New Mexico & Colorado…and
get to meet Eliza
We arrived home the afternoon
of September 21 and started unpacking etc.
During our trip we learned Clark, Pat’s younger son and his wife had
their third child, Eliza Hullihen on September 17. Alex had been expecting around September 30
and was more surprised than anyone else by the early delivery. Mother and baby were doing great and Alex’s
parents were on their way to Colorado, so we planned to get there around
October 7. We were scheduled to be at
the annual MIT Golf Outing at Pound Ridge GC (NY) on Tuesday, October 3 and I
planned to leave for Colorado and New Mexico and October 4. At this point I had played 988 golf courses,
and had 19 courses left to play on my current bucket lists…with 7 of these located
in New Mexico and Colorado (Clark, Alex, daughter Sarah (5), son Owen, (to be 3
on October 7), and 2 week old Eliza living in Glenwood Springs, CO). So we planned a trip where I would leave on
10/4 and Pat on 10/6 and we would return to Boston 10/11. Then I would drive from Boston to Pinehurst
10/13-16 and Pat would fly down on 10/14.
Fairly complicated but looked like it would work.
I would try to play 5 courses
10/4-6, Country Club of the Rockies while we were out in Glenwood Springs (only
50 miles away), and perhaps Denver CC (former Curtis Club site) just before
coming back.
Pinon Hills Golf Course,
October 4, 2017: Located in northwestern New Mexico, Pinon
Hills cannot be classified as convenient, except perhaps for Elizabeth Warren
(Conservatives will laugh at that one, Liberals not so much). Located in Farmington, NM, population about
45,000, and its major industries involve the production of oil, natural gas,
and coal. To get there, I flew from
Boston to Denver and then Denver to Durango, CO (in southwestern CO) and from
there drove about 50 miles to the course, arriving around 2pm. The course and other recreational facilities
were built by the city and financed by a 0.25% sales tax lasting five
years…total cost for the course was $2.7 million and it was completed in
1989. Ken Dye (no relation to Pete) was
the architect. He has worked on numerous
courses in NM and west Texas, as well as 9 in the NY area (Brae Burn, Ardsley,
Bedford, Innis Arden-CT, Metropolis, Round Hill-CT, Westchester, Spring
Brook-NJ, and Willow Ridge). Dye also
designed Black Mesa (more below) and Paa-Ko Ridge in NM, both of which have
appeared on USA Top 100 lists.
Farmington, NM is some 65
miles by car from “Four Corners” (where the states of AZ, CO, NM, and UT meet)
and I would have liked to see that spot, but it was in the opposite direction
of my travel plans and the logistics of this trip were daunting enough already
so I took a pass.
While Pinon Hills would not
make my list of “greatest courses”, it is very very good and would certainly
make anyone’s list in terms of value (non resident rates $58 weekdays and $63
weekends). The course was in very good
condition, is beautifully carved through the foothills and high desert, and
makes great use of the land. In 1997 and
1999 it made my Golf Week Merged USA Top 100 (peaking in GW’s initial year of
1997 at #62) and also made GW’s USA Top 100 Modern list all years from
1997-2001. From the back tees it totals
7198 yards and offers fairly wide corridors.
I finished with a 39 - 41 =80 playing from 6204 yards. Had to hurry around the back nine (hopping
between groups and then backtracking) because of the long drive ahead through
desolate countryside.
 |
| Pinon Hills #3 452 yd par 4...looking southwest and seeings almost forever |
This a good course but a pain
in the butt to get to and from…so good to have it “done”.
Now to the drive ahead…I
faced a drive of about 175 miles to Espanola, NM (about 15 miles north of Santa
Fe). When I left Pinon Hills I knew I
had about 90 minutes of daylight for this 3-hour drive and this was not travel
on Interstate highways. Checked my gas
and took off…roads were quite good until I had to make a left turn onto NM
State road #96…just as it was getting dark and I had 48 miles to go until I hit
another good road. One lane each way and
nothing but hamlets consisting of 4-8 homes all the way. My GPS signal kept working, I didn’t get a
flat, and all else went good…and afterward I wondered about the wisdom of my
decisions (as did everyone else I told about it later).
The next morning I went over
to Black Mesa Golf Club, where I was scheduled to play at 8:30 or so. It had rained heavily overnight and there
were threatening skies in the distance.
