Dream Golf holds ‘First Ride’ to unveil new Colorado course
The creators of Rodeo Dunes Golf Course this week unveiled a portion of Colorado’s newest golf resort to members, guests and media to showcase their entry into the inland dunes golf experience.
Rodeo Dunes is under construction near Roggen, in northeast Colorado about a 45 minute drive from Denver International Airport. Hundreds of visitors on Tuesday poured off Interstate 76 and down a four-mile dirt road to get an sneak peek at the rolling course that was carved out of heaving sand dunes.
Guests Tuesday played 11 holes only – the other seven on the original course are greened up but were determined to be not quite ready for a trampling. Dozens of golf media from around the country flew in as did many of the ‘founders’ – members of the course who paid $80,000 to become part of the newest course in the Dream Golf portfolio.
Rodeo Dunes is the latest project from Michael and Chris Keiser, brothers whose father Mike created Bandon Dunes 26 years ago on the Oregon shores. The Keiser family took the Bandon Dunes concept of remote, high-quality public golf and launched the Dream Golf company to open a popular Wisconsin golf destination, Sand Valley, and begin resort projects here in Colorado as well as in Texas and the Florida panhandle.
- Instagram explodes with images of Rodeo Dunes’ ‘First Ride’
The Bandon Dunes model is guiding the Rodeo Dunes project nearly every step of the way. Bandon began with one course and grew to six, with a hotel and cabins housing visitors on the grounds. Rodeo Dunes operators have filed plans to build up to six courses as well, and over more than a decade hope also to have residential cabins and a resort hotel on site.
“We do things a certain way and we take our time and we don’t rush it,” Michael Keiser told an audience of several hundred on Tuesday. “Particularly when you have a site that good you do not rush it.”
The complex had hoped to have public play begin next summer, but it was announced this week that will not be the case until 2027. After these few preview rounds, the course is going to be shut-down for the fall and winter and re-open just for members next spring and summer. Reservations for public tee times for 2027 will begin to be taken next spring, according to Dream Golf’s communications director Tom Ferrell…