The men’s championship rounds are scheduled for May 17-21, while the women’s tournament is set for May 18-21.

The two golf championships are part of the NCAA DII Spring Sports Festival that’s being held in Denver May 16-21. In addition to golf, title events in softball, men’s and women’s tennis, and women’s lacrosse will be part of the Festival.

Among the volunteer opportunities are score reporting, scorecard running, standard bearing, ball spotting, leaderboard operating etc., In addition to more general Festival volunteering in the areas of hospitality and opening and closing ceremonies.

Those interesting in volunteering can CLICK HERE.

The last NCAA golf nationals held in Colorado was in 1969, when The Broadmoor hosted the NCAA Division I men’s championship finals for the fifth time in a 17-year period.
 

This week, the focus is more on turkey than two-putts, more on pumpkin pies than pars, and more on family and fellowship than fairways and flagsticks.

But that doesn’t mean there aren’t reasons to reflect on the game of golf, and reasons to be thankful for it, especially here in Colorado.

Therefore, in honor of the Thanksgiving holiday, here are nine things for which to be grateful, Colorado golf-wise:

— Stellar Golf Venues: Think of the golf courses and locales that are options in the state, and it’s enough to make anyone who loves to play the game salivate as if they were sitting down for Thanksgiving dinner. And not only are venues like Arrowhead (pictured above), the Broadmoor, Ballyneal, Sanctuary, Eisenhower, Perry Park and Red Sky jaw-droppingly beautiful, but the topography of the state makes for a great variety of courses.

— Diversity of Major Events: When The International PGA Tour stop took its final bow in 2006 after a 21-year run, there’s no doubt it created a big void. But looking back on the diversity of tournaments that helped fill that void is truly remarkable. Over the last seven years, Colorado has hosted the best men’s and women’s professionals in the world, the best seniors, as well as the best amateurs. There’s been the 2008 U.S. Senior Open and the U.S. Amateur Public Links, the 2009 Palmer Cup, the 2010 Senior PGA Championship, the 2011 U.S. Women’s Open, the 2012 U.S. Amateur, the 2013 Solheim Cup and the 2014 BMW Championship. Suffice it to say it’s been a pretty nice lineup for Colorado golf fans.

— Relatively Inexpensive Golf: While there are plenty of golf courses in Colorado that cost a pretty penny to play, there’s also an abundance of quality, well-maintained venues that charge $40 or less for a round. And there are even some nice courses where you can walk up to the counter on a summer weekend, pay your 18-hole green fee, and get change from the $30 you hand the golf shop attendant. For those who have played much in other states, you can get some pretty good bang for your buck in Colorado.

— Outstanding Golf Associations: While your average golfer in Colorado may or may not know it, there is tireless work being done behind the scenes by local golf associations — the CGA, CWGA, Colorado PGA, the Rocky Mountain Golf Course Superintendents and others — to assure that the game thrives not just now, but well into the future.

Colorado Golf Hall of Famer Kent Moore summed it up well on Sunday at the Colorado Golf Awards Brunch. While he was speaking specifically about the CGA, it’s safe to say the general notion applies as well to the other major golf associations in the state: “I’ve seen this come from a cigar box and two guys on the first tee to an incredible organization that runs championships as professional as any you’ll ever see, and now making an incredible impact in the community. It’s just fabulous.”

— Volunteerism: While there are many paid staffers that make Colorado golf special with their day-to-day work, the amount of time and energy and wholehearted effort devoted by volunteers in the game is impressive. More than 2,500 people — 90 percent coming from Colorado — volunteered in the first week of September at Cherry Hills to help make the BMW Championship the PGA Tour’s Tournament of the Year. Other volunteers devote countless hours year-in and year-out to the CGA, CWGA, Colorado PGA and a myriad of other organizations to make the game what it is. In yet another example, just this week it was announced that Colorado Golf Club head professional Graham Cliff will serve as a volunteer assistant coach for the University of Denver men’s golf team. Without all these volunteers — and those who donate financially to the game — golf would be a shell of what it is.

— A Game of Honor: While this one certainly isn’t limited to Colorado, it’s noteworthy that golf is a leader in the world of sports regarding sportsmanship, integrity and honesty. Seldom does more than a couple of months go by without stories coming out about how a golfer reported a costly rules violation on himself or herself that no one else was aware of. Even at this year’s BMW Championship at Cherry Hills, Keegan Bradley withdrew after having lingering doubts about an embedded-ball ruling he received early in the tournament (CLICK HERE). 

— Great Programs for Juniors: Knowing that kids are the future lifeblood of the game, there is particular emphasis in recent times in drawing youngsters to golf and exposing them to all the virtues of the game, including through caddying.

