Talk of the Tour: Time to Shine, Solheim Style

“The beauty parlor is full of sailors,” Bob Dylan once sang. “The circus is in town.”

With all due respect to Jason Dufner and his awesome PGA Championship victory, it’s hard for me to turn my attention away from this week’s Solheim Cup.

That’s because when I’m not writing this column, I’m the membership and marketing director of Colorado Golf Club, which is hosting the event.

The journey to this week began for me on the day before Thanksgiving, 2008, when I received a binder with bid instructions from the LPGA. In January, 2009, CGC made its initial pitch. The months that followed featured meetings with town, county, city and state officials, business leaders, civic organizations and other players and sports personalities.

And in July, 2009, we got the call.

Four years of promotions, negotiations, meetings, site visits and construction later, the gates opened at Colorado Golf Club, and fans from all over the world began streaming in. The grandstands are built. The TV towers are up. The players are in. And the fun is about to begin.

It’s one thing to watch a golf event on TV. It’s quite another to see a course and club transformed from a haven for members and guests to a world-class sports venue. A lot has happened in the past four years—in golf, in Colorado, and at Colorado Golf Club. At times it seemed like this day would never come. But here it is.

If I seem a little overwhelmed, it’s because I am. I’m proud of the staff and membership at Colorado Golf Club. I’m proud of the ladies from both sides of the Atlantic who have made the teams. I’m excited to see our beautiful landscape and mountains on TV. And I’m ready to cheer on a great competition.

This week, the golf world and its attendant circus are right in our back yard.

Come join in the fun!

 

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.