Russ Miller has been the PGA director of golf at The Broadmoor for 19 years — a period during which the Colorado Springs resort has hosted two USGA open championships — the 2008 U.S. Senior Open and the 2011 U.S. Women’s Open.

Despite his experience, there’s always more to learn when helping to oversee a major championship. That’s why — at least in part — Miller traveled to the U.S. Senior Open near Salem, Mass., in late June, and to the U.S. Amateur in Pacific Palisades Calif., this week.

With a little more than 300 days before tournament week at the East Course at The Broadmoor — June 25-July 1 — the resort is gradually gearing up for the 2018 U.S. Senior Open. It will be the 13th major championship to be conducted in Colorado — at least according to the current lineups used by the PGA Tour, LPGA and PGA Tour Champions. (The Women’s Western Open, once considered a major, was held at The Broadmoor in 1938 and at Cherry Hills Country Club in 1950, when Babe Zaharias won.)

Here’s the rundown of tour majors contested in Colorado:

U.S. Open — 1938, 1960 and 1978 (Cherry Hills).
PGA Championship — 1941 and 1985 (Cherry Hills); 1967 (Columbine).
U.S. Women’s Open — 1995 and 2011 (The Broadmoor); 2005 (Cherry Hills).
U.S. Senior Open — 1993 (Cherry Hills); 2008 and 2018 (The Broadmoor). (Note: After 2018, only Ohio, home to six championships, will have hosted the U.S. Senior Open more times than Colorado.)
Senior PGA Championship — 2010 (Colorado Golf Club).

In the 43-year period from 1972 through 2014, there was only one year (2007) that Colorado didn’t host at least one significant professional tour event or a major national/international amateur golf competition. But with the 2018 Senior Open being the first such tournament in Colorado since Cherry Hills did the honors at the BMW Championship in the 2014 PGA Tour playoffs, there appears to be some pent-up demand.

Miller said that in the first phase of ticket availability, which just concluded, sales more than doubled what they were for the same period in 2008, the last time the U.S. Senior Open came to The Broadmoor — or to the state.

“What that tells me about Colorado is people are really excited to have another championship back,” Miller said in a phone interview on Wednesday. “When your ticket sales are good, that shows you the excitement is good and it’s going to keep on growing.”

For the 2008 U.S. Senior Open — which featured the likes of World Golf Hall of Famers Tom Watson, Hale Irwin, Greg Norman, Bernhard Langer, Ben Crenshaw, Tom Kite and Curtis Strange in the 156-man field — The Broadmoor attracted an announced 128,714 fans for the week. As good as that was, Miller is looking for a slight jump for next year’s event.

“We did about 130,000 in 2008. We’d love to exceed that by let’s say 5,000,” he said. “What’s neat about it this far out is you know how to build your restroom facilities, your food and beverage facilities and your concession stands based on ticket sales. It can keep going up and we just plan for it ahead of time.

“At The Broadmoor we have so much space that we won’t really sell out. We can accommodate however many we can take. We’re lucky at The Broadmoor. We can handle 35,000 people a day. At Cherry Hills or a smaller club logistics-wise, it may not be able to handle that many. I’d love to do 135,000. That would be just a home run.”

And, in an effort to encourage youngsters to attend, fans 17 and under will be granted free admission when accompanied by a ticketed adult, with each adult allowed to bring up to nine kids.

For more information about ticket sales, or to make a purchase, CLICK HERE.

If the numbers play out as expected attendance-wise, it’s believed that the Senior Open could have a $20 million-plus economic impact on the local economy after the ’08 event pulled in an estimated $21 million to the area.

“This is a big event, a big economic driver for Colorado Springs,” mayor John Suthers said. “We’ll make sure everybody is prepared.”

Next year will certainly be a momentous one at The Broadmoor, the picturesque venue at the foot of Cheyenne Mountain that opened in 1918. The resort will have centennial-related events throughout the year, starting Jan. 1. But the precise day The Broadmoor will turn 100 years old will be June 29, the Friday of U.S. Senior Open week.

The plan is to hold a large charity concert on Monday of that week (June 25) and fireworks on Friday night. As what you might expect at a five-star resort, The Broadmoor hopes to leave players, fans and anyone else associated with the event with an indelible positive impression.

