It's true. Shots do travel at least 10 percent farther in Colorado than at sea level - even
more at some of the high-elevation mountain resorts. While this may not put most
of us out into Tiger Woods territory, the green certainly doesn't seem quite so far away.
Distance off the tee box is not the most important element Colorado golf has to offer.
That comes from some of the most stunning settings ever selected for an ancient game that
now features a wealth of amenities. Sites in the mountains and along the foothills have
been chosen for dramatic scenic impact. Many of the views will take your breath
away. You'll spend much more time looking at mountains than for your golf ball.
History of Colorado
The scenery starts early in Colorado. Almost from the moment you set foot in the
state, the mountains are either surrounding you or are visible on the horizon,
and they're constantly presenting new vistas. While skiing and hiking are undeniably
great ways to appreciate the peaks, they're hardly mandatory. Whether you're
driving a freeway or even walking on a busy
Denver
street, you will be ogling the
alpine scenery. In this state, it's unavoidable.
There's evidence humans traveled through Colorado as much as 10,000 years ago
in pursuit of game. Later, the Anasazi began their pueblo culture around AD 550
in the southwestern part of state and the surrounding region. They created large
and complex buildings on mesas and in cliffside alcoves, some of which can still
be visited at Mesa Verde National Park and Hovenweep National Monument. Whether
it was due to warfare or another reason, their cities were abandoned between
1200 and 1400. Other tribes that inhabited Colorado included the Kiowa, Apache and
Comanche, who roamed the flat eastern prairie in search of bison. The Ute
people of the mountainous west lived a foraging/hunting existence.
The Spanish expedition under Franscisco Coronado may have passed through
parts of Colorado in 1541. Although Spain claimed much of the territory, its
settlement of the land did not go much further than the explorations of two
Franciscan friars in 1776. Most of the territory ended up in the United States,
thanks to the 1803 Louisiana Purchase. Explorers and trappers entered the area
over the next several decades, including Zebulon Pike, of Pikes Peak fame, who
covered the area in 1806.
It wasn't until 1858, when gold-fever struck, that Colorado really saw any major
influx of settlers. A rough-and-tumble period of mining and frontier bloodshed followed.
As more Native American lands were claimed by white settlers, ranching became
an important supplement to mining in the region's economy. In the early 1900s,
the Colorado mines were the scene of bitter and bloody labor struggles. Minerals
are still an important part of Colorado's economy, as are ranching and farming,
but tourism has also become a booming business. Denver has emerged as
a major U.S. city, a center of business, banking and
communications. 