Among the many worthwhile local programs that focus on youth are the Solich Caddie & Leadership Academy (left) at CommonGround Golf Course, the Colorado PGA Golf in Schools program, the Evans Scholarship house for caddies at the University of Colorado, and the local First Tee chapters.

— Local Tour Players: Every golf fan has his/her favorite tour players, but many Coloradans take a special interest in those who cut their teeth in the state as junior golfers and college players, then make it to the big time. Certainly that’s true in Colorado, with players like Hale Irwin, Steve Jones, Brandt Jobe, Kevin Stadler, Martin Laird and Jill McGill. And now there’s a younger group of local players who are getting their chance on golf’s big stages, golfers like Mark Hubbard, Espen Kofstad, Emily Talley and Becca Huffer, along with transplanted Coloradans like Sam Saunders. It’s always fun to see the local kid make good on a national/international level.

— The Sheer Camaraderie Achieved Through Golf: As the world gets ever faster-paced, and more and more time is devoted to gadgetry of one type or another, spending a few hours on the golf course with friends, family or random acquaintances can be remarkably refreshing.

Kind of like Thanksgiving.
 

If he’s playing great or lousy, and if you’re rooting for him or against him, it’s fun to watch him on the course. The size of galleries and the TV ratings confirm as much.

But it’s been a long time since Colorado golf fans have gotten a chance to see Woods compete in the state. In fact, he hasn’t played a tournament in Colorado in the new millennium. The last time he teed it up “for real” in the Centennial State was at the 1999 International in Castle Rock.

But, barring injury or a major breakdown in Woods’ golf game, what will then be a 15-year Mile High drought for Tiger will end next September.

With the top 70 players in the 2014 FedEx Cup playoff standings advancing to the BMW Championship, there should be a Tiger sighting about 17 months from now at Cherry Hills Country Club.

The buildup to the first PGA Tour event to be held in Colorado since 2006 ratchets up another notch in April as volunteer opportunities for the tournament open up. The event at Cherry Hills will need more than 2,500 volunteers for the Sept. 1-7, 2014 tournament, the third stop in the four-event Tour playoffs.

Volunteer positions open to the general public on April 15, but interested CGA and CWGA members can get a two-week head start, helping early birds land spots on the most desirable volunteer committees.

Volunteer spots will be open to CGA and CWGA members beginning on April 1. Those wishing to sign up then can register by CLICKING HERE. 

The only people who have had earlier access to volunteer opportunities are Cherry Hills Country Club members.

There are 27 volunteer committees for the 2014 BMW Championship. Here’s the rundown alphabetically: access control, admissions, caddie hospitality, child care, corporate hospitality and operations, construction and signage, information centers, marshals, marshal rovers, media center, member hospitality operations, merchandise, Monday corporate outing operations, office staffing, player hospitality, practice area and set-up operations, pro-am operations, product delivery, scoreboards, ShotLink, standard bearers, TV spotters, VIP player transportation, volunteer headquarters, volunteer party, volunteer orientation/training and uniforms, and walking scorers.

Volunteers are required to purchase the 2014 BMW Championship volunteer package, which runs $145. They will need to be available to work various shifts throughout tournament week, depending on which committee he/she is on.

Included in the volunteer package are two golf shirts, a wind jacket, a hat or visor, a commemorative pin, a water bottle, a volunteer credential valid for entry all week, an invitation to the volunteer appreciation party, and food and beverages on days the volunteer works.

But the biggest attraction at Cherry Hills will be watching a 70-player field which will include most of the top golfers in the world.

The top 15 players on the final leaderboard at the 2012 BMW Championship looked like this: Rory McIlroy, Phil Mickelson, Lee Westwood, Tiger Woods, Robert Garrigus, Adam Scott, Dustin Johnson, Vijay Singh, Jim Furyk, Ryan Moore, Bo Van Pelt, Bubba Watson, Ian Poulter, Chris Kirk and Zach Johnson.

Can you say “all-star tournament”?

It’s little wonder why the 2012 BMW was named the Tournament of the Year by the PGA Tour.

It could be argued that the BMW will mark the top assemblage of golfers in Colorado since Cherry Hills hosted the 1985 PGA Championship. The International PGA Tour event at Castle Pines had some great fields in its run from 1986 through 2006, but it missed out on some big names. Woods, for instance, only competed in the tournament twice, in 1998 and ’99.

Besides what the BMW Championship offers field-wise, its proceeds also go to a good cause: the Evans Caddie Scholarship. The full tuition and housing scholarship has sent more than 10,000 caddies to school over the last 83 years. A local Evans Scholarship house, at the University of Colorado, has more than 410 alums.

Overall, tournament organizers expect the 2014 BMW Championship to have a $35 million economic impact on the area.

For more information about the tournament, CLICK HERE.