Cherry Hills Country Club

The verdict

Cherry Hills belongs to the small group of American clubs that have shaped major championship history. The architect William Flynn, the man behind Shinnecock Hills and Merion's restoration, built it in 1922 on rolling parkland at Cherry Hills Village, and the club moved quickly into the national spotlight when the United States Golf Association brought the U.S. Open here in 1938, the first ever held west of the Mississippi. A faithful restoration in 2022 returned much of Flynn's original strategy to the course.

For the traveling golfer it is hallowed ground, even if it is hard to get on. This is the course where Arnold Palmer's seven shot final round comeback in the 1960 Open helped invent the idea of the charge, where Jack Nicklaus and Ben Hogan dueled in the same event, and where Babe Zaharias and later champions wrote their own chapters. It is a private club, so the realistic way to experience it is as a member's guest, but its place in the history of the game makes it essential reading for anyone planning Colorado golf.

The holes worth the trip

It all starts at the first. The opening par 4 runs downhill, and at altitude with a following wind the green is reachable from the tee, exactly the gamble Arnold Palmer accepted on the final day in 1960 when he drove it and made birdie on his way to the title. It remains the most famous opening hole in American golf, and the temptation it offers is the perfect introduction to a course defined by risk and reward.

From there Flynn's routing flows across the property with water a recurring threat, most memorably down the closing stretch where the lake comes into play and a tired swing can find serious trouble. The par 3s are demanding and the greens, restored to their original contours, repay a thoughtful approach and punish the careless. The thin Denver air sends the ball a long way, which makes club selection and discipline as important as power.

It is a classical, strategic test rather than a modern brute, the kind of course where local knowledge and a cool head matter more than raw distance. Played from the correct tees it is a joy; played from the championship markers it has tested the very best the game has produced.

Where to stay nearby

Cherry Hills sits in an affluent residential pocket south of Denver, so most visiting golfers base themselves in the city or the southern suburbs, within easy reach of the club and the wider Front Range golf. Downtown Denver offers the fullest range of hotels and dining.

Because Cherry Hills itself is members only, the practical move is to build a Denver and Colorado Springs trip around the excellent public and resort golf in the area and pair it with the city's restaurants and the mountains beyond. Denver International Airport keeps the whole region well connected.

Looking for a base? See our recommended hotels and resorts around Denver.