek “Each stroke is better, little by little.

And maybe if I’m lucky play one of my bucket list courses.” – David Harris “Hit a consistent draw. Play more courses, that’s why I got the Passport.”

– Tobin Benham “1.2 this year, so I can try to play in a local US Open qualifier!”

– Louis Oviedo “Started last year at a 30 handicap and ended at 10. This year I’ll be a 6 or better!!!” – James Jordan “Committed to taking lessons (finally) and practicing this year. Better golf ahead” – James McDonald “Breaking 80 consistently. Manage courses better.” – Ryan Flores

“To know my “Time Zone”...not to think about my past or future performance... stay focused in the moment! Share the enjoyment of the game!”

– Coble Thurman “Cutting my swing thoughts from a dozen to one or two.” – James Booth “To constantly be positive and not allow negative thoughts to affect my rounds. It’s all mental.”

– Wesley Bowerman

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Play More Colorado Courses in 2016 OUR POPULAR Golf Passport gives you the opportunity to play more Colorado courses than ever in 2016. The 63 courses in this year’s program span the state, and we want to see where you’re playing! Share photos of your round on social media and use the hashtag #GolfPassport.

“Short game!!!!” – John Ewing “To have more fun times with my 3 sons and to get a hole in one!”

– Laurie Padrnos Weston “In looking at the list of top 100 golf courses in the world, I haven’t played any. My resolution is to pick at least 1 each year and have a golf trip with my golf buddies.” – David Minton

“To play once a week and always at a different CO course!”

– Daniel Cleaver Burdette

Rickie’s High-Tops RICKIE FOWLER debuted some new kicks at this January’s Hyundai Tournament of Champions that set the golf world abuzz. Love ‘em?

Hate ‘em? Chime in on our Facebook, Twitter and Instagram channels.

COLORADO AVIDGOLFER | Spring 2016

10

PASSPORT CHECK: Broomfield’s Omni Interlocken Golf Club.

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experienceMesquite Special offers at Conestoga

Conestoga Golf Club is ranked as one of the “Best Courses You Can Play In Nevada” by Golfweek, and Mesquite’s only Troon Golf® experience is the perfect destination for your winter foursome, group outing or buddy trip. Visit www.ConestogaGolf.com/CAG to access exclusive offers for Colorado Avid Golfer readers.

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The Gallery NEWS | NOTES | NAMES

Plum Creek Rises Again Can “the Bear Dance way” return the former TPC to glory? By Jon Rizzi

TO DYE FOR AGAIN: Plum Creek’s crosstied 12th and 18th holes.

REMEMBER WHEN Plum Creek Golf Club was a plum course? Opened in Castle Rock in the spring of 1984 as one of the PGA Tour’s first Tournament Players Clubs, the private country club with the 40,000-square-foot clubhouse boasted an exacting Pete Dye layout whose three waterlined finishing holes rivaled the stoutest closing stretches anywhere. TPC Plum Creek hosted The Denver Post Champions of Golf—a Senior PGA Tour event—from 1984 to 1987, and the first two Colorado Senior Opens, in 1999 and 2000.

But the fortunes of the club would mirror those of the oil and gas markets of the late 1980s.

The Tour got out, and ownership and management changed often over the ensuing decades. So did the club’s status; the one-time members-only club went from private to public to fully private to semiprivate to public, largely in response to increased competition from better-conditioned daily-fee rivals such as The Ridge at Castle Pines North (1997), Red Hawk Ridge Golf Course (1999) and The Golf Club at Bear Dance (2002). By 2013, coloradoavidgolfer.com

Plum Creek was filing for bankruptcy protection.

Now Plum Creek’s future looks brighter than ever. Southwest Greens, the owners of Bear Dance, bought the club out of bankruptcy and took ownership on January 2, 2015. They immediately set about establishing what Plum Creek’s PGA Head Professional Bo Heidrick—who held the same position at the Southwest-managed Dave Pelz Short Course at Cordillera—calls “the Bear Dance way.” That meant an entire upgrade of the golf experience: the pro shop, customer relations, dining and, especially, the condition of the course, which suffered from an anachronistic hydraulic irrigation system and limited water supply.

Given those restrictions, new Plum Creek Superintendent Justin Fischer applied what he’d learned as assistant to Bear Dance’s Dave Cahalane. Fischer revived the tees and greens and improved the fairways to conditions they hadn’t seen in years. And they’ll only get better.

When the snow thaws, Plum Creek will punch a new well—the water from which will flow through

13

Spring 2016 | COLORADO AVIDGOLFER

The Gallery

GolfTEC Family Values WELL DONE: The Chophouse at Plum Creek.

a thoroughly modernized and computerized irrigation system. Immediate plans also call for redoing all bunkers and bulldozing and rebuilding the practice range. Updates to the crumbling cart paths and parking lots will also take place.

Within a few years, Heidrick says, the drafty, dated clubhouse will likely come down as well, replaced by a structure with a smaller footprint.

“I’m sure we’ll still have the great sunset views,” he says.

They’ll also still have The Chophouse at Plum Creek, a swank steakhouse which opened in November, the day after the course closed for the season. “It was supposed to be the worst time to open a restaurant, but it’s been a success,” Heidrick says. Bear Dance chef Michael Hendricks’ menu includes mini-Beef Wellington appetizers,

steaks with sauce enhancements and a killer Korubuta pork chop. Originally open Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights, the Chophouse in January added Wednesday to meet demand.

“In addition to the off-season income, the restaurant is a way to keep our staff together,” Heidrick says.

Plum Creek’s 2016 tee time pricing maxes at $56 during the week and $69 on weekends, including cart. “We’re very much a public facility with member options and treat you well,” Heidrick says. Annual memberships range between $1,800 and $4,450 and include discounted rounds at Bear Dance.

“There are some diehard members who have played here for years,” Heidrick says. “It’s so gratifying to see them excited about what we’re doing.” plumcreekgolf.com

AS OF FEBRUARY 1, GolfTEC has taken over all private and group lessons at Centennial’s Family Sports Center. “We’re excited,” says GolfTEC CEO and Co-Founder Joe Assell about the company’s first outdoor Colorado location. C.J. Parry will head up a team of instructors, the number of which may increase based on demand. They will all employ GolfTEC’s proprietary technology in an outdoor setting using iPads. “We have five other locations around the country that are doing this,” explains Assell, “and we already started doing a little of it at Family Sports last year.”

Located less than a half-mile from GolfTEC corporate headquarters, Family Sports will continue to run its own junior camps and other programs, but GolfTEC instructors will handle groups and individuals. “It’s another step in our development,” says Assell, who has seen the indoor biofeedback-based instruction company he started in Denver 20 years ago grow to more than 185 worldwide locations. “We know people need to see real ball flight, so all our learning centers have a relationship with a range. At Family Sports, we have the ability to bring the whole GolfTEC experience outdoors.” golftec.com

Golf with a purpose

A place for all and all the game teaches.

www.commongroundgc.com | 303-340-1520 COLORADO AVIDGOLFER | Spring 2016

© 2016

CommonGround features a Tom Doak-designed18-hole championship course, a short course devoted to junior golf and community programs and the CGA’s promise of affordable and inclusive golf.

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The Gallery

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Subscribe to our newsletter at coloradoavidgolfer.com text COGOLF to 22828 to sign up!

COLORADO AVIDGOLFER | Spring 2016

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AMATEUR OURS: A U.S.G.A. championship comes to CGC in 2019.

U.S. Mid-Am Coming COLORADO GOLF CLUB, which during its brief existence has already hosted major PGA and LPGA tournaments, now also gets to host a USGA championship. The 39th U.S. MidAmateur Championship will take place on the Bill Coore-Ben Crenshaw layout in Parker September 21-26, 2019.

“The course has a proven record in both stroke-play and match-play competition,” USGA Vice President and Championship Committee Chairman Diana Murphy says. “The variety of risk-reward options will allow for exciting and dramatic play.”

Club President Matt Kellogg couldn’t be more proud. “With its emphasis on the amateur golfer, the Mid-Amateur is meaningful to our members and to golf enthusiasts everywhere. We are thrilled to have the Mid-Amateur as our first USGA championship.”

Colorado Golf Club welcomed the 2010 Senior PGA Championship (won by Tom Lehman) and the 2013 Solheim Cup (Europe defeated the United States). As it did during the 2012 U.S. Amateur at Cherry Hills Country Club, CommonGround Golf Course in Aurora will co-host the stroke-play portion of the 2019 U.S. Mid-Amateur. Colorado has hosted the event once before. In 1983, Jay Sigel won the Mid-Am at Cherry Hills, 1-up over Randy Sonnier coloradogolfclub.com coloradoavidgolfer.com

E P E P

The Lodge at Flying Horse, with its lavishly-appointed guest rooms, offers unparalleled comfort for any occasion. Whether you’re here for a business meeting, corporate event, or a landmark family gathering, you’ll find our service impeccable and our accommodations unsurpassed.

Stay

The epitome of refinement? The height of sophistication? We’ll leave the superlatives to you. But if you’re searching for the ideal venue to host your meeting or special event, rest assured, The Lodge offers amenities unmatched in the world of hospitality.

Think awe-inspiring views of snowcapped mountains.

Luxuriously appointed rooms that look out over the rolling splendor of our Tom Weiskopf 18 hole championship golf course.

Think unlimited access to the celebrated Club at Flying Horse and its Euro-style Athletic Club & Spa. Think spacious guest quarters with private balconies, award-winning culinary cuisine, fine wine and aperitifs enjoyed on a stone terrace, at sunset, beside a crackling fire.

Whatever your dream, whatever your desire, the Lodge staff will see it through with style, creativity, and sophistication.

We offer a delightful selection of dining and meeting space options, and offer versatile arrangements for everything from private parties to large groups.

There are venues in this world, and there are venues. The Lodge is the latter. With signature options for both overnight guests and day-attendees, we’ll help you take your event to extraordinary new heights.

www.LodgeAtFlyingHorse.com

Play Tom Weiskopf ’s signature golf course is the jewel in the crown of The Flying Horse Community, and when you stay with us you’ll have the rare privilege of walking its storied fairways, clubs in hand.

P T F O T F Tee Off as Guest, Drive Home a Member As a guest of The Lodge, we invite

Live

you to enjoy the game of a lifetime on the playing field of a lifetime.

But the excitement doesn’t end there.

As our esteemed guest, you’ll also be invited to become a member of our exclusive Golf Club—one of the top-ten private courses in Colorado—and granted full admission to our world-class Athletic Club and Spa. Play like never before. Join one of the finest Clubs in the world.

With private fitness facilities, gourmet dining, and special events, golf is only the beginning.

Memberships are available in limited numbers. Inquire today about joining our special Club.

F H L Y D   L  nce discovered, we like to say, Flying Horse is never forgotten. One look at its Colorado landscape, rolling meadows, and majestic vistas crowned with snowcapped peaks, people quite naturally fall in love.

And who could blame them?

Flying Horse is a storybook community with the absolute finest in comforts. Our luxurious homes, elegant recreational facilities, boldly-conceived K-12 academic campus, and private, 18-hole championship golf course, all serve to fulfill the promise of a lifestyle unmatched in look or feel.

THE ATHLETIC CLUB & SPA Indulge Yourself, Body and Soul THE ATHLETIC CLUB With a full array of resort-style amenities—including swimming pools, clay tennis courts, group fitness classes, and state-of-the-art exercise equipment—The Athletic Club and Spa is an all-out winner for fitness enthusiasts of every age and interest. It’s also a great way to unwind after a hard day at work.

THE SPA If you've ever doubted the restorative power of herbs, water, and a soothing massage—especially after a long day of meetings—treat yourself to a day at The Spa. Our rejuvenating therapies and curative treatments are so relaxing, so refreshing, so amazingly restorative, you'll come away a believer.

THE GOLF CLUBHOUSE

Where Fine Dining Is a Feast for the Senses Start with savory fare, add a vintage bottle from our stone wine-tower, top them off with dazzling views of the golf course and mountains, and you have yourself the most extraordinary dining experience of your life. Whether it’s a button-down corporate banquet or a friendly get-together with colleagues on the terrace, there’s no better place than The Clubhouse at Flying Horse to pause and savor the Colorado lifestyle.

DINING OPTIONS...

The Steakhouse —Now open to the public! Classic steakhouse fare featuring prime and grass-fed beef and seafood.

 L

The Tack Room—Casual dining for Members Each of our neighborhood villages has its own unique personality. Its own architecture, its own way of life. Yet all speak to the heart when it insists, “I want to be part of something special.”

Fall in love with the home of your dreams.

Live your life in Flying Horse.

The Athletic Club and Grill—Snacks and drinks before and after workouts Private Dining Rooms

T L  F H W G M G CONFERENCES & CATERING EVENTS Flying Horse offers nine function rooms totaling nearly 10,000 sq/ft.

Two large conference rooms in the Lodge feature fireplaces, connecting covered terraces with floor-to-ceiling windows and panoramic views of the golf course and the mountains. The executive boardroom offers natural light and an 84" built-in presentation monitor. Lodge meeting rooms include executive conference tables and ergonomic chairs. Additionally, The Club and Lodge offer more than 10,000 sq/ft of outdoor function space and can host meetings and events up to 300 guests.

THE LODGE – 40 luxurious guestrooms (28 executive kings & 12 double queens) – 580 spacious sq/ft – Private balconies – Complimentary parking – Guestrooms overlook the Golf Course or Rocky Mountains – Golf & Clubhouse recreation packages available

Villa exterior.

THE VILLAS

IN-ROOM AMENITIES

– 4 independent two-bedroom suites

– Oversized showers

– 1600 sq/ft per villa; a 600 sq/ft great room separates each bedroom

– Free-standing tubs (Villas)

– Private terraces, fireplaces, walk-in closets, oversized bathrooms – Complimentary parking – Golf & Clubhouse recreation packages available

– Walk-in closets (Villas) – Complimentary Wi-Fi access – Large work study desk stations – 55” flat screen TVs – Fireplaces (Villas)

D T U M O F H F  O, C  P Flying Horse rests on the northern edge of colorful, Colorado Springs, Colorado, a scenic, fifty-minute drive from its sister city, Denver. It is conveniently located to both the Colorado Springs Airport and Denver International Airport, providing an easy-come, easy-go lifestyle for both the casual traveler and busy corporate executive.

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The Gallery

You Go, Girls!

FOR THE FIFTH TIME since the turn of the century, the Colorado Women’s Golf Association has a repeat winner of its Player of the Year award.

Jennifer Kupcho of Westminster follows McKenzie Dyslin (2001-02), Kelly Schaub (2005-06), Kim Eaton (2009-10) and Somin Lee (2011-12) into the history books. And she did it convincingly, winning the CWGA Stroke Play Championship by 21 shots and repeating as the CHSSA 4A girls’ high school champion by 10. After notching three top-10 finishes during her first semester at Wake Forest University, she is 86th in Golfweek’s Collegiate Individual Rankings and 73rd in the

coloradoavidgolfer.com

HAIL TO THE VICTORS: Jennifer Kupcho (left), Kim Eaton (top) and Mary Weinstein.

World Amateur Golf Rankings.

Another repeat winner, Kim Eaton, has now won six Senior Player of the Year awards— that’s every year but one since she turned 50 in 2009. Briefly “retired” in Arizona, the Colorado Golf Hall of Famer (who also has four Player of the Year trophies) returned to finish runner-up in the Senior Stroke Play and won the Arizona Women’s Golf Association’s Amateur Seniors Championship.

Mary Weinstein, currently a senior at Regis Jesuit High School, secured Junior Player of the Year honors on the strength of four CJGA victories

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in 2015, including the CWGA Junior Stroke Play and the CJGA Junior Series Championship.

She finished second in the CJGA Tournament of Champions and notched the highest finish ever (15th) by a Colorado girl in the 15-17 age group at the IMG Academy Junior World Golf Championships at Torrey Pines. coloradowomensgolf.org

Spring 2016 | COLORADO AVIDGOLFER

The Gallery

Golf By Numbers Association of America—the program funds research to ensure your course’s conditions are the best they can be. rounds4research.com

GREEN KEEPER: A round at Flying Horse will help turf research.

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Colorado courses—including the members-only Club at Flying Horse, Roaring Fork Club and Fort Collins Country Club—were among the 686 from around the country donating 805 rounds last year to Rounds4Research, an online auction to support areas of research grants, education programs, scholarships and awareness of golf’s environmental efforts. More courses are expected to participate in this year’s online auction, which will take place April 1-10, with more courses and more opportunities to give back to the game you love. Sponsored locally by the Rocky Mountain Environmental Golf Institute (RMEGI)—the philanthropic organization of the Rocky Mountain Golf Course Superintendents

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holes of golf in five hours? Not even legendary speed-golfer George H. W. Bush could manage that. But the board members of the Colorado Golf Hall of Fame will accomplish the feat during its first 100-hole Golf Marathon at The Greg Mastriona Golf Courses at Hyland Hills in Westminster on March 31. Teams are being formed for the ProFund fun fundraiser—the first of its kind in Colorado—that will benefit the Hall and its mission to preserve Colorado golf history and perpetuate the game through investment and involvement in youth golf. For information, contact Gary Potter at garytpotter59@gmail.com

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young men and women successfully interviewed on January 21 at Colorado Golf Club for a Chick Evans Scholarship for Caddies. Individually fielding questions from the 100-person selection committee, these bright-eyed finalists shared incredible stories of

hard work and character as they recalled their experiences as “loopers” in clubs throughout Colorado. Their diligence will result in full, fouryear tuition and housing college scholarships at the University of Colorado in Boulder, where they will join fellow scholars who live in the recently renovated Evans Scholars House. Administered by the Western Golf Association, the Evans Scholars Foundation currently serves 53 students at the Eisenhower Chapter in Boulder and 441 alumni since the chapter opened in 1967. The finalists receiving awards were: Sarah Baines (Boulder Country Club), Sydney Bates (Columbine Country Club), Drew Biskner (Castle Pines Golf Club), Nicole Blizzard (Maroon Creek Club), Benjamin Kohut (Broadmoor Golf Club), Alexander Nelson (Ballyneal Golf & Hunt Club), Tara O’Gorman and Henock Solomon (Cherry Hills Country Club), Cole Ossian and Charles Smith (Denver Country Club) and Reilly Richards (Lakewood Country Club).

Locally, the Colorado Golf Association and the Colorado Golf Foundation work to support caddies in an effort to put more young men and women on the path to an Evans Scholarship. coloradogolf.org

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Player’s Corner

The Passion of AlRuth Toney

PROFILE

Spanning parts of seven decades, the City Park regular’s love of golf has known no limits.

PHOTOGRAPH BY JAMIE SCHWABEROW, CLARKSON CREATIVE

By Elizabeth J. Wheeler SMARTLY DRESSED in a pink outfit, one of the numerous golf ensembles she color-coordinates down to her shoes, AlRuth Toney stands over a five-foot knee-knocker on City Park Golf Course’s ninth green. “One time, baby,” she cajoles the ball, which quickly obeys and dives into the hole. Pleased with her par putt, Toney shares a smile with Bernice Hatter, one of the 15 members of the Monday women’s group at the 104-year-old Denver public course.

“Trophies were not my main concern.

I gave a box of the ones I won to the City Park youth group. They remove the name plate and reuse them.”

For the last 63 of those years, Toney has held a leadership position in the City Park Women’s Golf Association (CPWGA).

In 1953, at a time in Denver’s history when African-Americans could only live in certain neighborhoods, ride in back of streetcars and could not belong to country clubs, she thought nothing of taking the reins of an organization that had basically existed in name only since 1930.

“I just wanted to play golf and so did a few other ladies,” the 85-year-old Toney remembers. “And then with recruitment by word-of-mouth and seeing us on the golf course, others joined us. I was the contact and became the person people approached if they wanted to play.”

Although City Park until 1981 had two clubs—the African-American East Denver Club coloradoavidgolfer.com

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Spring 2016 | COLORADO AVIDGOLFER

Player’s Corner

and the white-only City Park Men’s Club— Toney says she never established the CPWGA “solely for black women.” The diverse racial composition of the current Monday group serves as testament. Women who have played in the group for years and newcomers welcome Toney in the course’s parking lot each Monday morning as she parks her 2004 gold Cadillac Seville. She alights with an agility that belies her eight-plus decades and greets each one.

“I’ve played with AlRuth’s Monday Group for five years,” says Carole Pedotto. “I get a kick out of it. There’s lots of laughter, and I really enjoy and respect all the women I play with.”

Born in Mississippi, Toney came to Colorado from East St. Louis, Illinois. She first started a women’s league at the golf course on

Lowry Air Force Base because the men at the Air Force Accounting and Finance Center, where she worked as an accountant for 42 years, told her to start her own instead of joining their league.

“A dozen of us played on Tuesdays after work at Lowry,” she remembers. “It was great fun!” The group of government employees also played at Denver’s Army military golf course, Fitzsimons, because the racially diverse group found itself unwelcome at other area golf courses. City Park welcomed her.

Toney had a slew of golf trophies she had won over the years at various golf courses and events. “Trophies were not my main concern,” she says. “I just loved to play golf and be outside, and quite a few of the women that play

Lifelong golfer Elizabeth J. Wheeler writes for numerous magazines, newspapers, and on her blog, ladiesofacertainage.com. She focuses on telling the stories of incredible Colorado women such as AlRuth Toney.

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PHOTOGRAPH BY JAMIE SCHWABEROW, CLARKSON CREATIVE

PAVING THE WAY: AlRuth’s Legacy Brick at City Park.

now on Mondays are of that opinion. We use it for exercise. I gave a box of trophies I had won to the City Park youth group. They remove the name plate and reuse them.”

Toney had a hole-in-one at City Park’s twelfth hole. “I was in league play at the time, and there were witnesses, but heaven only knows the exact date.”

