Greetings GCA,
I am from Michigan originally, and a child of the tidal wave that hit golf in 1997. My first (and last) golf lesson was at Shenandoah Country Club in West Bloomfield, MI, where the old pro's only advice was "Don't swing so hard." Dissatisfied with that advice, I moved on to beating balls at the old driving range at Northwestern and Orchard Lake, which is now a shopping center. My golf game suffered through my college years at Michigan at the hands of partying and studying (in that order). Moved on to Chicago where I got the bug again beating balls at the Diversey driving range and playing Jackson Park. Chicago winters finally broke me, and I up and headed for Colorado, where the winter provides enormous value. I currently teach skiing in the winter and work on a golf course maintenance crew in the summer. My interest in golf course architecture flared up on a trip to Pinehurst, where I played No. 2 and asked myself a simple question after the round: "Why was this course so much fun, and others less so?"
This board has been of immense value to me in answering the question above, and so perhaps I can provide some value to it. If you have any questions regarding the golf courses of the Vail valley, and "mountain golf" more broadly, I might be your man.
Thanks,
Tom