Then play golf in the Rocky Mountains!
My apology in advance if you thought I had tips to improve your game? I hope you’re not disappointed when I say, “one way to elevate your game is play at an altitude of 8,420 ft.?” 🙂 So it was, my second excursion into the Rocky Mountain state [for golf anyway], this past week. More than one hundred golfers [from various states] descended upon Grand Lake Golf Club over the weekend in Grand Lake, Colorado. I was in the area and played a couple courses, and this one was especially cool in more ways than one. Where else can you stay outside for 4 hours and have the temperature never rise above the low 70’s in August of the year? If you guessed Alaska you would be correct, but that’s about the only place other than the Rocky Mountains of Colorado. This course sits at the entrance to Rocky Mountain National Park [which I did not have time to visit on this trip].

The Rocky Mountains are unusually high, ranging in altitude from 12,000 to over 14,000 ft!
It’s difficult to get an appreciation of the kind of heights I’m talking about here until you find yourself navigating a vehicle around there? You talk about some frightening switchback turns, it can make a few “come to Jesus” moments for those of us who live in places like I do, in standard issue small-hilled North Texas. I’m no stranger to mountains though, I’ve traveled through the Smoky Mountains and even traveled down that marathon of mountain roads, the King of mountain roads known as the “Blue Ridge Mountain Trail” in Virginia. However, those can’t compare to Rocky Mountain-style elevations so I would have to classify most of them as “mountain light”? I mean these two golf courses I played in are sitting higher than most mountain ranges in the United States.

A Bit of Advice
Only fly into the Denver airport if you have to, if you’re given no other choice. The city of Denver has a population of only 800,000 people but you wouldn’t know it from trying to get in and out of the airport there. Turns out that Denver International Airport is the third busiest airport in the country behind Dallas/Ft. Worth and Miami International. You’ve heard the Jewish whine, “Take me to Miami”? [delivered in a squealing voice]. Well you might even do better in Miami I think than try and navigate the Denver airport on some days. Let me explain, if you’re planning to rent a car when you land? Expect to stand in line for 1-1/2 to 2 hours before you get pushed back outside to wait on an attendant that actually brings a car to you. That was a whole clusterfuck in itself for me because the guy kept showing me minivans when I specifically ordered an SUV to carry my clubs. Then high winds and rain came in but finally I did get what I ordered and on my way. The way the Denver airport is laid out, [for those who have not been through it], everything is offsite. Example, you will need to take a tram from the airport to any rental car agency as well as take a separate tram to any terminal location. The only thing inside the main airport complex is ticketing and checking bags as well as passing through airport security. Well kind of, good luck finding where to go through airport security to proceed to the terminal trams. LMAO! It’s on a totally different level than ticketing as you will walk awhile to get to the bottom floor of the main facility. I will have to give this airport credit for moving that mass explosion of travelers to their destinations. It’s just that the process there requires a few more steps than most airports I’ve passed through but it’s all good.

The highlight of the trip, playing Grand Lake Golf Club
I would recommend this course to golfers looking for a different type of challenge. Grand Lake is truly a beautiful course with wildlife cruising around the cliffs, peaks and valleys which makes for a good diversion. One diversion we didn’t order happened around the middle of the round when the wind really picked up – I’m talking wind so strong that it was messing with the direction of our putts, even moving the ball across the green after it had already stopped which I’ve not seen before. Wind gusts that reminded me of playing golf in Scotland last year, winds in the 40-50 mph range. These unstable weather systems come up in the Rocky Mountains all the time, of course this one was accompanied by moderate rain but it wouldn’t last long. About the time players began to mumble about maybe quitting and returning to the clubhouse? The rain let up, the wind calmed down and the clouds parted enough for the Sun to peer out and with all that we were back swinging clubs. [Somehow the cloud gods found appeasement I thought]. However, not to be outdone, just before finishing up the last hole the weather turned ugly on us again. This time we hurried to finish and frantically turned our carts toward the parking lot for we had already been there and done that! So a little wet I did get but I kept things in perspective, thinking to myself “come-on man, it’s Colorado and I’m 9,000 ft. in the air! Now find a beer and get your Rocky Mountain mojo back Dude!” 🙂