Steamboat Springs CO Golf Weekend

Golf Magazine, 8/09

Per Golf Magazine's Travellin' Joe:

Packing: For an October golf trip, rest assured that you'll need a sweater -- or more. The average high in Steamboat Springs during your stay is 61 degrees, average low is 24. Also, call ahead to any course you're contemplating, because end of season up there is typically October 15, though depending on the weather, they might close even earlier -- or stay open later.

Where To Play:  You'll enjoy the Lakota Canyon thrill ride -- both getting there and playing it. Ranked No. 75 in our Top 100 Courses You Can Play, Lakota Canyon Ranch ($75-$95; 970-984-9700, www.lakotacanyonranch.com) is a Jim Engh design bursting with risk/reward opportunities, especially where it tangos with scrub-filled canyons. Best of all, it's down at 5,500 feet, so you've got a better chance at warm(er), less snowy weather.

At Steamboat Springs' 6,700-foot elevation, you'll find two worthy courses, Rollingstone Ranch and Haymaker -- that are practically polar opposites. Rollingstone Ranch ($65-$140; 970-879-1391, www.rollingstoneranchgolf.com) is not the name of a Mick Jagger/Keith Richards recording studio -- rather, it's the new name for what had been the Sheraton Steamboat course. The hotel has kept its name, while the Troon-managed, 1974 Robert Trent Jones Jr. design has kept its character, but has vastly improved its conditions and service.

Rollingstone Ranch exemplifies the true mountain golf experience: babbling, stone-dappled streams, aspens and evergreens framing fairways, ski runs in the backdrop. Still, there's plenty of legitimately good golf to be had in its 6,902 yards. Haymaker ($69-$88; 970-870-1846, www.haymakergolf.com) on the other hand, also offers a terrific test in its 7,308-yard journey, but this Audubon Certified, Keith Foster design is free of trees, and of development, which allows for more wind to come into play as well as for unobstructed 360-views of mountains and valleys.