Country Club Of The Rockies

The course is a private club serving the affluent second-home community that has built up around Vail and Beaver Creek over the past few decades. Jack Nicklaus designed the layout, and his characteristic emphasis on dramatic bunkering, generous landing areas off the tee, and demanding approaches around well-protected greens fits the mountain setting convincingly. The scenery is almost unfair competition for your concentration.

Edwards itself is an interesting base — less manicured than Vail proper but increasingly its own destination, with serious dining and a year-round outdoor culture that treats golf as one amenity among many rather than the entire point of the trip.