Fossil Trace Golf Club head pro Jim Hajek was so impressed with Colorado Avid Golfer’s new $52.80 program, he signed up on the spot.
“How can I not do this?” he asked after Avid Golfer publisher Allen Walters ended a presentation at Cool River on Tuesday on the program designed to drive business up in the fall — when the number of golf rounds typically goes down.
“I want this to be bigger than Restaurant Week,” Walters said, adding that he “borrowed” the $52.80 from Visit Denver’s popular annual February event that brings diners into restaurant seats during a slow time of the year.
“After Labor Day, people start thinking about skiing,” said Eddie Ainsworth, executive director of the PGA’s Colorado Section. “How do we get more people to play golf in the fall?”
The program, which will cost each golf course $1,350, will have an estimated return promotional value of $5,500 for a one-third-page ad in the magazine’s September issue; radio advertising on The Fan (104.3 FM) and ESPN; Facebook and Twitter presence; and local media coverage.
The goal this year is to sign up 50 courses — public and private — for the discount days Sept. 13-26. Courses may shape their own interpretation of the $52.80 deal — either combining the greens fee for one or two players with carts, pro- shop or restaurant discounts, or restricting the offer to weekdays after noon. Each course’s $52.80 offer will be listed at .
As of Wednesday, 12 courses had signed on, including Breckenridge, Arrowhead, Green Valley Ranch, Omni Interlocken, Keystone, Indian Tree and Red Hawk Ridge.
Thrill for Barolo Grill.
Barolo Grill, the 15-year- old fine-dining Italian eatery on East Sixth Avenue, is among a star-studded list of restaurants to be inducted into the 2009 Nation’s Restaurant News Fine Dining Hall of Fame.
Barolo — owned by Blair Taylor, with a kitchen helmed by Denver’s most unsung chef, Brian Laird — joins illustrious inductees including Blue Ginger in Boston (owned by celebrity chef Ming Tsai), Michael Mina in Las Vegas, Slanted Door in San Francisco and Herbsaint in New Orleans.
“We were stunned and thrilled,” said Taylor, who added that he didn’t know Barolo was even nominated. “I got a Fed Ex letter (Wednesday) afternoon and sat there and said, ‘Hah, wow.’
“I’m truly blessed that I love what I do for a living, and that other people appreciate it makes it that much more lovely.”
Nation’s Restaurant News, based in New York, is the weekly go-to magazine for the food-service industry.
Eavesdropping.
A woman to another woman walking her dog in Aspen:
“Cute dog. What’s his name?”
“Musbe.”
“Musbe?”
“His full name is Mus Be Crazy to Get Another Dog.”
Penny Parker’s column appears Tuesday, Thursday, Friday and Sunday. Listen to her on the Caplis and Silverman radio show between 4 and 5 p.m. Fridays on KHOW-630 AM. Call her at 303-954-5224 or e-mail pparker@denverpost.com.
