United States Air Force Academy, Colorado

The Air Force Academy has two outstanding golf courses on the Academy grounds:  The Eisenhower Blue Course and the Eisenhower Silver Course.

The Blue Course-is an 18 hole championship course, this par-72 course measures 7,301 yards from the back tees with a rating of 73.6 and a slope of 135.  The course was designed by the great Robert Trent Jones Sr. and first opened in 1963.

We played this course in the fall and it was in excellent condition.  It is the most challenging of the two courses.  There are long holes, wide fairways, doglegs, bunkers, good seeded greens and water on one hole.  The layout has no two holes the same with the most amazing wildlife throughout the courses.  The greens are large and as tough as they come.  The beautiful Rampart Range Mountains are part of the Rocky Mountains and can be seen from most fairways.  This is a must play and probably the best in the Air Force inventory.

The Silver Course, another 18-hole par-72 course also on the Academy grounds, measuring 6,510 yards from the back tees with a rating of 70.6 and a slope of 127.  The course was designed by Frank Hummel and opened in 1977.

This course is easier on your game, with light bunkering and three holes with water.  But it’s still demanding with a premium placed on accuracy rather than length.  A great mountain course with elevated tees and sloping fairways which can get very tight.  The greens are large, fast, and are very difficult to read correctly, and remember all putts break away from the mountains.  The Rampart Mountain Range offers numerous scenic views and also beautiful views of the low rolling foot hills, just outstanding. 

Both the Blue and the Silver golf courses are well worth the trip and the price and are open to the public.