“What’s unique about it is, it’s kind of the mentality we have every day at the hotel,” Miller noted. “How can we make our guest experience better and unique versus other resorts in the world? That’s the fun apart.”

The folks at The Broadmoor are certainly no strangers to hosting large-scale events, including major golf championships. Just with USGA tournaments, the club has hosted national/international events seven times since 1959, with next year being No. 8 (six at the East Course, a combination of holes designed by Donald Ross and Robert Trent Jones Sr.). The list includes two U.S. Women’s Opens, two U.S. Senior Opens, two U.S. Amateurs, one U.S. Women’s Amateur and one Curtis Cup.

“It gets easier (with the past experience), but there’s still so many things to do before the time comes,” Miller said. “It’s like taking a test in college. You kind of know how to prepare, but you still have to study and do all the things beforehand. We always try to get better and you can always learn.”

That familiarity works both ways, of course. In joining forces with The Broadmoor, the USGA knows it’s getting a first-class resort. And with the East Course and its sometimes-confounding greens, it’s produced champions such as Jack Nicklaus, Annika Sorenstam and So Yeon Ryu, currently the No. 1-ranked women’s player in the world.

“When you’re starting with the course here at The Broadmoor, you don’t want to mess with the masterpiece too much,” USGA championship manager Robbie Zalzneck said recently. “It’s a great test and we’ll have a great championship.”

To make sure The Broadmoor has all the bases covered — and perhaps to plant the seeds for future big-time championships coming to the resort — Miller was on hand for the 2017 U.S. Senior Open at Salem Country Club and is this week for the U.S. Am at Riviera Country Club near L.A.

“I’m kind of privileged they asked me a couple of months ago to serve on an advisory committee for the U.S. Amateur,” Miller said. “But it’s kind of all hand-in-hand. We want to keep on getting championships in the picture (for The Broadmoor) no matter what they are. So that’s why I’m here mostly.”

But Miller has learned some things in his recent USGA-related travels, most notably related to the player and family experience at championships.

“The USGA is really putting an emphasis on (that),” he said. “And from there, it goes on down the line to the caddies and the fans. No matter if you’re a Tom Watson or a club pro like me that qualified, they want to make sure that your experience was off-the-chart good. A big part of what I was doing (at the Senior Open in Salem) was seeing how we can initiate that program next year for the players. … That’s what we’re focused on is really, really making the player and family experience our No. 1 priority.”

As for the set-up of the golf course, the USGA and the staff at The Broadmoor finalized their plans back in May. Some new tees were built last winter, with the championship in mind. Fairway widths and rough height will vary depending on various factors. The perhaps-driveable par-4 second hole, for instance, will feature a fairway width of 23 or 24 yards, with the rough right next to the fairway being 3 1/2 inches deep. On longer par-4s, the fairway may be 28-30 yards wide, with graduated rough going from 1 1/2 inches to 2 1/2 inches, then deeper the further from the fairway.

“It’s kind of hole by hole, based on the width of the fairways and the difficulty of the hole, which is really neat because it makes it inconsistent — and we think inconsistent is good,” Miller said.

One of the more notable changes on the scorecard will be that the third hole will be a 540-yard par-4 and the 17th a 610-yard par-5. That’s the opposite of what was done for the 2008 U.S. Senior Open, when No. 3 was a par-5 and No. 17 a par-4.

“The back nine is so much more difficult, so by making No. 3 a long par-4, it’ll help make the front nine a little bit more difficult and not make them as different,” Miller said. “But it’s downhill, downwind and normally firm. It sounds like a long hole but 500-some yards downhill, they can handle it; it’s not a huge deal.”

Fan experience-wise, the biggest change from the 2008 U.S. Senior Open and the 2011 U.S. Women’s Open will be that cell phones are now allowed.

“Now the world is so technological that we’re promoting cell phones and trying to create apps and ways to have visual maps of the golf course; player locations during the round that you can look up on your cell phone; scoring updates on your cell phone,” Miller said. “It’s just a totally different mindset from the past, but it’s just the way the world is going. It’s the best way to communicate.”

Another big change from the past will be that Fox Sports — with its tech-heavy broadcast mindset — will be televising the Senior Open at The Broadmoor, whereas the telecasts were handled by NBC in 2008 and for the 2011 U.S. Women’s Open.

