Sanctuary
Sanctuary south of Denver is one of the most exclusive clubs you’ll ever play. There is one member, Dave Liniger, Re/Max Chairman. Rumor I heard is that he was a member at nearby Castle Pines and wanted them to put in an accessible ramp for his wife, they said “no” so he said, “Screw you I’ll build an even better course than yours next door.” Und he did!
What they do have at Sanctuary though are a host of charity tournaments and if you want to play it, simply Google “Charity tournament at Sanctuary” and pick your poison. It’ll be a pricey proposition but at least you can feel good about it – and if you own your own company, you can write it off. We played in a ChiPs tourney – Colorado Highway Patrol not Eric Estrada CHiPs.
One problem with this, most charity tourneys are shotgun scrambles so you only about a 5% chance of teeing off on one and you’ll need to ignore the tourney and any chance of winning if you want to play your own ball. I think we kind of did a hybrid. We had two great golfers with us so if I was out of play we just played their ball in.
Not sure why but the club here is just called Sanctuary. Not Sanctuary Golf Club. Nor Country Club. Nor Golf Course. Just Sanctuary and I couldn’t get the below out of my head the whole round:
Okay, I apologize you have to watch like a minute before he yells Sanctuary but you get my drift.
To the course. Three things you will find at Sanctuary 1) crazy elevation changes, 2) no two holes are alike and 3) you are in a golf sanctuary where other holes, golfers, or houses are no where to be seen. Jim Engh designed this and it is the very opposite of subtle. From what I understand Liniger approached some other architects who said you couldn’t build a course here. Not Engh. Because the terrain is so atypical for a course, the design is as well. While I would think a course like this would be shunned by the golf magazines, they actually give it some love.
This is a great course. The first tee is set well above the hole and gives you a dramatic look down below. The tenth is the same but as a par three – I think we started here. The eighteenth is a tough climber all the way back to the clubhouse. This is another course as you’ll see with the pictures that is just one signature hole after the other, I played with work buddies Erik and Scott, and Scott’s friend – the latter two are single-digit guys. The feeling I got was that they were a little put off by some of the extreme holes but then again they’re good. From a drama and breathtaking views to conditioning and uniqueness, Sanctuary is a must play and definitely in my Top 100.
If you go to Denver and want to experience a really unique steakhouse, go to the Buckhorn Exchange. Their state liquor license number is one, meaning they were the first establishment given a liquor license. The bar was brought over from Ireland and there are game heads adorning the walls throughout. The menu has the steakhouse staples but try some of the exotic game on the menu and for appies the rattle snake is great and of course you have to try the Rocky Mountain Oysters (when in Rome). If you don’t know what those are, look it up on Google. They certainly wouldn’t be a staple in my diet and if I had to describe them here, I’d say similar to a conch fritter just more meaty instead of fishy.
Then a concert at Red Rocks should be on your bucket list. It’s even better if you’re in town when one of your faves is playing up there. We got to see the Decemberists and Spoon. Great show. One of the most violent thunderstorms I’ve ever witnessed blew in during the show and there is precious little cover out here so the entire crowd was huddling together in what seemed like a bathtub sized overhang by the stage. As I looked out to the empty seating area there was one guy out there screaming, “Sanctuary.” OK not really he was screaming, “Is this the best that you got” ala Lieutenant Dan in Forest Gump but Sanctuary would have worked better for this write up.
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