At the course, Tom Velarde, Dir. Of Golf advised that the heavy rains had
washed out many of the cart paths…walking would be possible but no carts this
day. Since I was scheduled to play
University of New Mexico that afternoon, there was no way I could play 36
including 18 waking here on what was obviously a hilly track. This was my first rain out since Pat and I
had a round cancelled at Royal Porthcawl in June 2015 so there is no way I
could complain…I was “due” for a rainout…and from the looks of the sky, I
figured I probably couldn’t have finished the round that day. Tom called UNM and they had decent weather
down there (about 100 miles south) and they were able to switch me to an
earlier tee time, so I told Tom “I shall return” and headed south for Albuquerque.
University of New
Mexico-Championship Course, October 5, 2017: I arrived at UNM
around 10am and was able to get right off.
This is a big course that sits in the desert right next to the UNM
campus. Completed in 1966 and designed
by Red Lawrence, it now stretches to 7555 yards (but plays shorter due to the
altitude of about 5200’). It hosted the
NCAA Men’s Championships in 1950, 1976, 1992, and 1998 and the NCAA Women’s
Championships in 1987 and 2008. Yes, I
did note that a golf course completed in 1966 probably could not have hosted
the NCAA’s in 1950, but all my sources (original Golf Digest Top 100 listings,
Wikopedia, UNM literature, etc.) say the same thing. As they say in Brooklyn “go figga”.
UNM was included on GD’s 200
Toughest (listed alphabetically) in 1966 and 1967, 100 Best Tests in 1969 (#81-90
bracket) and 100 Greatest in 1971, ’73, and ’75 (#91-100 bracket all three
times).
The greens are classic Red
Lawence designs, large but with ridges running out from the center generally
diviidng each green into 3 or 4 smaller greens…and you had better be on the
correct section (which obviously varies with pin position). But the course from tee to green was somewhat
repetitive ands depended too much on length IMO. I admit to losing interest on the back nine
and had a 43 – 46 = 89.
The course lies across the street
from the Albuquerque airport and my flight to Denver was on time. Then I had another 90 mile drive to Colorado
Springs…I was scheduled to play The Broadmoor’s East Course Friday morning,
followed by Columbine CC thereafter. Pat
was flying into Denver on Friday and we would drive out to Glenwood Springs on
Saturday.
The Broadmoor-East, October
6, 2017: Donald Ross designed the first course (opened
1918) at The Broadmoor Hotel in Colorado Springs. In 1965, Robert Trent Jones Sr. added 18
holes and this resulted in two courses (East and West), each with 9 of the
original Ross holes and 9 of the new Jones holes. I had played the West Course in May 2014, and
on this day played the East.
The East Course has never
been on a USA Top 100, but has been used for all of the major golf events
conducted at The Broadmoor since 1965.
Prior to 1965, the original Ross course hosted the US Amateur in 1959
(won by Jack Nicklaus…his first major win) and the 1962 Curtis Cup Match. Since the split into East and West in 1965,
the East has hosted two Woman’s Opens (1995 and 2011 won by Annika Sorenstam
and Ryu So-yeon, respectively), a US Amateur (1967 won by Bob Dickson), a US
Women’s Amateur (1982 won by Juli Inkster), and by next year will have held two
US Senior Opens (2008 won by Edwardo Romero and 2018). From the back tees it totals 7355 yards but
at 6400’altitude, that probably is more like 6400-6500 yards. The greens are very deceptive because of the
very strong influence of the mountains.
I had a so-so 42 – 40 = 82,
and putted poorly. The course is very
good but not great, and based on my recollection of the West, I sense that in
1965 one excellent course was combined with a good 18 holes to make two “very
good” courses. But given the layout and
land available, it probably made sense to “split” the Ross 18 in order to have
both courses start and end near the clubhouse.
The club feels much more like
a private club than a resort, and the entire facility is beautifully maintained
and managed. The course itself is in
excellent condition except for being way to green and not firm and fast
enough…a common affliction of resorts (with Pinehurst being a rare exception).
After the round, I raced up
to Columbine Country Club.
Columbine Country Club,
October 6, 2017: Columbine opened in 1955 with a course
designed by Henry Hughes, who after serving as Superintendent at Cherry Hills
CC in Denver embarked on a career as a golf course architect, mostly in
Colorado. In 1967 it hosted the PGA
Championship, won by Don January in a playoff against Don Massengale. Originally, the PGA Championship was
scheduled for Columbine in 1966, but heavy rains and resulting flooding caused
the PGA to move the event to Firestone CC (Akron, Ohio) in 1966 and utilize
Columbine in 1967. At that time, at 7436
yards (today 7361 yards), Columbine was the longest course in Major
Championship history, although the elevation of 5300’ shortened the course
substantially.
