Stars Align as Colorado National Partners with Bear Dance

Bear Dance Bear Paw Signature Hole
SW Greens, LLC, the owner/operator of The Golf Club at Bear Dance  in Larkspur (above), now owns 50 percent of Colorado National Golf Club in Erie.

The homes of the PGA’s Colorado Section and the University of Colorado golf teams have joined forces.

SW Greens, LLC—the owner/operator of Bear Dance Golf Course/Plum Creek and Riverdale Golf—now owns 50 percent of Colorado National Golf Club in Erie. According to a press release, the partnership, which commences this month, represents “the cementing” of Colorado National’s effort to be the “preeminent golf offering in the Rocky Mountain West.”

Featuring a Jay Morrish design that can stretch to 7,700 yards, Colorado National opened as Vista Ridge Golf Club in 2003. Six years later, a group led by former University of Colorado player Steve Kerr purchased the club and renamed it, making it the home course for CU’s men’s and women’s golf teams. Arizona-based OB Sports currently manages the property, which has won numerous CAGGY Awards, hosted two NCAA Regional Championships and received serious consideration as the site of a 2017 PGA Champions Tour event.

“We have been considering how to leverage our success and take our facility to the next level,” Colorado National General Manager Matt Schalk says. “Partnering with SW Greens will help us get there.”

“The opportunity to bring our brand and philosophy of first-class service and product offering at all levels to Colorado National Golf Club could not be more exciting,” says SW Greens co-owner Stuart Bruening, who was on the team of PGA professionals who built The Golf Club at Bear Dance.

Situated in Larkspur, Bear Dance is the jewel in SW Greens’ portfolio and has been a perennial fixture atop lists of the state’s top courses since its 2002 debut. It has also served as headquarters for the PGA of America’s Colorado Section.

Colorado National
The putting green and clubhouse at Colorado National Golf Club

“Colorado National is a spectacular facility and one of the few places representative of our first-class brand,” Bruening says of the course located 60 miles north of Bear Dance. “We’ve seen a number of opportunities both locally and nationally, and have passed. We could not miss the opportunity to align with Colorado National. This is an exciting time for our Bear Dance patrons.”

Schalk echoes that sentiment. “Our partnership with Bear Dance adds rocket fuel to our ability to grow our product offerings and continue to grow the vision for Colorado National,” he says. “We are excited—this is fantastic news for our team and our loyal patrons.”

How golfers at both clubs will benefit remains to be seen. And as of now, the deal doesn’t affect the Kerr-owned Fox Hill Club, the private facility managed by OB Sports in Longmont. Nor does it impact Plum Creek, which SW owns and manages; nor the two courses at Riverdale Golf, which SW manages for the City of Brighton.

Colorado National Golf Club logo

Bear Dance Golf logo

[box]Related: Vote in the 2017 CAGGY Awards and you could win![/box] 

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