Architect Ken Kavanaugh chosen to enhance practice areas, build private teaching complex
(TELLURIDE, Colo.) – Telluride Golf Club – the scenic layout tucked in the highest concentration of 14,000-foot mountains in the United States – is undergoing an extensive game improvement facility renovation, with completion targeted late summer, early fall.
The enhancements by noted golf course architect Ken Kavanaugh will include a 400-yard-long practice range with multi-level teeing areas. Six tees will be perched at the rarified altitude of 9,430 feet, while another set will be located down the hill at 9,280 feet.
Nine target greens ranging from 55 to 250 yards away will dot the vast practice area. Moreover, a defined practice fairway and two target greens serving as practice par 3s will allow golfers to work on specific shots and scenarios.
Sitting adjacent to the practice tee will be a 7,200 square-foot putting green mimicking the surfaces found on the course.
“This facility will be a total game changer,” says Kavanaugh, who has designed or renovated golf courses and practice areas in Arizona, Colorado, Texas and other states. “The practice area is guests’ first impression and there is going to be a ‘wow’ factor.”
A teaching area, where Director of Golf and Instruction Dale Abraham and his staff can conduct private lessons and clinics, will be situated in a secluded part of the range. Among its highlights: flat teeing grounds, a 3,000 square-foot putting green, an additional practice fairway, a classroom and parking for 20 golf carts.
“The game improvement facility, along with our golf instructional programs led by Dale Abraham, will further elevate the golf experience for our members and guests,” says Robert Stenhammer, Vice President at Telluride Golf & Ski Resort. “It will undoubtedly set the standard for practice facilities in the region.”
About Telluride Golf Club
Telluride Golf Club opens with a 377-yard, downhill par-4 that is temptingly drivable at altitude. Scoring opportunities abound as back-to-back par 3s follow, including the sporty 233-yard third hole (No. 4 handicap). As the front nine progresses, famed Mt. Wilson dominates the backdrop as golfers negotiate consecutive par 5s culminating with the 635-yard eighth hole.
The back nine ascends even deeper into the 14,000-plus peaks of the San Miguel Range. Uphill holes, stout carries and beguiling doglegs add ample teeth to a strategic design that doesn’t rely on length as its only defense against par.
The closing holes present a compelling contrast in brawn and beauty. The rapidly rising 486-yard par-4 15th – the course’s most difficult hole – plays like par 5. Conversely, players who climb the 92 steps to reach the tee box on the par-3 17th are rewarded with a 100-foot drop over 137 yards to a pine-encircled green below.
Telluride Golf Club is an Audubon Cooperative Sanctuary, one of the first courses bestowed the prestigious certification in 2004. It meets strict criteria for water and biodiversity conservation, habitat protection, water quality management and reduced chemical use.
The club expanded its game-improvement platform last year, naming Dale Abraham Director of Golf and Instruction. The 2013 Southwest Section PGA Teacher of the Year, Abraham manages the club’s overall operations, private lessons, junior and golf fitness programs. The season ahead includes a major expansion of the practice facility and enhancements to some holes and club amenities.
In addition to limited daily-fee and resort play, platinum and silver memberships encompass golf, skiing, snowboarding, spa, fitness, dining and other amenities and exclusivities. Destination golfers can choose from a variety of first-class accommodations, including the critically acclaimed Inn at Lost Creek. Getting to Telluride has never been easier with direct flights from nine major U.S. hubs to Montrose-Telluride Regional Airport (MTJ).
For more information, reservations and tee times: 800.778.8581, tellurideskiresort.com.
Contact:
Shane Sharp
Robert Rodriguez
Buffalo Brand Invigoration Group
ssharp@buffalobig.com
rrodriguez@buffalobig.com
BuffaloBIG.com
