Read about my latest experience enjoying Autumn colors while playing Golf in Vail.
Date: 9/27/2020
Play Date: 9/22/2020
Location: EagleVail Golf Course (Avon, CO)
Favorite Fall Colors
Last year I was able to do something I had never done before. I was able to make my way up to the Colorado mountains during the color change of the Aspen trees and it was absolutely spectacular. Last year I played at Vail Golf Club, and in an effort to try a new course I selected EagleVail. The course was recommended to me by my friend's fiancee who is quite a good golfer and has played a lot of the courses throughout Colorado.
To be 100% honest, EagleVail was not my top choice this year as I had planned on playing either Red Sky Ranch or Sonnenalp. Truth be told I was really rubbed the wrong way with both of these options, despite them having nice reviews and a great reputation online. The reason for my disappointment was that both of these courses required me to stay at their on-grounds hotel (Sonnenalp) or affiliated hotel (through Vail Resorts). Since I was driving up from Denver there wasn't an actual need for me to get a hotel at all, but given that I really wanted to play these courses I was willing to consider it as an option. Here is where things went a bit south. If I wanted to play Sonnenalp they would allow me to play the course for $140 (which is totally fair) but then the hotel room started at $340 per night. I am willing to splurge on golf sometimes but $480 is a bit steep for a single round so I calmly declined and moved on to Red Sky Ranch.
I called their Golf Shop and explained that I wanted to come up and they told me that they had openings but that I would have to book through one of the affiliated hotels' concierge. I called Vail Resorts main line and was directed to the appropriate party, where once again I explained what I was looking to do. This time around they gave me a list of hotels, one of which was reasonably priced at $140/night. Ok, this seemed like progress. I temporarily agreed to the room expecting that some type of discount would be offered on the posted golf rates online which were $245 per round at either the Norman or Fazio course. The concierge told me that they did indeed have a discount and if I wanted to play both courses they would drop the price to $360. Ok, $180 rounds are not really that great of a deal in my book no matter where you play but when you combine it with the hotel I was once again at $500 before sales and lodging tax. Believe it or not, I did deliberate for an hour or two, but at the end of the day this simply isn't worth it to me. Knowing all the amazing courses that I have played I have never paid much more than $250/round and would ONLY do that in a spectacular place and one that I likely may not find myself in again.
So I did what I rarely do. I put something that I was determined to do to the side and started looking at other viable options. It was then that I remembered the positive review I had received on EagleVail and I quickly went to their website hoping that I wasn't going to go 0/3 on my search.
To my pleasant surprise I had finally reached a site where I could book online and as I started searching for dates where I thought the leaves might be starting to turn I was happy to see that rates were much more reasonable, starting at about $100 per round. As I continued looking, I also saw that there was still a evening discount bringing the total down to $59. Done! I booked online and started looking to see if I could find any updates on the leaf change online.
Fortunately, after a couple minutes I found exactly what I was looking for. Like many resort towns, Vail now has a dedicated page to show Live views from various angles throughout town. While I was still a couple days ahead of my tee-time I was happy to see the faintest tinge of yellow starting to show in a couple of the views and knew that by the time I got out there I would be in position for some good photo opps and stunning views.
Let me back up here a minute and explain how I knew that this entire activity was worth doing in the first place. About five years ago I was invited to a wedding in Vail, in late September, by a college friend and at that point I had never experienced this phenomenon before. When I arrived at the wedding the hill literally looked like it was on fire!! It was such a sight to behold that I then decided that it was worth going out of my way to try and experience again in the future and have been fortunate to be in the area the last two years to do so.
Fast forward and there I was driving up from Denver for the second year in a row. Last year I had rented a Lexus on Turo which is actually a pretty cool service where you can rent exotic and fun cars for a day from private parties. This go-round I brought up my own car and having made the trip before I felt like I had learned some things from the prior time around. First, I left plenty early so I knew I would have time to stop along the way. There is an amazing place to stop by Dillon which overlooks the Dillon Reservoir and has spectacular views and your first burst of dramatic color change. After about 15 minutes of walking around for better perspective and taking photos I continued on and took the exit that leads up towards Breckenridge. I was able to find a couple more cool spots along the way here too but given some on-going road construction I decided to continue on and make my way towards downtown Vail.
