Golf may not be a top priority at this time of year — even for those of us who enjoy the sport so much. But while we’re in a giving mood during this festive season, the game we all love shouldn’t be forgotten.
With that in mind, we’ve made our list and checked it twice, so it’s time to dole out our annual Colorado golf-related holiday gift wishes.
To: Golfers and course operators. Gift: The perfect combination of precipitation to keep courses healthy, and plenty of good-weather days when we can get out on the links — even during the winter.
To: CGA Mid-Amateur Player of the Year Keith Humerickhouse. Gift: A wedding as memorable as the proposal to your girlfriend, made during your Mid-Amateur Player of the Year speech at the Colorado Golf Awards Brunch.
To: The Colorado PGA. Gift: A standing annual reservation at Maggiano’s Little Italy restaurant in Orlando, where Section members will be celebrating again next month after the sixth straight year one (or two) of your own has won a PGA of America national award.
To: The Colorado Open Championships. Gift: That your switch of dates for the HealthOne Colorado Senior Open and the HealthOne Colorado Women’s Open leads to another comeback by John Elway, this time in the form of him returning to compete in the Senior Open at Green Valley Ranch.
To: Meg Mallon. Gift: Your American team regaining the Solheim Cup in August at Colorado Golf Club in Parker — and in a crowd-pleasing down-to-the-wire finish.
To: Steven Kupcho and Somin Lee. Gift: May earning Colorado amateur Player of the Year honors before turning 20 lead to great success as adults.
To: The Game of Golf. Gift: After dropping marginally in popularity, may you thrive again, to the point that you influence all the more lives in positive ways.
To: Coloradan Christie Austin. Gift: That you get as many hours of enjoyment out of playing the game as you put in as a USGA Executive Committee member.
To: The Denver and Southern Colorado Golf Expos. Gift: Packed houses in launching a stellar 2013 golf season.
To: Former University of Colorado athlete Hale Irwin. Gift: At age 67, becoming the oldest player to win a Champions Tour event.
To: Those who have never had the pleasure. Gift: Playing a round of golf with a well-trained, courteous caddie. It’s the way the game was meant to be played.
To: The Solich Caddie & Leadership Academy at CommonGround Golf Course. Gift: Plenty of golfers willing to give caddies a leg up.
To: Local College Golf Coaches. Gift: A prized berth in the NCAA Championship Finals.
To: Former CU golfer Steve Jones. Gift: After all you’ve gone through injury/ailment-wise, a Champions Tour victory to go along with your eight PGA Tour wins.
To: Two-time state high school champion Kelly Jacques, who grew up in Longmont. Gift: Keeping that hard-earned LPGA Tour card over the long haul.
To: Kent Denver High School graduate Kevin Stadler. Gift: After more than 200 PGA Tour starts, a victory on golf’s top circuit.
To: Aurora resident Mark Wiebe. Gift: A sixth straight year in the top 30 on the Champions Tour money list.
To: Former University of Denver golfer Espen Kofstad. Gift: A year after winning the European Challenge Tour money title, a spot in the top 50 on the European Tour money list.
To: Two-time HealthOne Colorado Open champion Derek Tolan. Gift: Eleven years after playing in the U.S. Open as a 16-year-old, a return trip as an adult.
To: The CGA, CWGA, Colorado PGA and other leaders in Colorado Golf. Gift: Seeing all your efforts to grow the game begin to bear fruit.
To: All golfers, including sandbaggers. Gift: May your handicap drop by five in the new year.
