Cherry Hills Country Club

Cherry Hills Country Club is a private country club in the western United States, located in Cherry Hills Village, Colorado, a suburb south of Denver.

Cherry Hills Country Club

Club information
Show map of the United States Show map of Colorado
Location	Cherry Hills Village, Colorado, U.S.
Elevation	5,300 feet (1,615 m)
Established	1922, 98 years ago
Type	private
Total holes	27
Tournaments hosted	PGA Championship (1941, 1985) U.S. Open (1938, 1960, 1978) U.S. Women's Open (2005) U.S. Senior Open (1993) U.S. Amateur (1990, 2012) U.S. Senior Amateur (1976) BMW Championship (2014)
Website	chcc.com
Championship Golf Course
Designed by	William Flynn
Par	72
Length	7,348 yards (6,719 m)[1]
Course rating	74.7
Slope rating	139 [2]
Rip Arnold Course (par 3)
Designed by	William Flynn
Par	27
Length	665 yards (608 m)
Entrance on University Boulevard.

Founded 98 years ago in 1922 and designed by William Flynn,[3] the club features a championship 18-hole golf course, a 9-hole par three course, eight tennis courts, and a lap pool. The nine-hole course is called the Rip Arnold Course, named for the club's head professional from 1939 to 1962. It hosts a pro-member invitational event every September named for Warren Smith, the head pro from 1963 to 1991. A bas relief of Smith, the PGA of America's Golf Professional of the Year in 1973, is near the tenth tee.

In 2005, Cherry Hills completed a $12 million renovation on its club house facilities. The club's signature colors are cherry red and white.

Course

The par-72 course measures 7,348 yards (6,719 m) from the member back tees, and now extends to 7,466 yards (6,827 m) at par-71 for championships.[1] The course plays much shorter because its average elevation exceeds 5,300 feet (1,615 m) above sea level.

A significant restoration by noted architect Tom Doak was carried out during 2008 and opened for play in spring 2009. The course was extended to over 7,500 yards (6,860 m) and many trees were removed. In addition, several original bunkers that had been removed over the years were restored, bringing the course more in-line with William Flynn's original design.

Notable tournaments

Year	Tournament	Winner	Winner's share ($)
1938	U.S. Open	Ralph Guldahl	1,000
1941	PGA Championship	Vic Ghezzi	1,100
1960	U.S. Open	Arnold Palmer	14,400
1976	U.S. Senior Amateur	Lewis Oehmig	0
1978	U.S. Open (3)	Andy North	45,000
1983	U.S. Mid-Amateur	Jay Sigel	0
1985	PGA Championship (2)	Hubert Green	125,000
1990	U.S. Amateur	Phil Mickelson	0
1993	U.S. Senior Open	Jack Nicklaus	135,330
2005	U.S. Women's Open	Birdie Kim	560,000
2012	U.S. Amateur (2)	Steven Fox	0
2014	BMW Championship	Billy Horschel	1,440,000

Bolded years are major championships on the PGA Tour.

USGA championships

Cherry Hills has hosted seven United States Golf Association (USGA) championships, including the U.S. Open in 1938, 1960, and 1978. It hosted the U.S. Amateur in 1990, won by Phil Mickelson.[4] The U.S. Senior Open was won by Jack Nicklaus in 1993,[5] and Birdie Kim won the U.S. Women's Open in 2005, holing out from a greenside bunker on the final hole.[6] The U.S. Amateur returned to the club in 2012 and was won by Steven Fox.[7]

U.S. Open

The first of the three U.S. Opens at Cherry Hills in 1938 was won by defending champion Ralph Guldahl. He shot an even-par 284, six strokes ahead of runner-up Dick Metz. In 1960, Arnold Palmer won with 280 (–4), two strokes ahead of the runner-up, amateur Jack Nicklaus.[8] After three unsuccessful attempts (including a double bogey in the first round), Palmer finally drove the first green (346-yard (316 m) par four) in the fourth round on his way to victory.[9] Tied for the lead with Palmer as he came to the par-5 17th hole, 47-year-old Ben Hogan hit his third shot into the water and bogeyed. He hooked his final tee shot and triple-bogeyed the final hole to finish four strokes back at even par, which ended his chances of a tenth major championship. Playing with Hogan, 20-year-old collegian Nicklaus from Ohio State bogeyed the final hole and finished second, the obvious low amateur.[10][11][12]

