The Wonder of Colorado Golf

By Anthony Cotton

ARE YOU ALREADY over your New Year’s resolutions? If the health club/diet/reading more thing hasn’t really worked out, here’s a better-late-than-never addition to the list that I’m guessing you can get behind: Let’s play more…different golf in 2021.

Chances are you covered the “more” part in 2020— according to Golf Datatech, rounds played across the United States were up almost 14 percent in 2020 versus 2019, this with most courses being closed anywhere from a few days to a few months at the onset of the pandemic.

In Colorado, the numbers were even more striking— year-over-year, rounds played increased by almost 20 percent in 2020.

The hope, among golf course operators, officials in the sport—and magazine editors and the publishers they work for—is that the golf boom continues in 2021…which is where the “different” part of the resolution comes into play. While I know I certainly did my level best to contribute to those eye-popping numbers, the truth is, I wasn’t very adventurous when it came to where I teed it up, typically playing at the same three or four courses most weekends. But while there’s something to be said for convenience and comfort, as well as the satisfaction that comes with mastering (for one afternoon at least) the local tract, when it comes to variety in the Centennial State, there are probably 100 phenomenal courses just a car ride away. That’s what makes this particular issue of Colorado AvidGolfer so special. Since the magazine started, we’ve brought you our annual CAGGY Awards, celebrating the best of just about everything when it comes to the sport. Beginning on page 67, we present the 19th edition here—whether public or private, muni or daily-fee, North, South, Front Range and Western Slope, we asked and you answered, providing a road map to old standards and new, perhaps underrated, discoveries. If you should actually want to cross the border, and time (and pandemic conditions) warrant, there are recommendations for getaways, regionally, national and internationally.

And it’s not only about the 18 holes—if you get the urge to, you know, actually work on your game, you can find the best places to practice. Should you go all-in and decide to invest in some lessons…well, let’s just say there are some instructors out there who were… extremely enthusiastic about letting you know they’re available to take your call.

Should you find all this golf talk, coming as it does with the temperatures hopefully rising to the point where it doesn’t take a jackhammer to stick a tee in the ground, whetting your appetite, we go from the CAGGYS to one Frank Bonanno. A particularly avid golfer himself, when he’s not puring 9-irons, Bonanno can be found puréeing sauces and creating exquisite dishes as the driving force behind such notable eateries as Mizuna, Luca, Salt & Grinder and the Denver Milk Market. On page 80, Bonanno gives us an inside look at both of his passions, food and golf, and where the intersection between the two lies.

Bon Appétit! —ANTHONY COTTON