When PGA pro Fred Funk was designing the new RainDance National Resort and Golf course in Windsor, he wanted to create a course that was both hard to play and left people with a desire to do it again.
“I think he pulled it off,” says Matt Kantor, director of golf for The Water Valley Company, which oversees The Water Valley course, The Falls and now RainDance.
The new course opened in July 2022 a few miles west of Water Valley in the RainDance development.
At 8,463 yards from the longest tees, RainDance is the longest course in North America–there is a course in China that is 40 yards longer.
The course is designed using the natural terrain, including multiple deep gullies. “There are some that you definitely don’t want to go down into to get your ball, because you might not make it back out,” Kantor says jokingly.
The look and feel of RainDance is something different than most of the other courses in Northern Colorado. “The terrain in unbelievable,” Kantor says. “You get out to No. 7, and it doesn’t even feel like you are in Windsor anymore.”
PGA pro Fred Funk and course architect, Harrison Minchew. Photos courtesy of RainDance Resort.
He adds there are few courses like this in the area because it wouldn’t have been possible to build a course on the undulating terrain with the deep gullies 50 years ago. He says technology and construction teams have advanced to make it possible to build a golf course at this playing level.
“It’s a tricky layout but it is fun for all abilities,” Kantor says.
Funk not only designed the course but has overseen a lot of the work throughout the construction, which was done by architect Harrison Minchew, who works on many of the courses designed by Arnold Palmer and his team. Unlike many professional signature courses, Funk has been very hands-on. “He’s here quite a bit whenever he isn’t playing on the Champions Tour,” Kantor says.
Funk is a popular name in golf. He became a pro in 1989 and had eight wins (including the 2005 Players Championship) before he joined the Champions Tour in 2006, where he has won nine times, including three major championships. Throughout his career, he has collected 29 professional wins and was a member of the U.S. Ryder Cup Team in 2004.
Golfers who got out on the course last year were very pleased with the course, Kantor says. After a harsh winter that saw only 50 tee times in December and none in January or February, the course is ready for some action this season.
But with its debut, the course has already earned lots of honors. It won the 2023 silver medal for Best Public Course from Sports Illustrated, named No. 3 Best Course in the World by Kingdom Magazine, added to the Top 10 Best Courses in Colorado from Golf.com and won runner-up for Best New Course by Golf Digest.
RainDance’s hole No.17 at sunrise.
Play at RainDance comes at a price tag compared to many courses in the area. A round during the summer will run $170-200, with discounts for Windsor residents and, of course, memberships.
On top of the beauty of the course, golfers can check out the bi-level driving range, the GOAT Ranch (the 65,000 square foot putting and chipping area) and the pro shop, The Country Store, which is temporarily, but symbolically, located in an old grain silo. The eventual permanent clubhouse, hotel and cottages for the course will be complete in Spring 2025.
And for those who aren’t into golf, there is still fun to be had at RainDance when they open Hoedown Hill in November. The nine-lane skiing and sledding hill will feature a 300-foot drop in elevation, bringing back memories of Sharktooth Ski Area, which used to be located between Greeley and Windsor in the 1970s before it closed in 1986. In the summer, Hoedown Hill will be open for mountain biking, hiking and ziplining.
But after the winter we just got through, let’s focus on warm temperatures and lots of golf. “We are definitely ready,” Kantor says.
The Olde Course debuted its new clubhouse in March.
The Olde Course looking new again
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For years, the Olde Course in Loveland definitely lived up to its name. The clubhouse was the same flat structure built in the 1960s.
But in May of last year, the old clubhouse was torn down to make way for the new one, which was unveiled this season. “It’s the same size,” says Andrea Sheldon, Loveland golf operations coordinator. “We call it small and mighty.”
The new clubhouse does boast a new layout with an emphasis on outside seating to the west, so patrons enjoying the 19th hole have a better view than they did on the old patio, which overlooked the parking lot.
One of the reasons it took this long to update the look at the Olde Course and one of the bragging points for the city is that all the improvements at Loveland’s courses are paid for by golf course revenue. The clubhouse also features a new speaker system and HVAC along with a new food vendor: The popular food truck Fork Yeah opened its first brick-and-mortar location in the clubhouse. The new restaurant, called Big Fork, is run by the husband-and-wife duo of Megan Gunter and Jake Gargano.
“I call it elevated fast food,” Gunter says. “This was a natural next step for us with great quality food and creative drinks.”
They are already planning some unique floats with a soft-serve machine as well as mimosas for on and off the course.
The couple will have a truck permanently in use at Cattail Creek. It will be called Little Fork. The couple will continue to operate Fork Yeah as well.
A few other new things on the greens this year
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In Greeley, Highland Hills Golf Course has a new irrigation system, and Boomerang Golf Course is in its second season of the new layout, which saw a change for three and a half of the holes due to a land swap with the school district to relocate a new school there, according to Wayne Leighton, manager of golf.
In Fort Collins, Southridge Golf Course has some new amenities, including upgraded restrooms in the clubhouse and the irrigation system improvements started last fall are expected to be complete this spring, says Scott Phelps, senior manager for golf for the city. He adds that Mackenzie’s Pub and Grill completed renovation to the restaurant and dining area.
Cattail Creek, in Loveland, also boasts a new irrigation system.
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Jared Fiel is a writer in Northern Colorado.
