This is Part 6 and the final of my series covering the Summer Trip. It was now Sunday, July 14 and I faced a day of driving with no scheduled golf. It was killing me. I needed to complete a 740 mile, ten and a half hour drive through Idaho, Utah, and Colorado to my hotel in Silt, CO. I was able to fill some of the time listening to the Cleveland Indians complete a sweep of the Kansas City Royals. I noticed the outside temperature on the car instrument panel as high as 104 degrees through Utah.
I checked into the Holiday Inn Express in Silt at 5:30 and suddenly, felt like a genius! And I hadn’t even spent a night there yet!! I had nearly three hours of daylight left. I quickly called the local course, Rifle Creek Golf Club, to check on availability (and of course, the availability of logo balls) and drove the twelve miles to the course. I would play as many holes as I could before dark.
Rifle Creek fooled me. The pro told me to play the back nine first as it was newer and a bit more interesting. He was not wrong! I could see the front nine was very flat and ragged around the edges. The back nine worked its way up a mountain and then back down. It was not a course that could be successfully played the first time. Too much local knowledge was required. But it had pretty views--and it satisfied my golf fix.
Below is a picture of the par 4 dogleg left 16th hole as I began to make my way down the mountain. You can see the par 5 17th hole, also a dogleg left on the other side of the brush past the aiming post.
I checked into the Holiday Inn Express in Silt at 5:30 and suddenly, felt like a genius! And I hadn’t even spent a night there yet!! I had nearly three hours of daylight left. I quickly called the local course, Rifle Creek Golf Club, to check on availability (and of course, the availability of logo balls) and drove the twelve miles to the course. I would play as many holes as I could before dark.
Rifle Creek fooled me. The pro told me to play the back nine first as it was newer and a bit more interesting. He was not wrong! I could see the front nine was very flat and ragged around the edges. The back nine worked its way up a mountain and then back down. It was not a course that could be successfully played the first time. Too much local knowledge was required. But it had pretty views--and it satisfied my golf fix.
Below is a picture of the par 4 dogleg left 16th hole as I began to make my way down the mountain. You can see the par 5 17th hole, also a dogleg left on the other side of the brush past the aiming post.
The Back Nine at Rifle Creek Golf Club
I walked up the 18th hole as the sun was setting, holed out and headed for the Red Brick BBQ on Main St. in Silt. I had a succulent pulled pork sandwich with a side of homemade beans before retiring for the night.
I had the first tee time Monday morning at Lakota Canyon Ranch in New Castle, CO, rated 79th on Golf Magazine’s 2012 list and now managed by Warrior Golf. Lakota Canyon Ranch is spectacular! It is a Jim Engh design and I am hard pressed to name a course I’ve played that can match this course’s beauty. It sits at nearly 5600 feet above sea level and has huge elevation changes. The pictures I shot do not do the course justice. Every hole could be a postcard. This is one of the courses on my trip I wish I could have played again. It is that much fun. And it is easy to reach from I-70. There will never be another time I cross the state of Colorado on I-70 that I do not stop to play this course. It is one course that is destined to move up on Top 100 lists.
The 18th Hole at Lakota Canyon Ranch from the Pro Shop
The 18th hole is a classic risk/reward downhill hole that has to be a blast in scrambles. After finishing the round, I drove back out to the 8th tee, climbed the 67 steps to the back tee, caught my breath, and tried to capture the view. In the picture below, I-70 and the Colorado River are at the base of the mountain in the background.
Lakota Canyon Ranch from the 8th Tee
Upon completing my morning round, I killed some time and then drove the sixty plus miles to Edwards, CO for my afternoon round. The Valley Course at The Club at Cordillera was rated 67th on Golf Magazine’s 2000 list. After some financial difficulties, the club became private. Well aware of my Quest to play every course that has ever been on Golf Magazine’s list, Lakota Canyon’s Director of Operations, Ryan Parr, kindly arranged my tee time in advance.
They were expecting me when I arrived for the 2:00 tee time. As I always do, I purchased a logo ball and provided my credit card for the greens fee and ball. “That will be three thirteen” I was told. “Holy crap,” I thought. I have played some expensive private courses but this is a bit over the top. I knew this was the Aspen/Vail area and I needed this course for my Quest so I quickly signed the slip and put it in my wallet.
I started play on the par 5 1st hole, hit my drive and thought “there’s four dollars for that stroke.” I did that throughout the round, feeling a bit guilty about what this round cost.