She also got to see Tiger Woods play twice: first when he was a 10- or 11-year-old at City Park and his dad, Earl, who was stationed at Fitzsimons Army Medical Center, brought him; and at Park Hill when Tiger was a pro.

“She was a regular and a big supporter of Denver Golf,” remembers former City of Denver Director of Golf Tom Woodard, a Colorado Golf Hall of Famer who grew up playing at City Park. During Woodard’s 10-year directorship, City Park erected its current clubhouse, and Toney takes great pride in her brick along the Legacy Path leading to its entrance. Laid in 2012, it commemorates her 60 years of golf.

Although she ended the 2015 season playing nine holes instead of the usual 18, Toney can’t wait to tee it up with her group in April. “I still so enjoy golf and hope it never ends,” she says. “I’m going as long as the Lord allows.”

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Player’s Corner PROFILE

The Other Palm Beach Where affordable golf abounds.

LOCA FOR BOCA: Osprey Point Golf Course and the Waterstone Resort & Marina

By Eric Levin

COLORADO AVIDGOLFER | Spring 2016

It turns out there are plenty of fine options for golfers not on Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago guest list. Summer rates at public courses start as low as $20 and rise in high season (January-April), topping out at $105 at the Jack Nicklaus Signature North Palm Beach Country Club.

For me, the pursuit of the affordable 18 began a few days earlier, about 30 miles down the coast from the town of Palm Beach, in Boca Raton, at the southern end of the county. I normally avoid courses with the word “executive” in the name, but a local had hipped me to the 9-hole Red Reef Executive Course, run by the town. I showed up there in late afternoon, threw my bag on one of those wobbly pull carts and for $11 proceeded to enjoy 1,327 yards of golf all about position and finesse.

On the seventh tee—86 yards uphill to a shallow, hidden green, with a sliver of ocean visible to the left—I caught up with a tall gent with a gray goatee. “Don’t go long,” he advised me, “or you’ll wind up in the Spanish bayonets,” a bristly, impenetrable form of yucca. “I’m 83, and I usually shoot my age,” he added. “I love this course, because it sharpens my short game.”

That night, staying at the Waterstone Resort on the Boca inlet, I plotted my coming rounds over a tangy tequila Siesta on the patio. The knock on South Florida golf is that the courses are basically billiard tables punctured by water hazards and the occasional loitering armadillo. In such a realm, boasting rights go to any layout that offers 360 degrees of unobstructed view from the high point of the property. Don’t snicker, you Rocky Mountain types. While it’s true South Florida has no nosebleeds, in my trip I encountered three bona fide 360s, each exhilarating and unexpected.

The first came on the eighth green of the Falcon 9 at Osprey Point. Palm Beach County has an enviable parks and rec system that includes 90 holes of golf plus a separate learning center. For golfers, the Audubon-certified jewels in the crown are Osprey Point in Boca Raton and Okeeheelee in West Palm Beach. Each has three nines with

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Stay Waterstone Resort & Marina 999 E. Camino Real Boca Raton, FL 33432 waterstoneboca.com | 561-368-9500 Palm Beach Marriott Singer Island Beach Resort & Spa 3800 North Ocean Drive, Singer Island-Riviera Beach, FL 33404 PalmBeachMarriottResort.com | 561-340-1710 The Palm Beach Historic Inn 365 S County Rd, Palm Beach, FL 33480 palmbeachhistoricinn.com | 561-832-4009

extensive practice areas around a central lake and not a residence in sight except little red ones for finches and purple martins or bigger ones for larger birds and, on Osprey Point, high crossbars for the titular bird of prey.

Whichever two nines you play, on either course, there are five sets of tees. From the back ones, you can grab as much as 6,900 yards of golf with ratings up to 73.6 and slopes up to 137.

What you have to beware are less the bunkers (only 47 on the 27 holes at Osprey Point) but firing a ball into the many untended natural areas.

As Ken Smythe, Osprey’s assistant golf course manager, told me, “You don’t want to go in there.

It’s their world.”

Falcon was my favorite nine at Osprey Point.

A pretty finger of the Everglades slides along the par 4 second, with forced carries between tee and fairway and fairway and green. The par 4 fourth is short but nasty in a fun way, with the green tucked so far left behind thick vegetation that it has a coloradoavidgolfer.com

PHOTOGRAPHS COURTESY OF DISCOVER PALM BEACHES

THIS STORY BEGINS with two objects: Elvis Presley’s Army hat and a squeaky, two-wheeled pull cart. Together they represent the alpha and omega of Palm Beach County, Florida, a place where Maseratis glide through the gates of clubs like Seminole and Mar-a-Lago and where anybody can afford to play highly enjoyable golf, even if their locker is the trunk of a rental car.

Elvis’s hat came up over dinner at the Leopard Lounge on Cocoanut Row, three blocks from the ocean in the town of Palm Beach. The lounge, with its black walls, leopard-patterned carpet and hand-painted ceiling depicting sylphs gliding among the clouds, is to Palm Beach what the Polo Lounge is to Beverly Hills.

My wife and I got to talking with a slim, silver-haired man with a manicured mustache and a German accent, sitting at the next banquette with his wife and another couple. His name was Helmut Woelki, and at one point he told us that he had bought Presley’s Army hat at auction in the early 1980s for $25,000.

Growing up in Frankfurt, Germany, he explained, he had been a Presley fan and was about Presley’s age when the king of rock and roll turned up at the U.S. Army base there. Woelki could afford the hat, it turned out, because he had made his fortune building Lufthansa’s Sky Chefs group into the world’s largest airline catering operation.

“I sold out in 2000—just in time, as it turned out,” he said with a satisfied smile.

Presley’s Army hat, he reckoned, is worth many times what he paid for it. “I tell my wife, ‘If there is ever a fire, forget all the antiques and artworks. Just grab the hat.’”

The Leopard Lounge is worth the splurge for the atmosphere alone. But since this is a story about the affordable Palm Beach, let me recommend the $12 bowl of Chasen’s chili on the dinner menu. According to Mark, the well-tanned maitre d’, it’s the old Hollywood hangout’s famous pork-and-beef recipe, the one Elizabeth Taylor liked so much she’d have it delivered when she couldn’t get to the restaurant.

Player’s Corner

Play Red Reef Park Executive Course 221 N Ocean Blvd, Boca Raton, FL 33432 ci.boca-raton.fl.us/rec/golf/redreefexec 561-391-5014 BEAR’S LAIR: Jack Nicklaus’ North Palm Beach Country Club.

COLORADO AVIDGOLFER | Spring 2016

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Okeeheelee Golf Course 7715 Forest Hill Blvd West Palm Beach, FL 33413 pbcgov.com/parks/sports/golf/okeeheelee 561-964-4653 Palm Beach Par 3 (18 holes) 2345 S Ocean Blvd, Palm Beach, FL 33480 golfontheocean.com | 561-547-0598 North Palm Beach Country Club 951 US Highway One North Palm Beach, FL, 33408 village-npb.org/503/Golf-Course 561-691-3433 took the bedraggled remains of a 1920s Seth Raynor course, with a footprint of just 125 acres, and transformed it into a remarkably varied and interesting layout with six sets of tees, from 3,603 to 7,071 yards. The back tees (74.8/140) are no vacation. It reopened in 2006. Nicklaus’s fee, according to director of golf Casey Mitchell, was $1.

“It’s built on the same sand ridge as Seminole and Jupiter Hills,” she told me. Nicklaus found four kinds of sand on the property, including an orange sand which he describes on his website as “some of the best bunker sand we have found in the state of Florida.” He used it to create 84 bunkers, which aren’t there for aesthetics alone.

Interestingly, the signature hole, the 447yard fourth, has only one bunker, near the mouth of the green. The hole, a dogleg left, is tight, especially after the turn, making it the No. 1 handicap on the front side.

The greens are planted with an ultra-dwarf form of Bermuda that Mitchell says is “not very grainy,” so that’s one less thing to worry about. On the other hand, they’re fast (10-11 on the Stimpmeter), with tiers and mounds to contend with.

North Palm Beach has its own scenic 360.

From the high point, the 11th tee, at the course’s south end, you see most of the back nine, plus woods and, in the distance, cylindrical white apartment towers. It’s not the best 360, but it is one of the county’s best affordable rounds.

Wherever I went in my brief visit to PBC, I asked players what courses they would recommend. Aside from the ones I’ve already described, coloradoavidgolfer.com

PHOTOGRAPHS COURTESY OF DISCOVER PALM BEACHES

10-foot-high flagstick just so you can see where to aim. The dogleg sixth goes uphill, the par 3 seventh downhill, then it’s 434 yards uphill to the high point, the eighth green.

The elevation is only about 40 feet, but congratulate yourself if you get there in two. It’s the longest and toughest par four on the course, with water on both sides. The green is 40 yards deep.

You might need to really whack that putter. Do the 360 after you putt out. It’s wet and tropical wherever you look.

Osprey plays fast and firm thanks to its low-maintenance grass, all paspalum. You will want to work on your 40- to 60-yard pitch-and-run before you get here. It’ll come in handy.

Next stop was Okeeheelee, which holds the world’s record for most repetitions of a single vowel in a single word. (The name means “Quiet Waters” in Seminole.) The 360 here comes on the eighth green of the Heron 9. Again you’re about 40 feet above level ground, but in context it’s meaningful. The view ranges across huge Okeeheelee Park, with its ballfields, equestrian center, BMX track and other facilities.

The Heron Nine is open, with many rolling hills. The Eagle Nine is tighter and densely wooded. The Osprey Nine has some of both. The grass is Bermuda; the water, in squiggles and ponds, seems to be everywhere, but much of it is not in play. I fell in love with Heron, especially its last three holes, which dogleg left around the lake, presenting several risk/reward decisions. The ninth is a 209-yard par three, all uphill, with the only safe miss being short.

The towns on the mainland side of the Intracoastal Waterway, across from the Beverly Hills of the East, have their own sets of contrast. One extreme is represented by an illuminated sign I passed outside a shop on one of the long, straight, north-south thoroughfares. It read, in all caps, PAWN GUNS & JEWELRY. I never connected those two things before, but they both create a kind of force field around the bearer or wearer.

Opposing that type of commerce you have the new City Place shopping and entertainment mall, which replaced a slum and is the pride of West Palm Beach.

The pride of North Palm Beach, in golf at least, is Nicklaus’ North Palm Beach Country Club. Nicklaus, a long-time resident of the town,

Osprey Point Golf Course 12551 Glades Road, Boca Raton, FL 33498 pbcgov.com/parks/sports/golf/ospreypoint 561-482-2868

Player’s Corner

SLEEK AND STYLISH: Leopard Lounge at the Chesterfield Hotel.

Dine

Il Bellagio at City Place 600 S. Rosemary Avenue West Palm Beach, 33401 ilbellagiocityplace.com | 561-659-6160

the course most often called a must-play was the 18-hole Palm Beach Par 3.

It has several things going for it, from its location on a pretty strip of land between the ocean and the Intracoastal Waterway to its 19th hole, the truly fine Italian restaurant, al Fresco, on the second floor of the new clubhouse. Eat indoors or on the shaded, wrap-around balcony that overlooks the ocean side of the course. And with only 2,572 yards to traverse, from the back tees, you reach the 19th hole in about two and a half hours.

Designed by Dick Wilson and Joe Lee, the Par 3 opened in 1961 and was private until the town of Palm Beach bought it in 1973. In 2009, short game master Raymond Floyd was brought in to redesign it and crank up the challenge. He did a fine job, lengthening and tightening the course and roughly doubling the size of the greens, adding slope to them as well. Floyd also combined four small lakes on the ocean side of the course into one big one, bringing it into play (or into one’s cranium) on one, fifteen and sixteen. If you fly the green or miss to the wrong side, expect a splash.

Golfers being a perverse lot, toughening the course has made it more popular. In the last five years, rounds played on the Par 3 have increased from 26,000 to 36,000. The pro shop is doing even better.

“Three years ago,” Tony Chateauvert, the PGA head pro and manager told me, “we were doing $69,000 a year. This year we’re looking at $220,000. My biggest seller is a $90 shirt. All the talk golf is dying? Not down here.”

Eric Levin is the deputy and dining editor for New Jersey Monthly magazine.

COLORADO AVIDGOLFER | Spring 2016

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coloradoavidgolfer.com

PHOTOGRAPHS COURTESY OF DISCOVER PALM BEACHES

50 Ocean at Boston’s On The Beach 40 South Ocean Boulevard Delray Beach, FL 33483 50ocean.com | 561-278-3364

Leopard Lounge at the Chesterfield Hotel 363 Cocoanut Row Palm Beach, FL 33480 chesterfieldpb.com | 561-659-5800

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Player’s Corner LESSON

PHOTOGRAPHS BY EJ CARR. LOCATION: PGA SUPERSTORE.

Can Five Balls Reduce Three-Putts?

The Rules

A simple game can close the distance between you and lower scores. By Jerry Walters The Course

IT’S A FACT. Few of us hit our approach shots as close to the cup as tour players do, resulting in the dreaded three-putt. The Solution: Get the ball close on your initial putt.

This sounds easier than it is. Improper speed control while putting accounts for more threeputts than improper line does. Therefore, I spend more time with my putting students working on distance management.

In working with juniors, I’ve taken a distance drill, which many golfers recognize, and have turned it into a game that will help any player improve their lag putting.

THE COURSE: Place a club or Tour Stick approximately three feet (a putter’s length) behind the hole. This creates a grid from the front of the hole to the barrier at the rear. Each putt must go past the front of the cup but not touch the club. Putts that end up in the cup count no more or less than others inside the grid.

if one or none of the balls were inside, that’s a double bogey.

GAMES: Since you want to develop a feel for distance control, challenge yourself by playing nine holes and keeping score. If you want to make some holes tougher, move the barrier slightly closer to the cup or move the five balls further back. You’ll soon develop a skill for the correct speed on most putts. Play as many downhill holes as uphill and move the game around the green to simulate actual playing conditions.

And, if you want to feel the stress of competition, play against a teammate or friend.

Have fun and improve.

Scoring Games

THE RULES: Place five balls on the green, the first one nine feet from the hole and each of the remaining balls three feet behind the other (the furthest ball will be 21 feet from the hole). Beginning with the ball closest to the cup, attempt to stop the ball inside the grid.

SCORING: After putting all five, count how many ended up inside the grid. Three is par; four is birdie and all five inside the grid is an eagle. If only two balls finished inside the matrix, count it as a bogey and COLORADO AVIDGOLFER | Spring 2016

Jerry Walters gives putting and short game lessons at Trent Wearner Golf Academy at Meridian Golf Club in Englewood. trentwearnergolf.com; 303-645-8000.

To watch a video of this lesson, visit coloradoavidgolfer.com.

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coloradoavidgolfer.com

Player’s Corner GEAR

The GoDaddy Founder’s New Domain Bob Parsons’ equipment company, PXG, is about performance, not just prestige.

PXG 0311T (Tour) iron

HOW DOES A SELF-PROFESSED “golf nut” with an estimated worth north of $2 billion express his passion for the game?

If you’re GoDaddy.com founder Bob Parsons, in 2013 you buy The Golf Club Scottsdale, change its name to Scottsdale National and revise so many policies that more than one-third of the members resign.

Then, a year later, after you’ve spent as much as $300,000 a year on equipment, you decide to start Parsons Xtreme Golf and hire a couple of Ping hotshots, Brad Schweigert and Mike Nicolette, to create the best golf club ever built, no matter how long it takes or how much it costs.

You only stipulate the iron look like a blade but feel like a game-improvement model.

And once you have the product you want, you sign up a dozen tour pros to play it, including

two-time majors winners Zach Johnson and Cristie Kerr, 2014 FedEx Cup champion Billy Horschel and 2015 Solheim Cup hero Gerina Piller.

Even you, Bob Parsons, play with the clubs for six months and watch your index drop from 11.5 to 9.0.

While some might call them ugly, the PXG’s distinctive look features screw-like weights placed around the perimeter. Whereas most other weight-adjustment systems move the weight around in large chunks, the PXG system finetunes the golfer’s preferences to a much greater degree, spreading the weight around the head and improving the club’s MoI. This contributes to a “player’s club” with game-improvement results.

Forgiving as the iron is, its most addictive quality is feel—achieved by forging the head’s body with S25C soft carbon-steel, plasma-weldPXG 0311 iron

CLUB PXG: 0317 hybrid, 0341 fairway wood, 0811 driver and Drone putter.

ing the thin HT1770 high-strength steel face on to the body, then injection-molding the hollow head with a low-density Thermo-Plastic Elastomer (TPE) that dampens vibration. The result also enhances the sound of impact.

PXG clubs don’t come cheap. The 0311 irons cost $300 per club; the 0811 driver is $700; 0341 fairway woods are $500 each; the 0317 hybrid is $400; 0311 wedges are $325; and the milled putters in six different styles each run $400. Are PXG clubs more about performance and capability than prestige and cost? If you have the money, why wouldn’t you want to find out for yourself? Visit pxg.com; available in Colorado at D’Lance Golf (dlancegolf.com).

COLORADO AVIDGOLFER | Spring 2016

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AVAILABLE TEE TIMES

WEEKENDS

ROUNDS

Antler Creek, Falcon

$30

$40

$35

M-T anytime, F-S-S after 11

Yes

3

Breckenridge Golf Club, Breckenridge*

$75

$99

$75

SS: M-S anytime. PS: S-T after 12

Yes

3

The Bridges, Montrose

$35

$55

$35

M-T anytime, F-S-S after 11

Yes

3

Broadlands, Broomfield

$40

$40

$40

M-T after 12

No

3

Broken Tee, Englewood

$32

$32

$32

M-Thurs after 12

No

3 P/S = 9

Buffalo Run, Commerce City

$41

$41

$41

M-F anytime, S-S after 2

Yes

3

Cedaredge Golf Club, Cedaredge

$35

$40

$35

Any day, anytime

Yes

Unlimited

Cheyenne Mountain Resort, Colorado Springs* EXCLUSIVE

$60

$75/$95

$60

M-T anytime, F-S-S after 1

Yes

3

Club at Crested Butte, Crested Butte EXCLUSIVE

$45

$79

$79

Anyday after 1

Yes

3

Colorado National, Erie

$42

$49

$42

M-T anytime, F-S-S after 12

Yes

3

CommonGround, Aurora* EXCLUSIVE

$46

$46

$46

M-T anytime, F-S-S after 12

Yes

3

Country Club at Woodmoor, Monument EXCLUSIVE

$39

$45

$39

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

Yes

2

Eagle Ranch, Eagle EXCLUSIVE

$35

$55

$35

Any day after 11

Yes

2

Eagle Trace, Broomfield

$30

$30

$30

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

Yes

3

Eagle Vail, Avon*

$55

$99

$55

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

Yes

3

Family Sports Center, Centennial

$19

$21

$19

M-T before 4, F-S-S after 1

Yes

Unlimited

Fitzsimons, Aurora EXCLUSIVE

$26/$30

$26/$30

$26/$30

M-F after 11, S-S after 1

Yes

1 P/S = 3

Foothills, Denver

$36/$51

$36/$51

$36/$51 M-T before 8; after 1, F-S-S after 1

Yes

4

Four Mile Ranch, Ca単on City

$35

$35

$35

M-F anytime

No

3

Fox Hollow, Lakewood

$48

$48

$48

M-T after 1, F-S-S after 2

Yes

Unlimited

Golf Granby Ranch, Granby

$54

$54

$54

Anyday after 11

Yes

Unlimited

$32/$39

$45/$54

$39/$45

M-T after 11, F-Sat after 12

Yes

3

$40

$50

$40

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

Yes

3

Grand Elk, Granby Grand Lake, Grand Lake*

Green Valley Ranch, Denver EXCLUSIVE $35 $40 $35 SS: M-T before 9; after 12, F-S-S after 2 Yes

PS: M-T before 9; after 1, F-S-S after 2

1 P/S = 3

Haymaker, Steamboat

$57

$77

$57

Any day after 11

Yes

3

Heather Ridge, Aurora EXCLUSIVE

$23

$23

$23

M-T after 12

No

3

Heritage at Westmoor, Westminster

$45

$45

$45

M-T anytime, F-S-S after 1

Yes

Unlimited

Heritage Eagle Bend, Aurora

$34/$40

$50/$56

$34/$40

M-T anytime, F-S-S after 11

Yes

3

Highland Meadows, Windsor*

$34

$44

$34

M-T anytime, F-S-S after 12

Yes 3

Highlands Ranch Golf Club, Highlands Ranch $47/$58 $57/$68 $47/$58 M-T anytime, F-S-S after 12 Yes SS: 2,

PS: 1 = 3 The Homestead Golf Course, Lakewood

$38

$38

$38

M-T after 1, F-S-S after 2

Yes

Unlimited

The Greg Mastriona at Hyland Hills Gold Course, Westminster EXCLUSIVE

$39

$39

$39

M-T after 11, F-S-S after 1

Yes

3

The Greg Mastriona at Hyland Hills Blue Course, Westminster EXCLUSIVE

$20

$22

$20

Any day, anytime

Yes

Unlimited

CommonGround offer: Must be CGA, CWGA or Golf Passport Plus member to get rate Family Sports: 9 Hole Executive Course * Some seasons may vary

M-T = Monday-Thursday; F-S-S = Friday-Sunday; S-T= Sunday-Thursday; S-S= Saturday-Sunday P/S= Per Season; SS= Shoulder Season; PS= Peak Season

