Our society has a certain fascination with lists. Give us a top-10 rundown of the best or worst or greatest — pick your superlative — and there’s an inclination to pay attention.
Golf is certainly no exception, especially when it comes to ranking courses.
The irony is that as the number of regularly-published lists of “greatest” or “top” or “best” courses continues to grow by leaps and bounds, the number of courses in the U.S. is actually decreasing. The National Golf Foundation predicts that we’ll see a net decline of 500-1,000 courses this decade.
Colorado golfers tend to sift through lists of courses that stand out nationally and internationally to see where the best this state has to offer fits in the lineup. Among the most prominent national publications that regularly print such course rankings are Golf Digest, Golfweek and Golf Magazine.
Golf Digest got the ball rolling with its “America’s 100 Greatest” rankings, which debuted in 1966. And now, not only have many other publications — locally and on a larger scale — jumped on the bandwagon, but there are all sorts of categories and sub-categories for course lists nowadays.
With all that in mind, here is our periodic compilation of how Colorado courses have fared in national and international rankings, along with a notation of the No. 1-ranked course in each category. All of the following have been published in 2011:
Golf Digest’s America’s 100 Greatest Golf Courses (published in May) — Augusta (Ga.) National GC is No. 1. Colorado courses included: 29. Castle Pines GC in Castle Rock; 67. Cherry Hills CC in Cherry Hills Village; 95. Ballyneal Golf & Hunt Club in Holyoke (pictured).
Golf Digest’s America’s 100 Greatest Public Golf Courses (published in May) — Pebble Beach (Calif.) GL is No. 1. Colorado courses included: 31. Broadmoor GC (East Course) in Colorado Springs; 88. GC at Redlands Mesa in Grand Junction.
Golf Magazine’s Top 100 Courses in the U.S. (published in November) — Pine Valley (N.J.) GC is No. 1. Colorado courses included: 46. Ballyneal Golf & Hunt Club in Holyoke; 62. Cherry Hills CC in Cherry Hills Village.
Golf Magazine’s Top 100 Courses in the World (published in November) — Pine Valley (N.J.) GC is No. 1. Colorado course included: 79. Ballyneal Golf & Hunt Club in Holyoke.
Golfweek’s Best Modern Courses (published in March) — Sand Hills GC in Mullen, Neb. is No. 1. Colorado courses included: 6. Ballyneal Golf & Hunt Club in Holyoke; 37. Colorado GC in Parker; 38. Castle Pines GC in Castle Rock; 86. Santuary in Sedalia; 89. GC at Ravenna in Littleton.
Golfweek’s Best Classic Courses (published in March) — Pine Valley (N.J.) GC is No. 1. Colorado Course included: 68. Cherry Hills CC in Cherry Hills Village.
Golfweek’s Best Residential Courses (published in November) — Rock Creek Cattle Co. in Deer Lodge, Mont., is No. 1. Colorado courses included: 7. Colorado GC in Parker; 8. Castle Pines GC in Castle Rock; 31. GC at Ravenna in Littleton; 66. The Glacier Club in Durango; 75. GC at Redlands Mesa in Grand Junction; 92. Lakota Canyon Ranch GC in New Castle.
Golfweek’s Best Resort Courses (published in November) — Pacific Dunes in Bandon, Ore., is No. 1. Colorado courses included: 30. Cougar Canyon GL in Trinidad; 69. Red Sky GC (Fazio Course) in Wolcott; 80. Broadmoor GC (East Course) in Colorado Springs.
Golfweek’s Best Municipal Courses (published in May) — Bethpage Black in Farmingdale, N.Y., is No. 1. Colorado courses included: 33. Aspen GC; 35. Breckenridge GC; 49. Fossil Trace GC in Golden.
Golfweek’s Best Tour Courses You Can Play (published in April) — Pebble Beach (Calif.) GL is No. 1. Colorado course included: 36. Broadmoor GC (East Course) in Colorado Springs, host of the 2011 U.S. Women’s Open.
Golfweek’s Best Campus Courses (published in September) — The Course at Yale in New Haven, Conn., is No. 1. Colorado course included: 21. Eisenhower GC (Blue Course) at the Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs.
