Texas Outside review of Eagle Vail

Eagle Vail

Texas Outside Rating: 8.7

18 Holes - Golf - Public
Avon, CO
970.949.5267
Website
Online Tee Times

Date Played: July 16, 2008
Front Nine Rating: 8.5 Stars
Back Nine Rating: 9.0 Stars
Approximate Weekend Price Range: $80.00 to $98.00
Where To Get Coupons: see website

Brief Description:
Beyond Summit County and Vail traveling west on I-70 you’ll come to the almost affordable, call it “attainable” community of Eagle Vail, CO. Exit here and work your way south up the mountain between the Vail and Beaver Creek ski resorts to enjoy a truly fun and challenging round of golf at the Eagle Vail Golf Club.

Compared to other courses in Summit and Eagle Counties Eagle Vail is a value priced bargain at about $98 with cart in peak season. I’d played Eagle Vail in prior years and the conditions were sometimes suspect. But this year the fairways, greens and even their tee boxes were in fine condition.

The most unique feature of Eagle Vail is its great elevation changes. Number 9 is a wild, blind, dogleg right downhill par 4 followed by a steep uphill hike or cart ride (I wouldn’t recommend walking this course as I tried in ONCE!) to a par 3 10th hole with a drop of 200 feet. You'll notice damaged clay tile roofs on the homes around the 10th green from some stray shot! Holes 16 and 18 are wild dogleg right par 4 and 5 ventures. One of the photos shows the second shot to a steeply forward pitched 16th green tucked behind a mountain stream and protected by aspens, pines, rocks and sand traps. Don’t be short, long, left or right on your approach to the 16th green!

You may or may not enjoy the strange grouping of holes crowded on both sides of the beautiful Eagle River when you pass through the tunnel under Highway 6. These are the par 3 3rd hole which you’ll fight to keep your ball from rolling back and to the right toward the river. Next is the heavily trapped par 4 4th hole along historic Highway 6 (the only access to these mountain towns before I-70). After that is the treacherous little par 3 5th hole over the Eagle River. Don’t be long or short on this hole. Finally comes the par 4 6th hole with an extreme risk/reward opportunity - again driving over Eagle River to a back sloping green that’s almost impossible to hold. When you return through the tunnel you’ll be back in the world of more traditional golf holes……..if you call 200 feet elevation changes traditional.

I enjoy Eagle Vail for the fun of some very exciting holes with more local color than the high end resort courses in Summit and Eagle Counties. The fees I quoted above are non-resident, peak season rates. Eagle Vail runs some bargain specials at times. Get on their website at www.eaglevailgolfclub.com for more information. Head Golf Pro, Ben Welsh, welcomes visiting golfers and will show you a fun golf experience. The clubhouse and bar/restaurant don’t compare to the high end resort courses but if unique golf holes are your interest Eagle Vail is for you.

Sam Sherstad Writer, Recreation Travel Reviews

Here's How Texas Outside Determines the Scorecard Rating

The Texas Outside rating scale ranges from 1 to 10 – a perfect 10 course would be something like this: links along a cliff overlooking the Pacific ocean and bordered by tall trees; lush fairways on rolling hills with lots of natural hazards; water (which is crystal clear) on most of the holes; immaculate greens (but they are undulating and tough); lots of variety and character (each hole is completely different and includes blind shots, elevation changes, doglegs, and significant challenges); perfectly manicured traps with the whitest and prettiest sand you’ve ever seen; a nice club house with great food and a 19th hole; a GPS; plenty of beverage carts or your own cooler and ice; and it only costs $40 bucks! What this means is that you probably won’t find any 10s in Texas – try Cabo San Lucas, Pebble Beach, or some of the Hawaii courses!
Texas Outside rates courses on the following:

Beauty – tall trees, rolling hills, beautiful houses, waterfalls, and similar stuff would score high; a 1 would be flat, bushes or cactus instead of trees, and some grass but mostly weeds

Difficulty – a straight, 300 yard par 4 with no traps or hazards, no out of bounds or water would probably get a 1; if it is a 460 yard par 4 over two ravines, with water along one side, natural hazards on the other, strategically placed traps or that dreaded tree right in the middle of the fairway, we are talking a 10.

Variety – what would you give a course where all the holes looked and played exactly the same (“I thought we just played that hole!”); were side-by-side, which is good for finding or dodging other people’s balls, but not much fun; and you can see the flag from every tee box? That’s right, it gets a 1.

Fun Scale – a 10 is where you walk off the course and say “now that was fun” and you can’t wait to get back, or you immediately turn around and play another 18 holes

Value – a 5 is $50 to $60, a 10 is $20 to $30, and 1 is $200 or so – of course all of this is dependent upon how you liked the course. For example, if a run down, boring municipal course, with six players on each hole was only $10; it would still get a value rating of 1.

Condition – this one’s pretty easy – what condition are the fairways. A 10 commands very lush perfectly manicured fairways, compared to a 1, which has fire ants, weeds, and more dirt than grass!

Condition of Greens and Difficulty – very hard to read greens with lots of undulation and tough pin placement, rate very high on the difficulty scale. Condition is self-explanatory.

All of the above determines the overall score for the golf course. In other words, we like courses that are pretty, fun, very challenging with a lot of variety, and fairways and greens in excellent condition – all for $40. We also tend to play the courses that are affordable for the masses, which means in the $30 to $80 range. We rate hard and we haven’t found a 10 in Texas yet – don’t worry we haven’t given up and we’re still looking.