“Back in ’08 NBC had three tractor-trailor trucks for their entire production,” Miller noted. “We’re expecting between 11 and 13 tractor-trailor trucks (with Fox next year). Why it’s so much bigger is (shot tracker and ball tracker on every green). There’s now 18 towers for all 18 greens. That’s a big change.

“(But) there’s a lot less cables than there used to be. There’s more cloud (communication) and all that stuff. That makes it easier too. But we’re definitely going to use more space than we did in the past for (the TV compound).”

All told, the tournament broadcast will reach more than 100 countries, and Fox and Fox Sports 1 will combine for more than 20 hours of live TV coverage.

About 2,300 volunteers will be needed for the 2018 U.S. Senior Open, and Miller said roughly 70 percent of those slots have already been filled, with about 43 states represented.

To volunteer, REGISTER HERE.
 

It seems to be a simple, yet effective formula for the Denver Golf Expo: Show dates in the first half of February, avoid conflicts with Valentine’s Day and the Super Bowl, and hope the weather cooperates.

When it works out, like it largely did this year, the result is a solid turnout for the show.

This year’s three-day Expo, which concluded on Sunday at the Denver Mart, drew 9,136 people, the most for the show since 2014. The total was more than 1,000 up from last year’s 8,130 and marked nearly a 2,000 increase from 2015, which was a low-water mark for the DGE.

“It feels great,” said Mark Cramer, owner and operator of the Expo. “I’m very happy the number got over 9,000. When I opened the last cash box and (exceeded 9,000), I let out a huge primal scream.

“Now, next year we’ll shoot for over 10,000.”

Added Dustin Jensen, managing director of operations for the CGA: “It’s exciting to see so many people out there and engaged for golf. To hear how well facilities were doing was exciting. It’s nice to see the success not only we had, but everyone had.”

From 2009 through 2014, the Denver Golf Expo drew between 9,000 and 11,000 attendees each winter, so the 2017 show was back in that range after a couple of down years.

The most people the show has ever attracted was 11,202 in 2008, prior to the recession.

“A lot of exhibitors have figured out how to monetize (this show), which is awesome,” Cramer said. “This year they were walking on the ceiling with the turnout they were getting.”

Perhaps not coincidentally, this year’s 24th annual Expo was the first with dates in the first half of the month since 2014.

“I love the dates,” said Cramer, whose 2018 show also is set for the weekend after the Super Bowl, Feb. 9-11. “Football is over and it’s usually about two weeks after the PGA Merchandise Show in Orlando where they introduce (new equipment and the like) and we can get it in people’s hands here.”

This year, Cramer even made it a point to set a different tone for the show by starting out each day by having a Scottish bagpiper, accompanied by a drummer, play as he walked from the back of the show to the entrance, then serenaded attendees for about five minutes as they came into the Denver Mart.

“People could hear the pipes coming,” Cramer said. “It created such an energy. Obviously, there’s something about pipers and game of golf. To those who play (golf), listening to bagpipes played well does somthing. The energy on the floor was just fabulous this year.”

Also giving the Expo a shot in the arm was a significant event within the event that returned to the show after an absence of six years. That was the case with the two-day Colorado Rules of Golf Workshop, which was conducted in conjunction with the Expo for the first time since 2010. In addition, there was a USGA Tournament Management Software Seminar — which helped clubs and PGA professionals transition to the USGA’s new software — and a Handicap Certification Workshop.

Those three events together attracted about 350 people over the weekend.

“We used to do everything under the roof of the Expo, including what used to be our annual meeting and our Season Tee Off (luncheon) and our Rules seminar,” noted Ed Mate, executive director of the CGA. “Then we felt it was just too much. But I think it was a good decision to bring (the Rules workshop) back. You just kind of keep evolving, but it’s funny: Sometimes the best ideas were already invented. Somebody said the only thing you don’t know is the history you haven’t read. We read our own history and that worked pretty well. It’s very satisfying to see those forum rooms filled with interested, bright-eyed people who are here for education. It’s great.”

The Rules of Golf Workshop, a project chaired by longtime rules official Brad Wiesley, was sold out far in advance. Besides eight rules instructors from the CGA, also leading the Rules seminar at various times were Mark Passey from the USGA and Karla Harding from the CWGA.

