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GOLF BY #’s
HIWAN GOLF CLUB
43
BEFORE
AFTER
Denver’s Next Golf Hang
Y
ou would think that a 22,0 0 0 - s quar e -f o ot , hangar-shaped structure built at Lowry Air Force Base in 1942 would have housed some cool B-29s or fighter planes. But no. “It never actually served as an airplane hangar,” says real estate developer Daren Schmidt of Allante Properties. “And as late as 2018, Netflix was processing DVD envelopes here.” Schmidt had a different sort of red-letter day on June 2. That’s when he and an investment group purchased the building for $5.5 million to transform it into The Hangar
10
YEARS AFTER TAKING OVER AS HEAD COACH OF THE COLORADO STATE MEN’S TEAM, CHRISTIAN NEWTON HAS RETIRED. His successor, MICHAEL WILSON comes from Long Beach State, where he served as head coach for five years. He led LBSU to the Big West Conference title in 2021, earning him Big West Coach of the Year honors. csurams.com
22
COLORADO AVIDGOLFER
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FALL 2022
Club—a vast golf entertainment venue with an “elevated, country-club feel” according to James Love, a professional golfer who originated the idea for the business model. With indoor golf facilities sprouting all over town, The Hangar Club distinguishes itself with its enormity and the seriousness with which it takes golf. It will have 10 huge hitting bays—none of which will share a wall—outfitted with the latest TrackMan golf simulators. “There’s nothing worse than feeling like you can’t get a full swing, or the ball is going to bounce back and hit you,”
Love says. “That’s the beauty of this space. We love its volume and want to honor it.” Another point of distinction will be a 750-square-foot putting green equipped with PuttView, the “Trackman for putting” that will allow guests to improve aiming, breakreading, distance control and dozens of other flatstick skills. “We’ll also be the only indoor golf-entertainment spot in town that will be an accredited PGA facility,” Love says. “We’ll reserve bays for lessons. We’ll have a master club-fitter on our team, and major brands will all have fitting bags here.”
COURTESY OF DOVETAIL SOLUTIONS
YEARS OF FAMILY OWNERSHIP AT EVERGREEN’S HIWAN GOLF CLUB ENDED IN AUGUST WHEN FLORIDA-BASED Concert Golf Partners—whose 26-course portfolio also includes The Ranch Country Club in Westminster— acquired the club from the Fowler family, which took controlling interest in 1979. Celebrating its 60th anniversary this year, the club’s Press Maxwell-designed course hosted the first 28 Colorado Opens and has staged two USGA championships, a Rolex Tournament and a Junior America’s Cup. hiwan.com
SLICK LOWRY: By next early next year, the massive space (top) will house upscale an golfentertainment facility with an ample bar (above) and spacious hitting bays and lounge areas (right). The Hangar Club will also feature a 750foot PuttView system, PGA instruction, club-fitting and workspaces.