It used to be that the number of golf courses in Colorado moved in only one direction — up.
In good economic times — and when the game was growing considerably — there were single years when 10 or more new golf facilities might open in the state. And even during recessions and the like, seldom did a year go by when at least one new Colorado course didn’t make its debut.
In fact, from 1980 through 2009, not a year passed without a new course coming on-line in the state.
But times have certainly changed. No new course has opened in Colorado since the CGA/CWGA-owned CommonGround Golf Course debuted in Aurora in 2009.
To find a similar time frame when no courses were added in the state, you have to go back to the early 1950s. A combination of the economy tanking several years ago, plus the number of golfers in the U.S. declining since 2005, put a whammy on longtime trends.
And not only have no new courses opened in the last few years, but “about seven or eight” existing courses are no longer operating, according to Gerry Brown, director of course rating and handicapping for the CGA. The most notable of those have been historic Green Gables Country Club (which shut down in late 2011) and Cornerstone, the Greg Norman-designed course in the high country near Montrose, which stopped operating last year.
And this year — and perhaps longer — the golf course at the private Monument Hill Country Club in Monument will be closed, though other country club amenities (tennis, swimming, etc.) remain in operation. Monument Hill CC golf memberships are being honored at King’s Deer Golf Club, which is under the same ownership.
The high cost of watering the Monument Hill CC golf course — more than $500,000 over the last three years, according to the (Colorado Springs) Gazette — was cited as the reason for the closure. Monument Hill Country Club was previously known as Woodmoor Pines Golf and Country Club.
But there is a sliver of more positive news this year: There are those bucking this trend regarding golf courses in Colorado.
The Club at Cordillera, which consists of three private 18-hole courses (plus a nine-hole short course) in Edwards west of Vail, will be largely operational this year after all but one of the courses were closed in 2011 and 2012. An investment group, Wind Rose Properties, acquired Cordillera for $14.2 million in a December bankruptcy auction.
Wind Rose subsequently turned over management of the three 18-hole courses — the Valley (designed by Tom Fazio), Summit (designed by Jack Nicklaus) and Mountain (designed by Hale Irwin) — to Arizona-based Troon Golf. The Valley Course was the only one of the three that opened for play in 2011 and 2012, according to the Vail Daily.
Troon plans to open both the Summit and Valley courses in 2013 and 2014, with the Mountain Course opening in 2014, and possibly sooner. If there are enough members by April 15, the Mountain Course’s drainage system will be repaired and the fairways will be “regrassed”. How many courses will be open in 2015 and beyond depends on membership levels.
For more information about the Club at Cordillera, CLICK HERE.
