Coloradans have significant reasons to be grateful this Thanksgiving. If there’s any doubt about that, one need only look at our scenic surroundings, just for starters.
Those of us who play golf in the state seem particularly fortunate. With that in mind, here are some of the many reasons Colorado golfers should be appreciative this Thanksgiving week:
— Weeks Like This: We may not be able to play golf every week of the year in Colorado — and yes, there are times during the dead of winter when we might long for a chance to break out the sticks — but it’s hard for a golfer to complain about a Thanksgiving week with temperatures in the 60s or 70s on several days.
And it’s rare when an entire month goes by without any playable days in Colorado. For an area that gets a full taste of all four seasons, it’s a bonus to be able to get out on the course pretty much year-round, should we get the inkling.
— Great Courses, Great Settings: Anyone who has played Arrowhead (pictured above), the Broadmoor, Perry Park or any number of other stunning Colorado courses can attest how jaw-droppingly beautiful the golf settings in our state can be.
And seldom does one of those national “greatest” or “best of” list of courses come out that doesn’t include several Colorado entries.
— Major Events Year-In and Year-Out: There’s no doubt that the departure of The International PGA Tour event after a 21-year run was a big blow for Colorado golf fans, but we’ve had a great run of national and international events just about every year since to help fill the void.
There was the 2008 U.S. Amateur Public Links, where Rickie Fowler was a big draw, at Murphy Creek in Aurora, then the 2008 U.S. Senior Open at the Broadmoor, the 2009 Palmer Cup at Cherry Hills, the 2010 Senior PGA Championship at Colorado Golf Club, the 2011 U.S. Women’s Open at the Broadmoor, and the 2012 U.S. Amateur at Cherry Hills and CommonGround. And upcoming are the 2013 Solheim Cup at Colorado Golf Club, and the 2014 BMW Championship, a PGA Tour playoff event at Cherry Hills.
— Business on the Upswing: Although it was probably almost exclusively due to the nice weather this year, it was still good news to find public courses reporting that rounds jumped considerably in the first eight months of the year.
Now it would be nice to see the game of golf grow due to the many initiatives that have been implemented in recent years.
— Giving Nature of Coloradans: There are plenty of good people in Colorado who get paid to nurture the game of golf, but the ones who particularly deserve praise are the many volunteers who give graciously of their time for the good of the game.
Whether it be rules officials for tournaments, course raters, general administrators, financial contributors, or folks who make valuable golf initiatives go, the game would suffer greatly without the many people who volunteer.
— National Leadership: Coloradans Jim Bunch and Christie Austin have been stalwarts in national leadership positions in recent years, and as such they’ve significantly benefited both the game in our state and on a much larger scale.
Bunch, who formerly served on the powerful USGA Executive Committee, currently is the chairman of the Western Golf Association, which administers the Evans Caddie Scholarship and conducts the BMW Championship on the PGA Tour. And Austin is finishing up her sixth year on the USGA Executive Committee, from which she will “retire” in early February.
— A History to Savor: Just looking at a list of all-time greats who have won significant tournaments in Colorado brings back all sorts of indelible memories for the state’s golf fans.
There’s Arnold Palmer (1960 U.S. Open), Jack Nicklaus (1959 U.S. Amateur and 1993 U.S. Senior Open), Phil Mickelson (1990 U.S. Amateur, 1993 and ’97 Internationals, and the 1990 CU-Fox Acres Invitational), Annika Sorenstam (1995 U.S. Women’s Open), Greg Norman (1989 International), Juli Inkster (1982 U.S. Women’s Amateur), Vijay Singh (1998 International), Ernie Els (2000 International), Davis Love (1990 and 2003 International), Hubert Green (1985 PGA Championship) and Jay Sigel (1983 U.S. Mid-Amateur).
— Recovery of Dennis Lyon: The retired longtime manager of golf for the city of Aurora suffered life-threatening injuries when he was struck by a truck last December while walking his dog near Murphy Creek Golf Course.
Thankfully, the Colorado Golf Hall of Famer and 2011 winner of the national USGA Green Section Award made a major recovery in 2012 and is largely back to his old self.
— Two Colorado Golf Expos: There’s something about the Denver Golf Expo — and the Southern Colorado Golf Expo, which will return in 2013 — that helps put local golfers in the mood for the coming season.
The timing is certainly ideal, with the Denver show in early February and the Southern Colorado Expo a month later. Coming as the state emerges from the dead of winter, there’s nothing like a multi-day golf show to get golfers back in the mindset.
— Productive Local Golf Associations: Members of the CGA and CWGA who also are members of out-of-state golf associations often rave about how well the Colorado organizations perform in comparison.
And the Colorado PGA and its professionals obviously stack up very well among their peers as they’ve earned seven national PGA of America awards in the last six years.
— Affordable Golf: People who play golf in a lot of other states appreciate the quality of courses and relatively inexpensive green fees we have available in Colorado. For $30 or so, golfers can play some very nice layouts, and bump it up to $50 and most public facilities are accessible. That combination of quality and affordability can be rare.
— Caddying Alive and Well: Although carts have eroded the utilization of caddies, there are still roughly 20 clubs in the state that have caddie programs.
And thanks to the CGA/CWGA’s new Solich Caddie & Leadership Academy at CommonGround Golf Course, there are new opportunities. By paying the base caddie fees, the program gives extra incentive for taking a caddie at CommonGround.
Which brings us to the Evans Caddie Scholarship at the University of Colorado. The Solich Academy no doubt will create additional candidates for the scholarship, which provides full tuition and housing at CU to qualified caddies who demonstrate financial need and meet other requirements.
Nationwide, there are 835 Evans Scholars currently in school at 19 universities.
And the reasons to give thanks go on and on.
