It was not the first Rodeo for Michael Keizer. But it was a first look at his latest project, at Bucking-Bronco Land in Colorado.
If you own clubs and you love traveling, you probably know Keizer, son of Bandon Dunes founder, Mike Keizer and co-developer, with his brother, Chris, Van Sand Valley in Wisconsin. You probably also heard that he has been busy adding the dream golf portfolio of the family, in the Colorado Sand Hills, about 50 minutes northeast of Denver.
At the beginning of this week, Keizer and Co. A taste of their destination with a day with preview play at Rodeo Dunes.
All 18 holes were brought with grass to the namesake course of the building, a design by Bill Coore and Ben Crenshaw. But with the turf too young in places to absorb wear, the game was limited to 11 holes: Nos. 1-4 and 12-18. However, that sampling was a loyal taste of what is coming: a light on the land, only layout stitched by the folds of a vibrant, sandy canvas. Fairways bend and wipe to the lilt of the site, with a lot of width but an emphasis on corners.
The Par-4 1e is, for example, a friendly opener with sufficient leeway, but the best line is left, about considerable bunkers that received the landing area. Fan or block your drive and you will see it touching in the short grass. What you won’t see is the green on your approach. You also don’t often see other players, because the heavy dunes hide parts of the course, which come out of sight from highlights on the building, together with views that extend to the Rockies.
The Chop hills around Rodeo -Duinen are reminiscent of those who call BallyNeal, in Eastern Colorado, as well as several valued clubs on the high plains of Nebraska, including Graybull and Sand Hills. The most striking difference is that those courses are private. They are also more remote. Those Rodeo dunes will be open to the public, less than an hour’s drive from a major city area, it already feels like a place of each other.
3 other things to know …
About those Tee times
Preview play is intended to help the public interest, but the public will still have to wait a bit. After this week’s preview game, the course is closed for the season and in 2026 it will be mainly open to the founders. The official public opening is planned for 2027. Rodeo Dunes will start to accept 2027 T -shirt times next spring.
More golf to come
Just like Bandon Dunes and Sand Valley in front, Rodeo Dunes starts with a single course. But there is room for more golf, possibly six jobs. A second has already been routed by the dunes by former old Coore & Crenshaw Shaper Jim Craig, who will stamp his name on his first solo design credit. If everything goes smoothly, a Dream Golf representative told me, the second course may see an example of the early next year.
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