Haymaker: Foster’s Design Links Scotland and Tradition

By David R. Holland, Senior Staff Writer

STEAMBOAT SPRINGS, CO -- On the outskirts of this world-famous ski town there’s a unique golf course that’s a shrine in progress to haybalers everywhere.

It’s called Haymaker and to this day as you play the 636-yard, par-5 sixth hole, known as “Cattle Drive”, you are in eyeball range of a working hayfield. If you play in late summer, the rolled stacks of hay are right there, just yards away from the fairway.

Haymaker’s head golf professional, Hank Franks, says one look at this sprawling, rolling acreage and you can see that traditionalist Keith Foster brought a touch of Scotland to this Yampa Valley floor, just minutes from the ski slopes of Steamboat Springs. It’s a Scottish-links style par-72 golf course that measures 7,308 yards from the championship tees.

Foster designed this fair test, integrating the agrarian background of this ranching community. Foster, designer of the award-winning Quarry Golf Course in San Antonio and Buffalo Run in Commerce City, completed a design that includes deep bunkers, rock walls, wetlands and native-grass rough. The 360-degree views of the surrounding Flat Tops Wilderness and Rabbit Ears Pass are unobstructed. There’s nary a shade-tree on the property.

“It’s not hard to see Foster’s love of the old traditional golf courses of Scotland and Ireland,” said Franks. “People really like our layout. We receive very few negative comments. Every once in a while someone might say the greens are too firm, but overall everyone is positive. We’ve been around four years now and the course has matured.”

“Actually, this land was not only a hayfield, but an old rock quarry and a site for oil exploration,” said Tim Fuhrer, an assistant pro.

Maybe the best thing about playing Haymaker is the fact there are zero houses surround it. “No doubt that’s one reason people love the golf course,” said Fuhrer. “With no houses you can really lose yourself out there.”

• Past articles by David R. Holland • RockiesGolf.com past reviews

The 233-acre, city-owned public golf course features four sets of tees playing from 5,059 to 6,728 yards one set of tees up from the championship length. Play from the tips and it can be brutal. But if you are a 12-handicap golfer wanting an ego boost, play from the back or middle tees, rap it down the middle and exit the course with a mid-70s smile. So it’s user-friendly

No. 8, named “Ring The Bell” could be your favorite hole. It’s only 347 yards, but it is all risk/reward. The hole makes a big curve right over a marshy area and it’s just deciding how much you want to cut off. Big hitters will go for the green. Aiming poles are located in the fairway and markers on the tees will tell you the distances to the poles.

Conditions: B+ Layout: A Service: B+ Practice Fac.: A- Clubhouse/Pro Shop: B Pace of Play: A- Value: A- Overall Rating: A-

Your “Waterloo” could be No. 10, a 454-yard par-4 that doglegs right with water all down the right. No. 11 is a 343-yard par-4 “Watering Hole”. Most likely you can fly the bunker stationed squarely in the middle of the fairway. That will leave you a wedge, but the green is like a peninsula and if the pin is right you will have to be accurate with distance -- short or long will be wet.

No. 12 is named “Greywall” because of the rock wall fronting this 163-yard par-3 with a water carry. The pin placement right is particularly challenging. The green narrows here and traps are situated right and behind.

Haymaker opened for play August 1, 1997. In has hosted a Colorado Golf Association tournament and was nominated for Golf Digest's Best New Public Courses for 1998. The Colorado Mid-Amateur competition was held here in September.

Haymaker
34855 U.S. Highway 40 E
Steamboat Springs, CO 80477

Telephone: 970-870-1846. Fax: 970-879-6235

Internet: http://www.haymakergolf.com.

Green Fees: 18 holes $69, includes range. Nine holes $49. Twilight after 4:30 p.m. $54. Youth twilight after 6 p.m. $10. Off-season including range $49 (before June 15 and after September 1). Cart Fees: 18 holes $16. Nine holes $11.

Where to Eat:

The Haybale Bar & Grill is a full service restaurant and bar at Haymaker Golf Course. The Haybale menu has items to go, appetizers, hot and cold sandwiches (Sandwedges as they are referred to on the menu) and salads. All items on the menu range in price from $2.95 to $6.95.

Awards:

Haymaker was nominated for Golf Digest's "Best New Courses" of 1998 and has been accepted as a candidate for Audubon Signature status.

Where to Stay:

The Best Western Ptarmigan Inn is nestled at the base of Mount Werner, within view of Steamboat’s Silver Bullet Gondola. Talk about a front row seat for skiing. Services include free valet ski storage, Snowbird Restaurant and Lounge, laundry and free parking. Amenities include outdoor heated pool, outdoor oversized hot tub, in-room coffee makers, small refrigerators and balconies to see the ski action and bike races in summer.

The Best Western Ptarmigan Inn is located at 2304 Aprés Ski Way, Steamboat Springs. Phone 970-1730 or 800-538-7519, Fax 970-879-6044. E-mail: steamboat-lodging@toski.com. Internet: www.steamboat-lodging.com.

Directions:

Haymaker is located three miles east of Steamboat Springs at the junction of U.S. Highway 40 and State Highway 131.