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Photo by Dan Davis realvail.com/ResortGuides/18/The-2008-Vail-golf-guide.html
Headline RSS FeedAutumn golf: discounts abound in the Vail Valley this fall
September 7, 2008 —
Fall is a wonderful time of year in the Valley, kids are in school, the boys of the gridiron are back for another season, and the colors on the scrub brush and aspen trees begin to show.
It’s also a great time to get in discounted golf on some of the state’s best courses. Here in the Vail Valley we have an abundance of golf courses, and with a hot summer trailing behind us, all of them are in great shape. And as summer winds down discounted rates are almost a guarantee at the public courses: Vail, Eagle-Vail, and Eagle Ranch.
Semi-private courses will also open their doors for the remainder of the golf season. Sonnenalp and Cotton Ranch both have specials going on until closing (usually around the end of October) and the best thing is all of these courses are playing their best.
Catching discounted rates on great golf courses only happens in the fall, especially after this past winter. Superintendents have had months of growing time, and greens and fairways are in far better shape than they are in the spring. So I suggest getting out there and spanking whitey around.
My favorite courses to play in the fall are numerous, but with a newborn baby, I have a short leash. If you only play one course in the fall make it Eagle-Vail, that's right, Eagle-Vail. Often not on the top of my list for player friendly courses (lots of hazards and houses) but an autumn gem in the Vail Valley. A friendly staff sends you on your way through the Eagle-Vail housing district (my old HOOD) taking golfers across the Eagle River twice. Elevated tee boxes and water lined fairways await you as golfers finally end up in the Stone Creek drainage area. Holes 15-18 are absolutely magical when the aspen leaves are peaking, almost too bright to look at on the right days.
Vail Golf Club is my second choice for the very same reasons, friendly staff, great rates and an easy course to walk. Holes 13 and 14 butt up against one of the largest aspen groves in the state, and home to great ice climbing in the winter. Don't forget to have a drink at the bar afterwards, it is by far one of the best views in Vail as a large window looks right over the 18th fairway and the Gore Range.
My final choice would be Sonnenalp Golf Club. For me it’s close to home (remember the short leash?) and it’s always in great shape. The greens at Sonnenalp are some of the fastest in the state, and if you can get a tee time after 1 p.m. the rates are cheap.
Also don't forget about our friends in the “banana belt”. Eagle Ranch and Cotton Ranch have great weather in the autumn and both courses stay open a couple of weeks longer than those closer to Vail.
As a side note, don't forget to ask the golf shop when the maintenance crew plans on aerating (punching) the greens, once this process is done, it means it’s close to closing, and time to wax the boards.
For information and phone numbers please visit the link here at realvail.com listed under the golf guide. This guide has phone numbers and web addresses to reach any club in the Valley. Enjoy the best time of year in the Valley, and keep it in the short grass.
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Vail Valley golfers beware: Colorado lightning is on its way
July 23, 2008 —
As the "Dog Days" of summer fetch hot temperatures in the Mid-West and Southeastern part of the country, our own Vail Valley begins to prepare for the monsoon season – not exactly the type of monsoons you relate to Southeast Asia, which are known to drop feet of rain in just days, but stormy afternoon weather none the less.
For golfers, the increase in thunderstorms means an increase in lightning. Colorado ranks as one of the top states for lightning strikes and deaths just behind Florida, and afternoon thunderstorms will be the norm for the remainder of the golf season until temperatures decrease in late September.
If you’re like me, the afternoon is the only time to play, but it’s also the time of day when thunderstorms have had time to develop and are ready to explode.
Here are a few tips to keep you out of harm’s way.
1) Ask the staff of the course you are playing what their lightning policy is and if they have a detection system. Some will require you to seek shelter if lightning is near, some will allow you to play at your own risk.
2) If you see lightning and you’re on the golf course, it's time to seek shelter. Lightning can strike from as far as 50 miles away, meaning if it’s close enough to see its close enough to kill.
3) Make a mental note of where the lightning shelters are located on the course as you play. Mountain thunderstorms can move in quickly, so it’s a good idea to have a route to a shelter or the clubhouse.
4) Finally, if you feel the least bit uncomfortable with the weather situation, and your group is willing to take the risk, don't be afraid to stand your ground. Tell your friends there is always another day to play golf, testing God's will with a metal club in your hand can spell disaster, besides, most of the storms that roll through will be gone within the hour, just stock up on beer and wait it out.
Also, the National Weather Service has an experimental "lightning potential index" that will give readers an idea of the threat of lightning for a 36 hour period, check it out at http://www.crh.noaa.gov/gjt/?n=lightningpotentialindex.
Keep it in the short grass.
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Looking for Vail golf lessons? Consider Sonnenalp's George Hart
July 14, 2008 —
If you’ve walked into the golf shop at the Sonnenalp Golf Club in the past five years, you have met George Hart. With his mild demeanor and slow Southern drawl, he is also the proud to holder of the 2007 Colorado P.G.A. Western Chapter Teacher of the Year award. Nominated be members and peers alike, he was also a contender in ’06.
George’s philosophy on the golf swing is simple: Body rotation.
"The inside turns the outside," he states, and with this philosophy golfers can gain better contact with the ball, which in turn will give you distance and accuracy. And to show that it works, half of last year’s club champions at Sonnenalp Golf Club were students of his.
A resident of the Vail Valley since 2003, George left his Director of Golf job at Terradyne Golf Club in Wichita, Kansas and landed in Colorado. A veteran of the golf business for 18 years, George was not always a golfer. In fact he played football at the University of Alabama from 1976-80 under one of the most famous coaches of all time, Bair Bryant. But the days of football are long gone for George who, with his wife Alena, now watch their teenage son Curtis play goalie for numerous hockey teams around the state.
So, if you’re looking to fine tune your game, or your ready to take up the wacky game of golf, contact George Hart or any of the other golf professionals at the Sonnenalp Golf Club(970) 477-5372. It’s never too late, or too early, to fine tune your game.
Roll' Tide and keep it in the short grass.
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Courtensy Eagle Ranch eagleranchgolf.com
Eagle Ranch hosts Colorado Open qualifier this week
July 10, 2008 —
Great golf will be abundant this week as the Eagle Ranch golf course hosts one of four qualifiers for the Health One Colorado Open. Thursday July, 10th the Eagle Ranch golf course will be closed to allow scratch golfers test their skills at one of the longest courses on the Western Slope.
Players will begin teeing of at 8 a.m. sharp Thursday morning, clamoring for birdies from Eagle Ranch's wicked black tees. At 7,428 yards, Eagle Ranch will be a test for all of the golfers, especially if the wind blows.
Golf professional Pascal Begin agrees, "I think it's great that we can host this event, our course is tough but fair, and playing from the tips, if the wind begins to blow, it will be a real challenge."
And with a cool and fairly wet spring, the rough could be a big factor to attaining low scores.
Superintendent Derek Rose says the wet spring, "Has made the rough really healthy, and the native areas are almost impossible to get out of."
I have personally played Eagle Ranch a number of times this summer and the course is in great shape.
For the golfers who qualify, they will be on their way to playing one of the most prestigious state opens in the country, now held at Green Valley Ranch golf course in Denver, Colorado. The Colorado Open schedule will begin Friday July, 24 and conclude Sunday, July 27.
For more information on the Colorado Open please visit www.coloradoopen.com and for information on Eagle Ranch golf course visit www.eagleranch.com.
Good Luck to all competitors, and keep it in the short grass.
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