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GOLF COURSE

WEEKENDS

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Any day, anytime

Yes

Unlimited

Indian Tree, Arvada EXCLUSIVE $37 $37 $37

Season 1-2 any day after 12, Season 3 any day, anytime

Yes

3

The Inverness, Englewood*

$56

$76

$56

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

Yes

3

Keystone Ranch, Keystone*

$69

$90

$69

Any day, anytime

Yes

Unlimited

Kings Deer, Monument EXCLUSIVE & FREE GOLF OFFER

$25

$40

$30

M-T anytime, F-S-S after 11

Yes

2

Legacy Ridge, Westminster

$45

$45

$45

M-T anytime, F-S-S after 1

Yes

Unlimited

The Links, Highlands Ranch

$33/$38

$37/$42

$33/$38

M-T anytime F-S-S after 12

Yes

1 P/S = 3

Littleton Golf and Tennis Club, Littleton EXCLUSIVE

$29/$31

$29/$31

$29/$31

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

Yes

3

The Greg Mastriona at Hyland Hills Par 3 Course, Westminster EXCLUSIVE

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

$12

$12

Lone Tree Golf Club, Lone Tree $51 $62 $50 M-T after 11 F-S-S after 1 Yes SS: Unlimited, P: 2 The Meadows, Littleton $40/$54 $40/$54 $40/$54

Murphy Creek, Aurora EXCLUSIVE

$35.50/$43 $35.50/$43 $35.50/$43

Omni Interlocken, Broomfield* $60 $70 $60

M-T before 8; after 1, F-S-S after 1

Yes

4

M-F after 11, S-S after 1

Yes

3

M-T anytime, F before 12 S-S after 12

Yes

3

Pelican Lake Golf Club, Windsor*

$45

$60

$50

M-T anytime, F-S-S after 12

Yes

3

Pine Creek, Colorado Springs

$39

$44

$39

M-T after 12, F-S-S after 2

Yes

2 P/S = 6

Pole Creek, Tabernash

$50

$50

$50

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

Yes

Unlimited

Quail Dunes, Fort Morgan

$26

$26

$26

Any day, Anytime

Yes

Unlimited

Raccoon Creek, Littleton

$38/$45

$38/$45

$38/$45

M-T anytime, F-S-S after 12

Yes

4

The Raven at Three Peaks, Silverthorne

$55

$89

$55

Any day after 12

Yes

Unlimited

Redlands Mesa, Grand Junction EXCLUSIVE

$50

$50

$50

Any day, anytime

Yes

3

The Ridge at Castle Pines, Castle Rock* EXCLUSIVE

$50

$60/$75

$50

Sun-T anytime, F- Sat after 1

Yes

1 P/S = 3

The River Course at Keystone, Keystone*

$75

$105

$75

Any day after 11

Yes

Unlimited

M-F after 11, S-S after 1

Yes

1 P/S = 3

Saddle Rock, Aurora EXCLUSIVE

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

South Suburban Par 3, Centennial

$9

$9

$9

M-T anytime, F-S-S after 12

Yes

Unlimited

Sumo Golf Village, Florence

$25

$30

$25

Any day after 12

Yes

2

Thorncreek, Thornton

$40

$40

$40

M-Tanytime, F-S-S after 3

Yes

Unlimited

Tiara Rado, Grand Junction

$35

$35

$35

M-T anytime, F-S-S after 12

Yes

3

Todd Creek, Thornton

$40

$45

$40

M-F after 10, S-S after 1

Yes

Unlimited

Vail Golf Club, Vail

$50

$89

$50

Sun-T after 1

Yes

1 P/S = 3

Walking Stick, Pueblo*

$32

$32

$32

M-T anytime, F-S-S after 12

Yes

Unlimited

Yampa Valley Golf Course, Craig*

$30

$30

$30

M-T anytime, F-S-S after 12

Yes

1

South Suburban:Par 3- Cart not included * Some seasons may vary

M-T = Monday-Thursday; F-S-S = Friday-Sunday; S-T= Sunday-Thursday; S-S= Saturday-Sunday P/S= Per Season; SS= Shoulder Season; PS= Peak Season SS= Shoulder Season; PS= Peak Season

Side Bets | FAREWAYS FOOD | BEER | CARS

The New Old Louisville Inn PHOTOGRAPHS BY PHIL MUMFORD AND COURTESY OF 740 FRONT

Resurrected as 740 Front, the centenarian saloon is more charming and delectable than ever. By Gary James LIKE LOUISVILLE’S beloved Coal Creek Golf Course following the floods, the venerable Old Louisville Inn has been refurbished with its spirit—if not its name—intact after closing in October, 2013.

That’s when restaurateur Fred Burns stumbled on the place. A great Irish pub built in 1904, the OLI was the last remaining saloon of the original 13 that lined the three-block strip of Front Street. Designated a historic landmark, the building was renovated with contributions from the city to restore the exterior’s original design.

After leasing the building and renaming the establishment after its 740 Front address, Burns and his partners had a directive to preserve the interior’s vintage charm, complete with a stunning antique wooden bar, one of Colorado’s two oldest, built in the 1880s by the Brunswick Company Factory in Dubuque, Iowa. Made up of cherry, birch, and mahogany, the “Del Monte” model was cut-to-fit, constructed without a single nail. It’s a treasure steeped in local lore. Due to dangerous gases in Louisville’s coalmines, the miners could not smoke, so most chewed tobacco. The copper spit trough, once equipped with running water, runs along the foot of the bar.

During the 740 Front build, Burns’ team coloradoavidgolfer.com

REBIRTH OF A NOTION: 740 Baked Oysters Asiago complements the refurbished digs.

43

Spring 2016 | COLORADO AVIDGOLFER

HEARTY HISTORY: 740 Front’s vintage bar and rich chowder both brim with character.

took out the low ceiling upstairs, and the original wood has been repurposed and incorporated into the tabletops, upper dining room rafters, hostess stand and anywhere else it was deemed practical.

An addition to the building’s south side provided more dining space. The building is now rehabilitated but still comfortable and modern enough to thrive.

“We wanted to approximate the early 1900s, getting the wallpaper and paint appropriate to the period,” Burns says. “We didn’t want to detract from the bar. Heck, we can’t hide what it originally looked like—it’s a saloon. Back in the old days of

railroad cars and cargo ships, the best eating was at dining saloons. So we call 740 Front an ‘American dining saloon,’ doing predominantly American-style food—steaks, seafood, a little Italian.”

Burns, who grew up in Colorado, started in the steakhouse business (remember Victoria Station in Glendale?) and spent 25 years in the Bay Area before returning to Colorado to be near his grandchildren. With a location one block east of Louisville’s bustling Main Street, Burns knew mediocrity wasn’t an option, so he brought in Executive Chef Paul Bourrillion, whom he had hired in Denver when he was just 16 and continued to work with in California.

Not every chef goes to culinary school; Bourrillion’s career has meant constant learning and improving. “I learned from the ground up, peeling potatoes,” he says. “In the Bay Area, I’d get yelled at by chefs in French. Good thing I don’t speak French—they were probably saying something about my mother! Now I hire guys who have gone to school and wave their piece of paper around. I have to retrain them! But I am jealous that they’ve learned about chemistry and so much more.”

The modest Bourrillion is not at 740 Front to create a new cuisine, just great food. Ensuring cooking consistency is a hard act to pull off, but from one visit to the next, 740 Front’s various steaks, chops and seafood arrive cooked to the ideal texture and the perfect temperature for any desired doneness.

To start, go with the 740 Hot Cheese Dip with Spinach, a special blend of white cheese, spinach, onions, jalapeños, tomatoes and sweet red peppers. “That recipe dates from our Mexican

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PHOTOGRAPHS BY PHIL MUMFORD

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Side Bets | FAREWAYS

restaurant days,” Burns says. “Why not put it on the menu here? It’s good!”

And the 740 Baked Oysters Asiago is a decadent, heavenly delicacy—plump, fresh bivalves baked with fresh spinach, a splash of Pernod (the essential pastis liqueur) and creamy Asiago cheese. The 740 Deluxe Seafood Cocktail is distinctive in its blend of flavors—lots of shrimp and crab mixed with onions, Serrano peppers, garlic, green olives, cilantro, chili sauce and Clamato juice. A recent visit brought the special appetizer of an enormous Crab Cake—Maryland blue crab with hardly any filler or binder, crusted with panko and topped with a spicy rémoulade, served on a bed of greens with a red pepper and eggplant coulee.

Of the soups, the hearty cream-based Clam Chowder brims with sweet corn and briny clams with smoky pancetta. A classic wedge salad is all about simplicity, but the 740 Unwedged plays up contrasts in flavor and texture—the chilled, crispy iceberg lettuce, red onions and cherry tomatoes are served with roasted pecans, a crunchy, salty, slightly fatty roast pancetta wheel and the rich creaminess of house-made Maytag blue cheese dressing.

The enticing dinner entrees include the Veal Milanese—a pounded veal chop lightly crusted with a thin coating of bread crumbs, served with a lemon butter sauce and topped with a shimmering muddle of fresh basil, arugula and tomatoes— and the succulent, center-cut Pork Chop, which is brined to guarantee the thick cut is juicy, tender and thoroughly seasoned. It comes grilled and presented with mashed potatoes, tasty pork jus and roasted vegetables.

The dinner menu also features signature steaks served à la carte (“not well done but done well”), certified Angus Beef finished with a mop sauce—containing garlic, butter, salt, pepper and vinegar—that keeps the meat moist and adds an extra layer of flavor.

The variety of seafood includes a mouthwatering Colorado Striped Bass, a mild-tasting filet with a firm yet flaky texture transformed by a lemon caper butter sauce. The Wild Caught Gulf Shrimp and Scallops showcases large, succulent shrimp wrapped in smoked pancetta and scallops, skewered and grilled, dished up on an arugula and COLORADO AVIDGOLFER | Spring 2016

46

PHOTOGRAPHS BY PHIL MUMFORD

FLAVOR FAVES: The Wedge Salad, succulent Pork Chop and Wild Caught Gulf Shrimp and Scallops.

Tuscan bean salad dressed with balsamic vinegar.

From behind that priceless bar comes a choice selection of craft beers, wines and handcrafted period cocktails. The ultra-competent Anne, an enthusiastic and knowledgeable server on two recent visits, recommended Craggy Range’s Te Kahu, a red wine blend from the Hawkes Bay region of New Zealand. An artful, distinct aggregation of Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon and Petit Verdot, it made all of the dishes sing.

The old watering holes of Louisville were connected via underground tunnels, the remnants of which can still be seen with a visit below the ground floor of the grand old structure. Rumor had it that OLI basement was home to a ghost named Samantha, a trollop who was stabbed to death inside the building by one of her less than satisfied customers. Over the years, a number of OLI customers and staff reported seeing her.

740 Front staff has faithfully kept the OLI spirit intact. But does that aply to this particular spirit? From the kitchen comes the disembodied voice of Bourrillion. “I don’t know if that was a ghost,” he demurs. “Or the booze.”

740 Front Street 720-519-1972; 740front.com Gary James is a Boulder-based food and music writer. Read more of his restaurant writeups in the Lifestyle section of coloradoavidgolfer.com. coloradoavidgolfer.com

Side Bets | TAPPING IN

Canning a Three-Putt

In crafting ales for the golf course, Wonderland Brewing’s Robert Lucero makes the world a better place.

By Cody Gabbard

GOING BEYOND THE ALE: The avid brewer and golfer at his Broomfield brewery and taproom.

BEER AND GOLF go together like peanut butter and jelly, and the rise of canned craft beers has only strengthened that relationship.

Wonderland Brewing Co. has taken it even further with its golf-inspired brew, 3-Putt Pale Ale. “I wanted a beer that was refreshing and not overly hoppy or full of alcohol, that could speak to a golfer’s game,” Wonderland founder and owner Robert Lucero explains.

He comes by his passion honestly. “My brother’s a pro, I grew up playing golf, I maintain a four handicap, so I just love golf,” he says. “We’re really not creating a completely different beer, we’re making a pale ale that’s refreshing, made with the finest ingredients on the finest equipment.”

An American pale ale that uses German hops, 3-Putt drinks fairly easily at 5.5% alcohol by volume. There’s more herbal than bitter hop flavor, making the pale ale a bit more accessible for non-hopheads. As for the name, Lucero recalls golf matches where the first person in a group to three-putt had to buy a round. This playful attitude is exhibited throughout the taproom located in Broomfield, about 15 miles north of Denver.

The large lot Wonderland occupies comprises a small soccer field, a full-size basketball court, outdoor seating, and a room full of ping pong tables.

Having fun is at the heart of the Wonderland atmosphere—something Lucero, a former Disney theme park ride designer, revels in.

However, the beer itself is serious business.

COLORADO AVIDGOLFER | Spring 2016

In the two years since Wonderland opened, Lucero has invested heavily in state-of-the-art equipment and the best ingredients. There is still room to add more equipment for expansion.

“I tell people I bought a huge pair of pants and we’re just trying to grow into them,” he says while standing in front of hundreds of pallets of cans to be filled with 3-Putt and Wonderland’s other canned offering, Alice Blonde.

Wonderland’s distribution is currently between Fort Collins and Colorado Springs, with availability at around ten courses. Lucero intends to increase that number this season. The canning line wasn’t operational until the end of summer, so 3-Putt didn’t make it onto as many courses as Lucero would’ve liked, but the response so far has been good.

“Most golf courses don’t know who we are,” he admits. “But the ones we hit have done really well with our beers and sold through.”

In addition to further expansion, Wonderland’s next phase is the development of a barrel program. Lucero points out several of the current barrels, going down the line like a kid showing off his new toys: “This is a Berliner Weisse; it’s a fourth-use whiskey barrel…This is the 2016 anniversary barleywine… Over here are some red wine barrels that have a sour in them.” His grin spreads as wide as the Cheshire one on Wonderland’s logo.

Despite the brand new equipment, the continued expansion, and the quality of beer Lucero

48

“I did this for my son.

At the end of the day it’s not about 3-Putt or golf courses or even craft beer; it’s about my kid.”

coloradoavidgolfer.com

E VERY BOT TLE YOU PURCHASE SUPPORTS P U R E WAT E R CAUSE S Finlandia wouldn't exist without pure water. That's why we donate 1% of US sales to pure water initiatives. This World Water Day, March 22, enjoy Finlandia and join us in our commitment to pure water.

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Side Bets | TAPPING IN

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Cody Gabbard contributes regularly to CAG and the Boulder Weekly. Wonderland Brewing Co is located at 5450 W 120th Ave.,Broomfield (303953-0400; wonderlandbrewing.com)

coloradoavidgolfer.com

COLORADO AVIDGOLFER | Spring 2016

and his brewers are turning out, none of the accomplishments bring him more joy than leaving behind a legacy for his son, Robbie, or R2 as they call him.

“I did this for my son,” says Lucero. “At the end of the day it’s not about 3-Putt or golf courses, or even craft beer; it’s about my kid.” R2 has special needs and likely won’t be able to enter the workforce in any normal capacity, so Lucero wanted to create something that would continue to grow so his son would never have to work, but at the same time be a part of a community.

“We were told when Robbie was five months old at Children’s Hospital that he ‘would never walk or talk.’” Lucero explains. “It was the worst day of my life. But we got right to work and he not only walks, he talks and talks, and talks. He’s the mayor of our neighborhood. I can’t take him anywhere without kids and adults coming up to talk to him. Without him, there would be no 3-Putt beer for sure.”

The community has embraced the brewery, and Wonderland has given back in the form of an annual brew fest, The Halloween Craft Brew Ball, to raise money for The Arc, a Colorado-based thrift store chain that supports those with intellectual and developmental disabilities. Thirteen breweries participated in 2015, and Lucero plans on making the event even larger next year.

This community-mindedness directly correlates with the atmosphere of the brewery. When you look around the taproom, there isn’t any typical patron, just groups of neighborhood folks who have the freedom to enjoy themselves at whatever pace they desire. A row of booths gives friends and families a place to relax away from the bar, and the ping-pong tables draws those looking for a little more activity. A quick survey of the people there on a Tuesday evening revealed a group of moms with special-needs children who get together once a month, a nonprofit company work meeting, some friends exchanging holiday gifts.

None of the groups knew about Wonderland’s charitable efforts or that the owner’s son also has special needs. By creating a gathering place more exciting than any ride in Orlando, Lucero is living proof of the good that will flow when you pour yourself and your beliefs into your work.

Wonderland, indeed.

50

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Side Bets | NICE DRIVES

Three Cars on a Mission This year’s Jaguar XF, Nissan Maxima and Subaru Forester boldly avoid typecasting. By Isaac Bouchard 2016 JAGUAR XF

EPA ratings: 20/30mpg; 24mpg combined (RWD) 0-60mph: 5.0-5.2 sec (MFG estimate) Price range: $52,895-66,695 (before options) Few of us would confuse Jaguars, those unreliable cars for old fuddies, with an “Ultimate Driving Machine.”

Yet those privy to the truth know the Brits have been building audaciously sleek sedans and sports cars that have finished near the top in most independent surveys, such as J.D. Power, for customer satisfaction and reliability for several years now.

Jaguar is going for the heart of the market with the new XF midsize sports sedan. While its mostly aluminum body is evolutionary in styling, it is carefully detailed, well proportioned, and quite captivating. It’s also stiffer and over 200 pounds lighter than its predecessor.

Inside, this Jaguar is slightly roomier—especially in back, where it needed to be—and generally speaking, thoughtfully detailed, with interesting textures and use of color and wood and aluminum trim. However, the base seats are hard, lack support and are limited in range adjustments, and the cloud-based InControlApps interface is buggy and nowhere near as intuitive as the German systems.

Dynamically, Jaguar aimed for best in class, and it landed in the top tier of driver’s cars—without creating a rough-riding sedan that wouldn’t engender broad acceptance. Perhaps only the CaCOLORADO AVIDGOLFER | Spring 2016

2016 Jaguar XF

52

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Plan to join us

JUNE 3rd- 4th for one night stay at

THE PARK HYATT BEAVER CREEK RESORT & SPA

and two rounds of golf at

RED SKY RANCH AND GOLF CLUB Reserve your spot today.

To make reservations or for more information contact Allen at 720-493-1729 x17 or allen@coloradoavidgolfer.com or Ryan at 720-493-1729 x15 or ryan@coloradoavidgolfer.com

Side Bets | NICE DRIVES dillac CTS steers, controls body motions or nails the ride and handling balance as well; both are ahead of the BMW 5-series, Mercedes E-Class and Audi A6.

The XF trounces the American in the powertrain department; the programming of its ZF 8-speed automatic (shared with two of the German cars) is the standard by which others should write tranny code, with perfectly executed, intuitive shifts in all modes. The engines at launch are closely related 3-liter, supercharged V6s; the base one has outputs of 340hp/332lb-ft; the S model has another 40 ponies. Both boast a wide spread of shove, commendable smoothness to redline, and refined yet intoxicating noise signature.

Cornering is what the XF is really built for.

Few cars of this size have ever straightened curvy roads with such aplomb. The steering is superb: detailed and accurate, with a proper build up of forces to tell the pilot grip levels, locked-in straight line tracking and proper weighting. Suspension is comprised of double wishbones at the front and what Jaguar calls an “Integral Link” rear; drivers will call it astonishing.

The testers were all equipped with the optional, continuously variable suspension dubbed Adaptive Dynamics, which rode so well in its sportier setting that I never needed the soft setting. Consider this upgrade mandatory. That the XF is so accomplished, while including best-inclass warranty and servicing, means Jaguar may indeed rewire prejudices and achieve the kind of acceptance the company has long deserved.

2016 Jaguar XF

2016 Subaru Forester 2.0 XT

2016 NISSAN MAXIMA SL

EPA ratings: 22 /30mpg; 25mpg combined 0-60mph: Price as tested: $37,935 In a countermove against crossovers, Nissan has built an all-new version of its Four-Door Sport Sedan, the Maxima.

Nissan’s goal was to create an SUV that didn’t resemble a jacked-up wagon. The Maxima SL boldly succeeds with striking style comprised of great stance, good proportions and incredibly complex folds in form.

Inside, this is Nissan’s best cockpit in many years, comprised of high quality, intriguing materials such as the origami-fold accent trim, cosseting seats and a great driving position. Equipment, even on this midline SL, is generous, and most of it adds to the experience.

This is no sports sedan. It’s a luxurious, powerful car in the classic idiom. The Maxima rides well despite its big feet and punches hard, with the lightly revised, old-school VQ-series 300hp engine propelling the big Nissan to 60 mph in 6 seconds. Hooked to perhaps the best continuously variable transmission yet (it mimics conventional shifts, which should tell us something about these silly devices) it is also refined and sonorous.

What the Maxima doesn’t do is handle like a RWD sports sedan; the front drive and more pedestrian nature of its underlying components deny it that. However, it is flat through corners and the steering is accurate; it just doesn’t encourage one to seek out back roads.

In today’s congested environment, though, that’s almost academic; the Maxima’s soothing

2016 Nissan Maxima SL

COLORADO AVIDGOLFER | Spring 2016

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2016 Nissan Maxima SL

2016 Subaru Forester 2.0 XT

personality, great looks and comfortable interior are attributes that make it such a compelling antidote to stiff, high-riding truck-things.

2016 SUBARU FORESTER 2.0XT

EPA ratings: 23/28mpg; 25mpg combined 0-60mph: 6.3 seconds Price as tested: $36,250 The Subaru Forester XT might be the most insouciant crossover you can buy right now.

Shaped like the box it could have come in, it makes style-less look stylish.

Like all Foresters, it has a very open, airy interior thanks to the huge windows and slim pillars, and functional cockpit architecture. The seats are upright and supportive in both rows, cargo room generous—it has more capacity than my own Jeep Grand Cherokee—and materials appear robust.

The infotainment system is fast and intuitive with most modern devices. However, avoid the optional safety systems because of the huge number of false alarms they send.

The way the XT drives makes it really spe-

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cial. It doesn’t trade ride quality for useless lateral Gs. It smothers bumps and floats over most of our balky roadway network, and it is not overly bothered by road or wind noise.

