Colorado University Athletics
CU Dedicates Colorado National
May 07, 2009 | General, Men's Golf, Women's Golf
ERIE - The University of Colorado men's and women's golf teams officially now have a home, or if you want, the Buffaloes have their own place to roam after Colorado National Golf Club was officially dedicated on Saturday, May 2.
Long a dream of CU's two men's head coaches for the university to have its very own course, the late Les Fowler (who coached 29 years from 1948-1977) and the late Mark Simpson (who coached the next 29), it was only fitting that the person who made this possible played for both with the top alumni of each returning to Boulder to help celebrate the occasion.
Steve Kerr, a Denver native and one of Fowler's last recruits, played under both coaches as Simpson took over in the middle of his Buffalo career. A long-time supporter of CU's golf teams, Kerr remained close with Simpson through the years and saw his daughter Erin become one of CU's first real stars of its fledgling women's program.
Kerr always wanted to give something back to the program he loves and cherishes, and the idea of arranging for a golf course had been discussed several times with Simpson, including as he slowly succumbed to a yearlong battle with cancer in December 2005. Mark described many things down to the last detail of what he would like to see in a facility specifically for his Buffaloes.
Located in Erie and formerly known as Vista Ridge Golf Club, Kerr's purchase of the entire operation and subsequent licensing agreement with his alma mater created Colorado National Golf Club, which will now provide Colorado's men's and women's programs with one of the finest arrangements in all of college golf.
"It was a dream of Les and Mark to have a facility that the Buffaloes can truly call their own," Kerr told the crowd of over 800 including dozens of alumni who gathered to help celebrate the day. "Our job here is to create a place where our history of golf and the university as a whole can be displayed. That's the best way to honor our heritage and that's the way Mark and Les would've liked it.
"It takes special vision to do a deal like this and it's been a long time coming," he continued. "Many people need to be thanked, including (former CU president) Hank Brown, (former CU chancellor), Bud Peterson, (current chancellor) Phil DiStefano, (athletic director) Mike Bohn and our coaches, Anne Kelly and Roy Edwards. But especially Mike, for having the vision and desire to get this done.
CU's two U.S. Open champions, Hale Irwin ('67) and Steve Jones ('81), both flew in from Arizona to represent their respective coaches. Irwin won the 1974, 1979 and 1990 U.S. Opens, while Jones was crowned champion in 1996.
"What a special day, it doesn't get any better than having our great alums getting together to do something special for the University of Colorado and our department," Bohn said.
"What makes our community special is when you have people like Steve Kerr, Hale Irwin and Steve Jones come together to and pull together this great community we represent, that's something we are very proud of. This is a great thing for our institution."
"As has been alluded to, it takes more than one person to do this," Irwin said. "It's taken Steve Kerr and Margie (Kerr's wife) and Mike Bohn and all those people that have put this together to finally get some traction and get some legs under it and here we are today. We have all longed for and wanted to have something like this as it does provide a lot of cohesiveness and draws a lot of attention to what has become a much better golf program.
"I couldn't be more proud to be a Buff, I'll never forget the years I had at CU," Irwin proudly stated. "For all of you that are enjoying (the grand opening) today, I hope there are many more that will join us in spirit and welcome Colorado National to the Buff Nation."
"It's not easy to put something like this together, and I'd like to personally thank Steve and Margie," Jones said. "We've been friends since we were teammates, and I can't say enough about Steve personally seeing this through. It brings everybody together as a Buff nation. I enjoy that part of it and I'm proud that I went to the University of Colorado and that I was part of Mark's life."
"This day will never be forgotten in CU history," said Valorie Simpson, Mark's widow. "This golf course is the culmination of Mark's and many people's dreams over the years. The last week that Mark was alive he was in Hospice and could barely speak over a whisper. Steve sat with him with a pen and napkin, and they were talking about the golf club and Steve was taking notes. One of the last things Steve told Mark was that he was going to give him a golf course, which he did. This is the best thing ever."
Mark Fowler, Les' son and a former Buff letterman in the sport, also spoke, he too citing that this was "a culmination of a dream my father first had 50 years ago and one that Mark Simpson then carried the flag for."
It was a special week leading up to the dedication, which concluded with Irwin hitting a tee shot off the No. 1 tee. The women's team found out they were invited to the NCAA Championships for the first time in their history, earning a berth in the West Regional, and the men finished second in the Big 12 Championships, giving top-ranked Oklahoma State all it could handle in posting the school's best conference finish in 28 years.
"We first started looking into purchasing a course about 18 months ago," Edwards said. "We looked at what worked at other successful college programs and how the specifics of a golf course would fit with the CU-Boulder framework. This is what we came up with. Colorado National Golf Club is a special place. It's a vision of a special group of people and a tremendous addition to our program and the University.
"We are fortunate to have a program with a deep and storied history," he added. "This club is part of a larger vision for our program, and we have a lot of work to do but this is a huge step in the process. This dream is a reality, thank you."
"Mark's dream of a golf course became my dream. It inspired me, our players and our department," Kelly said. "Special thanks to Steve Kerr, this is a dream come true. When I started 12 years ago, we were wearing over sized men's golf apparel and scrounging around to find a place to play. The teams before us had spirit and intensity.
"It has been a long, fun road, and for the first time we've made it to NCAA Regionals, I'm proud of this team for setting a standard for CU golf," she continued. "This facility will be an incredible asset for this team and play a huge role to continue the progress of CU golf and we're looking forward to it."
The club features CU memorabilia from all sports, highlighted by CU Golf All-America Awards and plaques, plus keepsakes on display donated by several former CU golfers including Irwin, Jones and Jonathan Kaye, as well as Simpson's last golf bag he maintained as head coach. The seven dozen golf carts are mostly designed in CU's colors and logo, but there are 11 that represent the other schools in the Big 12 Conference.
"The future of the golf programs at the University of Colorado is here, at Colorado National Golf Club," Kerr concluded. "This is our place to bring (NCAA) regionals, Big 12 Championships and national junior events. This is our chance to showcase the Buff Nation."
