National Award is Cougar Canyon’s Second in as Many
Weeks
When the name “Nicklaus” is involved, you know it’s
something special. The accolades continue for Cougar Canyon, Nicklaus Design’s
most recent Colorado addition.
In late October, Cougar Canyon, located in Trinidad, Colorado,
received its second national award when LINKS Magazine honored it as the winner
in the category of “Best for Resort Lifestyle” in the magazine’s
well-read “America’s
Premier Properties” guide for 2008-2009. Cougar Canyon’s first
national recognition came from GOLF Magazine earlier this year with a spot
in its “Top Ten Courses You Can Play in the U.S.” awards for 2007.
Just a week after the LINKS award, Golfweek
Magazine named Cougar
Canyon its #5 “Best New Course” in the U.S. for 2007-2008. Unlike
other golf awards, Golfweek’s best new course award makes no distinction
between public and private courses, and the courses in consideration did not
have to adhere to any particular pricing structure in order to be eligible.
In the 2007-2008 cycle, there were a total of 220 new courses, of which Golfweek ranked the top fifty. A #5 ranking is “a testament to the quality of
the course you have at Cougar Canyon,” said Noel Chandler, a Golfweek
representative.
The Nicklaus family of design companies has a total of four
courses in Golfweek’s
top fifty, with Cougar Canyon at the top of the list. Chris Cochran, Cougar
Canyon’s lead architect, is delighted with the praise. “I am flattered
that Cougar Canyon has been so well received because we worked very hard to
not mess up a great piece of land and to create a FUN golf course that demands
both precision and imagination from the golfer,” said Cochran. Cougar
Canyon Golf Links, as the name implies, is a links-style course that has fewer
bunkers than typical for Nicklaus courses; however, the course runs along Gray
Creek, a natural hazard that creates heart-racing carries and dramatic cliffhangers.
Golfweek’s high ranking of Cougar Canyon is due, in part, to the drama
of the course and surrounding environment. What differentiates the Golfweek
Magazine award from both the LINKS Magazine and GOLF
Magazine awards is Golfweek’s
strict rating criteria. When visiting a course, raters are asked to assign
up to ten points in ten different categories including routing, integrity of
design; conditioning, and a category they affectionately call the “Walk
in the Park” test. To score well as a great “walk in the park”,
the course must be a place “worthy of spending four hours”. A course
must receive a minimum of fifteen ratings in order to be considered for the
annual award. If the twenty or so raters who visited Cougar Canyon enjoyed
their respective walks in the park enough to rank the course fifth in the nation,
the staff at Cougar Canyon believes that anyone who visits will have an incredible
golf experience.
Your Privacy Choice