Columbine was finishing off a
new clubhouse structure…and this will be a huge clubhouse (note…it may well be
open by now). The course was very
crowded but I was allowed to go off the back nine first and after playing #18,
joined with a member and his son for the last 9 holes. I had a 41 - 41 =82, and we rushed through
the last 4 holes to keep ahead of some threatening skies that never resulted in
storms over the course (but were pretty brutal some 5-10 miles away). I liked the course, was surprised at how flat
it is, but could not understand the 18th hole that has two trees
essentially blocking most of the fairway (see pic). Tree Huggers, I guess!
 |
| Columbine #18 455 yd par 4...I would cut down right hand tree and remove right fairway bunker to create dogleg left |
After the round it was up to
Denver and met Pat at our hotel…The Art Hotel…really cool place. Pat had flown in and spent the afternoon at
the Denver Art Museum. We had dinner
with an old friend and classmate from MIT, Mal W. It was fun to catch up and debate current
politics. We and continued the debate
over the next few days by phone and discovered we agreed on more things than we
disagreed on, which is why I am not revealing his last name…for his protection 😀.
Early Saturday we drove out
to Glenwood Springs. Clark and Alex are
doing great and Eliza is a wonderful baby…so quiet one might forget she had
arrived. Sara (5) and Owen (who
celebrated his 3rd birthday this day) have been great with their new
sibling.
During our four days in
Glenwood Springs, I did get a chance to zip over to Edwards, CO (west of Vail)
to play a Jack Nicklaus course on Sunday, and also played 9 holes with Clark at
their home course on Monday (Columbus Day).
Country Club of the Rockies,
October 8, 2017: This is a Nicklaus design opened in
1984. Totals 7402 yards (I played from
6500 yards which is more like 5800 given the altitude). This was the last day of the golfing season
at CCR and I pretty much had the course to myself in the afternoon (the grounds
crew was following close behind starting to punch the greens). It was in fabulous condition, fast and firm
from tee through greens with the greens also being receptive to well hit
approach shots. I loved the speed of the
greens and was putting great. Ended up
with a 38 – 35 = 73…just 45 days before my 73rd birthday, but who is
counting? Could not complain…ended up
par-par-birdie, sticking a 6-iron to about 8’ on 18 and canning the putt.
I played CCR to finish
another bucket list. As you may have
noticed, I often refer to a Golf Week Merged USA Top 100. That is because Golf Week in 1997 started
publishing two USA Top 100 lists…one for Classic courses (built in 1960 or
before) and one for Modern courses (built after 1960). Personally I believe this distinction is no
longer relevant, but it does exist…and my merged list is designed to use GW’s
own ratings to create a Top 100 from these two lists. In early 2016 I saw that I was getting close
to finishing playing all 200 courses for that year, and by the end of summer
2017 was at 199 of the 200. By playing
CCR this day, I completed the 2016 Golf Week USA Top 100 Classic and
Modern. I now have one course to play to
knock off 2017…Sweetens Cove, a nine-hole course 30 minutes west of
Chattanooga, TN, that I am scheduled to play 10/30/2017.
CCR is very good but not
great. Course is fairly open for the
front nine but tightens up on the back.
It is in a spectacular setting.
Surprising how flat the property is. A very good “play every day” course. Its only appearance on a USA Top 100 list was
as #82 on the above mentioned GW Top 100 Modern list which made it #167 on my
Merged GW list for that year.
Playing nine with Clark was
great fun on Monday. We had played his
course (Ironbridge) two years ago along with another course further west, Lakota
Canyon Ranch. Long time readers may
recall he had a hole in one at Lakota Canyon. I am pleased to report that his game is
improving rapidly and he has started to develop some good touch around the
greens. Keep it up, Clarko!!
I had the chance to play
Denver CC Tuesday but the logistics would have been simply crazy, even for
me. Hope to get a rain check for
2018…Clark and Alex will be here for a while, so will try to knock off Denver
CC and Black Mesa (NM) in 2018.
Rest of time in Glenwood
Springs went well. It is a wonderful
town and the whole family is thriving in the great outdoor environment. When I married Pat along came her two very
special sons and over time two wonderful families including now 7
grandkids. I am a lucky man.
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