While it will track through faster bends, it rolls and understeers like the high-CG vehicle it is. But it has real ground clearance for trails, accurate steering, progressive brakes, and a powertrain that excels in our thinner air.

Unlike most other Subarus, this one’s 250hp 2-liter turbocharged engine pairs well with its continuously variable transmission, zipping into the powerband to lessen lag, then pulling smooth and hard towards redline. It’s quick and feels it; only the 2-liter Ford EcoBoost Escape is as fast in this class, and the Subaru gets better real-world fuel economy.

In an age of overstyled, underdeveloped “lifestyle” vehicles, this Forester 2.0XT honesty makes it a rebel who just doesn’t care.

Automotive Editor Isaac Bouchard is president of Englewood-based Bespoke Autos. Read more of his reviews at coloradoavidgolfer.com/list/drives and bespokeautos.com. Reach him at Isaac@BespokeAutos.com. coloradoavidgolfer.com

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The GOLFER’S GUIDE to the best COURSES, resorts, food and fun during

SPRING TRAINING in Arizona

PLUS:

A Taste of Florida’s Grapefruit League coloradoavidgolfer.com

59

Spring 2016 | COLORADO AVIDGOLFER

SPRING TRAINING 2016

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DENVER IS A FOOTBALL TOWN. The Rockies haven’t had a winning season since 2010.

And this is a golf magazine.

So, knowing all that, why do we produce an annual guide to Spring Training in Arizona?

For one, Spring Training is less about a team than it is about tradition. A new baseball season represents a fresh start the same way the next shot or the next hole does in golf.

Besides, the connection between golf and baseball runs deeper than hitting a small ball squarely with a hard stick. Both games also feature nine a side—holes in golf and innings in baseball. Also, Babe Ruth famously loved golf, and played an arguably larger role in increasing the sport’s popularity during the 1930s than his contemporary, Bobby Jones, did.

The Rockies’ own Sultan of Swat, Nolan Arenado, also has mad golf skills. During the Cactus League season, he’ll occasionally hone them at Talking Stick Golf Club, just minutes east of the team’s home ballpark, Salt River Fields at Talking Stick.

The Rockies, of course, are just one of 15 teams that train within a 35-mile radius in the Phoenix/Scottsdale area—a region populated by more than 200 golf courses. That convergence, of course, explains why we produce this guide.

It lists some of the better golf, lodging, dining and activity options closest to each team’s ballpark. And with the training facilities all within an hour’s drive of one another, there’s plenty of overlap.

COLORADO ROCKIES/ ARIZONA DIAMONDBACKS

Salt River Fields at Talking Stick 7555 N Pima Rd, Scottsdale saltriverfields.com; 480-270-5000

PLAY: Seven 36-hole facilities wait within a 30-minute drive of Salt River Fields.

COLORADO AVIDGOLFER | Spring 2016

Start three miles east with the two superbly conditioned Coore/Crenshaw courses at Talking Stick Golf Club (talkingstickgolfclub. com ; 480-860-2221). Talking Stick’s North course presents an open “links-style” experience, while trees line the South. Adjacent to the luxurious Scottsdale Princess, TPC Scottsdale (tpc.com/Scottsdale ; 888-877-9193) annually hosts the golf bacchanal known as the PGA Tour’s Waste Management Open on its Stadium Course. The Stadium costs $329 per round for everyone. For half ($157.50), nonresidents can play the overshadowed but not second-rate Champions Course.

A former Tour stop and favorite of Phil Mickelson’s, Grayhawk Golf Club (grayhawkgolf.com ; 480-502-2075) boasts the Tom Fazio-designed Talon and Raven courses.

You’ll have to book your tee times at Wildfire Golf Club (wildfiregolf.com ; 888-705-7775) around the JTBC LPGA Founders Cup, which takes place March 14-20—or just buy tickets to the event.

A line drive west delivers you to the acclaimed 18s of We-Ko-Pa Golf Club (wekopa.com ; 866-6607700), while another pair of two-course treats await further north: the Tom Weiskopf-designed Pinnacle and Monument courses at Troon North Golf Club (troonnorthgolf.com ; 480-585-5300) in North Scottsdale; and Jay Morrish’s North and South Courses at the aptly named Boulders Club (bouldersclub.com ; 480488-9028) in Carefree.

STAY: For convenience to everything, you can’t top the $440 million Talking Stick Resort (talkingstickresort.com ; 866877-9897) near the fields and courses.

The resort includes 497 guest rooms, eight restaurants, a 240,000-square-foot casino, an expansive pool/garden area with 20-plus cabanas and a world-class, 13,000-square-foot, open-air spa. The majestic, sprawling luxury compound of the

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Spend a week in the Valley of the Sun and you might just consider joining the many Coloradans with second residences there. Arizona golf developments are as ubiquitous as cacti, but how can you know a community without actually living among it? Rio Verde Country Club’s Discovery Stay Package gives you this option. Its welcomes guests age 55 or older to spend up to four days in its secluded 980home enclave in the foothills of the McDowell Mountains, 40 minutes northeast of Scottsdale at the edge of the Tonto National Forest.

Guests stay in a well-appointed home, play a complimentary round of golf on Rio Verde’s Quail Run and White Wing courses, and receive a complimentary lunch and obligatory tour. The first Audubon International Certified Sustainable Community west of the Mississippi River, the award-winning neighborhood features tennis, pickleball, hiking/walking trails, fitness center, art studio, clubhouse and contagious Midwestern hospitality. Pricing varies, but four-day stays during high season range between $800 and $1,200. rioverdearizona.com; 480-471-7010.

Fairmont Scottsdale Princess (fairmont.com/ scottsdale ; 866-540-4495) features 830

stately guest rooms, suites and casitas, superb restaurants, five swimming pools and a spa.

In addition to playing golf in a kilt or traversing its course on a Golf Board, a highlight at the Westin Kierland Resort & Spa (kierlandresort.com ; 480-624-1000) is the Scotch Library, showcasing more than 100 single malts and 25 blends. The 1,950room JW Marriott Phoenix Desert Ridge Resort & Spa (jwdesertridgeresort.com ; 800-835-6206) highlights an expansive spa, numerous pools and the unique Lazy River floating stream. Tucked into the Pinnacle Peak foothills, Four Seasons Resort Scottsdale at Troon North (fourseasons.com/scottsdale ; 480-515-5700) ooz-

es with sophistication.

EAT: The Scottsdale area overflows with dining options. In addition to the stunning Orange Sky Restaurant atop Talking Stick Resort, the above-named resorts also feature signature eateries. For something completely different, hit Toro, a Richard Sandoval creation in the TPC Scottsdale clubhouse that fuses the distinct flavors of South and coloradoavidgolfer.com

PHOTOGRAPH COURTESY OF RIO VERDE COUNTRY CLUB

PHOTOGRAPH BY JAMIE SCHWABEROW, CLARKSON CREATIVE

A Rio Birdie

“SCOTTSDALE IS transformative.

IT encourages YOU TO BE OUTDOORS AND play.”

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known as Sanctuary, McDowell Mountain Golf Club (mcdowellmountaingc.com ; 480-502-8200) sports a fun 18 owned by Phil Mickelson.

STAY: The lodging options listed above for Rockies and D-Backs fans apply here.

Additionally, look into the J.W. Marriott Scottsdale Camelback Inn Resort and Spa (camelbackinn.com ; (480-948-1700) and The Phoenician (thephoenician.com ; 480-941-8200).

EAT: Mastro’s Ocean Club (mastrosrestaurants. com ; 480-443-8555) and Tommy Bahama Restaurant & Bar (tommybahama.com ; 480-

505-3668) anchor Kierland Commons. Less dear options include The Mission (themissionaz. com ; 480-636-5005); Rehab Burger Therapy (rehabburgertherapy.com ; 480-621-5358); Eddie’s House (eddieshouseaz.com ; 480-946-1622); and FnB (fnbrestaurant.com ; 480-284-4777).

DO: Again, follow the Rockies fans.

Oenophiles should head to Kazimierz World Wine Bar (kazbar.net ; 480-946-3004) in Old Town Scottsdale (scottsdaledowntown.com ), where the quaintness the galleries, shops and restaurants contrasts with the chic vibe of Scottsdale Fashion Square (fashionsquare.com ), the largest mall in the Southwest.

Pitchers and catchers report February 28.

But what about pitchers and chippers?

If “Spring Training” applies to your golf game, some Colorado instructors are in Arizona to help.

At Rancho De Los Caballeros Golf Club in Wickenburg, Keith Lyford’s four-day VIP golf school package includes lodging, meals, golf school instruction and golf course play lessons. Lyford—whose Lyford Scottsdale School ranked in Golf Magazine’s Top 25 Golf Schools in America—teams with Colorado PGA professional Dana Smith of Plum Creek Golf Club to help you focus on improving scoring, with daily on-course instruction sessions and class sizes limited to just 12 golfers per session. March 28-31, April 1-5, 5-9, 9-13, 13-17, 19-23. lyfordgolf.net Award-winning Colorado instructor Lana Ortega’s popular Just For Women Golf Schools is moving to SunRidge Canyon Golf Club in Phoenix, with accommodations at the luxurious CopperWynd Resort and Club in Fountain Hills. The three-day “instructional vacation” includes two full mornings of instruction, including video analysis and short game instruction, plus three 18-hole rounds with on-course guidance. Transportation, meals, golf and lodging included.

March 4-6, 18-20, 25-27, April 1-3 and 1517. lanaortegagolf.com A Golf Digest “Top 40 Teachers Under 40” for four consecutive years, Alex Fisher summers at The Glacier Club in Durango and winters at the JW Marriott Wildfire Golf Club in Phoenix. The native Englishman is a U.S. Kids Golf Certified Coach who works with players of all ages and abilities. alexfisherpga.com; 602-363-9800.

COLORADO AVIDGOLFER | Spring 2016

LOS ANGELES ANGELS OF ANAHEIM

Central America with ingredients from Japanese and Chinese Peruvian cultures. Don’t miss the suviche (sushi and ceviche) bar or a cocktail made from one of 110 varieties of rum. (tpc.com/scottsdale ).At Grayhawk Golf Club, Isabella’s Kitchen delivers American Italian favorites, while Grayhawk’s Quill Creek Café offers a traditional American menu. Sports bars of note include Don & Charlie’s (donandcharlies.com ) and Zipp’s (zippssportsgrills.com).

DO: Stroll the more than 70 stores and restaurants at upscale Kierland Commons (kierlandcommons.com ), or Bumper-Boat or Go Kart with the kids at CrackerJax Family Fun & Sports Park (crackerjax.com ).

For local live music, hit Wasted Grain (wastedgrain.com ), and a party always awaits at The Mint (themintaz.com ) and the Red Revolver (redrevolverlounge.com ). The Thursday night ArtWalks along the galleries on Main Street are a 41-year-old tradition (scottsdalegalleries.com ).

Tempe Diablo Stadium 2200 W. Alameda Drive, Tempe tempe.gov/diablo; 888-796-HALO

PLAY: Numerous courses sit within five minutes of Tempe Diablo Stadium. The most challenging, the 7,002-yard Pete Dye-designed

We-Ko-Pa Golf Club

One-Stop Scottsdale For all things Scottsdale (including Spring Training packages), contact the extremely helpful Scottsdale Convention and Visitors Bureau (experiencescottsdale.com; 800-782-1117).

SAN FRANCISCO GIANTS

Scottsdale Stadium 7408 E. Osborn Road, Scottsdale scottsdaleaz.gov/stadium; 877-473-4849 PLAY: In addition to being close to many of

the same courses as Rockies and Diamondbacks fans are, Giants aficionados can tee off on the 27 Scott Miller-designed holes at the Westin Kierland Resort & Spa (kierlandresort.com ; 480922-9283). Three more nines wait at the The Phoenician Golf Club (golfthephoenician.com ; 480-423-2449), as do another 36 holes on the Padre and Ambiente courses at Camelback Golf Club (camelbackgolf.com ; 480-596-7050).

McCormick Ranch Golf Club (mccormickranchgolf.com ; 480-948-0260) boasts two 18s, the Pine and Palm—the latter of which has hosted Canadian Tour events. Formerly

62

ASU Karsten Course (asukarsten.com ; 480-

921-8070), helped produce stars such as Phil Mickelson, Billy Mayfair, Paul Casey, Anna Nordqvist and Grace Park. Other options include the brilliant, pine-lined Gary PanksDavid Graham-designed Raven Golf ClubPhoenix (ravenphx.com; 602-243-3636), and another Panks design, The Legacy Golf Club (golflegacyresort.com ; 602-305-5550).

STAY: The Phoenix Marriott Tempe at The Buttes (marriott.com ; 602-225-9000) tucks into the rock outcroppings near the stadium, and the Sheraton Wild Horse Pass Resort (wildhorsepassresort.com ; 602-225-0100) boasts an equestrian center, spa, casino and the two Whirlwind golf courses.

EAT: Check out the panoramas at Top of the coloradoavidgolfer.com

PHOTOGRAPH BY LONA TUCKER

PHOTOGRAPH BY JAMIE SCHWABEROW, CLARKSON CREATIVE

Swing Training

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Spring Training is the perfect time to experience the Valley’s premier entertainment destination.

Featuring word-class cuisine, epic nightlife, thrilling gaming and award-winning golf courses, it’s no wonder Talking Stick Resort has been named “Best Casino” four years in a row.

For the latest Cactus League news, visit springtrainingphoenix.com.

Across the street from the Rockies

101 & TALKING STICK WAY | SCOTTSDALE | 866.877.9897 | TALKINGSTICKRESORT.COM Based on availability March 1-31, 2016. Not valid for groups or with any other offer.

Locally owned and caringly operated by the Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community.

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Rock at the Phoenix Marriott Tempe at The Buttes (marriott.com ; 602-431-2370). Not connected to the superb Phoenix restaurant with the identical name, Caffe Boa (cafeboa.com ; 480-968-9112) is a foodie paradise, as is Quiessence at The Farm (qatthefarm.com ; 602-276-0601). Check out the cleverly named Aunt Chilada’s or the Rustler’s Rooste, both at the Arizona Grand Resort (arizonagrandresort.com ; 877-800-4888).

DO: Tempe is a college town. Shop on Mill Avenue (millavenue.com ) and play pool at Mill Cue Club (millcueclub.com ).

CHICAGO CUBS

Sloan Park 2330 W. Rio Salado Parkway, Mesa sloanpark.com; 800-THE-CUBS

PLAY: Fifteen minutes east of the stadium,

the highly decorated, dramatically bunkered Longbow Golf Club (longbowgolf.com; 480-8075400), draws sloths of Cubs fans. Whirlwind, ASU Karsten and Raven-Phoenix are within the same distance west. Thirty-five miles south in Maricopa sprawls the 300-plus acres occupied by the must-play Ak-Chin Southern Dunes Golf Club (golfsoutherndunes.com ; 480-367-8949), a stellar collaboration between Fred Couples and Schmidt-Curley Design.

TEAM FIELDS

PHOENIX SKY HARBOR INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT

Cincinnati Reds/Cleveland Indians Goodyear Ballpark 1933 South Ballpark Way, Goodyear goodyearbp.com; 623-882-3130 Closest Courses: Estrella, Palm Valley, Verrado, Wigwam Texas Rangers/ Kansas City Royals Surprise Stadium 15850 North Bullard, Surprise surprisespringtraining.com; 623-222-2222 Closest Courses: Rancho de los Caballeros, Surprise Golf Club, Trilogy at Vistancia, Wickenburg Ranch, Wigwam

San Francisco Giants Scottsdale Stadium 7408 E. Osborn Road, Scottsdale scottsdaleaz.gov/stadium; 877-473-4849 Closest Courses: Camelback, McCormick Ranch, McDowell Mountain, The Phoenician, We-Ko-Pa, Westin Kierland

Seattle Mariners/San Diego Padres Peoria Sports Complex 16101 N. 83rd Ave., Peoria peoriasportscomplex.com; 800-677-1227 Closest Courses: Quintero, Trilogy at Vistancia

Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim Tempe Diablo Stadium 2200 W. Alameda Dr. Tempe tempe.gov/diablo; 888-796-HALO Closest Courses: ASU Karsten, RavenPhoenix, The Legacy, Whirlwind

Los Angeles Dodgers/Chicago White Sox Camelback Ranch 10710 West Camelback Rd, Glendale camelbackranchbaseball.com; 623-302-5000 Closest Courses: Palm Valley, Verrado, Wigwam

Colorado Rockies/Arizona Diamondbacks Salt River Fields at Talking Stick 7555 N. Pima Rd, Scottsdale saltriverfields.com; 480-270-5000 Closest Courses: Grayhawk, Talking Stick, The Boulders, TPC Scottsdale, Troon North, We-Ko-Pa, Wildfire Oakland Athletics Hohokam Stadium 1235 North Center Street, Mesa hohokamstadium.com; 480-644-4451 Closest Courses: Ak-Chin Southern Dunes, ASU Karsten, Longbow, Raven-Phoenix, Superstition Springs, The Legacy, We-Ko-Pa, Whirlwind

Wildfire Golf Club

STAY: The Phoenix Marriott Tempe at The Buttes (marriott.com ; 602-225-9000) is close.

Mesa abounds with solid chains like Hyatt, Ramada, Marriott, Hilton and Holiday Inn—all of which have some kind of Spring Training package.

EAT: Cubs and Angels fans can eat alongside one another in Tempe. In addition, Diamond’s Sports Grille (diamondssportsgrille. com ; 480-844-3888) calls itself “the winter home of Chicago Cubs,” and R.T. O’Sullivan’s (rtosullivans.com ) two Mesa locations always sell $3 bottles of Harp. Vito’s (vitospizza.com ; COLORADO AVIDGOLFER | Spring 2016

Milwaukee Brewers Maryvale Park 3600 N. 51st Ave., Phoenix phoenix.gov/sports; 800 933-7890 Closest Courses: Maryvale, Verrado

Chicago Cubs Sloan Park 2330 W. Rio Salado Pkwy, Mesa sloanpark.com; 800-THE-CUBS Closest Courses: Ak-Chin Southern Dunes, ASU Karsten, Longbow, Raven-Phoenix, Superstition Springs, The Legacy, We-Ko-Pa, Whirlwind

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coloradoavidgolfer.com

S T AY & P L AY

ALL DAY AND NIGHT

Escape to the We-Ko-Pa Resort and Golf Club Relax poolside. Enjoy the incredible spa. Then tee it up on the finest 36 golf holes in the Southwest. And our new Golfer Suites are perfect for buddy trips and groups.

For Stay and Play Packages and to experience the all new We-Ko-Pa Resort, call (866) 660-7700 or visit wekoparesort.com. Mention promo code COLGOLF16 for preferred pricing on Stay and Play packages. For golf tee times, call (480) 836-9000 or visit wekopa.com.

LOCATED JUST MINUTES FROM SCOTTSDALE IN FORT MCDOWELL, ARIZONA STAY & PLAY PACKAGES WITH WE-KO-PA RESORT AND CONFERENCE CENTER

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Chili satisfies the Reds fans. For a non-chainrestaurant experience, try Flavors of Louisiana (flavorsoflouisianacajun.com ; 623-935-2357), Bella Luna Ristorante (bellalunaaz.com ; 623535-4642), and two Japanese restaurants— Nakama (nakamaaz.com ; 623-935-7676) and AH-SO (ahsoaz.com ; 623-535-8900).

DO: Phoenix International Raceway (phoenixraceway.com ) has its Spring Break NASCAR Weekend March 11-13. Watch the Arizona Coyotes (coyotes.nhl.com ) skate for a playoff spot in nearby Glendale.

Orange Sky Restaurant at Talking Stick Resort

480-832-3311) has deep-dished Chicago-style pizza for 30 years, and The Original Blue Adobe Grill (originalblueadobe.com ; 480-962-1000) is worth reserving a table.

DO: Cowboy up at Rockin’ R Ranch (rockinr.net ; 480-832-1539) or savor shopping at Modern Western experience at the upscale Dana Park (danapark.com ) or Mesa Riverview (mesariverview.com ).

CINCINNATI REDS/CLEVELAND INDIANS Goodyear Ballpark 1933 South Ballpark Way, Goodyear goodyearbp.com; 623-882-3130

PLAY: A John Fought-Tom Lehman collaboration, Verrado Golf Club (verradogolfclub. com ; 623-388-3000) cozies up near the White

Tank mountains 15 minutes northwest of the ballpark. A short drive north brings you to the mature 54-hole Wigwam Resort (wigwam arizona.com ; 800-909-4224) in neighboring Litchfield Park. Twelve minutes south of the stadium, the Jack Nicklaus II-designed Golf Club of Estrella (estrellagolf.com ; 623-386-2600) provides Troon Golf quality at a great value.

STAY: National chains with “inn” and “suites” in their names are always worth a look.

For an upgrade, the 440 acres and 331 intimate casitas and suites at the Wigwam (wigwamarizona. com ; 800-909-4224) make it the perfect retreat for post-game cocktails or stargazing.

EAT: Cleveland fans can slather their hotdogs with Stadium Mustard, and Skyline

TEXAS RANGERS/ KANSAS CITY ROYALS

TM

Surprise Stadium 15850 North Bullard, Surprise surprisespringtraining.com; 623-222-2222

PLAY: For the best courses, fans of the World Champs (and Rangers) have to travel to Wigwam Resort (wigwamarizona.com ; 800-909-4224) in Litchfield Park or the heralded Trilogy at Vistancia (trilogygolf club.com/vistancia ; 623-328-5100) in Peoria. Two extraordinary golf experiences lie 45 minutes west in Wickenburg: the lush, rolling Rancho de los Caballeros Golf Club (ranchodeloscaballeros.com ; 800-684-5030) and the celebrated new Wickenburg Ranch Golf Club (wickenburgranch.com ; 928-668-5535).

