A dozen great places to play

Here’s a look at costs and amenities offered for corporate events at a dozen courses along the Front Range. A sampling of public, private, semi-private and resort courses is included. Price quotes are for a summer outing and generally include greens fees, carts, practice balls and gift certificates/credit for merchandise in the golf shop.
 
Broadmoor Golf Club
Colorado Springs
Combines beauty — sitting at the foot of Cheyenne Mountain — with a rich history. Most recently, the 90-year-old Broadmoor East course hosted the 2008 U.S. Senior Open, and the course will be the venue for the 2011 U.S. Women’s Open. In Golf World magazine’s inaugural Readers’ Choice Awards, the Broadmoor was named the 12th-best golf resort in the nation. To play golf at one of the resort’s three courses, you must stay at the Broadmoor Hotel. The resort hosts 39,000 corporate or charity event rounds per year on the three courses combined.
Corporate Event Rates: $230 per person on the East course, $195 on the West or Mountain courses.
 
CommonGround Golf Course
Aurora
The new course on the site of the former Lowry Air Force Base doesn’t open to the general public until May 23, but it had already booked 2,000 corporate and charity event rounds
by early December. This Tom Doak-designed course is owned by the Colorado Golf Association and the Colorado Women’s Golf Association.
Corporate Event Rates:  roughly $75 per person with a meal.

Fox Hill Country Club
Longmont
Considered one of the most affordable private clubs in the Denver metro area. The course features 1,400 trees.
Corporate Event Rates: $90 per person, which includes some food and beverage.

Green Valley Ranch Golf Club
Denver
This public facility in northeast Denver hosts the HealthOne Colorado Open Championships each year. It draws 7,000 to 7,500 total tournament/event rounds each year.
Corporate Event Rates: $60 per person.
 
Lakewood Country Club
The private club celebrated its 100th anniversary in 2008. Its new 38,250-square-foot clubhouse is a big attraction. Typically the course hosts 25 to 30 Monday events each year. “Our approach to a corporate outing is we run it just like a member-guest, with all the bells and whistles,” director of golf Tim Lollar said. “We’re in the long-term relationship business. We don’t want to have to market to new (customers) all the time. We want to get you and keep you.”
Corporate Event Rates:  $120 per person.

Meridian Golf Club
Englewood
This Jack Nicklaus-designed course was one of the venues for an LPGA tournament during the 1980s. The private club, which features three regulation practice holes, generally
hosts only 10 corporate events each year, all on Mondays.
Corporate Event Rates: $85 per person.
 
Murphy Creek Golf Course
Aurora
This prairie-links public course with old-school-golf themes hosted the 2008 U.S. Amateur Public Links Championship. Its schedule includes about 30 corporate/charity events each year. Among its facilities is a detached tournament pavilion.
Corporate Event Rates: $65 to $75 per person.
 
Omni Interlocken Golf Club
Broomfield
This semi-private course designed by two-time major champion David Graham hosted the John Elway Celebrity Classic for several years. The club’s 27 holes can accommodate larger groups. It hosts about 20 large corporate/charity events each year, in addition to smaller events and Omni hotel-related functions.
Corporate Event Rates: $160 per person.
 
Pinehurst Country Club
Denver
The private club that recently celebrated its 50th anniversary briefly hosted both LPGA and Champions Tour events in the 1970s and ’80s. It draws more than 20 corporate/charity events on Mondays each year.
Corporate Event Rates: $95 per person.
 
Ptarmigan Country Club
Fort Collins
This Jack Nicklaus-designed course charges a relatively low corporate event rate for a private club. It generally hosts about 3,200 outside-event rounds per year on Mondays, though that number dropped to about 2,800 in 2008.
Corporate Event Rates:  $79.
 
Valley Country Club
Aurora
The private club, with its new clubhouse, recently celebrated its 50th anniversary. It hosts 18 outside events each year, primarily on Mondays.
Corporate Event Rates: $100 per person.

Vista Ridge Golf Club
Erie
The semi-private club reported that its total facility revenues and number of outings were up in 2008 compared to the previous year. A global positioning system on carts provides on-course scoring and leader-board updates, as well as spots for corporate event sponsors and advertisers. TVs in the clubhouse do the same.  “When you’re selling to someone in the corporate community, you want to give them a step up from what they usually get,” director of golf Matt Schalk said. The Jay Morrish-design hosts 7,300 tournament rounds per year.
Corporate event rates: $70 to 95.

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