The Broadmoor Golf Courses
The Broadmoor Golf Club was established in 1918 in conjunction with the opening of The BROADMOOR resort. It was then, and continues to be today, an integral part of the 5-star, 5-diamond resort.
Spencer Penrose, the founder of The BROADMOOR, wanted it to have a top-notch course which would be ready the day the hotel opened. In the summer of 1916, he hired Donald Ross, one of the best known golf course designers of his day. The Broadmoor Casino was moved from its position by the lake, and the site where the Broadmoor Hotel was to be built, down to the edge of the golf course where it was adapted for use as the golf clubhouse.
The golf course was an essential part of the Broadmoor Hotel's success. The course was an unusual one for the time, given its altitude and level of technical difficulty. The original links were 6,617 yard in length with a 74 par; every green was undulating. Jim Barnes established himself at the Broadmoor upon completion of his tour for the Red Cross and attracted many quality players to the roster of the Broadmoor Golf Club. Chick Evans, the holder of the National Amateur and National Open titles, became a non-resident member of the club as soon as it was built and played often on the course.
Once the course at the Broadmoor had opened, Barnes participated in tournaments with locally and nationally known opponents on a regular basis, and the club began hosting noteworthy tournaments. The first important tourney was a Red Cross match. Jim Barnes and Chick Evans teamed up against Warren Wood and Jock Hutchinson on the fourth of July, 1918. The Broadmoor Invitational Golf Tournament was held for the first time in 1921 and was an honored annual event through 1994.
The golf clubhouse also served several other functions. In the evening, the upstairs rooms became a nightclub where bands and singers performed livelier music that that enjoyed by guests in the hotel dining rooms. During the twenties, Penrose utilized the upper floor of the club for Monday night boxing bouts. The club was expanded with a new wing in 1929 to better accommodate the large crowds that attended Broadmoor functions. In 1935, the nightclub area was transformed into the "Jungle Room" decorated with African artifacts that the Penroses had brought home from one of their trips and exotic murals were painted on the walls. Bob McGrew and his orchestra began playing in the club in that year and became a fixture in the years to come. The roof of the new wing provided an area for outdoor dancing and dining.
The Broadmoor Golf Club continued to grow and expand over the years. In 1958, Robert Trent Jones Sr. was hired to design an additional nine-hole course. In 1964, he was invited back to add nine more holes and the club now had two 18-hole courses. In 1976, Ed Seay and Arnold Palmer completed the third 18-hole course which was later redesigned by the Nicklaus Group and reopened in 2006. In 1994, the original clubhouse was replaced with a new 90,000 square foot clubhouse that incorporated a first-class spa, fitness center and indoor pool. The club is host to many important tournaments to include:
- Broadmoor Men's Invitation 1921-1995
- Broadmoor Ladies Invitation 1928, 1942-1997
- Trans-Mississippi Championship 1927, 1930, 1933, 1939, 1949, 1964, 1996
- World Senior Golf Championships 1960-2001
- NCAA Championships 1953, 1957, 1960, 1964, 1969
- Curtis Cup 1962
- U.S. Women's Western Amateur 1935, 1941
- U.S. Men's Amateur Championship 1959, 1967
- U.S. Women's Amateur Championship 1982
- U.S. Women's Open Championship 1995
- PGA Cup Matches 1998
- U.S. Senior Open Championship 2008
- U.S. Women's Open Championship 2011
The Broadmoor Golf Club and The BROADMOOR have received many accolades and awards over the years. Most recently The BROADMOOR received the Forbes Travel Guide (formerly Mobil Travel Guide) Five-Star designation for the 52nd consecutive year and the AAA Five-Diamond Award for the 36th consecutive year. No other property has even been able to accomplish this feat. In January,2012, Golf World released its 2012 100 Best Golf Shops the Broadmoor Golf Shop was names one of the best of the best. Golf Magazine has been ranking the game's greatest resorts for twenty-four years. In their March, 2012 issue, The BROADMOOR was named as one of their ten Platinum Award recipients. The Spring, 2012 issue of Avid Golfer just presented its Best of Colorado awards. The BROADMOOR is found in no less than seven categories to include Best Service and Best Southern Course. And, in June, 2012, The BROADMOOR was recognized by the Colorado Golf Hall of Fame with a Distinguished Service Award for the outstanding and continued support of golf in Colorado.
The March 2012 issue of Tennis Magazine recognized The BROADMOOR as the #3 Tennis Resort in the Northwest, which only adds to other accolades of the Top 25 Tennis Camps in the United States by Tennis Magazine and the #15 Best Tennis Resort in the World by Tennis Resorts Online.
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