by Charles Bonniwell
Rich History: The Denver Country Club possesses one of the oldest golf courses in Colorado and the club itself is the oldest country club west of the Mississippi, founded in 1887. It opened in 1905 and was designed by James Foulis, although a number of different golf designers have done renovations to the course over the years. The 18-hole, private course is 7,039 yards at its longest tees with a par of 71.
One of the oldest and most prestigious amateur golf tournaments in the world returns to the Denver Country Club (DCC) for the sixth time on July 6-9, 2022. The Trans-Mississippi Amateur was first played in 1901 and came to the Denver Country Club in 1910. Prior winners of the tournament include Jack Nicklaus, Ben Crenshaw, Johnny Goodman, Bryson DeChambeau, and in recent years, Colin Morikawa and Will Zalatoris. This year’s field is to include 102 of the world’s top 200 amateur golfers, according to Gary Potter,
DU Star: Coloradan Cal McCoy tied for seventh place in the prestigious Trans-Miss Amateur Championship in 2021. He will compete in this year’s tournament as well.
local tournament chair and DCC member.
The Denver Country Club was formed in 1887 and is the oldest country club west of the Mississippi River. Originally located at Overland Park as a club focusing on horse racing, it was one of the original 15 clubs that formed the Trans-Mississippi Golf Association. In 1901 the club changed its name from the Overland Park Association to the Denver Country Club and in 1905 moved its location to its present Cherry Creek location.
The Trans-Mississippi is part of the recently formed Elite Summer Amateur Series composed of seven of the oldest and well-known amateur tournaments in the nation representing 680 years of championship golf. The other tournaments include the North South Amateur, the Pacific Coast Amateur, and the Northeast Amateur.
Local Favorite: Jackson Klutznick was the Junior Golf Alliance of Colorado Tour Championship winner in 2018. He was also the 2019 Denver Country Club Men’s Champion. He is the son of John and Heather Klutznick, Denver Country Club members.
When the DCC hosted its first Trans-Mississippi championship in 1910 amateurs generally reigned over the world of golf. The DCC also hosted at the same time a tournament for professionals, but it was subsidiary to the amateur championship. Club President Frank Woodward was de-
termined to rule American golf. He felt he had to host the major championships at the DCC’s new course which was touted as one of the best and toughest in the country with The Golfer’s Magazine calling it “one of the best tests of skill and accuracy in the United States.”
Back in 1910, such tournaments were major social occasions with lavish balls held at the club and spectacular parties at private residences. The course proved every bit as difficult as advertised. The Denver Post noted that “players who should have done the course in less than 80 were running up scores of 100 to 120.” Only three holes of that original course remain with parts washed out in a flood in 1912 at the start of the Western Amateur held that year, and partially ruining Woodward’s plans.
The DCC has had a veritable who’s who of golf architects revise the course over the last 100 plus years, the most recent being Gil Hanse, who has also revised various US Open venues such as The Country Club outside of Boston and the Los Angeles Country Club.
One of the highlights of the 1910 Trans-Mississi
Elite Amateur Series: The 118th Trans-Mississippi Amateur Championship will be played July 5-9, 2022 at the Denver Country Club.
ppi was the rise of 19-year-old DCC youth Larry Broomfield who made it to the semi-finals against some of the best players in the country. He would dominate golf at the DCC and in Colorado for decades thereafter.
For the 2022 Trans-Mississippi, perhaps the greatest male DCC golfer since Larry Broomfield will be playing, 20-year-old Jackson Klutznick, the son of DCC members John and Heather Klutznick. A sophomore at Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia, he is the leading player on the university golf team and a finalist for the Jack Nicklaus Award for top collegiate player in NCAA Division III schools. He is a two-time DCC club champion and Kent Denver graduate. Klutznick has won various golf tournaments across Colorado and the United States. He first made the local papers news when at age 13 he drove a golf ball 357 yards at the DCC.
He will be facing such top players as Travis Vick who won the low amateur medal at the recent US Open at The Country Club outside of Boston, and Texas A&M star Sam Bennett. Locally another strong competitor will be Cal McCoy from Highlands Ranch who played for Denver University for three years before transferring to the University of Arizona. He finished tied 7th at last year’s Trans-Mississippi at the Windsong Farm Golf Club in Minnesota.
The tournament will be a 72-hole stroke play with the final two days cut to the top 54 players. The winner will earn points that will be applied to the PGA tournament in the fall in Bermuda.