STAY: A good half-hour drive separates the ballpark from the Wigwam, Rancho de los Caballeros, or any of the finer Glendale/Phoenix/Scottsdale properties.

Among Surprise’s many economy hotels, the

Insta

COLORADO AVIDGOLFER | Spring 2016

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coloradoavidgolfer.com

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Windmill All Suites (windmillinns.com ; 623-

583-0133) ranks highest.

EAT: Vogue Bistro (voguebistro. com ; 623 544 9109) adds a Gallic flair to burgers and sandwiches, while The Irish Wolfhound (irishwolfhoundpub.com ;

623-214 1004) majors in pints and pub grub. New York Flavor (newyorkflavor. com ; 623-266-2520) is deli at its best, and Fresh Wasabi (freshwasabisurprise.com ; 623584-4800) spans the gamut of Japanese cuisine.

DO: The nearby White Tank Mountains provide enjoyable hiking trails. Surprise’s Aquatics Center includes a 4,700-square foot water play area.

LOS ANGELES DODGERS/ CHICAGO WHITE SOX

Camelback Ranch 10710 West Camelback Road, Glendale camelbackranchbaseball.com; 623-302-5000 PLAY: The three courses at the Wigwam (wigwamarizona.com ; 800-909-4224) lie less than

10 minutes from the ballpark. A bit further is Palm Valley (palmvalleygolf.com ; 623-935-2500) in Goodyear and Verrado Golf Club (verradogolfclub.com ; 623-388-3000) in Buckeye, just west of Phoenix. Talking Stick, Wildfire, Troon North and the other 36-hole facilities around Phoenix and Scottsdale (see listings in the Rockies section) are also easily accessible from Glendale.

STAY: In addition to the aforementioned Wigwam, the major chains all have multiple inns and suites here. Old-school fun awaits at

Welsch’s Rose Acres (no website ; 623-225-5127),

a bed-and-breakfast with pools, miniature horse racing, two chipping holes and putting greens.

EAT: Haus Murphy’s (hausmurphys.com ; 623-939-2480) brings Deutschland to the desert with a biergarten and authentic German fare.

A Touch of European Café (atouchofeuropean cafe.com ; 623-847-7119) is well worth any B.Y.O.B. inconvenience. Visit Westgate City Center (westgatecitycenter.com ) for nearly 20 different dining options.

DO: Westgate offers plenty of shopping options. Why not see who’s playing at Gila River Arena (gilariverarena.com )?

SEATTLE MARINERS/ SAN DIEGO PADRES

Peoria Sports Complex 16101 N. 83rd Ave., Peoria peoriasportscomplex.com; 800-677-1227 PLAY: The fabulous Trilogy Golf Club at Vistancia (trilogygolfclub.com/vistancia ; 623-

328-5100)

Rees Jones-designed (quinterogolf.com ; 928501-1500) make Peoria a legitimate golf destination. If you can get on, you might run into Colorado’s own Jim Engh, who designed and lives at the private Blackstone Country Club (vistancia.com/ blackstone-country-club ; 623-707-8700). Plus, the 101 Loop makes just about any course accessible within 20 to 30 minutes.

STAY: Outposts of Comfort Suites, Hampton Inn and other national chains all represent here, and North Scottsdale’s resorts remain viable options. In Peoria, Cibola Vista Quintero

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Beer Here!

At Salt River Fields at Talking Stick, Rockies fans can slake their thirst with a number of Colorado craft ales. Scottsdale Stadium serves Giants fans Anchor Steam in 22-ounce bombers. Cubs fans drink Goose Island IPAs at Sloan Park. And the Peoria Sports Complex (Mariners and Padres), vies with Surprise Stadium (Royals and Rangers) for the Cactus League’s widest craft brew selection. Downtown Scottsdale buzzes with options. Start your own pub crawl at Sip Coffee & Beer House (3617 N Goldwater Rd.; sipcoffeeandbeerhouse.com). Steps away is the stellar Goldwater Brewing (3608 N. Scottsdale Rd.; goldwaterbrewing.com). The barrel-aged sours of Two Brothers Brewing (4321 N Scottsdale Rd.; twobrothersbrewing.com) are 10 minutes by foot.

Hit the taproom at Bad Water Brewing (4216 N. Brown Ave.; badwaterbrewing.com), where the suds are anything but bad. Don’t miss a pint of Hop Knot IPA or the Scottish-style Kilt Lifter from Four Peaks Brewing (four locations; fourpeaks.com). Fate Brewing (two locations; fatebrewing.com) does a solid American Pale Ale and unique Hatch Chile Cream Ale. O.H.S.O. (15681 N. Hayden Rd; ohsodistillery. com) taps 36 beers. And for a treat, go to Papago Brewing (7107 East McDowell Rd; papagobrewing.com), for the popular Orange Blossom Ale or a potent Oude Zuipers (Flemish for “Old Drunk”).

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Four pools, lazy river and waterslide.

Two 18-hole courses at Wildfire Golf Club.

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Camelback Golf Club featuring the new $10 million Ambiente course and the Arthur Hills Padre course.

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for Cubs fans (page 64), savor the Cajun cuisine and music at Pier dé Orleans Restaurant (pierdeorleans.com ; 480-844-7437).

DO: Bring the family to the Arizona Museum of Natural History (azmnh.org ) or the inspiring I.D.E.A. Museum (ideamuseum.org ).

Cruise Saguaro Lake aboard the Desert Belle (desertbelle.com ) or Canyon Lake, courtesy of the Dolly Steamboat (dollysteamboat.com ).

MILWAUKEE BREWERS

Ak-Chin Southern Dunes Golf Club

Resort & Spa (cibolavista.com ; 623-889-6700)

boasts plush suites and casitas and myriad water features.

EAT: Arrowhead Grill (arrowheadgrill.com ; 623-566-2224) and Cucina Tagliani (cucinata gliani.com ; 623-412-2670) both lie about a mile from the Sports Complex. Firebirds Wood-Fired Grill (firebirdsrestaurants.com ; 623-773-0500) offers quality theme dining.

DO: Explore the final frontier with simulated flights at the Smithsonian’s Challenger Space Center (azchallenger.org ; 623.322.2001).

OAKLAND ATHLETICS

Hohokam Stadium 1235 North Center Street, Mesa hohokamstadium.com; 480-644-4451

PLAY: The A’s replaced the Cubs as tenants at Hohokam last year, bringing their golf-loving fans to Longbow Golf Club (longbowgolf.com ; 480-807-5400), We-Ko-Pa Golf Club (wekopa. com ; 480-836-9000) and the ASU Karsten Course (asukarsten.com ; 480-921-8070). A superb round awaits those who drive 40 miles south to Maricopa, home to the highly rated (by both Golf and Golf Digest) Ak-Chin Southern Dunes Golf Club (golfsoutherndunes.com ; 480-367-8949).

STAY: Tempe Mission Palms (mission palms.com ; 800-547-8705) offers a sweet Spring Training package. So does The Phoenix Marriott Tempe at The Buttes (marriott.com ; 602225-9000). Accommodations from the national chains abound.

EAT: In addition to the restaurants listed

Maryvale Baseball Park 3600 N. 51st Ave., Phoenix phoenix.gov/sports; 800-933-7890 PLAY: The Verrado Golf Club (verradogolf club.com ; 623-388-3000) is a straight shot west

from the stadium on I-10. William Bell, who designed Torrey Pines, also did Maryvale Golf Course (phoenix.gov/recreation ; 623-846-4022), a classic muni with plenty of mature trees, doglegs and great practice facilities.

STAY: Budget motels dot the area. For a higher grade of service, head to the JW Marriott Desert Ridge (jwdesertridgeresort.com ; 480-2935000) or Royal Palms Resort & Spa (royalpalms hotel.com ; 602-840-3610).

EAT: In addition to Milwaukee-style brats, cheese curds and beer at every home game, you can get some authentic eats at Chelsea’s Kitchen (chelseaskitchenaz.com ; 602.957.2555), Sylvia’s La Canasta (sylviasfiesta.com ; 602-242-4252) and the iconic Bikini Lounge (thebikinilounge. com ; 602-252-0472).

DO: Head to the West Valley or Peoria’s P83 Shopping District (visitpeoriaaz.com ).

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SPRING TRAINING SPECIAL

How the Other Half Trains Fifteen teams and more than 1,000 golf courses beckon in Florida.

THE DIFFERENCE in time zone and humidity notwithstanding, Florida’s Grapefruit League

showcases some of baseball’s most storied franchises and more golf courses than any state in the country. Here’s where to tee it up during the same period (Feb. 25-March 20) as the PGA Tour’s four-event Florida Swing.

ATLANTA BRAVES Champion Stadium 700 South Victory Way Lake Buena Vista 407-541-5600

With the stadium located just minutes from the Magic Kingdom, in the ESPN World Wide of Sports Complex, nearby resort courses abound. Disney’s Palm and Magnolia courses (disneyworldgolf.com ) until recently hosted PGA Tour events; Arnold Palmer’s Bay Hill Club & Lodge (bayhill.com ) in Orlando still does (March 17–20). ChampionsGate Golf Resort (championsgategolf.com ) boasts two tough Greg Norman designs; Tranquilo Golf Club at Four Seasons Resort Orlando (tranquilogolf.com ) is an update of Tom Fazio’s Osprey Ridge course.

BALTIMORE ORIOLES Ed Smith Stadium 2700 12th Street Sarasota 941-954-4101

The best nearby golf option is the Arnold Palmer-designed Legacy Golf Club at Lakewood Ranch (legacygolfclub.com ), which also attracts Pirates fans. You only have to be a guest of the Ritz-Carlton Sarasota to play the spectacular Members Golf Club (ritzcarlton.com ), designed by Tom Fazio. For a kick, try the Bobby Jones Golf Club (bobbyjonesgolfclub.com ), a 45-hole muni sporting a Donald Ross-designed 18.

BOSTON RED SOX JetBlue Park 11581 Daniels Parkway Fort Myers 239-334-4700

A scaled-down version of Fenway Park’s iconic Green Monster makes watching games here worth the trip. Also worthwhile is the 15mile journey to Ostero, home of Jack Nicklaus’ COLORADO AVIDGOLFER | Spring 2016

(raptorbaygolfclub.com ), and guests also have access to the private, luxurious Colony Golf & Country Club (thecolonygolfcc.com ),

NEW YORK METS Tradition Field 525 NW Peacock Boulevard Port St. Lucie 772-871-2115

Fans of the National League Champions also have championship golf in their backyard: the courses at PGA Village (pgavillage.com ). The 54 holes at PGA Golf Club come courtesy of Tom Fazio and Pete Dye. The former designed the lengthy, lush Wanamaker and Ryder courses; the latter did the diabolical one named for him.

Avail yourself of the 35-acre PGA Center for Golf Learning and Performance, or take a crack at another PGA course, the snug, Jim Faziodesigned St. Lucie Trail Golf Club (stluciegolf. com ), which also welcomes footgolf.

tough Old Corkscrew Golf Club (oldcorkscrew. com ). The municipal Fort Myers Country Club (cityftmyers.com ) recently underwent a $5.8 million renovation to its 99-year-old Donald Ross layout once favored by Thomas Edison and Henry Ford.

DETROIT TIGERS Joker Marchant Stadium 2301 Lakeland Hills Blvd.

Lakeland 863-686-8075

One of the Grapefruit League’s oldest stadiums is a 30-minute drive from one of golf ’s newest gems—Streamsong Resort (streamsongresort.com ). The nationally ranked Blue and Red Courses, designed, respectively, by Tom Doak and Coore-Crenshaw were excavated from sand dunes of an old phosphate mine. If you’re not up for the pilgrimage, hit Cleveland Heights Golf Course (clevelandheightsgolf.com ), Lakeland’s recently renovated 27-hole muni.

HOUSTON ASTROS Osceola County Stadium 631 Heritage Parkway Kissimmee 321-697-3200

Kissimmee’s proximity to Orlando puts Astros fans in the same golf orbit as Braves fans.

There’s also Falcon’s Fire Golf Club (falconsfire. com ), a Rees Jones layout, 12 miles northeast of the stadium. Further north is Shingle Creek Golf Club (shinglecreekgolf.com ). West is familyfriendly Orange Lake Resort (orangelakegolf. com ), with two Arnold Palmer designs and the nine-hole Legends Walk, a par-3 course illuminated for night play.

MINNESOTA TWINS Hammond Stadium 14100 Six Mile Cypress Parkway Fort Myers 239-768-4210

Located less than six miles west of the Red Sox’ ballpark, the Twins’ stadium lies 12 miles north of The Hyatt Regency Coconut Point Resort in Bonita Springs (coconutpoint. hyatt.com ). The bayside resort operates the Raymond Floyd-designed Raptor Bay Golf Club

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NEW YORK YANKEES George M. Steinbrenner Field 1 Steinbrenner Drive Tampa 813-875-7753

If getting on the private Old Memorial Golf Club (oldmemorialgolfclub.com ) isn’t an option,

head north to Lutz, home of the publicaccess TPC Tampa Bay (tpctampabay.com ), an erstwhile Champions Tour venue designed

by Bobby Weed. Arnold Palmer authored an eponymous course at Saddlebrook Resort & Spa (saddlebrook.com ) in nearby Wesley Chapel.

Two world-class options wait an hour north at World Woods (worldwoods.com ), where Tom Fazio’s Top 100 masterpieces—Pine Barrens and Rolling Oaks—evoke Pine Valley and Augusta National.

PHILADELPHIA PHILLIES Bright House Field 601 North Old Coachman Road Clearwater 727-712-4300

Just 11 miles from the stadium, Innisbrook Golf Resort (innisbrookgolfresort.com ) features

four immensely challenging courses—North, South, Island and Copperhead. On Mar 10 13 the Larry Packard-designed Copperhead will welcome the PGA Tour’s Valspar Championship (won last year by Jordan Spieth). A special treat awaits those who splurge for a night at the pink Vinoy Renaissance St. Petersburg Resort & Golf Club: access to Vinoy Golf Club (vinoyclub.com ), a private Donald Ross gem on Snell Island.

PITTSBURGH PIRATES McKechnie Field 1611 9th Street West Bradenton (941) 748-4610

You may find yourself paired with the next PGA Tour star at the IMG Golf Academy Golf Club (imgacademygolfclub.com ), located six miles west from the ballyard. Eight miles in the opposite direction spread the three sweet nines at River Strand Golf & Country Club designed by Arthur Hills. Righteous options within 12 miles include Ted McAnlis’ demanding and coloradoavidgolfer.com

Grayhawk Golf Club, Arizona

beautiful layouts at The Preserve Golf Club (golfthepreserve.com ) and Waterlefe Golf & River Club (waterlefegolfandriverclub.com ).

ST. LOUIS CARDINALS/ MIAMI MARLINS Roger Dean Stadium 4751 Main Street Jupiter 561- 775-1818

All-Star Lineup In addition to the myriad Arizona and Florida resources listed on the previous pages, we’ve compiled this roster of some heavy-hitting websites: Major League Baseball: mlb.com/springtraining Cactus League: cactusleague.com Grapefruit League: floridagrapefruitleague.com Arizona Tourism: visitarizona.com Florida Tourism: visitflorida.com Scottsdale: experiencescottsdale.com

Unless you have a entrée into Trump National or The Bear’s Club, your best bet is Abacoa Golf Club (abacoagolfclub.com ), a Joe Lee design within walking distance of the stadium.

The Golf Club of Jupiter (golfclubofjupiter.com ) will do in a pinch, but in a neighborhood where the best golf is private, you’re better off heading 40 minutes north on I-95 to the golf Eden of PGA Village (pgavillage.com ) or 15 minutes south to the Champion Course at PGA National (pgaresort.com ) in Palm Beach Gardens.

TAMPA BAY RAYS Charlotte Sports Park El Jobean Road Port Charlotte

Only three miles from the stadium, the Gene Bates-designed Riverwood Golf Club (riverwoodgc.com ) received 4.5 stars from Golf Digest. For a funky change of pace, take a crack at the par-60 Oyster Creek Golf Club (oystercreekgolfclub.com ), where a dozen parthrees and six par-4s tip the course just short of 4,000 yards.

TORONTO BLUE JAYS Florida Auto Exchange Stadium 373 Douglas Avenue Dunedin 727-733-9302

How often do you get to play on a course listed on the National Historic Places Registry?

Only three miles from the stadium, the 90-yearold Dunedin Golf Club (dunedingolfclub.com ) sports a Donald Ross pedigree and underwent a restoration 10 years ago. If you want to play a PGA Tour-quality course, then drive further north to Innisbrook Resort (innisbrookgolfresort. com) , home of the Copperhead Course, March’s Valspar Championship and numerous Phillies fanatics.

WASHINGTON NATIONALS Space Coast Stadium 5800 Stadium Parkway Viera 321-633-9200

Laid out by Chip Powell on a former fertile sod farm, the 7,151-yard Duran Golf Club (durangolfclub.com ) unfurls less than two miles south of the stadium. Joe Lee’s Viera East Golf Club (vieragolf.com ) lies about the same distance north and minutes from Cocoa Beach.

South of Viera in Melbourne, the rugged Gary Player design at Baytree National Golf Links (baytreenational.com) rewards golfers with a quintessential Florida golf experience of white sand bunkers, red coquina waste areas and vast blue lakes.

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Spring 2016 | COLORADO AVIDGOLFER

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ELCOME TO THIS YEAR’S edition of the CAGGYs—our awards for the Best of Colorado Golf as determined by a record 3,862 online votes. You cast them for many of the usual suspects—The Broadmoor, Bear Dance, Colorado National, The Ridge, Green Valley Ranch—but plenty of surprises surfaced as well. (For one, a club with a $75,000 initiation won “Best Value.”)

Ultimately, though, our democratic methodology worked.

You’ll see that Bear Dance, Mariana Butte, Redlands Mesa, The Broadmoor and

Pole Creek all repeated as winners in their respective regions. And the courses with the highest green fees, fattest budgets and largest databases didn’t always win, as the strong showings by numerous municipal layouts attest.

Golf, we’re told, is not a game of perfect.

You may not concur with some of the selections, but our readers have spoken and so has our staff. Bring on the debate. Better yet, right the “wrong” by voting for next year’s awards. Polls open in September. In the meantime, turn the page…

Pole Creek Golf Club, Tabernash

coloradoavidgolfer.com

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Spring 2016 | COLORADO AVIDGOLFER

PUBLIC/RESORT COURSES BEST DENVER REGION COURSE Reader’s Choice 1. The Golf Club at Bear Dance, Larkspur 2. The Ridge at Castle Pines North, Castle Pines 3. Colorado National Golf Club, Erie Staff Picks* Bear Dance Colorado National Green Valley Ranch Golf Club, Denver The Ridge at Castle Pines North

BEST FRONT RANGE/ NORTHEAST COURSE Reader’s Choice 1. Mariana Butte Golf Course, Loveland 2. Pelican Lakes Golf & Country Club, Windsor 3. Collindale Golf Club, Fort Collins Staff Picks* Pelican Lakes Mariana Butte Highland Meadows Golf Club, Windsor

PRESENTED BY

Landslide on the Plains BALLYNEAL GOLF CLUB, HOLYOKE 626 VOTES separated Ballyneal Golf Club from its next closest competitor in the “Best Private Front Range/Northeast Club” category—the largest margin of victory in any classification in this year’s voting. Its supporters are in good company. The 10-year-old Tom Doak layout, which sprawls, heaves and roils across the sandy chophills just west of the Nebraska border, ranks among the world’s top 100 courses according to Golf (#75), Golf Digest (#68) and Links (#32) magazines. It rates even higher on their lists of U.S. courses, and Golfweek calls it the country’s fourth-best “modern” course (designed after 1960).

Staff Picks* Broadmoor East Country Club of Colorado Patty Jewett Golf Course, Colorado Springs Mariana Butte Golf Course, Loveland

BEST MOUNTAIN COURSE Reader’s Choice 1. Pole Creek Golf Club, Tabernash 2. Red Sky Golf Club – Fazio, Wolcott T3. Breckenridge Golf Club

Raven Golf Club at Three Peaks, Silverthorne

BEST WESTERN SLOPE COURSE Reader’s Choice 1. The Golf Club at Redlands Mesa,

Grand Junction 2. Devil’s Thumb Golf Club, Delta 3. Ironbridge Golf Club, Glenwood Springs

Staff Picks* The Bridges Golf & Country Club, Montrose Lakota Canyon Golf Club, New Castle Redlands Mesa

BEST ENVIRONMENTAL STEWARDSHIP COURSE Reader’s Choice 1. Arrowhead Golf Club, Littleton 2. The Golf Club at Bear Dance 3. Broadmoor Golf Club Staff Picks* Green Valley Ranch Heritage Golf Club at Westmoor, Westminster Haymaker Golf Course, Steamboat Springs

BEST EGO-BOOSTER Reader’s Choice 1. Aurora Hills Golf Course, Aurora 2. Red Hawk Ridge Golf Course T3. Applewood Golf Course, Golden

Park Hill Golf Club, Denver Staff Picks* City Park Golf Course, Denver Fitzsimons Golf Course, Aurora Red Hawk Ridge Golf Club, Castle Rock The Golf Club at Bear Dance, Larkspur

Staff Picks* Keystone Ranch Golf Club, Keystone Red Sky Golf Club-Fazio Red Sky Golf Club-Norman

BEST SOUTHERN COURSE (Co. Springs and Below) Reader’s Choice 1. Broadmoor Golf Club (East),

Colorado Springs 2. Country Club of Colorado at

Cheyenne Mountain Resort,

Colorado Springs 3. Walking Stick Golf Course, Pueblo

coloradoavidgolfer.com

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* Staff Picks are listed alphabetically.

