Yesterday I returned from a golf trip to the Colorado mountains with a group of 16. The scenery and wildlife was spectacular, including in particular a bear that greeted us on the way to the first tee on Saturday. The golf courses ranged from good to mediocre.
Building golf courses at this high elevation and on the side of mountains presents some unique challenges. I am sure someone has walked these courses but I will guarantee you it was not me. I am not sure firm and fast is a reasonable ideal on such sites because the ball would just roll downhill into the junk. We played a lot of blind holes. While I have no problem with blind shots, it is helpful to have some hint as to what lies ahead on a particular hole.
I played the following courses in order of preference.
1. Red Sky Ranch (Norman) -
http://www.redskygolfclub.com/info/crs.norman.aspTerrific setting. The design seemed to best accommodate the slopes into an interesting, yet playable test of golf. The fairways seemed wider than most courses we played.
2. Cordillera - Summit
http://www.cordillera-vail.com/summit-course.html - my favorite course from a view perspective. The drive up the mountain seems to take forever and purportedly the course gets up to 10,000 feet in elevation as one point. Upon arriving at the guard house one member of our group asked "Are you Gabriel?" The course punished the short hitting members of our group of 16. Many of us lost quite few balls. Nonetheless, if I had the choice of one place to visit again this would be it.
3. Cordillera - Mountain
http://www.cordillera-vail.com/mountain-course.htmlThis course is lower than the Summit and features much more housing. The housing is not as bothersome as on many courses and does not intrude on the experience as much as elsewhere. There are some extraordinarily awkward holes here - including a reachable par five where the layup is blind to some very tight terraces and a downhill 430 yard hole that is a layup and a pitch but through such a narrow tunnel that it seemed out of place. The fairways are quite wide generally, but you need to hit the uphill half or be ready for some very unpleasant bounces.
4. Sonnenalp -http://www.sonnenalpgolfclub.com
This course is down near the Interstate in Edwards. It features a ton of housing but has very interesting and severe greens. It was run more like a private club than the others (even though they all describe themselves as private for some reason). The housing takes away from the experience for me and I would be unlikely to pay full fare to play here again.
5. Beaver Creek -
http://www.beavercreek.com/golf/beaver-creek-golf-club.aspx#/ClubHistoryIt is never a great sign when two of the first three holes are par fives requiring a layup off the tee. Imagine an Arizona target course placed on a mountainside and you get the sense of the first few holes. Imagine an ordinary municipal course on a mountainside and you get the sense of the rest. The best reason the play this course is that is convenient in a trip with the family or on business. It is squeezed into a difficult parcel of land between a mountainside and a road.
Bonus Round - Buffalo Run -
http://www.buffalorungolfcourse.com I scheduled my Sunday flight in the evening to squeeze in a round with a friend in Denver. Unfortunately, his club was not available so we agreed to meet at Buffalo Run near DIA to avoid the Bronco traffic in the middle of town. I have never seen so many people wearing Orange in my life. Denver fans are an earnest group that are flying high with Payton Manning at quarterback.
Buffalo Run is a solid course on flat land. It has plenty of length and did have a certain percentage of walkers. We played at 10 am on a Sunday in four hours. The course was watered to a soupy mess in places and the greens were very soft. However, the course features large bunkers placed in a manner to make you think, significantly contoured greens that would become very difficult to impossible if maintained firm and fast, and a pleasant setting. I recommend it if you are looking to squeeze in one round before getting on a plane. Riverdale Dunes is a more interesting design but either place is perfectly fine.
I really enjoyed this destination. September weather was just about perfect and the views are as good as it gets. I doubt any of these courses will enjoy significant status among this discussion board but playing an ordinary golf course in an extraordinary location can be as enjoyable for me as an outstanding golf course in an ordinary location.
Nonetheless - I would love to have seen what Donald Ross what have done here. Based on his work at Northland, I bet he would have figured something out.