CORTEZ
If there were a signature hole at Conquistador Golf Course, golfers here could make a case for No. 3.
With a good-sized pond that runs from just beyond the tees to just in front of the green, and with the majestic La Plata Mountains looming in the background, behind the tees, the lengthy par-3 third hole is equal parts challenging and picturesque.
On the near opposite end of the 18-hole, par-72 course, the par-5 15th is getting a fairly significant facelift. The fairway essentially is being moved to make the dogleg more playable off the tee, while bunker work around the green will make approach shots more challenging.
Such risk-reward scenarios are the signature of a course that truly is equal parts of each.
That’s nothing new at Conquistador, although renovations in recent years have enhanced that feel at the course, and changes at No. 15 epitomize a master plan that was put in play in 2013 and is expected to wrap up this fall, impacting every hole on the course.
The 15th hole plays anywhere from 427 yards from the front tees to 533 yards from the championship tees. So by most standards, it’s a fairly short par-5. But previously, if a player didn’t shape their tee shot to accommodate the dogleg left, they easily could hit their drive though the fairway and into the rugged landscape that lined the right side of the fairway. And with towering trees protecting the left side of the fairway along the dogleg, along with a large fairway bunker skirting the fairway at the base of those trees, there wasn’t much room there, either. So aside from working the ball right to left off the tee, about the only way to find the fairway was to “lay up” to the neck of the dogleg or hit over those tall trees.
Now, that previously rugged strip along the right side of the fairway has been seeded and fenced off so as to be converted to fairway, essentially widening the landing area off the tee. And the fairway bunker on the left has been phased out.
“We went through each hole to see what we wanted to do and No. 15 was No. 1 on the list,” longtime Conquistador manager/PGA club pro Micah Rudosky said. “We’re trying to make it fair for long and short hitters. We wanted to expand around where they can play the dogleg.”
But while those changes may allow more golfers to find the fairway off the tee, coming into the green will be more challenging as the front-left bunker has been repositioned to bring it more into play, and the back-left corner of the green has been elevated and enlarged.
“The driving area is a little easier, but a bunkered green will make for a more demanding second shot,” Rudosky said. “It’s protected with a bunker in the front. And we moved it 15 yards more toward the fairway. So there’s a risk-reward play there.”
Besides putting the finishing touches on those final holes as outlined in the master plan, a new set of tees was added this season, giving players four choices, playing from 5,655 yards from the front tees to a healthy 7,152 yards – with a rating of 72.6 and slope of 131 – from the back tees.
Also on deck is, well, a new deck – next to the clubhouse and overlooking the ninth green, with completion expected in the next week or two. Flowers in the clubhouse area and steps leading up to the first tee are among other subtle touches that add to the experience at Conquistador.
It all adds up to about 22,000 rounds a year, Rudosky said.
“A lot of guys come over from Durango and Telluride and we sell (season) passes to a lot of guys in Telluride, and (get play) with tourism with Mesa Verde (National Park),” said Rudosky, who runs Conquistador with his wife, Anett.
“We stay busy.”
bpeterson@durangoherald.com
On the tee
What: Conquistador Golf Course
Where: 2018 N. Dolores Rd., Cortez
Summer greens fees: 9 holes, $19 (Monday-Thursday), $22 (Friday-Sunday);
18 holes, $28 (Monday-Thursday), $34 (Friday-Sunday)
Cart fees: 9 holes-$9, 18 holes-$15
More information/tee times:
970-565-9208 (phone),
fore@fourcornersgolf.com (email),
www.fourcornersgolf.com (website)