As a result of Palmer's feat, the USGA commissioned construction of a new tee prior to the 1978 edition, which extended the hole fifty yards (46 m). The third and most recent Open at Cherry Hills, it was won by Andy North by one stroke with a score of one over par.[13] Until 2006, this was the most recent U.S. Open in which the winning score had been over par.

PGA Championships

Two PGA Championships have been held at Cherry Hills. The first in 1941 was a match play event; Vic Ghezzi defeated defending champion Byron Nelson 1 up in the 36-hole final. Seven of the eight quarterfinalists in 1941 won a major title during their career.

The championship changed to a stroke play format in 1958 and returned to Cherry Hills in 1985; Hubert Green won his second major with a score of 278 (–6), two strokes ahead of defending champion Lee Trevino.[14] Through 2017, it is the most recent major played in the Mountain time zone.

Scorecard

Tee	Rating/Slope	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	Out	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	In	Total
Championship		389	409	323	430	552	161	415	266	479	3424	447	594	219	430	520	242	441	544	487	3924	7348
Back		340	409	323	430	540	161	415	225	438	3281	428	550	195	401	482	214	441	544	487	3742	7023
Member		340	398	317	423	522	154	396	194	431	3175	407	542	172	381	463	188	400	512	458	3523	6698
Regular		318	387	291	374	490	147	382	154	407	2950	371	505	172	359	449	162	390	482	449	3339	6289
Forward		288	387	291	345	490	140	364	154	376	2835	371	438	115	296	449	113	351	407	418	2958	5793
Par	Men's	4	4	4	4	5	3	4	3	4	35	4	5	3	4	4	3	4	5	5	37	72
Par	Ladies'	4	4	4	4	5	3	4	3	4	35	4	5	3	4	5	3	4	5	5	38	73
Handicap	Men's	13	3	9	11	1	17	7	15	5		14	4	16	12	10	18	6	2	8
Handicap	Ladies'	9	3	11	13	1	15	7	17	5		14	8	16	10	12	18	4	2	6

Source:[1][2]

References

1. "Course Tour: Scorecard". Cherry Hills Country Club. Retrieved June 17, 2012.
2. "Course Rating and Slope Database: Cherry Hills Country Club". USGA. Retrieved June 17, 2012.
3. "Cherry Hills Country Club - Club History". Cherry Hills Country Club. Archived from the original on 2007-05-06. Retrieved March 3, 2007.
4. "The 104th U.S. Amateur Championship". United States Golf Association. 2004. Retrieved March 3, 2007.
5. Garrity, John (July 19, 1993). "A Bear Necessity". Sports Illustrated.
6. Shipnuck, Alan (July 4, 2005). "Watch the Birdie". Sports Illustrated. p. G10.
7. Cotton, Anthony (February 6, 2009). "Cherry Hills gets 2012 U.S. Amateur". Denver Post.
8. Jenkins, Dan (June 19, 1978). "There's never been an Open like it". Sports Illustrated. p. 38.
9. Palmer, Arnold (June 11, 2010). "A long look back at the 1960 Open". USGA Museum. Retrieved June 17, 2012.
10. Garrity, John (May 9, 2010). "The fortunate eyewitnesses to the 1960 U.S. Open..." Golf.com. Retrieved June 17, 2012.
11. Wind, Herbert Warren (June 27, 1960). "Destiny's new favorite". Sports Illustrated.
12. "Hole by hole for the 2005 U.S. Women's Open Championship". United States Golf Association. 2005. Retrieved March 3, 2007.
13. Jenkins, Dan (June 26, 1978). "The bogey that won the Open". Sports Illustrated. p. 14.
14. McDermott, Barry (August 19, 1985). "The Greening of the PGA". Sports Illustrated. p. 20.

External links

• Official website