In the West wing of The Broadmoor, there’s a hall of fame that includes an impressive photographic array of people of note who have visited the resort over the years.
There’s everyone from Arnold Palmer to Babe Zaharias, from Ronald Reagan to Barack Obama, from Aerosmith to Liberace, from Bing Crosby to Bob Hope, from Mickey Rooney to John Wayne, from John Elway to Peyton Manning, and even from Ted Cruz to Hillary Clinton.
Such a site seemed an altogether appropriate venue for Saturday night’s Century of Golf Gala at The Broadmoor, which featured a who’s who of golf in Colorado — and beyond.
About 1,250 people attended the Gala, the culmination of a year of activities and initiatives held in conjunction with the 100th anniversary of the founding of the CGA. Both the history and future of golf in the state were celebrated, with all proceeds benefiting the Colorado Golf Foundation and its mission of youth development through golf.
Jack Nicklaus — who won the first and last of his eight USGA championships in Colorado, the 1959 U.S. Amateur at The Broadmoor and the 1993 U.S. Senior Open at Cherry Hills Country Club — was the headliner on Saturday. He noted that it was his first trip back to the resort since the 1960 NCAA Championships — and just his second since his career-launching victory over defending champion Charlie Coe in the 36-hole U.S. Amateur final 56 years ago. (Nicklaus is pictured above at the Gala and at left on the 18th green at The Broadmoor’s East Course.)
“I’m really pleased to have had the pleasure to have Colorado be such a large part of my golfing life,” Nicklaus said before a fireside chat with journalist Tim Rosaforte. “… I’ve been blessed to be able to (design or redesign 10) golf courses in Colorado (including Castle Pines Golf Club, site of the PGA Tour’s International for 21 years, with three other Colorado courses done by Nicklaus Design). I’ve had a blast coming here. I’ve had two or three homes in Colorado, skied a lot in Colorado and spent a lot of time with (President) Gerald Ford when he was here; what a man. What I’m trying to say is, we’ve had a great, great time in Colorado, and it’s nice to be back here this evening.”
Also in attendance Saturday were the president and executive director of the USGA — Thomas O’Toole and Mike Davis, respectively — along with John Kaczkowski, president and CEO of the Western Golf Associaton, and Rhett Evans, CEO of the Golf Course Superintendents Association of America.
And, of course, there were the six Colorado golf People of the Century who were recognized on Saturday: Will Nicholson Jr. (Man of the Century), Judy Bell (Woman of the Century), Hale Irwin (Male Player of the Century), Barbara McIntire (Female Player of the Century), Charles “Vic” Kline (Golf Professional of the Century) and Dennis Lyon (Superintendent of the Century). (Five of the six are pictured above: from left, Kline, Bell, Nicholson, Lyon and Irwin. McIntire missed the event after feeling ill.)
To put things into perspective, there are six players in the history of golf to have won three or more U.S. Opens, and two of them were at the Gala, Nicklaus (four-time champ) and Irwin (three-time winner).
“We’ve got a five-time USGA champion in Hale Irwin,” O’Toole noted Saturday. “We’ve got the greatest major winner ever in Jack (Nicklaus). We’ve got two past presidents of the USGA (Nicholson and Bell). We’ve got a past chairman of the Women’s Committee (actually two in Bell and McIntire, in addition to Joan Birkland, who was also in attendance). We’ve got a many-time Curtis Cup captain in both Judy and Barbara. It was important for us to be here tonight.”
(For more about the People of the Century, CLICK HERE.)
And Nicholson, a longtime acquaintance of Nicklaus through the former’s longstanding roles with the USGA and the Masters, was responsible for getting the Golden Bear to headline Saturday’s Gala.
“Will has been an unbeliebable friend,” Nicklaus said. “He’s a great man and you’re lucky to have him in Colorado.”
Nicklaus’ fireside chat — covering his tournament, design and personal experiences in Colorado and beyond — was popular with the big crowd (left) at The Broadmoor.
Nicklaus has said in the past — and reiterated on Saturday — that the U.S. Amateur victory at The Broadmoor in 1959 was one of the most important in his career. He sank an 8-foot birdie putt on the 36th hole to secure the first of his 20 major championships, if U.S. Ams are still considered majors.
“That’s probably the most important putt I ever made,” Nicklaus said. “In those days it was a major championship. What it did was it put me in a position where if I had to make a putt if I wanted to win something, I did. And winning breeds winning.
“The U.S. Amateur was the one that gave me the confidence to know that I could play, that I could do things under pressure. That was important to me.”
Nicklaus also noted that he defeated Robert Tyre Jones III, son of Grand Slam winner Bobby Jones, in the first round of match play.
Jones III told Nicklaus that he had called his dad and asked the elder Jones if he was going to come out and watch him. Bobby Jones asked who Jones III was playing. After being told it was Nicklaus, Bobby Jones told his son, “I’ve heard of him. No, I’m not coming out to watch you play 13 holes.”
And, noted Nicklaus, “We played 13 holes” in the Bear’s match play victory.
As for his performance in the 1960 U.S. Open at Cherry Hills, where he finished runner-up — as an amateur — to Arnold Palmer while being paired with Ben Hogan for the final two rounds …
“Probably the best thing that ever happened to me in my career was not to win that tournament,” Nicklaus said. “Had I won that tournament, I probably wouldn’t have put my nose to the grindstone and would not have wanted to get better. It brings you down to earth.”
But Nicklaus would win again in Colorado, both at the 1977 Jerry Ford Invitational, then prevailing by one shot at Cherry Hills over fellow former Ohio State golfer Tom Weiskopf in the 1993 U.S. Senior Open.
And though Nicklaus’ competitive golf days are now over — aside from periodic participation in the PNC Father-Son Challenge — he still isn’t done making his mark in Colorado. Just in recent months, he made alterations to numerous holes at the Castle Pines Golf Club course which opened in 1981.
“It’s a better course now,” Nicklaus said.
(For more about Nicklaus’ many accomplishements in Colorado, CLICK HERE.)
Odds and Ends from The Broadmoor: In tribute to Nicklaus for playing such a prominent role in the Century of Golf Gala, CGA president Phil Lane said that $25,000 will be donated to the Nicklaus Children’s Health Care Foundation. …
George Solich, a former Broadmoor caddie who provided the lead gift for the Colorado Golf Foundation three years ago, spoke at the Gala along with current University of Colorado Evans Scholar Josh Aguilar (left, next to Solich). Aguilar was a product of the Solich Caddie & Leadership Academy, one of the beneficiaries of the Colorado Golf Foundation. Solich, a CU Evans Scholar alum, encouraged support of the Foundation and the programs it supports. …
About 20 Evans Scholar caddies from CU assisted with Saturday’s Century of Golf golf outing, held at The Broadmoor’s East and West courses, along with the Gala. …
Roughly 170 players participated in the golf on a mid-November day in which the temperature reached the mid-60s. Each threesome/foursome/fivesome competed Saturday by seeing if its net best-ball score bettered that of Jack Nicklaus during the 36-hole U.S. Amateur final in 1959 at the East Course. Also, each competitor had the chance to try an 8-foot birdie putt similar to the one Nicklaus sunk to win the Amateur on the 18th green at the East Course, with those making it being awarded a Century of Golf in Colorado poster created by artist Lee Wybranski.
