Tee it High in Summit County

Reach the Summit

All perching around 9,000 feet above sea level, Summit County’s golf courses (including Mount Massive in Lake County’s Leadville) can cause you to pull too much club. Factor at least one club difference from what you’d play on the Front Range. Also, a higher lofted driver can get you more yards off the tee, and so will a higher spinning golf ball. If you’re comfortable switching equipment, go with the different driver, but play your usual ball because the extra spin could wreak havoc on your short game.

Classic Rocker

Keystone Resort’s impressive 36-hole golf facility has helped this four-season property become one of the America’s most revered. One of the layouts, the River Course, was important in affirming Keystone’s place among the country’s elite. “Our philosophy is to design golf courses that stir the spirit, exceed expectation and defy understanding,” said Michael Hurzan, who co-designed the course with Dana Fry.

Since opening in 1980 as Summit County’s first course, the Robert Trent Jones Jr.-designed Keystone Ranch Golf Club has withstood the test of time. Three different styles—parkland, mountain and marsh—give the course a rugged. pioneering feeling. keystoneresort.com

The Keystone Effect

Your wedding day requires invention, creativity and an unforgettable stage. That what defines Keystone Resort’s acclaimed wedding venues. Encompassing the romantic, the unexpected and the magical, Keystone offers myriad opportunities to express your individual style. One of its more popular venues is the verdant Keystone Ranch golf course, where romance blends with the Colorado frontier and the rustic elegance of an historic homestead. keystoneresort.com

Photo credit: Jeff Andrew

Raven’s Nest

Located in Silverthorne, 70 minutes up the hill from Denver, the Raven at Three Peaks’ spectacular setting is surpassed only by the quality of its golf and service. The stirring Hurdzan/Fry collaboration with Tom Lehman offers wide fairways, lickety-split greens and abundant wildlife in the form of deer, ospreys and eagles. The Raven has earned numerous accolades from local, state and national golf publications, including this one. Come see why. ravenatthreepeaks.com

Forever More

The highly photogenic Raven Golf Club at Three Peaks brings to weddings the same exceptional standards of guest service you’ve come to expect on the golf course, with gourmet cuisine, luxuriously appointed reception and ceremony areas, and an attentive banquet staff to handle most every need. Additionally, the club can arrange stay-andplay and tournament packages for family and guests. ravenatthreepeaks.com

Short & Sweet

A mix of links and mountain style holes crafted by Pete Dye and son Perry are the striking hallmarks of 6,094-yard Copper Creek Golf Course, the anchor summer amenity at Copper Mountain Resort. Designed to accommodate the novice yet provide a stern test for the accomplished golfer, Copper Creek is enhanced with spellbinding views of Copper Mountain and 10 Mile Range, natural alpine terrain and signature railroad-tie bulkheading that present golfers with ball-repelling challenges. coppercolorado.com/golf

On the Tee

The 7,413-yard Raven at Three Peaks rates as one of Colorado’s top mountain courses. Designed by Tom Lehman and Hurdzan-Fry, the rolling layout has earned celebrity for its design and snowcapped panoramas.

The 6,886-yard, Hurdzan-Fry-designed River Course at Keystone orients along the path of the Snake River and through thick stands of lodgepole pines. The views and elevation changes are aweinspiring.

Copper Creek Golf Course (pictured below) and Leadville’s Mount Massive Golf Course vie for the “highest in North America” title. Copper’s claim is a 9,863-feet-above-sea-level tee box; all nine of Mount Massive’s holes sit at 9,680 feet.

FEATURED COURSES

Breckenridge Golf Club
Breckenridge
970-453-9104; townofbreckenridge.com

Copper Creek Golf Course
Copper Mountain
970-968-3333; coppercolorado.com/golf

Keystone Ranch Golf Course
Keystone
800-464-3494; keystoneresort.com

The River Course at Keystone
Keystone
800-464-3494; keystoneresort.com

Raven Golf Club at Three Peaks
Silverthorne
970-262-3636; ravenatthreepeaks.com

Colorado AvidGolfer is 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.

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