A BEAUTIFUL APPROACH AT THE 14TH
I was fortunate enough to make it out to Cherry Hills this year to see the work that Renaissance Golf completed last fall. Cherry Hills has never been my favorite course. When I lived in Denver, I attended a caddy orientation class there but opted to loop at Denver Country Club because I liked the course better. Renaissance led by Eric Iverson redid every bunker on the course, altered the third and thirteenth holes, and cleared a select number of trees. The work has started to reveal the potential of the place and I hope that the membership will realize that with a more aggressive makeover, the pride of Denver golf could leap to the upper echelon of William Flynn designs.
The routing on this course is very solid, with the front nine occupying the interior of the property and the back working around the outside. The first few holes, after the famous opening tee shot, are relatively flat. The new third is short par-four that requires a well stuck tee shot to avoid the myriad of bunkers. The green is elevated and surrounded by tight mow. The course starts to hit its stride at the fifth and never really slows down after that.
The tree clearing that has been completed only illustrates how much more is necessary. There are still a number of spruces that should be removed both for aesthetics and for playability. The clubhouse sits above the course on a hill and should have spectacular views of the mountains. While the Rockies can be glimpsed here and there, they are often blocked by unnecessary trees. Cutting down trees should help with drainage and getting the course to play firmer and faster.
Additional tree clearing will help the course but the thing that will make Cherry Hills stand out, would be the renovation of the creek that winds through the course. Old photos show the creek as a sandy wash that was natural and rustic. This creek has been channelized and is now devoid of character. Surrounded in blue grass and removed from the line of play, the creeks are an afterthought in their current configuration. An aggressive stream restoration would vastly enhance the uniqueness of the course and add to the strategy of the golf holes.
Take the 14th pictured at the top of the post. This is already a very good hole, but imagine the creek on the left as a sandy wash, darting into the corner in front of the green. The hole could become all world. While Cherry Hills has been adding length to combat altitude and advances in technology, bringing the creek more into play would have a more tangible affect on the difficulty of the course.
Renaissance Golf, working off some thorough research from Mark Fine, has done a splendid job restoring some of the luster to jewel of Denver golf. I hope that they are given the opportuntiy to really make it shine.
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