Spring 2016 | COLORADO AVIDGOLFER

BEST PRACTICE FACILITY Reader’s Choice 1. South Suburban Family Sports Center, Centennial 2. CommonGround Golf Course 3. Green Valley Ranch Golf Club

Staff Picks* The Ridge at Castle Pines North Breckenridge Golf Club Colorado National

BEST FOOD Reader’s Choice 1. Broadmoor Golf Club 2. The Golf Club at Bear Dance 3. Colorado National Golf Club

Staff Picks* Broken Tee Golf Course, Englewood Colorado National Golf Club Red Sky Golf Club

BEST BET-SETTLER (18TH HOLE) Reader’s Choice 1. Green Valley Ranch Golf Club 2. Colorado National Golf Club 3. The Golf Club at Bear Dance Staff Picks* Fossil Trace Golf Club, Golden Green Valley Ranch Murphy Creek Golf Club, Aurora

Reader’s Choice 1. The Golf Club at Bear Dance 2. Heritage Eagle Bend Golf Club, Aurora 3. Colorado National Golf Club

Reader’s Choice 1. CommonGround Golf Course 2. Colorado National Golf Club 3. Heritage Eagle Bend Golf Club Staff Picks* Red Hawk Ridge Riverdale Golf Courses, Brighton Wellshire Golf Course, Denver

Staff Picks* Bear Dance The Bridges Colorado National The Ridge at Castle Pines North

BEST TO WALK

BEST WEDDING/PARTY VENUE

Staff Picks* Applewood CommonGround Meadow Hills Golf Club, Aurora

Reader’s Choice 1. Arrowhead Golf Club 2. Broadmoor Golf Club 3. Colorado National Golf Club

BEST CONDITIONS (PUBLIC)

BEST VALUE

Staff Picks* Inverness Keystone Ranch Raccoon Creek Golf Club

Reader’s Choice 1. Aurora Hills Golf Course 2. CommonGround Golf Course 3. Collindale Golf Club

BEST ON-COURSE VIEWS Reader’s Choice 1. Arrowhead Golf Club 2. The Golf Club at Bear Dance 3. Pole Creek Golf Club

Staff Picks* Fox Hollow Golf Club, Lakewood Raccoon Creek Golf Club, Littleton The Ridge at Castle Pines North

BEST CONDITIONS (RESORT) Reader’s Choice 1. Broadmoor Golf Club 2. Omni Interlocken Resort Golf Club, Broomfield 3. Red Sky Golf Club – Fazio Staff Picks* Broadmoor Golf Club The Inverness Golf Club, Englewood Red Sky Golf Club - Fazio

BEST COURSE FOR FAMILIES

Reader’s Choice 1. Broadlands Golf Course, Broomfield 2. Broken Tee Golf Course, Englewood 3. Colorado National Golf Club, Erie Staff Picks* Indian Tree Golf Course, Arvada Fox Hollow Golf Club, Lakewood South Suburban Golf Course, Centennial

BEST COURSE FOR WOMEN

What About Topgolf?

Reader’s Choice 1. Broken Tee Golf Course 2. Colorado National Golf Club 3. Broadlands Golf Course Staff Picks* Applewood Golf Course Green Valley Ranch Willis Case Golf Course, Denver

BEST APRÈS-GOLF EXPERIENCE Reader’s Choice 1. Arrowhead Golf Club 2. Broadmoor Golf Club 3. The Golf Club at Bear Dance

* Staff Picks are listed alphabetically.

COLORADO AVIDGOLFER | Spring 2016

TOPGOLF, CENTENNIAL TOPGOLF, the 102-bay golf megaplex in Centennial, isn’t an actual course, but it’s certainly changing the course of the way people enjoy the game. With its upscale sports-bar vibe, high-tech golf competitions that anyone can play and hundreds of televisions, pool tables and other activities, the place has drawn customers of every age and ability since opening last August. A number of voters lobbied for it to win “Best Food” (no doubt influenced by its signature Mushi Roll) and “Best Practice Facility.” Look for it on next year’s ballot.

78

Topgolf’s signature Mushi Roll

Staff Picks* Lakota Canyon Golf Club Red Sky-Norman Rollingstone Ranch Golf Club, Steamboat Springs

BEST WILDLIFE EXPERIENCE Reader’s Choice 1. The Golf Club at Bear Dance 2. Arrowhead Golf Club 3. Estes Park Golf Club, Estes Park Staff Picks* Breckenridge Fox Acres Country Club, Red Feather Lakes Pole Creek The Raven at Three Peaks coloradoavidgolfer.com

Breckenridge Golf Club

BEST SERVICE BEST DENVER REGION CLUB Reader’s Choice 1. CommonGround Golf Course 2. The Golf Club at Bear Dance 3. Broadmoor Golf Club

Colorado National Golf Club

Reader’s Choice 1. Cherry Hills Country Club,

Cherry Hills Village 2. Colorado Golf Club, Parker 3. Castle Pines Golf Club, Castle Pines

Staff Picks* Bear Dance The Broadmoor The Ridge at Castle Pines North Vail Golf Club, Vail

Staff Picks* Castle Pines Country Club Cherry Hills Country Club Colorado Golf Club

MOST UNDERRATED COURSE

Reader’s Choice 1. Red Sky Golf Club 2. The Club at Cordillera, Edwards 3. Country Club of the Rockies, Edwards

Reader’s Choice 1. CommonGround Golf Course 2. Colorado National Golf Club 3. Heritage Eagle Bend Golf Club Staff Picks* Coal Creek Golf Course, Louisville Highlands Ranch Golf Club, Highlands Ranch Fox Hollow Golf Course, Lakewood

BEST PACE OF PLAY

Where the Wild Things Par WE’VE SEEN a coyote stalking deer at CommonGround Golf Course in Aurora; a fox hoarding balls at Lake Valley Golf Club in Niwot; and a bear play through at Arrowhead. Even the most densely populated parts of the Front Range present a daily pageant of zoological variety, making “Best Wildlife Experience” Award a matter of timing and circumstance. But go into the mountains and you can’t play a round without a sighting. Bears gambol up hillsides, beavers dam streams, marmots sunbathe on fairways and snakes lurk in the rough. While you’re eyeing a birdie, a gallery of herons, pelicans, eagles and hawks could be eyeing you. And should your ball come to rest in a divot or dropping left by a mighty elk, local rules always allow relief.

Reader’s Choice 1. City Park Golf Course, Denver 2. The Golf Club at Bear Dance T3. Heritage Eagle Bend Golf Club

Deer Creek Golf Club at Meadow Ranch, Littleton Staff Picks* Collindale Golf Course, Fort Collins Green Valley Ranch Vail Golf Club CommonGround Golf Course

coloradoavidgolfer.com

Reader’s Choice 1. Telluride Ski & Golf Club, Telluride 2. The Glacier Club, Durango 3. Bookcliff Country Club, Grand Junction Staff Picks* Crested Butte Club, Crested Butte Glacier Telluride

BEST SOUTHERN CLUB Reader’s Choice 1. Broadmoor Golf Club 2. The Club at Flying Horse 3. Colorado Springs Country Club

Reader’s Choice 1. Cherry Creek Country Club, Denver 2. Valley Country Club 3. Perry Park Country Club, Larkspur Staff Picks* Blackstone Country Club/Black Bear Golf Club, Aurora/Parker The Club at Cordillera Frost Creek Club, Eagle The Pinery/Pradera Country Clubs, Parker

PRIVATE CLUBS

BEST FRONT RANGE/ BEST CHARITY TOURNAMENT VENUE NORTHEAST CLUB

Staff Picks* Colorado National Omni Interlocken The Ridge at Castle Pines North

BEST WESTERN SLOPE/ SOUTHWEST CLUB

BEST VALUE

Reader’s Choice 1. Broken Tee Golf Course 2. Heritage Eagle Bend Golf Club, Aurora 3. Colorado National Golf Club

Reader’s Choice 1. The Ridge at Castle Pines North 2. Arrowhead Golf Club 3 Omni Interlocken Resort Golf Club

Colorado National Golf Club

Staff Picks* Cordillera Red Sky Roaring Fork Club, Basalt

Staff Picks* Broadmoor Country Club of Colorado The Club at Flying Horse

BEST COURSE FOR SENIORS

Staff Picks* The Greg Mastriona Golf Courses at Hyland Hills, Westminster Heather Ridge Golf Club, Aurora Indian Tree Golf Course, Arvada

BEST MOUNTAIN CLUB

Reader’s Choice 1. Ballyneal Golf Club, Holyoke 2. The Fox Hill Club, Longmont 3. Ptarmigan Country Club, Fort Collins Staff Picks* Ballyneal Fort Collins Country Club Fox Acres Country Club Harmony Club, Timnath

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BEST OVERALL EXPERIENCE Reader’s Choice 1. Cherry Hills Country Club 2. Colorado Golf Club 3. Cherry Creek Country Club Staff Picks* Cherry Creek Cordillera Flying Horse Red Sky Golf Club

* Staff Picks are listed alphabetically.

Spring 2016 | COLORADO AVIDGOLFER

BEST FOR FAMILIES Reader’s Choice 1. Cherry Creek Country Club 2. Pinehurst Country Club 3. Glenmoor Country Club Staff Picks* The Club at Flying Horse The Pinery, Parker Red Rocks Country Club, Morrison

MOST UNDERRATED CLUB Reader’s Choice 1. Cherry Creek Country Club 2. Perry Park Country Club 3. Valley Country Club Staff Picks* Country Club at Castle Pines Flying Horse The Club at Pradera Castle Pines Golf Club

BEST COURSE TO HOLD A TOURNAMENT Reader’s Choice 1. Colorado Golf Club, Parker 2. Sanctuary, Sedalia 3. Broadmoor

BEST CLUBHOUSE Reader’s Choice 1. Broadmoor Golf Club 2. Colorado Golf Club 3. Cherry Hills Country Club

Staff Picks* Blackstone Country Club, Aurora Inverness Golf Club Sanctuary

Staff Picks* Blackstone Country Club Cherry Creek Country Club The Club at Flying Horse The Club at Pradera

MOST COVETED INVITATION

TOUGHEST TEST

Reader’s Choice 1. Ballyneal 2. Cherry Hills Country Club 3. Sanctuary

Reader’s Choice 1. Ballyneal 2. Colorado Golf Club 3. Castle Pines Golf Club

Staff Picks* Castle Pines Golf Club Cherry Hills Country Club Eagle Springs Golf Club, Wolcott

Staff Picks* Bear Creek Golf Club, Denver Castle Pines Golf Club Colorado Golf Club

BEST LOCKER ROOM Reader’s Choice 1. Cherry Hills Country Club 2. Colorado Golf Club 3. Castle Pines Golf Club

BEST FOOD Reader’s Choice 1. Colorado Golf Club 2. Glenmoor Country Club,

Cherry Hills Village 3. Broadmoor Golf Club

Staff Picks* Cherry Creek Country Club The Club at Flying Horse Lakewood Country Club, Lakewood

Staff Picks* Country Club of Castle Pines The Club at Flying Horse Red Rocks Country Club

Cherry Creek Country Club

INSTRUCTION BEST INSTRUCTOR FOR MEN Reader’s Choice 1. Chris Schultz, CommonGround

Golf Club 2. Dennis Murray, Valley Country Club 3. Reggie Sanchez, Topgolf Staff Picks* Geoff Greig, Green Valley Ranch Golf Academy, Denver Andy Hilts, GolfTEC, Centennial Don Hurter, Castle Pines Golf Club Stan Sayers, MetaGolf Learning Center

Getting Jacked

Broadmoor Golf Club

CASTLE PINES GOLF CLUB ALWAYS IN contention for every private club award, Castle Pines Golf Club will play much differently in 2016 than it has in the past.

With guidance from course architect Jack Nicklaus, the club has redone its greens and made significant changes to seven holes—5, 6, 8, 9, 12, 13 and 16—in order to create a course again considered worthy of a PGA Tour event. It will reopen May 27.

Up the hill, The Country Club at Castle Pines, also with a Nicklaus-designed course, will close this August to have new greens installed and other modifications made.

That course will reopen in May, 2017.

* Staff Picks are listed alphabetically.

COLORADO AVIDGOLFER | Spring 2016

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BEST INSTRUCTOR FOR WOMEN Reader’s Choice 1. Lauren Howe, HOWE to Golf 2. Dennis Murray, Valley Country Club T3. Elena King, Experience Golf

Sherry Smith, Valley Country Club Staff Picks* Dede Cusimano, Aspen Golf Club Lana Ortega, Lana Ortega Golf Lanny Whiteside, Perry Park Country Club

BEST INSTRUCTOR FOR JUNIORS Reader’s Choice 1. Brad Neher, CommonGround Golf Course

and Colorado National Golf Club 2. Doug Wherry, Jake’s Place, Lone Tree 3. Rick Timm, Pro Vision Golf, Centennial Staff Picks* Steve Beach, Glenmoor Country Club Matt Schalk, Colorado National Golf Club Trent Wearner, Trent Wearner Academy, Englewood

TRAVEL BEST COLORADO STAY & PLAY Reader’s Choice 1. Broadmoor 2. Keystone T3. Fox Acres

Red Sky Ranch

Staff Picks* Paa-Ko Ridge Rockwind Community Links Sandia

BEST GOLF EXPERIENCE MESQUITE/ST. GEORGE Reader’s Choice 1. Wolf Creek Golf Club, Mesquite, Nev. 2. Coral Canyon Golf Club, Washington, Utah 3. Sand Hollow Resort, Hurricane, Utah

Staff Picks* Ballyneal Beaver Creek Club Broadmoor Keystone Red Sky

Staff Picks* Conestoga Golf Club, Mesquite Wolf Creek Entrada at Snow Canyon, St. George, Utah

BEST GOLF EXPERIENCE PHOENIX/SCOTTSDALE Reader’s Choice 1. Troon North Golf Club, Scottsdale 2. We Ko Pa Golf Club, Fort McDowell T3. TPC Scottsdale, Scottsdale

The Boulders, Carefree

BEST GOLF EXPERIENCE – LAS VEGAS Reader’s Choice 1. Desert Pines Golf Course 2. Boulder Creek Golf Club, Boulder City 3. Cascata Golf Course, Boulder City Staff Picks* Cascata Golf Course Coyote Springs Golf Club, Coyote Springs Shadow Creek Golf Course, North Las Vegas

BEST GOLF EXPERIENCE - MEXICO Reader’s Choice 1. Cabo del Sol, Cabo San Lucas 2. Four Seasons Resort Punta Mita, Nayarit 3. One&Only Palmilla, San José del Cabo

Caggy Cocktail (Drink of Choice) INGREDIENTS 1.5oz Gentleman Jack Lemonade Iced Tea Lemon slice INSTRUCTION Fill glass with ice. Pour in Gentleman Jack. Top off with equal parts iced tea and lemonade. Garnish with a lemon slice.

BEST GOLF FITNESS INSTRUCTOR Reader’s Choice 1. Neil Wolkodoff, Colorado Center for Health

& Sport Science 2. Dillon Johnson, Rallysport-Boulder 3. Dee Tidwell, Colorado Golf Fitness Club,

Greenwood Village Staff Picks* Stacy Montgomery, New Directions Dee Tidwell

BEST MENTAL GAME COACH Reader’s Choice 1. Dennis Murray, Valley 2. Bill Campbell, CommonGround Golf Course 3. Elena King, Experience Golf Staff Picks* Stan Fenn, Golf Academy of Northern Colorado Trent Wearner, Trent Wearner Academy Doug Wherry, Jake’s Place * Staff Picks are listed alphabetically.

COLORADO AVIDGOLFER | Spring 2016

Staff Picks* Ak-Chin Southern Dunes Golf Club, Maricopa Talking Stick Golf Club, Scottdale We-Ko-Pa

BEST GOLF EXPERIENCE - TUCSON Reader’s Choice 1. Ventana Canyon 2. Dove Mountain, Marana 3. Westin La Paloma Staff Picks* Sewailo Golf Club at Casino Del Sol Resort Starr Pass Golf Club Tubac Golf Resort & Spa

BEST GOLF EXPERIENCE NEW MEXICO Reader’s Choice 1. Paa-Ko Ridge Golf Club 2. Sandia Golf Club 3. Black Mesa Golf Club

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Staff Picks* Chileno Bay Golf Club, Cabo San Lucas Diamante, Cabo San Lucas One&Only Palmilla

BEST GOLF EXPERIENCE INTERNATIONAL (EXCL. MEXICO) Reader’s Choice 1. The Old Course at St. Andrews, Scotland 2. Old Head Golf Links, Ireland 3. Ballybunion Golf Club, Ireland Staff Picks* Cabot Cliffs and Cabot Links, Canada Gleneagles, Scotland The Old Course at St. Andrews

BEST OVERALL U.S. GOLF EXPERIENCE Reader’s Choice 1. Pebble Beach, California 2. Bandon Dunes, Oregon 3. Pinehurst, North Carolina Staff Picks* Bandon Dunes Pebble Beach Torrey Pines

BEST OVERALL U.S. VALUE Reader’s Choice 1. Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail, Alabama 2. Myrtle Beach, South Carolina 3. Mesquite/St. George Staff Picks* Mesquite/St. George Northern Michigan Myrtle Beach

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SUMMIT MEMBERSHIP TWO PresTigiOus CLuBs, ONe eXTrAOrDiNArY MeMBersHiP

The Pinery Country Club

The Club at Pradera

We invite you to come discover a private Club experience unlike any other just minutes away from home. The Club at Pradera and The Pinery Country Club offer a dynamic membership with access to two distinctive private Clubs.

The Summit Tennis and Sports Membership provides year-round programming for our avid recreational and competitive tennis community, great fitness facilities and classes, impressive dining, and a resort style pool environment for adults and families alike.

The Summit Golf Membership provides your family a private two Club experience with two premier golf courses, two restaurants with incredible patio dining, three swimming pools, three indoor and nine outdoor tennis courts, and two fitness centers.

As a Member, you can immerse yourself in a year-round social calendar at both Clubs featuring live entertainment, wine and craft beer dinners, fun pool parties, family events, and the celebration of holiday traditions.

For a limited time, we’re offering exclusive opportunities to join either The Club at Pradera, The Pinery Country Club, or both with our Summit Membership!

Please contact us to schedule a visit to tour our Clubs:

303.214.1222 | membership@theclubatpradera.com 303.214.1223 | membership@thepinerycc.com

Rocky Mountain

REDEM Back from the brink, Montana’s renascent Yellowstone Club boasts an A-List membership, private powder and a world-class golf course designed by a man forever transformed by the experience.

BY ANDY BIGFORD

BIG GUY, BIG SKY: Weiskopf, here on the spectacular par-5 finisher, often plays in jeans.

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T

OM WEISKOPF HAD NO IDEA that a frustrating helicopter ride in the Montana backcountry in the fall of 1999 would dramatically shape the rest of his life.

Hovering above an undulating, 13,600-acre parcel near Big Sky along with Yellowstone Club founder Tim Blixeth, Weiskopf was severely challenged to find a suitable parcel to arrange 18 holes of golf.

“The only way this can happen is with no internal roads. All the houses need to be on the perimeter,” he recalls telling Blixeth.

“I was surprised when he said ‘yes.’ The residential component almost always drives design.”

Weiskopf soon embarked on what would be the most challenging build of the nearly 70 courses he’s designed. In the process, the beauty of the surrounding scenery inspired the hard-drinking “Towering Inferno” to quit alcohol two days after ringing in the new millennium. “I just looked at the mountains and said, ‘Why do I do this to myself?’” he reflects. “Everything bad that had happened in

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my life was caused by drinking. I’m in this beautiful place, and I said, ‘I’m not going to do this anymore.’”

Clear-headed, Weiskopf and his wife, Laurie, were falling in love with the Montana lifestyle, with the Yellowstone Club and most of all, with its members. They built one of the club’s first homes in 2001 and have a house under construction on, yes, the perimeter of the golf course—which was completed in 2005 and now has about 40 lots on its jack-rail-fenced boundaries.

Weiskopf ’s experience debunks the stereotype of the club as a closed-door, elitist enclave. “You have to be here to understand it,” Weiskopf says. “This place has consumed my interests and my emotions, it’s given me satisfaction and peace of mind. What makes any club is the membership. This is the greatest accumulation of people—the most interesting, the most entrepreneurial, the most supportive and the nicest—that I’ve ever been around. They all check their egos at the door.”

While the roster includes the likes of Bill Gates, Justin Timberlake and Phil Mickelson, for every celebrity member there are dozens of others who made their fortunes less

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PHOTOGRAPHS BY COURTESY OF YELLOWSTONE CLUB

PTION

Spring 2016 | COLORADO AVIDGOLFER

publicly. They now want to enjoy the fruits of all that hard work with their families, and they’d prefer to do it in relative peace and quiet. Back in their hometowns, these members belong to sacred clubs like Winged Foot, Oakmont, Brookline and Cypress, hallowed grounds that Weiskopf walked in his career as a professional golfer. The atmosphere at the Yellowstone Club is a little more laid-back. Music drifts in the background on the range, tee times don’t exist and a couple of members even tee it up in soft-spiked cowboy boots.

“I play in jeans all the time,” laughs Weiskopf. “You’re in Montana, for God’s sake. It’s still the Wild West.”

On the scorecard for the nationwide recovery of resort real estate, the Yellowstone Club is arguably the leader in the clubhouse.

It overcame the double whammy of the recession and the financial/marital/legal turmoil of founder Blixeth. The resulting bankruptcy had crippled the Yellowstone Club and sent economic reverberations from Big Sky all the way down to Bozeman and beyond. Riding to the rescue was club member and adrenaline-junky Sam Byrne, whose Boston-based private equity firm, CrossHarbor Capital Investments, bought the club out of bankruptcy in 2009. He brought in Mike Meldman’s Discovery Land Company to oversee the operations and development, and a new era of stable, realistic and transparent management brought the club back from the brink.

