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Ravenna Reborn
From Tee to Green, The Club at Ravenna has authored an amazing comeback.
By Daniel B. Glover
“When we started, I just wanted to live here; I bought into the vision of what Ravenna was and what it was going to become.”
COMEBACK KING
As recently as 2014, the Club at Ravenna had less than 50 members, and the number of rounds played topped out at about 6,000—when comparing that to the 2019 totals, 275 members and 15,000 rounds played—it’s easy to see why the Littleton-based facility is regarded as one of the best come- back stories in Colorado golf.
“It’s just a place to enjoy the sights and the sounds,” says Kevin Collins, Ravenna’s managing partner and the man credited with extricating the club from the morass of bankruptcy and receivership that plagued its early days. “Once people drive through the gates, there’s great physical beauty with the red rocks, and it’s a serene place where you can escape the hustle and bustle of the city.”
Whether it’s making improvements to the golf course, or hiring a world-class chef to revamp the club’s menu, Ravenna is trying to leave no stone unturned.
“We’re really a small, boutique club; everything we do, we look at it from the standpoint of helping the member experience,” Collins says.
An after-golf dining experience at Ravenna can include any number of enticing options from Executive Chef David Lazarus, including seared Georges
Bank sea scallops with spring vegetables, confetti rice and citrus beurre blanc. PHOTOGRAPH COURTESY OF THE CLUB AT RAVENNA.
MOVERS AND SHAKERS
Truth be told, at one point, one practically needed to be a PGA TOUR-quality player to navigate the golf course at Ravenna. The Jay Morrish-designed layout featured almost 180,000 square feet of bunkers—most courses have less than half that amount. To make things more accessible for the everyday player, about 80,000 square feet of sand was re- moved; in addition, the size of the third green was expand- ed, while the ninth and 18th greens were completely rebuilt. A new short game area has been created, while the practice putting green has been expanded by one-third.
Out on the course, the star of the show might be the 16th hole, a par-3 that can play as long as 240 yards. Surrounded by breath-taking scenery of the Front Range, with a drop of more than 50 feet from the back tees over a ravine, Collins calls it “an almost idyllic setting.”
LIFE IS GOOD
Collins calls Ravenna’s clubhouse, slated to open in 2022, “the final piece of the puzzle.” Part of a $19 million upgrade, the 24,000-square-foot building will include event and entertainment space and an expansive wine cellar. There’s also La Bella Vita (“The Beautiful Life”), which includes a spectacular fitness center and state-of-the-art pool among its plentiful amenities.
That phrase perhaps perfectly encapsulates the journey the club has made over the last few years.
“From the beginning we were focused on, ‘How do we move the development from a great idea to an actual place where people want to live and play golf and participate in the golf club experience,’” Collins says. “For us, the clubhouse is the pinnacle for Ravenna; it’s going to be the community center for the entire development.”
This article was also featured in the April Issue of Colorado AvidGolfer.
Colorado AvidGolfer is the state’s leading resource for golf and the lifestyle that surrounds it, publishing eight issues annually and proudly delivering daily content via coloradoavidgolfer.com.
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