Two new golf courses planned for Colorado Springs area

As the Broadmoor Hotel renovates its golf course and the Patty Jewitt Golf Course finishes its three-to-four-hole face-lift, two new golf courses - one to open in July and one in 2005 - are on tap for the Colorado Springs area. One is public; the other is private, but both plan to offer state-of-the-art play and facility amenities to local and statewide golfing enthusiasts.

Nieber Golf Inc. is the builder of both courses. The company also refurbished the Broadmoor and Patty Jewitt golf courses. Nieber Golf has built eight courses throughout the country, and its sister company, Traditional Golf Management, oversees operations at its new Antler Creek course in Falcon and the Woodmoor Pines Golf Course in Monument.

Antler Creek will be the longest course in the state

Prior to its July opening date, a new golf course on the eastern plains has been nominated as one of the top public courses in Colorado. The Antler Creek Golf Course at neighborhood communities Woodmen Hills and Meridian Ranch in Falcon is the longest course in Colorado, encompassing 8,100 yards. Wide fairways, six sets of tees and beautiful views of more than one mountain range promise to attract golfers statewide, said Joe Linnemeyer, general manager and golf pro.

Plans for the course include a 6,000 square-foot clubhouse that will have a pro shop and a full-service restaurant, which also will be available for receptions, meetings, etc.

Linnemeyer expects more than 40,000 people at Antler Creek's July 3 grand opening celebration. Not just for golfers, the star-spangled affair features a morning pancake breakfast for Falcon and area families, along with a children's bike decorating contest. At dusk, a massive fireworks display will add color to the usually star-studded skies inherent on the eastern plains. Area builders donated $8,500 toward the fireworks extravaganza.

Linnemeyer said golfers will get the biggest bang for their buck over the next couple of years when an additional nine holes are added to the 180-acre golf course.

For information about the golf course, visit www.antlercreekgolf.com.

Flying Horse course designed by golf pro

Classic Companies, well known in Colorado Springs as a residential development company, is constructing a Tom Weiskopf-designed golf course at the Flying Horse community north of Colorado Springs at Highway 83, just south of Northgate Road near the Black Forest. Weiskopf was in town May 20 for a ceremony unveiling the site and plans for the 18-hole private golf course.

Jeff Gamble is a general superintendent for Nieber Golf, builders of the course. Gamble said the course at The Club at Flying Horse is 7,200 to 7,300-yards long and the first private golf course under construction in the area in 20 years. It's an upscale neighborhood membership-only golf course, Gamble said. Construction of the course should be completed by the end of September, and it should be open by the end of summer of 2005.

Elite Properties is managing the golf course for Classic Companies, and Fredo Killing will be the director of the club. Killing said plans include a five-tee course, which offers year- round practice facilities. Complementing the golf course is a 40,000- square-foot athletic club and spa featuring swimming pools, tennis courts, a spa and gymnasium, a yoga room, a physical therapy clinic, a snack grill and a health food bar. It's really a high-end golf club, Killing said. We'll be open for golf tournaments on Mondays as well.

For information, visit the Web site at www.flyinghorseclub.com

More than golf happening on Colorado courses

Meanwhile, the Colorado Division of Wildlife reported a pair of bald eagles nesting at the Aspen Glen Golf Club, a private golf course south of Glenwood Springs, Colo. The pair, nestled in a ponderosa pine 50 yards from the 10th hole, hatched a couple of eaglets in May. According to an agreement prior to the golf course's development in the 1990s, Aspen Glen managers agreed to close the hole through early July to ensure the eagle family's safety. DOW personnel are watching out for the bald eagles, and, through telescopes, residents have a bird's eye view of the eagle's new home.

In a May news release, retired DOW raptor biologist Jerry Craig said, The golf course needs to be proud of this as one of its amenities.

Chuck Cobb, the Yampa Valley Golf Course director, said that in 1986 another pair of eagles nested near the 15th tee box at the Yampa course, and since then he said a number of eagles have hatched their babies on the golf course. The eagles enjoyed watching the golfers almost as much as the golfers enjoyed watching the eagles. He cautioned that eagles become nervous if anyone gets too close to them or their nests. Of course, golfers get a bit nervous if anyone gets close to them during play. The moral of the story: You might get an eagle while you are watching out for the eagles.

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