Membership in the past four years has more than doubled, surpassing the 500 mark, and is tracking to reach the cap of 864 in about five years. In steadily attracting 60 COLORADO AVIDGOLFER | Spring 2016

to 70 new members a year, the club is selling about $300-$400 million in real estate annually, roughly what a medium-sized resort town in Colorado records. The entry fee is steep: Initiation is $300,000, annual dues are $37,500 and you have to own property, which is likely going to cost $4 million and (way) up, though there are more affordable options in the condo market.

The membership process is fairly low-key: Contact the club, get pre-qualified and visit. The Big Sky area in general is primed for growth, boasting two other topnotch communities that Byrne plucked out of bankruptcy: Spanish Peaks, which also features a Weiskopf course, and Moonlight Basin, which just completed the back nine of its Jack Nicklaus-designed Reserve course.

The heart of the Yellowstone Club is the 140,000-square-foot Warren Miller Lodge, anchoring the base of 9,860-foot Pioneer Mountain. On winter evenings, the racks out front remain full of skis and boards: Nobody is going to steal your gear. The lodge includes an excellent restaurant and bar, retail shops, a spa and fitness center and a few dozen condos. The new leadership converted its caviar bar to a breakfast buffet; transformed a seldom-used basement ballroom into a popular youth hangout called 20 Below; and eliminated the ski-boot-removal valets.

In late December, the club announced plans for a pedestrian village adjacent to the Lodge, including three new buildings that will house two restaurants, a spa and fitness center, a grocery market, 48 condos and eventually a gondola up 9,573-foot Eglise Mountain.

The club’s current 2,200 skiable acres are more than Beaver Creek or Deer Valley, with never a wait on its 15 lifts, plus a connection to adjacent Big Sky Resort’s 5,750

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acres of terrain. With annual skier visits less than what Vail does on a slow weekend, the powder lasts for days on a mountain with an impressive 2,700 feet of vertical drop.

And while skiing and riding remain as the major attraction, the golf and a dozenplus other summer activities—including fly-fishing on the Gallatin River, hiking, mountain biking, rafting and excursions into nearby Yellowstone National Park—are fast becoming a mainstay.

TRUE WEST: A very well-appointed comfort station.

At 8,030 feet, the 360-degree view from the Yellowstone Club’s first tee may be the most dramatic in the Rockies, punctuated by 11,166-foot Lone Peak looming to the northwest. A Reid Smith-designed, 24,500-squre-foot clubhouse, set to open in June, blends in naturally on the bluff, featuring curved glass and plentiful deck space.

Second- and third-generation timber covered the parcel before Weiskopf got to work. He created wide corridors and softened the slopes, built five sets of tees and coloradoavidgolfer.com

PHOTOGRAPHS BY COURTESY OF YELLOWSTONE CLUB

HOME COURSE: Tom and Laurie Weiskopf settled in at Yellowstone.

CLUB DOWN: Long can be wrong on the par-3 third’s infinity-edge green.

R

The New Red Rocks

ed Rocks Country Club is everything you have imagined in a private country club.

The newly expanded and wonderfully refurbished clubhouse, featuring natural stone, unique and innovative textiles and a calming, neutral color palette will accentuate the unmatched natural beauty and the magnificent mountain views of the area.

Red Rocks Country Club enhances its welcoming sense of community with a new and beautifully appointed bar and outdoor patio, the ideal place to relax and recharge with friends and family. New dining and event rooms feature floor-to-ceiling glass, outstanding culinary delights, and a vast array of events from wine and beer dinners, children’s programming, weddings and business parties.

www.RedRocksCountryClub.org | (303) 352-2030 16235 W. Belleview Avenue | Morrison, CO 80465 Red Rocks Country Club is a private club located in Morrison, CO. All applicants are subject to the Club’s membership application and screening process.

PHOTOGRAPHS BY COURTESY OF YELLOWSTONE CLUB

TOUGH PAR: The 434-yard fourth is the No. 1 handicap hole.

BIG SHOT: Lone Peak provides an aiming point on the sloping par-5 12th.

drew five par 3s and five par 5s, all of which are theoretically reachable in two. Wildlife is abundant, with bear, elk, mule deer, Bighorn sheep and Rocky Mountain goats. “It’s like playing golf in a zoo,” says the architect, who was an acclaimed big game hunter himself before turning his attention to upland and migratory birds.

The 1973 British Open champion designed this course to play hard and fast, and many of the holes welcome run-up shots, though not the postage-stamp, 138yard par 3 11th, or the uphill, 414-yard par 4 13th, which requires a precisely judged shot to a blind green. The unofficial “signature hole” is the fourth, a demanding par 4 with Lone Peak as a backdrop: The mountain reflects idyllically in the lake that runs along its right side. A Weiskopf staple, a drivable par 4, comes at the double-green 9th, which plays 351 yards from the tips. The lower green is reachable with a properly struck tee ball, while a stand of pines tightly guards the upper green.

The Yellowstone Club’s opening three holes provide a comforting confidence COLORADO AVIDGOLFER | Spring 2016

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boost, tumbling 350 vertical feet in all. You can miss your drive off No. 1 and it will still roll forever. It’s the perfect warm up for the celebrated filmmaker Warren Miller, who’s been here from the beginning as the director of skiing and who, along with his wife Laurie, has been a pillar of the community through the good and the bad. He even picked up the game of golf (promising to “never keep score”) and taught Weiskopf to ski in exchange for golf lessons.

Miller tells the story of teeing off with a prospective member on a bluebird Montana summer morning. When they arrived at the downhill 236-yard par-3 3rd and looked out at its infinity-edge green and the mountains beyond, his partner shook his head in awe.

“He said, ‘This place is so fantastic, why am I playing golf? Let’s go look at real estate,’’’ Miller recalls. “Later that afternoon, he bought a lot and a club membership.”

Welcome to the club.

PENULTIMATE TEST: The short but strategic par-4 17th.

Andy Bigford is the editor of Warren Miller’s autobiography, Freedom Found, My Life Story (Warren Miller Company), which will be published in fall 2016. For more information on the Yellowstone Club, go to yellowstoneclub.com. coloradoavidgolfer.com

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WATER WORLD: Highlighted by a three-tiered, 450-foot pool flowing to Chileno Bay, VieVage Los Cabos boasts 32 residences, a 29-room hotel and waves of amenities and activities.

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An enviable confluence of swimmable water, spectacular golf, peerless amenities and boutique living and lodging makes VieVage Los Cabos...

MEXICO’S Next GREAT

PLACE

A

BY JON RIZZI

N INLET ON THE SEA of Cortez 11 miles north of the tip of Mexico’s Baja Peninsula, Chileno Bay got its name from the Chilean pirates who during the 16th and 17th centuries used the cove’s calm, concealed waters to lay in wait for gold-laden Spanish galleons en route from the Philippines to Acapulco.

Hundreds of years later, Chileno Bay remains a treasured spot.

Protected by a natural reef, it features one of the few swimmable areas along the Tourist Corridor, the 18-mile stretch of Highway 1 connecting the cobblestoned quaintness of San José del Cabo in the north to the more commercial Cabo San Lucas in the south.

In stark contrast to most of the Corridor’s rocky shoreline and roaring surf, Chileno’s lapping tides and alabaster sand made it the ideal site to build one of the peninsula’s first resorts; the Hotel Cabo San Lucas opened on the northern edge of the bay in 1961, welcoming John Wayne, among others, via a dirt airstrip known as El Tule.

BAY WATCH While the next 40 years saw Los Cabos explode as a sportfishing, golf, resort and second-home destination, Chileno Bay remained largely immune. That changed in 2004 after the Hotel Cabo San Lucas closed.

Heeding developers, the Mexican government moved the “Chileno” stretch of the highway inland to create more beachfront real estate. The old hotel would eventually become the centerpiece of the Chileno Bay & Ocean Club, a private real estate development covering 1,200 acres of natural desert and two miles of coastline.

Plans called for two Tom Fazio golf courses west of Highway 1.

But after the 2008 recession, a reorganized Chileno Bay Club emerged. The first—and, for now, only—golf course, originally planned

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Spring 2016 | COLORADO AVIDGOLFER

to open 2009, debuted with nine holes in late 2012 and nine more 18 months later.

Aspen-based Bald Mountain Development currently owns and operates the venture.

In 2013, another Colorado real estate investment and development firm, Englewood’s SV Capital Partners, purchased 22 beachfront acres within the Chileno Bay development. With a proven track record of creating international boutique resorts such as Esperanza—the five-star private beach resort and residence club in the Punta Ballena development south of Chileno Bay— SV brought its successful formula to bear on this project. It’s a total game-changer.

BON VIEVAGE The project is called VieVage Los Cabos, and, like Esperanza, it will feature both real estate and a hotel—albeit on a smaller scale and informed by a more active lifestyle. A hardhat tour reveals construction rapidly proceeding on many of the 32 full-ownership three- and four-bedroom turnkey villas, each with its own water feature and 12 of which have presold at prices starting at $2 million.

None exceed three stories in height. A portecochère also welcomes guests to a boutique hotel with 29 exquisite rooms located in three separate buildings close to the 7,500-squarefoot spa, the restaurants and shops. Rooms will run $400-$1,000 per night.

FISH STORY: The resort’s ceviches will come in many flavors.

As with Esperanza, VieVage Los Cabos will be operated by the luxury Auberge Resorts Collection, whose properties also include Napa’s Auberge du Soleil and Calistoga Ranch. More than just a sister property to Esperanza, VieVage Los Cabos will pioneer a new Auberge brand—ViveVage Hotels and Resorts—“that brings together contemporary themes of design, community and wellness in a fresh, active and social environment,” according to the company.

Or, as Mark Cooley, managing partner of SV Capital, says: “Most Auberge properties— most high-end resorts—are geared more for couples. VieVage addresses the need COLORADO AVIDGOLFER | Spring 2016

FABULOUS FAZIO: Chileno Bay already ranks ninth among Mexico’s top 10 courses.

to have more family-oriented, high-end lifestyle experiences. I don’t want to portray it as Disneyland; it’ll be a five-star experience with active daily programming for people who have teenaged kids and younger.”

To that end, VieVage Los Cabos will create a unique experience worthy of its singular and spectacular setting. Following the natural arroyo linking the property to Chileno Bay, a three-tiered, 138-meter-long zero-edge pool will flow through the center of the resort. Carved into a granite bluff along the shore, the grotto-like H 2O Cave serves as the launching point for paddleboarders, snorkelers, kayakers, jet-skiers, scuba divers and deep-sea fishermen. And, of course, there’ll be myriad beachfront activities and swimming in the tranquil bahía.

Those gentle waves provide the soundtrack—and many of the menu items—at Ocean Edge, which will boast La Plancha (flat-pan)-style dishes and a “cesushi” bar where traditional ceviches meet Japanese sushi influences. There’ll also be a Surf Bar for grab-and-go tacos and cervezas; a kids’ club with myriad activities; a fitness and movement studio; a private theater showing complimentary movies all day and night; and access to the hiking and mountain biking trails of Chileno Bay Club.

“It’s such a premier spot,” VieVage’s Director of Golf and Hospitality Marko Hardin says as we take in his employer’s construction site from the golf course. “I call it the tenderloin of Chileno Bay.” (And no, he isn’t referring to the ‘hood in San Francisco.)

AND OF COURSE… VieVage owners and guests can book tee times at Chileno Bay Golf Club—and the course alone may prompt you to join. Even the wooden tees are cool. Have you ever seen a club’s logo—in this case a seahorse—appear

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EXPERIENCE ESPERANZA Every development should have a “sister” resort like Esperanza, the über-luxe Auberge Resort five miles south of Chileno Bay developed and operated by the same team behind VieVage.

For three days and two nights, my wife and I reveled in an unparalleled level of cosseting.

We basked in the one of Esperanza’s brilliantly appointed private Residences, soaking in the private outdoor hot tub and cooling off in our own infinity-edge pool. Seated outdoors at a table perched above the beach at Cocina Del Mar, listening to the surf pound the bluffs below us, we each savored three mouthwatering courses highlighted by impossibly fresh red snapper and wahoo. The knowing hands at Esperanza’s luxury spa delivered stress-melting bliss, as did the hibiscus margaritas we enjoyed with ceviche afterwards. If you need to see, touch and feel something before you buy it, Esperanza more than previews the level of service VieVage will deliver.—J.R. esperanza.aubergeresorts.com; 855-331-2226

in the little scoop that supports the ball?

Salt-tolerant paspalum blankets the tees, fairways and greens, but not the rough— because there isn’t any, just desert and waste areas. Chileno Bay plays a sea-level 7,260 yards from the tips, and the grass grabs, so pick your tee accordingly (the 6,652-yard Gold/Blue combo is a good compromise.)

What you lose in roll you can make up for in green-sticking approaches and putts to the back of the hole. It’s not a true links course, but the bay breezes factor in, as do delightfully quirky bounces and angles.

Every hole rewards you with at least a glimpse of the Santa Maria Mountain and the Sea of Cortez but only one body of water coloradoavidgolfer.com

NEW Craft Grill at Black Bear Golf Club

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See Club for details. Š ClubCorp USA, Inc. All rights reserved. 0116 SMJ

appears on the course: Lake Chileno, an irrigation pond of blue desalinated water, runs along the entire left side of the 441-yard second and 510-yard 15th.

Fazio follows back-to-back par-5s on six and seven with a 270-yard par-4 eighth that would be drivable if it didn’t play into the wind off the beautiful Sea of Cortez framing the elevated green in a true postcard moment—one made more so by the plume of spray from a gray whale in the distance.

Hardin’s local knowledge saved me at least four shots on the front. A Colorado native by way of Arizona, he’s making a smooth transition from surfer to golfer, advising how to ride the waves and ripples of Fazio’s layout.

Many of those undulations appear on the 10th green—a two-tiered rollercoaster

INTO THE BLUE: The long par-4 finisher is one of Cabo’s best match-play holes.

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that’s 57 yards deep and as skinny as a narrow-gauge rail. “Depending on the pin placement, it’s a two- to three-club difference on your second shot,” Hardin advises. A par somehow results, followed by a birdie on the short (255-yard) par-4 11th.

Chileno Bay’s back nine is more exposed than its front, making the 200-yard carry off the 12th tee quite formidable. More challenges lurk on the sneaky long 13th and 14th, and the split fairway and puny green on 16. Then there’s the distractingly scenic 133yard 17th: From the elevated tees, the flag shrinks against the vast azure expanse of sea and sky. This all-carry, all-or-nothing hole is “Mike Shanahan’s favorite,” Hardin says.

Chileno Bay’s 481-yard par-4 18th also comes with a water view, and its clubhouse espies VieVage taking shape in the distance.

Looking past the cranes and CATs, I can envision the Glazier Le Architect-designed buildings, their earth, plant and sea tones in harmony with their surroundings as they welcome families and couples to a paradise worthy of the golden shore it occupies.

Jon Rizzi is the editor of Colorado AvidGolfer.

For more information: vievageloscabos.com; 800-916-1290. coloradoavidgolfer.com

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How to Create a Can’t-Miss Golf Event “Charity Week” is just one innovative approach to fundraising at The Ridge.

HELI-GOLF: A chopper drops raffled golf balls at The Ridge. Closest to the pin wins a donated prize.

By Brandon Fowler “THERE ARE TWO ‘I’S’ in Fundraising – they should stand for inspiration and innovation, not imitation and irritation.” – Ken Burnett Over the past few years, the game of golf has seen participation come to a standstill due to a variety of different factors including cost, time, difficulty of the game, alternative options, and … on and on the list goes.

Being the lone Troon-managed facility in the Denver market and utilizing programs such as Troon Family Golf, Troon’s Troops, Troon FIT & Troon Junior Club, The Ridge continues to put forth efforts on new and innovative ways to help grow the great game we all love.

In 2014, The Ridge introduced a new concept called “Charity Week at The Ridge” which focuses on utilizing historically lowdemand days to offer more competitive pricing to groups that have tight budgets and might not typically be able to afford hosting an event at The Ridge.

“Charity Week” is an unbelievable opportunity for different charity and non-profit groups to raise a substantial amount of money at one of Colorado’s best public golf courses along the Front Range.

Including those seven days, the Ridge hosts between 7,000 and 8,000 charity/tournament rounds a year. We know how to run an event and COLORADO AVIDGOLFER | Spring 2016

are proud to outline some key factors that will help you determine which golf course is the best fit to help you fundraise like you’ve never done before.

IDENTIFY YOUR PURPOSE AND ESTABLISH GOALS. As an obvious starting point, it’s critically important that each event understands the purpose behind hosting a golf event and what sorts of goals the organization is trying to accomplish. Start with establishing the “Why” and getting buy-in from key individuals—the ones who will help make a difference.

TIMING AND DATES. Depending on time of year, golf courses should be offering different pricing and packages.

Picking a suitable date and time is certainly critical and will play a major role in determining who will be able to participate. Make sure to pick a date that works for key stakeholders, doesn’t conflict with a holiday weekend or spring break, and that also benefits fundraising efforts from a pricing standpoint.

LOCATION, LOCATION, LOCATION. In addition to identifying the “Why” and

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establishing goals, it’s also crucial to determine the best location for your event based on the area from which most players will be coming.

Remember playing in an event already takes a significant amount of time out of someone’s day.

Presenting participants with long travel times or hosting a tournament in a remote location—no matter how coveted the course—can really make things difficult.

PRICING REALLY MATTERS. Over the past couple of years, The Ridge has seen many groups take advantage of Charity Week. Each season, The Ridge identifies one week that we can offer more robust pricing options. Managed by Troon Golf and focused on providing the finest playing surfaces, incredible guest service and unmatched amenities, groups are able to take advantage of this week and really create a “can’t-miss” golf event year in and year out.

IS THIS A TRUE PARTNERSHIP? Although golf operators have an obligation to run a business and make sure that their operation is profitable, each golf course should look at establishing a true partnership with every coloradoavidgolfer.com

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Get a good feel for the staff at the property, ask for references and really get a feel that they are there for your every need.

SPONSORS.

LONG SHOT: A foursome scrambles for birdie at The Ridge.

FIRST STAGE: A successful event starts with organization.

Identifying potential sponsors that align with your vision and messaging can help raise extensive dollars and mitigate costs associated with your tournament. Choose your sponsors wisely and look for those companies who are willing to invest and build a relationship with your team. The more value and return that you can provide, the more they’ll be willing to spend.

IT DOESN’T HURT TO ASK.

S P ECI A L A D V E R T ISIN G SEC T I O N

Don’t be afraid to ask for extra incentives when trying to determine the best possible course location to host your tournament. Courses looking to garner your business should be willing to provide an extra perk here or there to help differentiate themselves from the competition.

Treating each event as a true partnership, The Ridge really gets creative in trying to offer unique add-ons to those charities who call our golf course home.

DATABASE MANAGEMENT.

CUSTOM EVENT: The Ridge makes the Avs (such as Nathan MacKinnon, left) at home during their pre-season charity tournament.

Probably one of the most paramount and essential tasks that organizers can do is collect and maintain up-to-date contact information from all golfers, volunteers and anyone else who regularly takes part in their event. Building a comprehensive database will allow you to build a very loyal following and increase participation each year. In addition, a solid database will also allow you to communicate effectively to these individuals throughout the year, keeping your organization top of mind and potentially providing additional fundraising opportunities.

At the end of the day, anyone can try and host a charity golf event. What truly matters is whether you are honing in on all the “little things” that will help distinguish your tournament from all others. Focusing on the vital factors should allow you to take pride in what you’re doing and host a first-class event that raises a lot of money.

The Ridge proudly offers a variety of different programming options aimed at growing the game and giving back where we can. We want to help each event that we host succeed like they never have before. As the official home of the Colorado Avalanche and helping to raise nearly $700,000 for charities in 2015, The Ridge looks forward to hopefully nearing the $1 million mark in 2016.

Brandon Fowler is the Assistant General Manager at The Ridge at Castle Pines North (playtheridge. com). Reach him at bmfowler@troongolf.com or 720-360-4356.

COLORADO AVIDGOLFER | Spring 2016

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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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S P ECI A L A D V E R T ISIN G SEC T I O N

PLANNER PERFECT: Golfsquid President and CEO Gary Robinson.

Squid Pro Quo The site with the odd name is taking over the way people plan golf events.

GOLFSQUID.COM PRESIDENT and CEO Gary Robinson says a marine mollusk perfectly captures his golf event management company.

“Not only is it memorable; it’s accurate,” he explains. “Our cloud-based software has multiple tentacles within each category that help you manage your tournament.”

Robinson’s enterprise also shares another quality with the cephalopod. Propelling themselves at 25 mph through the water and often into the air, squid also happen to be among the swiftest creatures in the sea.

And Golfsquid, which projects a nationwide client base between 10,000 and 12,000 tournaments this year, is one of the fastestgrowing companies in the golf business.

The venture started last spring, when Robinson teamed up with software entrepreneur Michael Kranitz, who had developed the event-management site eventsquid.com. After customizing and finetuning the interface for golf, they showed it to 13-time PGA Tour winner and Golf Channel analyst David Duval, who signed on as a partner and spokesman.

Golfsquid then inked a deal to become the Preferred Online Tournament Services Partner of Golfsmith, in which the world’s largest specialty golf retailer can provide tournament hosts discounts on hard goods like clubs, balls and gift bag items, and soft goods such as logoed shirts, towels and hats.

