Kerry Haigh had just returned to his Florida home from a trip to Colorado when a telephone caller told him of a new course that he just had to see — in suburban Denver. Although the timing was far from fortuitous, the director of tournaments for the PGA of America was intrigued enough to make a return trip west a month or so later.
And at that point, intrigue turned into something akin to love at first sight.
“You could say that,” Haigh said recently about his first experience at Colorado Golf Club. “When I went out and took a look around, I was extremely impressed with the golf course and everything involved with the club.”
At about the same time, Joe Steranka, the organization’s CEO, was having a conversation with Ben Crenshaw, a Champions Tour golfer, former Ryder Cup captain and course designer.
“I had played Bandon Trails (a highly acclaimed Crenshaw design in Oregon) and was asking him about that,” Steranka recalled, “and he said, ‘Well, there’s another course that’s really special, a project in Colorado.’ “
Not long after that, the PGA awarded its 2010 Senior Championship to the club in Parker, one of the first steps that has taken the 3-year-old course on a ride that has sizzled like a stinger off the club of Tiger Woods. Not long after news of the Senior PGA was announced, the LPGA moved to get a piece of the action as well, signing up for the 2013 Solheim Cup, its version of the Ryder Cup.
As the 156-player field streams into town this week for the first major championship of the season for the senior set, there are rumors about the club’s long-term viability, a byproduct of the recent economic downturn. But should the facility emerge from its financial doldrums, there’s little question CGC will be one of the newer facilities in the United States that’s in contention for more of golf’s biggest events.
That shortlist includes Chambers Bay near Tacoma, Wash., Erin Hills in Wisconsin and perhaps Old MacDonald, a Tom Doak design that just opened in Oregon alongside Bandon Trails. And while each tract has its unique charms, it seems Colorado Golf Club can hang with them on almost any level.
“Ben was right,” Steranka said. “You talk about the walk-in-the-park value — (CGC) is as good as there is anywhere in the country.”
It wasn’t all that long ago Haigh was making an initial visit to a new course that had started receiving some buzz in the golf community — Valhalla in Louisville, Ky. However, when the PGA announced it was bringing some of its major events, like the PGA Championship and the Ryder Cup, to Valhalla, the news was met with some skepticism about how a new facility could hold up in comparison with time-tested venues like Pebble Beach or Medinah.
But today, following such epic events as Woods’ 2000 PGA victory over Bob May, or the Americans finally taking back the Ryder Cup with a stirring 2008 win over Europe, there’s little question Valhalla is a major championship destination.
And there may come a time that Colorado Golf Club is afforded the same respect.
“We’re looking at not just the traditions of major championship sites, but also what the next generation of sites will be,” Steranka said. “That’s part of our responsibility, and we think Colorado Golf Club is that special.”
When the club was formed, the ownership, which includes founding partner Mike McGetrick, told the members the facility didn’t want to try to obtain an ongoing PGA or LPGA Tour event, but rather wanted to be in the running for major championships every few years.
“Really, a great model for us has been Cherry Hills Country Club,” McGetrick said. “They’ve held every major championship. . . . This is our first. Hopefully, someday, we’ll host a PGA Championship, maybe someday a Ryder Cup. Hopefully, we’ll have something with the USGA at Colorado Golf Club.”
Which makes this week a very important test for the facility, one that not only finds Steranka wielding a very big red pencil, but also the likes of Fred Couples and Jay Haas — and you, the general public, whose presence, or perhaps lack of it, will have an impact on whether Haigh and his organization, as well as others in the game, will indeed return for more.
“In the end,” Haigh said, “we look at all sorts of factors — attendance, how the operation is run, what do the players think of the course. Hopefully, Colorado Golf Club will get high marks for all of them.”
Anthony Cotton: 303-954-1292 or acotton@denverpost.com
