Denver Golf Courses Finally Thaw Out, Bringing Back Early Tee Times

Early-morning golf is back!

After one of the most brutal winters for the sport on record that saw no public golf at all in January, Denver Golf plans to finally return to 8:30 a.m. tee times today, April 3, as well as bring back single-tee starts – so rounds will no longer have to begin on the back nine as a way to boost the number of players on a course.

“We have done a 10 a.m. double-tee start all winter to avoid frost delays and maximize the amount of guests we can accommodate,” says Susie Helmerich, director of pro shop operations for the City and County of Denver. “Starting Monday, our golf courses go back to normal, one-tee starts, starting at 8:30 a.m.” 

Adds Helmerich, “As the days get longer, our first tee time will get earlier.” 

Denver golfers just couldn’t seem to catch a break this winter, with each new snowfall bringing more heartbreak as the courses – eight total under city control – stayed closed.

“We are fortunate enough to live somewhere that has seasons,” joked the city’s Denver Golf Instagram page on March 20. “Unfortunately, that last one was really cramping our golf game!”

According to Helmerich, there were fewer “play days” this winter than usual because of all the bad weather; January was the first month on record (since the city started collecting data in 2013) to have no days of play.

“No courses were open in January,” Helmerich notes. 

By comparison, city data shows that there were at least seven play days in January 2022 – five at City Park Golf Course, one at Kennedy Golf Course and one at Willis Case Golf Course. In January 2021, there were eighteen play days. January 2020 saw two dozen.

According to CBS Colorado, this past January ranked as Denver’s coldest and snowiest January in sixteen years – and one of the worst weather months in city history. Almost 80 percent of the days registered  below-average temperatures, and there were traces of snow on the ground for nearly half the month.

February and March saw a small uptick in play days but a massive jump in tee times, according to Helmerich, who cites the conditions those months with January’s ruthless weather as a perfect example of Denver’s ability to make an impressive comeback after a tumultuous winter run. 

“It’s interesting – we’ve done more rounds this year and our revenue is up,” she adds. “The days we’re open, we’ve been packed.”

One reason for the increase in tee times and rounds – despite fewer play days – is that everyone wants to take advantage of the nice weather when it does come. “It’s amazing how many people will try and book,” she explains. “That’s a thing here. People wanting to be able to say they played at least one day a month in Colorado. It’s a huge demand. People are trying to cross that box, especially this year.”

According to Helmerich, March only had three days when golf wasn’t played at city courses because of snow or other bad conditions – and she only expects things to get better with April finally here.

“There were some iffy weather days in there, but we had players,” she says. “Denver [Golf employees] are very good at looking at the weather forecast. If we see 60 degree temps coming up in the next few days, our T sheets are completely full.

“Denver is definitely full of a lot of golfers,” she concludes. “With a lot of pent-up golfing energy inside!”