COLORADO AVIDGOLFER | Spring 2016

Other strategic business alliances have followed. Among them: Clubhub.com (custom club rentals), Qdoba (catering), Hole-In-One U.S.A. (hole-in-one insurance) and Signs Now (course signage). Robinson has also recently set up a nationwide network of 12 representatives to build market share and alliances in different regions.

The power and proficiency of the Golfsquid platform have fueled its phenomenal growth. Its intuitive and easily navigable site has become increasingly more so since launching. It automates every aspect of tournament management—recruiting and registering players, promoting events, processing fees, managing sponsors, organizing exhibitors, coordinating volunteers, scheduling programs, printing badges and cart signs, generating revenue details and maintaining a participant database.

Golfsquid’s Event Builder lets you set up an attractive and interactive microsite that serves as the online hub for your event. Thanks to a recently added course search engine, you can upload a map of the host golf course, and once a company signs on as a sponsor, you can drag and drop its logo onto the specific area of the course (tee, hole, putting green, range, etc.) the company is sponsoring.

Not only can golfers, sponsors, exhibitors and volunteers all register online, but every event an organizer creates instantly generates

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a mobile app through which attendees can communicate with each other and the organizer, vote on questions (scramble or shamble?) and more.

“We’ve also introduced a forum for users to share best practices and provide feedback,” Robinson says. “A lot of them start with, ‘Wouldn’t it be cool if…’”

Frankly, everything’s cool about Golfsquid.

It even handholds tournament virgins with the “Easy Path,” a ten-click process that registers the tournament. Veterans can take the “Power Path.”

“Most tournament organizers think they’re running an event,” Robinson reasons, “but the event is running them. Golfsquid evolves the method, saving you countless hours. The best part is, when it’s time for the next event, one click recreates it. You hit ‘Duplicate,’ and everything’s stored. You can change anything you need to, but basically the whole tournament is saved.”

After what he calls a brisk “beta” year, Robinson anticipates an “astronomical” jump in customers. Although he’s invested in constantly upgrading and simplifying the user experience, forging those strategic alliances and providing added value with bundle packages for sponsors, Robinson has not increased his rate of $2.99 per player.

For less work, more golfers and more revenue, the price is definitely right for you. coloradoavidgolfer.com

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2016 TOURNAMENT GUIDE for Planners & Players

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Keeping it Fresh When participants see your commitment to making the event fun and different every year, they’ll keep coming back— and bring their friends!

IT’S NOT ENOUGH to distinguish your event from other tournaments. At some point, you have to distinguish your event from the one you did last year—and the year before that and…

While it would be nice to think that everyone attends a charity tournament to support the cause, philanthropy can be fickle. You’ll always have your loyal players, but even the most charitable golfers will think twice before opening their wallets for the golf equivalent of the movie Ground Hog Day. So, how do you keep your event from becoming stale?

BLOW-UP FUN: BirdieBall’s Golf-A-Roo

A HOLE NEW GAME: A FootGolf hole or two could kickstart your event.

SWITCH COURSES The relationship between the personnel involved with a charity and the golf course can be like a “Same Time, Next Year” love affair. But instead of a titillating and fun rendezvous, the annual encounter becomes predictable and uninspired.

Consider switching to a course in the same geographical area that might give a better deal or has a better reputation.

A change in venue also gives you an exciting story to pitch to participants.

Of course, you may feel like you’re cheating on the team at the course that’s “always” hosted your event, but the goal is to generate as much money as possible for your charity, not make as many friends as you can. And if you decide to change again, you now have added leverage.

CHANGE THE ITINERARY If, say, you’ve always done a morning shotgun, move it to the afternoon. Or vice-versa. That may not be so extreme but what about having dividing the afternoon shotgun into nine holes before sunset, and nine-holes with glow-in-the dark balls and flagsticks at night? Have dinner and drinks take place between the nines.

Here’s some food for thought. Instead of everyone waiting around for the last groups to come in for a plated dinner, set up food stations and just have heavy hors d’oeuvres or a casual buffet during the awards.

MAKE EVERYONE A WINNER Every winning team creates dozens of losers. The tried-and-true ways to make everyone feel like a COLORADO AVIDGOLFER | Spring 2016

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winner are to have on-course contests like longest and/or straightest drive on a par-5, closest to the pin and/or longest putt on a par-3.

Here are some other suggestions.

• Putt-Putt. Not every attendee at your event is a golfer, but everyone’s played miniature golf.

Check if the course can customize a natural turf putting green with mini-bunkers, water hazards, “trees” made of branches and other obstacles.

Complement the contest with cocktails and a satellite bar or appetizer station. Offer bonsais or a putter for the winner.

• Target Practice. While people wait for the scores to be added, How about renting a Golfzilla, Golf-A-Roo or one of BirdieBall’s other inflatable AirTargets? Have participants—and, maybe, their kids—compete in an après-golf chipping contest using BirdieBalls, the limited-distance golf practice balls that resemble napkin rings.

• Bet with Chips. Similarly, players can chip at inflatable AirTargets set up by the clubhouse and bar. Each target has numerous pie-shaped holes assigned different values. Players can compete in a variety of games, all of which involve wagering in the name of charity. Visit birdieball. com for more information.

• Get It Close. At the end of the event, have a closest-to-the-pin competition from 165 yards to the 18th green. Entrants pay an optional fee (as they would if buying mulligans, etc.) and the winner keeps 50 percent of the total. Better yet, if you can afford the hole-in-one insurance, make it a prize like a car or trip.

• Chopper Drop. This is an oldie but a goodie that people love to talk about. Before the round, coloradoavidgolfer.com

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2016 TOURNAMENT GUIDE for Planners & Players players kick, scramble-style, to the 21-inch-wide hole on the green.

Give each team a FlingGolf FlingStick. On each hole, one of each team’s players must take his or her shots with the FlingStick, which suggests a lacrosse stick with a golf-ball-sized plastic basket. Visit flinggolf.com for more information.

Shorten the course. Turn it into 12 par-3s, four par-4s and two par-5s. Players won’t grumble about a par-52 course when every par-3 features a hole-in-one prize.

S P ECI A L A D V E R T ISIN G SEC T I O N

SWEETEN THE SWAG

players buy numbered golf balls as if they were raffle tickets. After the round, players gather at the practice range to watch a helicopter drop the balls on a designated target green. The person whose ball lands closest to—or in—the hole wins a prize donated by a sponsor.

ENTERTAIN THEM Theatrics at golf events can range from skydivers to celebrity appearances. Other entertainment options include: • Music. Hire a local band to perform a after the dinner and auction. An intimate performance leaves a great impression.

• Comedy. See someone you liked at Comedy Works? Chances are, he or she has a website and you can book them to appear.

• Trick-shot artist. Nothing gets a golf crowd oohing and aahing like a golfer who can crush 300-yard drives while kneeling on a Swiss ball— and does it off a tee held between the teeth of one of your participants. The creativity and entertainment value of someone like Dan Boever (danboever.com) is well worth the price.

• Long Driver. Hire Charity Golf International (charitygolfintl,com) to station a couple of their long-drive champions on a par-5. For a donation, every team can use the bomber’s drive, which usually results in eagles, birdies and faster rounds.

golf tournament format is for two-person teams.

Playing the same ball, the two players alternate hitting shots until the ball is holed.

MAKE UP YOUR OWN RULES Allow beginning or very high (30-plus) handicap players to tee from 150 yards (or closer on par-3s) on every hole.

Make one or two holes 15 inches wide (as famously suggested by TaylorMade’s Mark King).

The birdies and eagles will fly, and so will the pace of play!

Designate one or two par-3 as FootGolf holes. Four soccer balls wait on the tee and the

How many towels, golf hats and balls does one person need? The more creative and purposeful a logoed gift is, the more it will mean to the recipient. He or she will think of your charity when he or she uses it. Gifts that fall into this category are: • Etched wine or beer glasses • Golf travel bag • Golf glove • Leather gym bag • Flask • Thumb drive with event photos • Folding chair • Deck of cards and poker chips • Embossed leather head cover • Cigar torch • Fleece vest • Hand-rolled cigars with logoed rings • Rangefinder • Sunglasses

ALTERNATE YEARS If you’re losing participants or your tournament feels stale, take a year off and stage a concert, themed dinner, casino night or some other gala to raise money. Nobody ever said golf tournaments had to take place every year. Just remember to tell those in attendance to sign up for the following year’s new and improved golf event.

VARY THE FORMAT Not all scrambles are the same.

• Change yours to a Texas Scramble, and at least four drives must be used from every player.

• Play a Florida Scramble and the player whose shot was chosen cannot play the next shot.

• Used at The International at Castle Pines, the Modified Stableford System format counts a double-eagle as 8 points, eagle as 5, birdie as 2, par as 0, and bogey or worse as -1. Use full handicaps and watch those numbers add up fast!

• Alternate Shot: Also called Foursomes, this COLORADO AVIDGOLFER | Spring 2016

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Here’s your chance to experience all the benefits of an outstanding private club.

Readily available tee times, a course always in tournament condition, plus an eventful, year-round dining and social scene.

.For more information on these memberships, contact Herb Miller at 303.681.3305, Ext 4 or hmiller@perryparkcc.com hmiller@perryparkcc.com. And visit our website at www.perryparkcc.com.

PERRY PARK COUNTRY CLUB 7047 Perry Park Blvd., Larkspur, CO 80118

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A Course in Charity ENTERING ITS 20TH YEAR of exclusively hosting golf events for charitable causes, Sanctuary is approaching $100 million mark in money raised. The following 25 charities will hold their events at the course designed by Jim Engh and owned by its only two members, RE/MAX Co-Founders Gail and Dave Liniger.

AUGUST 10 MT. CARMEL CENTER OF EXCELLENCE Contact: Jacque Bauer 719-309-4711; Jbauer@mtcarmelcenter.org mtcarmelveterans.org AUGUST 11 COLORADO STATE PATROL FAMILY FOUNDATION Contact: Annette Westphal 303-549-2145; amdwestphal@yahoo.com cspff.net

Sanctuary 2016 Charity Tournaments

S P ECI A L A D V E R T ISIN G SEC T I O N

JUNE 9 HOME FRONT CARES Contact: George Hayward 719-314-5018; g.hayward@thehomefrontcares.org thehomefrontcares.org JUNE 20 & 21 FLIGHT FOR LIFE— ST. ANTHONY HEALTH FOUNDATION Contact: Meg Nicolet 720-321-4316; megnicolet@centura.org stanthonyhealthfoundation.org JUNE 23 ADOPTION EXCHANGE Contact: Ben Lusz 303-755-4756 x269; blusz@adoptex.org adoptex.org JUNE 27 JUNIOR ACHIEVEMENT Contact: Shawna Mounsey 303-260-6286; smounsey@jacolorado.org jacolorado.org JUNE 24, 2015 ANCHOR CENTER FOR BLIND CHILDREN Contact: Savannah Wippel 303-377-9732 x145; swippel@anchorcenter.org anchorcenter.org JUNE 30 HOPE HOUSE OF COLORADO Contact: Lisa Schlarbaum 303-429-1012 x. 241 lisaschlarbaum@hopehouseofcolorado.org hopehouseofcolorado.org JULY 18 TENNYSON CENTER FOR CHILDREN Contact: Alicia Perras 720-855-3316; alicia.perras@tennysoncenter.org childabuse.org JULY 20 ARRUPE JESUIT HIGH SCHOOL Contact: Mary Barrett 720-726-3395; mbarrett@arrupejesuit.com arrupejesuit.com

COLORADO AVIDGOLFER | Spring 2016

TOP OF THE WORLD: In 1997, Golf Digest named Sanctuary America’s “Best New Private Golf Course.”

Founders Gail and Dave Liniger display the award, flanked by (left-to-right) Head PGA Professional Rudy Zupetz, Superintendent David Hare, Course Architect Jim Engh and Senior Golf Digest Architecture Editor Ron Whitten.

JULY 21 AIMCO CARES Contact: Kelly Fallin 303-901-2462; Kelly.Fallin@aimco.com aimco.com JULY 25 DIAMONDS IN THE ROUGH / HYDE PARK JEWELERS CONTACT: Nancy Thompson 303-367-1367; nthompsonco@gmail.com hydeparkjewelers.com/diamonds-in-the-roughfoundation JULY 27 & 28 NATIONAL SPORTS CENTER FOR THE DISABLED Contact: Cody Galloway 303-293-5311; CGalloway@nscd.org nscd.org AUGUST 1 NATIONAL JEWISH HEALTH Contact: Rebecca Reutlinger 303-728-6576; reutlingerr@njhealth.org nationaljewish.org AUGUST 3 BIG BROTHERS BIG SISTERS OF COLORADO Contact: Kari Mattes-Ritz 303-800-7268; karim@biglittlecolorado.org biglittlecolorado.org AUGUST 6 VOLUNTEERS OF AMERICA Contact: Denise Robert 303-368-5208; denise@deniserobert.com voacolorado.org AUGUST 8 CHILDREN’S HOSPITAL Contact: Serena Tufo 720-777-1759 llinden@childrenscoloradofoundation.org thechildrenshospital.org

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AUGUST 14 & 15 BOYS & GIRLS CLUBS OF AMERICA Contact: Stephanie Barreras 972-581-2372; sbarreras@bgca.org bgca.org AUGUST 17 CRAIG HOSPITAL Contact: Sue Lynch 303-789-8578; 303-789-8940 (fax) slynch@craighospital.org craighospital.org AUGUST 18 PSA / WILLIAM R. MEYN FOUNDATION Contact: Dick DelFava 303-907-6086; rdelfava@milanoinc.com PleaseSaveAnother.org AUGUST 22 PROJECT C.U.R.E. Contact: Allison Eggert 720-490-4022; allisoneggert@projectcure.org projectcure.org AUGUST 31 & SEPTEMBER 1 PAL Contact: Jake Schroeder 303-937-1223 x104; jschroeder@denverpal.com opieopen.com SEPTEMBER 8 FOOD BANK OF THE ROCKIES Contact: Kristina Thomas 303-375-5838; kthomas@foodbankrockies.org foodbankrockies.org SEPTEMBER 12 BOY SCOUTS OF AMERICA, DENVER AREA COUNCIL Contact: Anne Herriage 720-266-2147; 303-455-4689 (fax) Anne.Herriage@scouting.org denverboyscouts.org SEPTEMBER 15 ENERGY OUTREACH COLORADO Contact: Amy Day 303-226-5056; aday@energyoutreach.org energyoutreach.org

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A PERFORMANCE MEASURE used to evaluate an investment’s efficiency, return on investment (ROI) carries particular significance when applied to staging charity golf tournaments.

Although many tournaments benefit worthy causes, they often fizzle after a season or two because they just don’t generate enough of a return on the investment of time, effort and money to continue.

The tournaments that always hit the sweet spot are the ones that generate enthusiasm from their organizers, participants and sponsors. In turn, these events generate increasing amounts of money and awareness for the charity.

Like Ben Hogan’s five lessons, here are five fund-raising fundamentals:

3. Find the right people. Some people find it difficult to ask others for money. Some, especially those in sales, thrive on it. The rainmakers for your charity event need to believe wholeheartedly in your efforts, articulate the vision, generate excitement and, above all, have solid contacts in the business community.

1. Know your purpose. First and foremost, your tournament has to have a charity with clear-cut vision that you can passionately communicate. Individuals and corporate sponsors look for something with which to be fervently involved. Make sure your charity has a strong media kit—a DVD or some kind of marketing material with which to impress potential sponsors. Present it personally to the individual or group with decision-making power.

5. Sign up a restaurant sponsor. About eight weeks out, hold a dinner for committee members, sponsors and potential sponsors at that restaurant in exchange for a sponsorship listing. This way, during the event, people are already familiar with one another; they’ll be more relaxed and have a better time.

About a month after the event, gather the principal people for another dinner. The goal is to maintain the relationships and, more importantly, the commitment for the following year. You want sustain the momentum generated by the event, build on its success and establish higher goals than the year before.

2. Target an amount. There was a tournament in town that was generating less than $10,000 before the 12-person organizing committee decided to move it to a bigger club and set a goal of taking it to $100,000. To reach that objective, the group created a system by which each committee member was required to bring in a certain number of sponsors and dollars. In turn, each sponsor he or she brought in would have a goal of bringing in some of its sponsors. And so on, down the line. It’s something like the multilevel marketing model, with the benefits trickling up to the charity.

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4. Don’t confine the experience to the event.

It’s all about networking and having sponsors build relationships with each other. Therefore, it’s important to find all the ways to entertain committee members and sponsors before, during and after your tournament. We’re not just talking about a silent auction the night before the event, and an after-golf barbecue, either.

6. Keep the event top of mind. Send out thank-yous within a week of the event, expressing gratitude and detailing the amount of money raised. Make sure your committee meets monthly to reaffirm commitments and alert participants to save the date for the following year’s event. Regular e-mails to sponsors throughout the year will keep them excited about the charity as well as the event.

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• One FREE copy of Colorado AvidGolfer magazine for every player.

• Online registration, payment processing, and event management has now been made simple and affordable with Golfsquid.com.

• Specializing in providing innovative branding signage for charity, corporate and pro-am golf tournaments, Fairway Promotions’ complete product line is designed to maximize exposure on the golf course.

• If you are looking for gifts and prizes for your golf tournament, you might consider purchasing some Colorado AvidGolfer Golf Passports.

• National Hole-in-One is offering a 10% discount on the most complete Hole-In-One promotion package around.

• Wow Events Denver specializes in raising revenue for charity auction fundraising.

For complete details and to REGISTER YOUR EVENT, visit coloradoavidgolfer.com/events/register-your-tournament

COLORADO GOLF TRAILS TRAVEL CO. FOR SALE Established in 2008, we are a Denver-based custom golf getaway company. With (10) Golf Trails throughout our state, we book custom trips for ‘Buddies,’ corporate groups, Girls golf getaways and couples.

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Spring 2016 | COLORADO AVIDGOLFER

S P ECI A L A D V E R T ISIN G SEC T I O N

Don’t misspell words on signs. Especially when they relate to those supporting your event.

Don’t be an army of one. Set up small, accountable committees.

Don’t procrastinate. Plan earlier than you ever think necessary. Then add a month.

Don’t assume the course “will take care of it.” Golf courses are great allies but there’s always some detail—like putting sleeves of balls on carts—that becomes a question of responsibility.

Don’t allow on-site pairing changes. Just say no. Addressing all changes at a pre-tournament pairings party is a good way to avoid the discontent, chaos and confusion caused by lastminute changes.

Don’t allow play without pay. If necessary, set up an account with a mobile credit card system (Square, Intuit, PayPal) so you can swipe with your phone.

Don’t cede control. Sponsors help offset costs and can add legitimacy to your event. But don’t let your tournament become a trade show.

Limit giveaways to before or after the round, and only allow a title or presenting sponsor to put its logo on apparel.

Don’t stuff gift bags at the event. Gather items with enough time to hold a pre-event bagstuffing party to build solidarity among board members and volunteers.

Don’t let volunteers just show up. They will not know what to do. Have at least two mandatory assignment sessions beforehand.

Don’t pick a bad day. Avoid times when many of your guests might be committed to another charity event or a club championship.

Know when three-day weekends and Jewish holidays fall.

Don’t rely on one type of marketing. Use every-thing at your disposal: e-blasts, snail-mail, Facebook posts, Tweets, Instagrams, texts and phone calls.

Don’t skimp. People are disinclined to return or invite friends if an event appears to be done on the cheap. Everyone can spot cut-rate shirts and golf balls. And if there are no contest holes, drink tickets or decent food, there’s not much future for the tournament.

The Games of Golf TRIVIA | PUZZLERS

Ladies of a Certain Age

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What do you know about the CWGA, which hits the century mark this year?

MARCH 14 MARKS the 100th anniversary of the founding of the Colorado Women’s Golf Association, with its stated purpose “to promote and maintain the best interests of the game of golf; to hold golf tournaments; and to promote good fellowship among member clubs.” The wording of the mission has endured, although much has changed during the intervening century.

The CWGA currently boasts nearly 19,000 members, whereas the original association consisted of eight—five of whom were married, and, following the etiquette of the day, were referenced by their husband’s name. Mrs. Olyn Hemming, for example, served as the first president. Her name was Mary, and she belonged to Colorado Springs Golf Club (today’s Patty Jewett Golf Course), which that September hosted 28 competitors in the first CWGA Match Play Championship.

Another CWGA founder, Mrs. M.A. McLaughlin, won that championship. Ella was her name, and she would win the event two more times. Her husband, who founded the Colorado Golf Association in 1915 and won two Match Play and three State Amateur championships (as well as three Pebble Beach Golden Vase titles), is in the Colorado Hall of Fame. Ella isn’t, but twodozen women are, including Ann Finke, who will be inducted May 14. Can you identify these 12?

1. Ann Finke 2. Barbara McIntire 3. Carol Flenniken 4. Christie Austin 5. Janet Moore 6. Jill McGill 7. Joan Birkland 8. Judy Bell 9. Katie Fiorella 10. Mildred “Babe” Zaharias 11. Phyllis Buchanan 12. Vivian Dorsey Visit the Colorado Golf Hall of Fame at the Riverdale Golf Courses in Brighton or online at coloradogolfhalloffame.org.

For the answers, visit coloradoavidgolfer.com.

COLORADO AVIDGOLFER | Spring 2016

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Find your new home at TaylorMorrison.com Additional restrictions and limitations apply. Offer void where prohibited or otherwise restricted by law. All buyer and broker incentives, pricing, availability and plans are subject to change or delay without notice. For Skyestone only: At least one resident of house hold must be 55 or better, and additional restrictions apply. Some residents may be younger than 55 and no one under 19 in permanent residency. Please see a Taylor Morrison Denver associate for additional disclaimers and visit www.taylormorrison.com. © January 2016, Taylor Morrison of Colorado, Inc. All rights reserved.