Bear Creek Golf Course

The centerpiece of Bear Creek is a championship 18-hole golf course designed by the architectural team of Arnold Palmer and Ed Seay.

The legendary Palmer, the most popular champion in the history of golf, and Seay, director of design for Palmer Course Design Company, have earned the distinction as the nation's foremost architects of traditional golf courses.

They have created such distinctive landmarks as the Broadmoor South, Kapalua, Saddlebrook and Sawgrass. While some may offer debate Bear Creek is the finest of the more than 80 courses Palmer and Seay have constructed around the world.

Played from 5,312 to 7,611 yards, the par-72 layout is an outstanding test of golf, one that requires excellent shot making and accuracy rather than brute strength and demanding lengths.

Bear Creek Golf Course Design and Construction

In the late 1970's, Bear Creek’s founder, Leo Bradley, a life-long golfer who had nurtured a dream for two decades to build a men’s club totally devoted to golf, met with Palmer to determine whether a rugged 520 acres of land on the southern slope of Green Mountain was suitable for the course.

As the two men walked over the site Arnold's immediate reaction was that the terrain variation was absolutely ideal for a world-class golf course.

Palmer and Seay were convinced that the most classic design approach should be simply to superimpose the golf course over the existing terrain. That architectural philosophy thrilled Bradley.

Construction began in September 1983. As agreed, each hole was strategically sculptured onto the existing natural terrain. Since the topography was so diverse, every hole took on its own unique personality, individuality and beauty that signaled a great course was in the making.

But the holes did not just look different; they were shaped by length, bend, slope and hazard to demand the skilled use of every club in a player's bag and his best concentration.

Throughout the construction phase, great care was taken to preserve the native Crested Wheatgrass roughs, which are filled with many varieties of wildflowers including Blue Flax, Fringed Sage, Indian Paintbrush, Penstemon and Prairie Coneflower.

With equal care, the designers left an element of luck to be reckoned with, in the true spirit of classic old-world architecture. Seeding was completed in 1985. The greens were covered with Penncross Bent grass to provide a flawless putting surface. So they could be close-cropped, the tees were blanketed with a mixture of Penneagle and Emerald grass. And the fairways were covered with a composite of three bluegrass varieties and Palmer Rye so the ball would always be played from a perfect lie.

Bear Creek Golf Course Superb Maintenance

Colorado's top amateurs along with members and guests have been amazed at Bear Creek's superb condition. The course has maintained the appearance of a mature, old course almost from the start. The Superintendent and his staff ensure that Bear Creek is kept in perfect condition throughout the playing season.

A state-of-the-art 9,000-square foot maintenance headquarters is testimony to the high standard the Club has set for course operations.