For the first time on the trip, the weather was not good when I started the round and as I hit my third shot into the 1st green, the siren sounded as there was lightening in the area. The crowded course quickly emptied and after a 45 minute wait, the horn sounded for play to resume. Apparently, I was the only person who wanted to continue because I never ran into another golfer during the remaining 17 holes.
They were expecting me when I arrived for the 2:00 tee time. As I always do, I purchased a logo ball and provided my credit card for the greens fee and ball. “That will be three thirteen” I was told. “Holy crap,” I thought. I have played some expensive private courses but this is a bit over the top. I knew this was the Aspen/Vail area and I needed this course for my Quest so I quickly signed the slip and put it in my wallet.
I started play on the par 5 1st hole, hit my drive and thought “there’s four dollars for that stroke.” I did that throughout the round, feeling a bit guilty about what this round cost.
For the first time on the trip, the weather was not good when I started the round and as I hit my third shot into the 1st green, the siren sounded as there was lightening in the area. The crowded course quickly emptied and after a 45 minute wait, the horn sounded for play to resume. Apparently, I was the only person who wanted to continue because I never ran into another golfer during the remaining 17 holes.
The Par 4 18th Hole at The Club at Cordillera (Valley)
I returned to my hotel and cleared the credit card receipts out of my wallet. I donned my reading glasses and noticed the receipt from the afternoon round. That “three thirteen” turned out to be $3.13 for the logo ball. The round was complimentary! Ha! Instead of four dollars a stroke, it was four cents a stroke!
Tuesday morning was crystal clear. I drove 26 miles to Glenwood Springs, CO where I had the second tee time at Ironbridge Golf Club, once rated 63rd on Golf Magazine’s 2004 list before quickly going private. I had tried to play the course in 2006 but was unable to get a tee time. After financial challenges common within the golf industry, it is now open for some public play. I spoke with the Head Professional, Schanzie Baker prior to the round and he asked me to stop by after the round so he could find out what I thought of the course. I was able to move in front of the twosome with the first tee time and I was off.
Except for the mountain backdrop, the front nine felt like a stroll through a Midwest parkland course. It was a bit flat and quite playable for a first-timer. After a bogey at the 9th hole, I made my way back towards the Pro Shop and followed the signs to the 10th tee. Up, up, up I drove the cart, winding my way a good mile midway up a mountain and turned to face the 10th hole. WOW! This nine was completely different from the front nine. In fact, of all the courses I have ever played, Ironbridge has the biggest difference in topography between nines.
And of all the par 4’s I played on the trip, the 10th hole at Ironbridge was the toughest. It played 402 yards straight up the mountain, with a forced carry to the fairway and a second shot to a 40 yard wide green that was only 20 yards deep. You need two well-struck shots to hit this green in regulation. My third shot was a lob to the green that went long and I carded a double bogey.
Tuesday morning was crystal clear. I drove 26 miles to Glenwood Springs, CO where I had the second tee time at Ironbridge Golf Club, once rated 63rd on Golf Magazine’s 2004 list before quickly going private. I had tried to play the course in 2006 but was unable to get a tee time. After financial challenges common within the golf industry, it is now open for some public play. I spoke with the Head Professional, Schanzie Baker prior to the round and he asked me to stop by after the round so he could find out what I thought of the course. I was able to move in front of the twosome with the first tee time and I was off.
Except for the mountain backdrop, the front nine felt like a stroll through a Midwest parkland course. It was a bit flat and quite playable for a first-timer. After a bogey at the 9th hole, I made my way back towards the Pro Shop and followed the signs to the 10th tee. Up, up, up I drove the cart, winding my way a good mile midway up a mountain and turned to face the 10th hole. WOW! This nine was completely different from the front nine. In fact, of all the courses I have ever played, Ironbridge has the biggest difference in topography between nines.
And of all the par 4’s I played on the trip, the 10th hole at Ironbridge was the toughest. It played 402 yards straight up the mountain, with a forced carry to the fairway and a second shot to a 40 yard wide green that was only 20 yards deep. You need two well-struck shots to hit this green in regulation. My third shot was a lob to the green that went long and I carded a double bogey.
The Par 4 10th at Ironbridge Looking Uphill
The 11th hole is a short par 3 where the tee shot needs to be quite accurate as there is trouble on all sides. The 12th hole is a beautiful par 4 dogleg left downhill with the second shot over a ravine. The 13th hole was the coolest par 5 I played on the trip, a spectacular 600 yard downhiller with play over ravines.
