Sheraton Steamboat:
An Expensive Once-in-a-Lifetime Treat

By Andrew Mosier
Northern Colorado Golf Editor
Rockies Golf Daily

STEAMBOAT SPRINGS, Colo.--Challenging.

That is the best way to describe the Sheraton Steamboat Resort and Golf Club. Challenging. Beautiful but challenging.

But it's a golfer's heaven.

From the minute you pull into the parking lot, you will know this is not your typical weekend at the local muni. The second you appear at the clubhouse you are swarmed by employees, wanting to take your bag and put it onto your cart, which is included in the price.

The practice tee is so immaculate, with its unlimited supply of range-balls arranged in a pristine pyramid, that I felt kind of bad destroying it. There is a grill on the No. 10 tee where hamburgers, hot dogs and almost anything else you can think of is available, though you might have to take a second mortgage on your house to buy lunch.

This very long, 6,902-yard course, has the potential to make even good golfers forget they are in one of the prettiest places in the world after struggling through a couple of holes.

The Sheraton Steamboat uses the natural contour of the river bottom as it winds its way through the otherwise thickly wooded area, making nothing hit straight. It is not hard to get into trouble on this course, and what makes it even more challenging, is there aren't really any holes to catch your breath on. If things are going bad, then they will most likely only get worse.

This course is full of elevated tee boxes, greens so big more often than not you will need a map to find the pin. There’s more sand than on most small Caribbean islands. Throw in a torrid river that runs through much of the back nine and some thick forest lining the entire course, and you have one hell of a round of golf.

There are some great holes on this course, being both scenic and challenging. The No. 5 is probably one of the most fun holes on the course. Elevated tee shots through a clearing in the trees gives way to a large green 234-yards away, which is surrounded by trees and backs onto a river.

Short is the key word here. Anything not on the green or a little short is not coming back.

On the backside, things start playing a little long. Don't take solace in the "thin air, ball will travel further" theory. What is long anywhere else is short here. As the round went on, the course only seemed to get longer.

What looked on paper as one of the more reachable holes, 378 yards on the back nine, No. 15, turned out to be one of the longest. The elevated tee boxes are situated back in a thicket of trees with a narrow opening onto the fairway after clearing the gully where the fairway makes a 90-degree turn to the right. There is no driving this green. A very long lay up to the dog leg is only the beginning. After successfully finding the fairway off the tee, which is not easy, one is faced with a predicament. Shoot for the green, which is on the other side of the river, or lay up. The green is surrounded by bunkers with no room on either side or behind it, making even the most accurate mid-iron player think twice.

Considering the limited amount of use this course takes, there were some problem with the greens. Many of them didn't seem to be in healthy shape. Some were very wet and slow while others looked and played like they were badly in need of water, fertilizer and rest.

A good portion of the numerous bunkers were very hard, making shots easier than usual play out of them, especially from the fairway bunkers where I was able to hit a five-iron out of one without leaving as much as a mark. Drainage also seemed to be a problem with some of the greenside bunkers, many of which had collected puddles lasting well into the afternoon.

The fairways and tee boxes were what you would expect of a resort course that charges between $80 and $110 per round. There was no such thing as a bad lie in the fairways and finding the perfect spot to launch my first spot was not a problem.

On the day we played there, the course was not crowded. We were never rushed by anyone behind us. The pace was leisurely if not catatonic, leaving all the time required to find the countless misdirected balls that found refuge in the thick woods that lined the fairways.

The staff was incredibly friendly from the starter, who awaited us on the first tee with advice for playing this difficult course to C.J., who manned the grill on No. 10 and who we sat an chatted with for nearly 20 minutes while he made our lunch. There is a beautiful bar with a deck to sit on and lament about how many balls you lost as well as a pro shop with every high-end piece of equipment you could ever possibly want.

This was a great experience though my scorecard didn't reflect it. The course is beautiful, from the elevated greens and monstrous greens to the wildlife we saw more frequently than other golfers. It is something everyone has to do at least one in their life, more if you can afford it. I can't wait to give this course another shot, though I will remember to bring a lot more balls next time.

There are some great packages offered through the hotel throughout the season. Call (970) 879-2220 for information or reservations.

RATINGS: (out of five)
Condition:****
Pace:*****
Clubhouse:*****
Playability, 36 handicap or more:***
Playability, 10-36:****
Playability 0-10:*****

The "Playability” categories are based on enjoyment. It measures how much we think you will enjoy playing this course with your current handicap.