Colorado’s Most Resplendent Season Approaches

Hard to believe, but summer is almost over and it’s nearly leaf-peep time in the high country. That’s when Colorado’s oceans of aspen and oak explode with riotous palates of ochre and gold—when cooling mountain temperatures and Mother Nature remix the Rockies into even more dazzling scenics that are absolutely made for golf.

Where to go? Check out these five-star suggestions and start planning your autumn golf getaway today:

1. The San Juan Skyway is a six-hour, 236-mile circuitous route—Durango to Ridgway to Telluride to Dolores—with Kodacolor panoramas that are simply without equal. Up here, the go-to course is Telluride Golf Club, a 6,574-yard resort course that’s tucked amongst the highest concentration of 13,000- and 14,000-foot peaks in America.

2. On your next golf trip to Aspen, schedule a little extra time by driving glorious Highway 133 from Delta to Carbondale, a three-hour tour that underscores the grandeur of the West Elk Loop Scenic Byway. It’s an ideal intro to another eye-candy experience, the semi-private surrounds of Ironbridge Golf and Country Club in Glenwood Springs.

Photograph (c) Chris Duthie

3. Located 150 miles northwest of Denver, Steamboat Springs is renowned for premier outdoor recreation that basks in the uncompromising, fall-color splendor of the Routt National Forest and 10,570-foot Mount Werner. For golf, reserve a tee time at the Keith Foster-designed Haymaker Golf Course, Steamboat’s premier municipal course.

4. After touring the 63-mile-long Grand Mesa Scenic Byway near Grand Junction, head forthwith to The Golf Club at Redlands Mesa. The multiple CAGGY award-winning Jim Engh design, routed among the foothills of Colorado National Monument, is ranked the No. 1 public course in Colorado by Golfweek and is one of six don’t-miss courses in the area.

Photograph (c) Chris Duthie

5. Twenty-mile-long Vail Valley is often described as the heart of the Colorado Rockies. This sumptuous, color-laden landscape also makes a brilliant backdrop for golf, including the world-class fairways and greens at semi-private Red Sky Ranch & Golf Club, a 36-hole facility masterfully crafted by Tom Fazio and Greg Norman, and the three courses at The Club at Cordillera, designed by Tom Fazio, Hale Irwin and Jack Nicklaus.

6. Only 90 minutes from downtown Denver, Summit County rises 9,000 feet above sea level to bring eye-popping fall colors and spectacular golf at the two Keystone Resort courses (River and Ranch) and The Raven at Three Peaks in Silverthorne.

RELATED LINKS

The Telluride Bentgrass Festival

Steamboat’s Active Outdoor Lifestyle

Go and Play Durango

Splitting Adams in Eagle

Golf and More in Grand Junction

Chris Duthie is a contributor to Colorado AvidGolfer, the state’s leading resource for golf and the lifestyle that surrounds it. It publishes eight issues annually and proudly delivers daily content via www.coloradoavidgolfer.com.