The Par 5 13th at Ironbridge
Before leaving the course, I let Schanzie know how much I enjoyed the round and what a bargain it was to play.
Now I faced a beautiful three hour, 179 mile trip through the Rockies to Brighton, CO, a northeast suburb of Denver. I would be playing the Dunes Course at Riverdale Golf Club, rated 95th on Golf Magazine's 1996 list. The trip across I-70 took me over the Vail Pass with an elevation of 10603 feet. I arrived at 2:00 and quickly moved my 2:30 scheduled tee time to 2:10 where I was paired with Greg Quirk and his sixteen year old son, Drew. Greg had “game” and had played the course before which helped me a great deal. Like me, Greg had spent his career in Information Technology so we had other common ground when there was a delay in play. Drew was an extremely courteous young man and is currently a caddy at Cherry Hills Golf Club in Denver.
Riverdale created a links course in the middle of prairie land that was quite enjoyable to play.
Now I faced a beautiful three hour, 179 mile trip through the Rockies to Brighton, CO, a northeast suburb of Denver. I would be playing the Dunes Course at Riverdale Golf Club, rated 95th on Golf Magazine's 1996 list. The trip across I-70 took me over the Vail Pass with an elevation of 10603 feet. I arrived at 2:00 and quickly moved my 2:30 scheduled tee time to 2:10 where I was paired with Greg Quirk and his sixteen year old son, Drew. Greg had “game” and had played the course before which helped me a great deal. Like me, Greg had spent his career in Information Technology so we had other common ground when there was a delay in play. Drew was an extremely courteous young man and is currently a caddy at Cherry Hills Golf Club in Denver.
Riverdale created a links course in the middle of prairie land that was quite enjoyable to play.
The Par 4 2nd at Riverdale (Dunes)
I left Riverdale with an invitation to join Greg at his club, Meridian Golf Club, a private Jack Nicklaus Signature course south of Denver, on one of my future trips.
After fighting the rush hour traffic through Denver, I joined my wife, daughter, and two grandchildren in Colorado Springs to spend the rest of the week visiting my mother-in-law and doing some sight-seeing at Cheyenne Mountain Zoo, the Will Rogers Chapel high above The Broadmoor, Seven Falls, and Garden of the Gods.
The golf part of the trip was almost over. I had one more round scheduled on Thursday at the Eisenhower Course at the Air Force Academy with Leroy and Mike, two Colorado Springs friends. The Blue Course is said to be the top course of all the courses in the Department of Defense and it didn’t disappoint. It has an elevation of 7258 feet but it is very walkable. I played well on the front and carded a respectable score for the final round of the trip.
The course is cut through many pine trees. The recent fire in Colorado Springs even touched some of the pines at one end of the property.
After fighting the rush hour traffic through Denver, I joined my wife, daughter, and two grandchildren in Colorado Springs to spend the rest of the week visiting my mother-in-law and doing some sight-seeing at Cheyenne Mountain Zoo, the Will Rogers Chapel high above The Broadmoor, Seven Falls, and Garden of the Gods.
The golf part of the trip was almost over. I had one more round scheduled on Thursday at the Eisenhower Course at the Air Force Academy with Leroy and Mike, two Colorado Springs friends. The Blue Course is said to be the top course of all the courses in the Department of Defense and it didn’t disappoint. It has an elevation of 7258 feet but it is very walkable. I played well on the front and carded a respectable score for the final round of the trip.
The course is cut through many pine trees. The recent fire in Colorado Springs even touched some of the pines at one end of the property.
Eisenhower (Blue) Par 4 4th Hole
So the golf portion of the trip was over. My scores ranged from 75 to 89 and I was able to lop a full stroke off my handicap index. Usually, the opposite is true as all the courses are new and when playing as a single, one does not have the advantage of “going to school” on the greens by watching the putts of other golfers.
Now all that was left was the killer 1200 plus mile trip back to Fort Wayne. We left at 4:00 Saturday morning, drove through two time zones, and after four stops, were home before midnight.
I had traveled 6300 miles in 14 days, playing 21 courses in 6 states. And I was ready to take Sunday off!
Now all that was left was the killer 1200 plus mile trip back to Fort Wayne. We left at 4:00 Saturday morning, drove through two time zones, and after four stops, were home before midnight.
I had traveled 6300 miles in 14 days, playing 21 courses in 6 states. And I was ready to take Sunday off!
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