Once again this part of the drive absolutely blew me away and the mixture of bright yellow from the changing trees contrasts so dramatically against the surrounding pine trees it is almost magical. Because EagleVail is actually a bit past the town of Vail-proper it takes about 15 more minutes to reach the exit and as you loop under the Interstate and start back up the mountain you can then see your first glimpse of the driving range and practice greens. As you continue up the hill the clubhouse is on your right and there is an overflow parking lot to the left. After getting my shoes on and grabbing my bag I walked to the clubhouse and dropped my bag to check in.
Because I was still a bit early I was able to go to the bar and grab a beer and a cigar to loosen up after the hour-and-a-half drive I sat down at a nice table overlooking the first hole which drops off at least 100-yards off the tee-shot.
I watched a couple groups play through and as I checked the time I decided it was time to make my way down to hit a few balls and make some practice putts. After warming up a bit I was able to ask the starter if I could go out a few minutes early which he allowed me to do and I was off.
**A little trick is to always book the first available tee-time after twilight rates begin and ask if you can get out early. This ensures that you both get the discounted rate but also that you will get around all 18 in time if you are cutting it close before sunset, which was a concern of mine this round**
I was paired with a group of three younger guys who were likely in the service industry in one of the nearby resorts but they all seemed cool and welcoming through our introductions. I hit a good drive off the elevated tees and off I went.
I will spare the shot-by-shot commentary but had a couple decent holes to kick off the round. The first real interesting hole was the Par-3 fourth which was slightly uphill and given the pin location required a slightly conservative approach. On the way to the green you drive over a flowing creek which was quite pretty and after saving my par the fifth tee-box presents a very interesting shot with a tree in the middle of the fairway that needed to be navigated to the right.
Hole 7 has water along the right and provides a nice mountain backdrop as you make your way down the fairway before crossing a bridge to the Par-3 8th which has a green surrounded by trees that were beginning to turn bright yellow. I hit a 50 degree wedge and nearly dunked my approach which was probably the closest I've been to the stick for an ace in quite some time. I made my bird and continued on to a fun par-4 on the 9th. This hole doglegs to the right and urges you to hit less than driver given that it is short and downhill. The photo for this entry is from the location of my leave and I was able to send a mid-iron pin high for a second birdie look, which I missed.
Hole 10 is an awesome par-3 and I highly recommend playing from the championship tees, even if you have not been playing them up to this point. The 150 yard shot is wayyyyy downhill so take at least 2-3 clubs less than you'd normally hit. I love these types of holes as it seems like your ball hangs in the air forever after contact and watching it drop in from mountain-high level is almost a dizzying experience. My ball landed on the green and was nearly half-plugged by the time I got down to attempt yet another birdie putt.
Holes 11 is a decently long par-5 and after a so-so drive I was able to smoke a 5-wood to about 67 yards. From here, I did what I very rarely ever do...and chipped in for birdie!!
Hole 12 has water all along the right side and 13 is another elevated tee shot to a par-3 which plays a bit shorter than anticipated. While I was totally excited about everything up to this point, the closing holes are where things really get fun.
14 is a par-5 that begins taking you uphill which will set the scene for the remaining holes. 15 is a great par-4 with an awesome view from the elevated tee. Driver is too long so picking a good landing spot was important and I hit it slightly through the fairway, even with 5-wood. My approach was over a beautiful water feature and bridge to a green tucked away between trees and I managed par from the greenside rough.
Hole 16 is a cool par-4 which doglegs hard to the right, 17 is an easy par-3 and by here darkness was setting in. 18 is an elevated tee par-5 and was extremely fun in the fading daylight as we all swung away and tried to hit it as far down the fairway as possible with the hopes of finishing the hole before complete nightfall. I smoked my 5-wood to pin high chipped it close and completed the round with my third birdie of the round which was an awesome way to finish.
Overall, the entire course was beautiful, challenging, and interesting and with lots of elevation changes and some target holes included I'd highly recommend. The price was right, the conditions were solid, and most importantly it was an absolutely beautiful layout in a beautiful place.
My overall score is a 9.0/10.
To see how this stacks up to other courses in Colorado click HERE
To Book a Tee-Time at EagleVail click HERE
For a hole-by-hole course tour check out the link HERE
To see photos of this course and others check out our instagram page HERE
#staythecourse.golf
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