“What a great thing for us to get all those people there,” Jensen said. “It was a great team effort” by all the allied golf associations in Colorado.

As for other numbers from the Denver Golf Expo, Keith Soriano, an assistant executive director for the Colorado PGA, reported that Section professionals gave 306 free 10-minute lessons to Expo attendees (left), and that 216 kids went through the Drive, Chip & Putt-themed Junior Golf Central. Both of those numbers were down somewhat from 2016.

And Cramer said the number of Expo exhibitors — about 115 — was about a dozen less than last year. But with attendance up by 1,000, there was the potential for more bang for the buck this time around.

Colorado PGA professionals also conducted most of the educational seminars during the Expo, supplmented by a CGA Rules seminar.

Junior Golf Central falls under the auspices of the Junior Golf Alliance of Colorado, a joint effort of the Colorado PGA and CGA, with help from the CWGA. The Alliance is entering its second year in 2017.

Both the CGA and CWGA also used the Expo as an opportunity to roll out efforts to engage members and prospective members. Both associations have launched new-look websites this winter.

The CGA introduced its new online “Member Zone”, which gives members access to discounts and special offers related to golf, travel, and business products and services.

And the CWGA is attempting to bring more women into the game with an expanded lineup of CWGA Experience events, where female golfers receive high-quality group instruction from LPGA and/or PGA professionals in a friendly and welcoming environment. Six or seven Experiences will be held statewide in 2017 (CLICK HERE for the current lineup), including a play day at the par-3 Harvard Gulch Golf Course in Denver on July 16. Most Experiences feature separate sessions on full swing, chipping, putting, and basic of the Rules of Golf, along with lunch.
 

Four big-time LPGA Tour-related events have come to Colorado in the last 20 years, and all have been successes in the attendance department.

The biennial Solheim Cup matches between the U.S. and Europe, which concluded Sunday at Colorado Golf Club in Parker, drew about 110,000 fans for the three practice days and the three competition days. That’s a little shy of pre-tournament goals of 120,000 — the Solheim Cup record, set in 2009 in Sugar Grove, Ill. — but it’s still a strong total.

“I can’t tell you how great these fans are out here. It’s amazing,” American player Paula Creamer said.

Added John Solheim, part of the family that lent its name to the Solheim Cup: “What a course, what a place, what an atmosphere.”

Part-time Lakewood resident Hollis Stacy, a World Golf Hall of Famer who takes an active role in promoting the LPGA and women and girls golf, attended both the Ping Junior Solheim Cup at Inverness Golf Club and the main event at Colorado Golf Club.

“It’s gotten a great response,” said Stacy, winner of three U.S. Women’s Opens, three U.S. Girls’ Juniors and 18 LPGA Tour events overall. “The crowds have been very, very, very, very good, even with the Europeans pulverizing us. The fans have been wonderful.”

And that comes on the heels of Colorado-based tournaments setting then-U.S. Women’s Open weeklong attendance records in 1995 (96,000 for seven days at the Broadmoor in Colorado Springs) and in 2005 (more than 131,000 at Cherry Hills). And while the 2011 U.S. Women’s Open at the Broadmoor didn’t break a record, it still drew an impressive total of more than 125,000.

The crowds at the Solheim Cup are a little different. Besides being considerably more boisterous, many more fans come from out of the country — and out of the state — than in a more typical golf event. And, of course, because of the nature of the Solheim Cup, it’s televised in nations worldwide.

“It showcased Colorado golf terrifically,” Stacy said. “The winner of the whole thing is the golf course. It’s extremely tough, especially for the U.S. players. The course looked great.”

And the event could play a role in growing the game in Colorado, especially among women and girls who get the itch to play — or play more — because of what they’ve seen.

“I saw a lot of little girls out there,” Stacy said. “I think it will help little girls in playing golf and being excited about playing.”

And Stacy hopes that the run of big-time women’s golf events in Colorado continues. Starting in 2005, three of the women’s game’s top competitions have been held in the state.

“I think it’s smart to have LPGA events and USGA events here because it does showcase the beauty of Colorado and everything else that’s so wonderful about Colorado,” Stacy said.