The Forerunner

 

With its upscale lodge and community, Cordillera blazed the golf trail in the Vail Valley. Twenty years, four courses and two world-class instructors later, it continues to set the standard. 

 

When he’s not tracking one of his PGA Tour star students across the country or spending the winter in Texas, Dave Pelz is at Cordillera. In fact, May through August, the renowned short-game and putting guru—whose elite clientele includes Lee Janzen, Mike Weir, Tom Kite, Steve Elkington and, most notably, Phil Mickelson—can’t get enough of the exclusive Vail Valley retreat. 

“We absolutely love it,” enthuses Pelz, who with his wife, JoAnn, owns a house on the club’s Summit Course. “We had traveled all over the country with our eyes open for a second home, and we fell for the Rocky Mountains. The only problem with Cordillera is that we don’t get to spend as much time there as we’d like.” 

Pelz’s adoration of the club, and the Vail Valley, developed as he was building Cordillera’s 10-hole Short Course, where he stages his three-day Scoring Game School. Today Pelz and his wife run their business from their comfortable mountain manse, which faces east, overlooking the Gore Range. “I just love to sit there, gaze and lose myself in that transcendent setting,” says Pelz. “It’s so peaceful, and, as my wife says, it’s very centering.” 

That tranquil and scenic setting is perfect for world-class golf, and Cordillera offers four very distinct courses, which together earned The Lodge & Spa at Cordillera a spot on Golf Digest’s ranking of “The 75 Best Golf Resorts in North America.” 

The Short Course, Pelz’s first golf-course design, packs his entire short-game philosophy into its pint-sized layout. Perched high above the Vail Valley floor, each of its 10 holes measures less than 130 yards; it’s a perfect option for those seeking a relaxed round or an intensive practice session. “You hit about 80 percent of the shots in golf in about 25 percent of the time,” says Pelz. “It really puts your short game under the microscope.” 

After you’ve honed your chipping, pitching and putting skills, you’ll be ready to take on the Summit Course’s tricky green complexes, many of which have recently undergone tweaks to make them more member-friendly. The Jack Nicklaus layout stretches more than 7,500 yards and covers 190 acres at a timberline-scratching altitude of more than 9,000 feet, setting up unreal, 360-degree views of the New York and Gore ranges. The Summit is where members bring guests to flaunt the club and its spectacular surroundings.

“Anytime I’m having a bad day, I just come up here, look around and realize it’s just not that bad,” says Tom Stickney, director of instruction for the club. “This is truly heaven on earth.” The only downside is that due to its lofty elevation, the course is only open June through September.  

Similar to the Summit, the Mountain Course has a shorter season, features sharp elevation changes and quick, tricky greens. The difference, however, is this 7,457-yard Hale Irwin designed course is considerably tighter, with fairways lined by dense stands of aspen, fir and ball-swallowing meadows. Knee-buckling, uneven lies and plenty of thick, native grass add to the challenge. Opened in 1994, the Mountain Course is Cordillera’s first and, arguably, flagship layout.

Situated some 2,000 feet below the Summit and Mountain courses, the Valley Course is open April through October, providing members with one of the longest seasons in the area. Tom Fazio designed the members-only course in 1997. It features wide-open fairways, deep bunkers and dramatically undulating greens. With its sage-filled, high-desert setting, the Valley Course stands in sharp contrast to the others. “It’s a little more straightforward and easier for our members, but presents its own challenges and a beautiful landscape,” says head professional Joe Kamby.

Along with having access to this bounty of golf courses, members benefit from the instruction of not only Pelz, but also Stickney, who is one of Golf Magazine’s Top 100 Instructors. “We’re the only club to have two Top 100 teachers,” says Stickney. Pelz offers a variety of one-, two- and three-day putting and short-game clinics and schools to members and guests, while Stickney focuses on Cordillera’s members, offering one-on-one, high-tech instruction in all facets of the game; he also runs the Putter Performance Laboratory, where he diagnoses and dissects your putting stroke, custom-fits a putter, and teaches technique. 

Cordillera might be best-known for golf, but its 800 active members—70 percent of whom live in Colorado—know that a huge part of the club’s appeal and its competitive advantage over other area private clubs lies in the variety of other activities and amenities. 

“We looked at places like Sonnenalp and Red Sky before settling on Cordillera,” says Jeff Brausch, a Cordillera member and partner in an event-marketing agency. “While the others competed as far as golf, there was no contest when it came to value relative to the amenities.” 

Almost too numerous to list, the amenities and activities at Cordillera are abundant year-round. In the summer there’s hiking on 15 miles of marked trails, mountain biking on 45 miles of community roads, private fishing along the Eagle River and trailheads leading into 3 million acres of National Forest wilderness. Wintertime activities include cross-country skiing, snowshoeing, snow-cat tours, dog-sledding and transportation to area ski resorts, just to name a few. 

Aside from the golf facilities, there’s also an equestrian center with an indoor arena, five swimming pools, six tennis courts, four fitness centers, five gourmet restaurants and the Cordillera Town Center, which includes a post office, skating rink, café and on-site firehouse.

“The difference between Cordillera and other clubs is the variety of expansive facilities available to our members,” boasts Joe Petrash, president of The Club at Cordillera. “We’ve created a true community.”

The home base for the Cordillera community is The Trailhead, which serves as the family clubhouse and headquarters of the Cordillera Day Camp.

“The whole thing is so family-oriented and well thought out,” raves Pelz, who spends the holidays at Cordillera with his wife, five children and six grandchildren. “It is really one of the best communities I could ever imagine.” 

And, of course, there’s The Lodge and Spa, which offers guests a taste of the Cordillera experience. While the club is “95-percent private,” according to Membership Director Alison Wadey, guests of the 56-suite lodge can play the Summit and Mountain courses on a limited basis for between $195 and $250 per person a round, depending on the season. 

Even though The Lodge is now under new ownership and separate management, it was actually the first piece of the Cordillera puzzle. Nearly 20 years before Kobe Bryant’s infamous indiscretion, Felix Posen, the eventual owner of Cordillera, discovered the site while vacationing with his wife. Soon after The Lodge opened in 1989, plans were set to add a golf component, and in 1994, The Ranch at Cordillera opened along with Hale Irwin’s Mountain Course. What ensued was a decade-long process of building and expansion. Today the club spans more than 8,000 acres (including 4,600 recreational acres) and has about 1,000 home sites spread throughout four different developments (The Divide, The Ranch, The Summit and The Valley).

While there are currently no plans to further expand the club, or even fill in the existing property, Cordillera’s ownership has an unwavering commitment to improving the facilities. “We put significant amounts of money back into the Cordillera community,” says Petrash. “I’d estimate we invest about $2 million per year into the golf courses, clubhouses, furnishings and higher staffing levels.” And if the last 20 years are any indication, Cordillera’s members, guests and homeowners can rest assured that commitment will continue for years to come. 

 

For more information on Cordillera Lodge and Spa, including the Dave Pelz Scoring Game School and lessons with Tom Stickney, visit cordillera.rockresorts.com or call 970-926-5950.

 

Jake Kubié is Colorado AvidGolfer’s assistant editor and Web manager.