Not long after Red Sky Golf Club opened 20 years ago, folks in the Vail Valley hung an audacious moniker on the 36-hole club. They started referring to it as the “Pebble Beach of the Mountains.”
To many golfers, any comparisons to Pebble Beach border on sacrilege. But Red Sky is, to adapt the timeless description of Pebble, a fortuitous meeting of fairways and mountains – an exhilarating golf experience that just happens to take place at 8,000 feet as opposed to sea level. Red Sky is an unusually good representation of the mountain-golf genre, with two distinct layouts, each uncontrived, flowing gracefully across a rugged, picturesque landscape.
Those qualities are reflected in Golfweek’s rankings. Against potent in-state competition, Red Sky’s Tom Fazio Course, which opened in 2002, is No. 1 among Golfweek’s Best Courses You Can Play in Colorado, and the Greg Norman Course is No. 4. Both courses also are prominent in national rankings.
The quality of the golf and amenities, paired with the idyllic Vail Valley setting, quickly transformed Red Sky into a national club. Tinsley Cusworth, Director of Club Sales and Marketing, said that about a third of members are Coloradans, but there is an abundance of national members – including many Texans, Floridians, New Yorkers and Chicagoans – who take advantage of the direct flights into Eagle County Regional Airport, just a 20-minute drive from the entrance to Red Sky. For those members, as Cusworth said, Red Sky is an easily accessible “sanctuary” – a “summer camp” for adults and families.
“A lot of our members are coming from other states,” Cusworth said. “They’re not looking to have meetings or work and play golf on the same day. They’re here to check out and unwind. That’s what Red Sky does for our members.”
Red Sky allows resort play to guests staying at hotels operated by its parent company, Vail Resorts, with daily play alternating between the Fazio and Norman courses. That, however, doesn’t dilute the membership experience. Each course has its own oversized practice range, and members have a dedicated 24,000-square-foot clubhouse on the Norman Course. That amenity-rich facility has men’s and women’s locker rooms, a large swimming pool, two tennis courts, and a member boardroom. The clubhouse is anchored by the decorated Silver Sage restaurant, where guests dine largely on local fare while watching the sunset over Castle Peak to the west.
Life is good in the Vail Valley, regardless of when you visit. Cusworth said that more than 60 percent of Red Sky members are year-round visitors who hold a second membership at a Vail ski club. Some of them live onsite; Red Sky has 87 lots, about two-thirds of which are developed, none of which impinges on the golf courses. Cusworth thinks of Red Sky as “the middleman allowing members to take advantage of everything Vail Valley has to offer,” including activities such as fly fishing, rafting and horseback riding, all of which can be organized through the club.
The expansive menu of activities is important now that Red Sky is in its 20th season. Members who joined the club in its early days now tend to be parents pushing 60 years of age, looking to make memories with their children and grandchildren, not just on the golf course but through other activities in the valley.
Red Sky has taken various steps to accommodate these multigenerational families. Cusworth noted that the membership plan includes a legacy membership for adult children, who only need to pay annual dues.
That strategy also is evident on the golf courses, where the club has been steadily adding new forward tees and combo tees to increase playability for aging members and their children who are new to the game.
“It doesn’t take away from the design or character of the holes, but it encourages someone who has aged over the past 20 years and has a slower swing speed,” General Manager Andrew Hedrick said. “We’re seeing a transition in our (member) demographic, with more families, and they’re trying to get mom and the kids to play. So it’s important to listen to your membership and react accordingly.”
