SPORTS
little-knownarchitectormaybeacitycommittee.
Somespeculate thatastarPGATourgolferhada
hand in thecreation.Butnooneknows forsure, and
thestorychangesdependingonwhich localyouask.
Thismystery justadds to theappealofacourse that
feels likeawell-keptsecret.
TellurideGolfClubplays toapar70at6,546
yards from theback tees into the toweringmoun-
tains.At9,417 feetabovesea level, thepar-4firsthole
featuresoneof thenation’smostelevatedopening
teeswithaslowly twisting, right-to-left fairway
withmeadows,mountainsandhugehomesallalong
therightside.You’llbewalkingorridingdownhill
tostartwith,whichyou’llappreciateby theendof
yourround—especiallyataplace thatsells“Got
Oxygen?”shirts in thegiftshop.
Thepar-3 thirdhole,which is locatedadjacent to
thePeaksResortandSpa,offersa trademarkAlpine
challenge. It’s235yards from theback teewitha
largepond in frontof thegreen—sobig thathitters
oftengo for thegreenandriskeitherwaterydisaster
in frontorsandy troublebehind.Thesafer (though
lessexciting)playmightbe to layupand try togetup
anddown forpar from the fairway.
Whenyoucome to thesnackshackafter the
uphillpar-3ninthhole, itwouldbeashamenot to
stop foraHalfwayHouseburger.Made from local
grass-fedbeefand fresh toppings, theclub’sburger
wasrecentlynamedoneof the topnineon-course
burgers inAmericaby
GolfMagazine
.There isno
shame inadmitting thatastopherewas thehigh-
lightofyourround.
Almostasgoodas thehalfway food is theadjacent
mountainousviewabove thedownhillpar-410th
hole.Standingon theelevated teebox, it’sas ifyou’re
lookingatanenormous landscapepainting.The
massivemountains in thedistancearecoveredby
twisted trees, largebouldersandadelicatehazeof
clouds.
Thesignaturepar-317thholerequiresyoumake
a92-stonestepclimb from thecartpath to theupper
teebox, revealingsweepingpanoramicviewsof the
toweringSanMiguelmountainrange.Theclimb to
the topwill takeyourbreathaway— literally.
It’shard tokeepyoureyeon theballatTelluride
withsuchscenicsurroundings, andperhaps that’s
partof theappeal.ToHellYouRide togethere,but
youhaveaHeckofaVisitwhenyouarrive.
AmericanAirlines offersdaily summer service to
Montrose/Telluride
(
MTJ
)beginningJune2 from
Dallas/FortWorth
(
DFW
) and
Saturday-only service from
LosAngeles
(
LAX
)beginningJune4.
88
APRIL2016
AMERICANWAY
AT9,417FEETABOVESEALEVEL,
THEPAR-4FIRSTHOLEFEATURES
ONEOFTHENATION’SMOST
ELEVATEDOPENINGTEES.
Telluride (
Telluride
skiresort.com
) isn’t the
onlyspotwithspectac-
ularmountaingolf.
PROMONTORY
GOLFCLUB
PARKCITY, UTAH
Tomiss thisPeteDyede-
signwouldbe amistake.
It plays 7,690 yards from
theback tees, but that’s
more thannegatedby
the thin air and 100-yard
drops from tee togreen.
Promontoryclub.com
RED SKYRANCH
VAIL, COLORADO
This is oneofGreg
Norman’s best works: 18
holes spreadout over a
hugemountain ridge.
Redskygolfclub.com
EAGLEVAILGOLFCLUB
AVON, COLORADO
This isColoradopublic
golf at its finest.Outside
ofTelluride, it has one
of thehighest elevated
opening tee shots, a 550-
yardpar 5 straight down-
hill.
Eaglevailgolfclub.com
THECHALLENGE
OFMANELE
LANAI, HAWAII
This beachside stunner
plays on the sideof a cliff
and features shots out
over ocean coves.
Fourseasons.com/lanai
DESERTMOUNTAIN
SCOTTSDALE,
ARIZONA
It’s 30minutes from the
gate to the farthest of the
sixJackNicklaus layouts,
theChiricahua course,
but the views areworth it.
Desertmountain.com
DRIVING
RANGES
