Colorado Getaways 2022: Haymaker Golf Course

True West

FOR ALL ITS champagne powder and the upscale trappings of its Mountain Village, Steamboat Springs remains an authentic Western town. Its rich cowboy heritage coexists with the town’s century-old skiing legacy and endures in the form of an annual summerlong rodeo, dozens of working ranches and a Main Street—Lincoln Avenue—wide enough to drive cattle down and cool enough to sport western haberdasheries.

Steamboat’s pride in authenticity also expresses itself in Haymaker Golf Course, regarded as one of Colorado’s top municipal layouts. Although it only opened in 1997, the 7,308-yard Keith Foster design blends seamlessly into a lush, 233-acre valley five miles south of downtown. Nary a home lines the fairways—just the occasional stone wall and haybale.

Haymaker sports few trees. Particularly on the outward nine, the course truly does suggest a traditional links— albeit one not near an ocean, but sur- rounded by Mount Werner, Flat Tops Wilderness and Rabbit Ears Pass.

“That Scottish-style links is unique in the mountains,” says PGA Professional Cody Hasten. “You get those fun bounces, and each hole looks and plays differently from every tee box.” Savor a glorious sunset from the Haymaker Patio Grill patio with a pint and take in the long shadows before heading into the unpretentious town that owns the course.

www.haymakergolf.com

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