In the tradition of the scrupulous restoration of Michelangelo’s Sistine Chapel ceiling frescoes, the renaissance of the Two Jacks’ Castle Pines course is a modern magnificence of golf sculpting.
The 50 professionals competing in the FedEx Cup BMW Championship, 100,000-plus spectators, volunteers and media and millions of television viewers will be introduced formally this week to the New Castle Pines Golf Club.
It is a fine art piece de resistance.
Ten of the 18 holes have been redesigned on the wooded, hilly terrain at 6,300 feet elevation 30 miles south of Denver in view of Pikes Peak and the Rocky Mountains and beneath the Cherokee Ranch and Scottish-like castle from the 1800s.
When oil magnate and passionate golfer Jack Vickers drove around in the late 1970s searching for land to build a golf course that would rival his beloved Augusta National Club he became lost — and happened on a mostly forgotten forest. He quickly bought hundreds of acres and persuaded the most renowned golfer and course architect — Jack Nicklaus, who had won the U.S. Amateur title at Colorado Springs’ Broadmoor and almost won the 1960 U.S. Open at Cherry Hills — to creatively carve Castle Pines into a world-class course. The private, pricey, princely club opened in October 1981 and would host its inaugural golf tournament, The International, five years later.
The invitational that brought young prominent pros, including South African Ernie Els and Spainard Jose Maria Olazabal, to America featured funky scoring (modified Stableford system), every-round cuts and a unique altitude and attitude to the PGA Tour. German Bernhard Langer finished second in the first tournament for the international flair. Australian Greg Norman won The International, as did Els and Olazabal, but the most popular player was young Phil Mickelson, who finished first twice. But after participating only twice in 1998-99, just before he won four straight majors, Tiger Woods, who didn’t care for the late placement (August) of the tournament, golf more than a mile high and the unique scoring, refused to return. Oddly enough, Tiger would vacation that week near Vail and fish and play golf. Other top players avoided Colorado because they felt it messed up their game for a week.
Vickers’ vision of a Western Masters never was realized because of the rather common field of players, regular August afternoon showers that suspended play, the PGA’s rejection of a schedule change that wasn’t affected by the British Open and the PGA Championship and the lack of Tiger, the lack of sponsors (Ford backed out of a proposal) and the increasing of purses beyond $10 million, which would injure the tournament’s charities.
While I was visiting friends in the Florida Keys in early 2007, Jack called me, as I stood in the middle of a street to get cellphone service, and said the PGA wanted him to host a new playoff-type tournament the first week of September, but he declined to go up against the openers of the Broncos and the Buffaloes. He was canceling The International permanently.
Since then, Colorado, one of the premier golfing states in the country, has been the site for the U.S. Amateur again, majors in the LPGA and the Champions Tour and, 10 years ago, the FedEx Cup BMW semifinals, won by Bill Horschel at Cherry Hills. Oddly enough, this was the tournament the late Mr. Vickers turned down, but the BMW was presided over by another Denver successful oil and gas businessman and University of Colorado graduate — George Solich, who had earned an Eisenhower golf scholarship at CU and sold sodas at Buffaloes’ games).
John Elway was a major force in bringing the BMW then and back once more now (with Peyton Manning). Both quarterbacks have been members at Cherry Hills and Castle Pines, Colorado’s most legendary golf courses.
Interestingly, personally, I could play in the pro-am with either Mickelson or Els, my former partners at The International. I chose Ernie because another member of our foursome was Chauncey Billups, the future Hall of Famer and former high school mater of my daughter. On a 100-degree day, we finished second ahead of Phil’s team.
Both Phil and Ernie are playing on other tours now and are not qualified to play at the BMW. Horschel is.
But this week will be the paramount collection of championship talent in the Denver area since 1960 when Arnold Palmer put on an amazing final-day (36-hole) comeback to beat a young Nicklaus and an old Ben Hogan for the United States Open crown.
And none — not one pro — teeing off Thursday ever has played an official round at Castle Pines. Only a couple were on the tour when the last tournament was held at the Old Course at Castle Pines, and Jalen Rose and Adam Scott did not compete here.
So, the foremost leader to the Castle Pines clubhouse (once ranked No. 1 on the tour with its legendary chocolate milkshakes) will be Scotty Scheffler, who won the Masters and the Olympic gold medal among his seven victories in 2024 and his No. 1 ranking in the world of golf), who will be challenged by another candidate for golfer of the year: Xander Schauffele, who has won the PGA Championship and the British Open recently. Third, but struggling now, is Rory McIlroy.
And the hometown favorite is Wyndham Clark, who was the U.S. Open champion last year and attended high school near Castle Pines at Valor Christian.
May the best shotmaker win on the longest layout (8,078 yards) and the longest hole (No. 1–644 yards) in PGA Tour history.
Jack Vickers died in 2018 at 93. Jack Nicklaus, who is 84, will speak at an event honoring the club’s tournament history and the BMW Wednesday night.
Castle Pines is the course the Two Jacks Built and Restored to Greatness.