Airport Golf Course Is A Cheyenne Favorite [VIDEO]
If you're a golfer, you know you’ll be able to play soon. Let’s take a look at Cheyenne’s best public course, Airport Golf Club. Head Pro Mike Letore says the crew is starting to remove green covers now.
Airport is actually ranked by golflink 64th out of Wyoming’s 71 courses. That seems a bit harsh for the track that hosts the Wyoming Open (July 12-15, 2018). The first words in golflink’s review column are, “Slow-moving.” Thanks, Joe Hacker. What public golf course does not get a little jammed? And how slow-moving is your 8,000-yard Bataan Death March when weekenders lose balls on holes with ridiculous difficulty for anyone not named Nicklaus?
I used to be that guy who had no business even trying to play tough golf courses that space tee times 15 minutes apart. That can get just as backed up as Airport, which sometimes sends out groups every eight minutes. Airport is a muni. That’s just what munis do. Airport, however, is not just any muni.
When someone introduced “that guy” to the joys of playing shorter, "boring" tracks, he became a lifetime member of the Don’t-Beat-Yourself-up Club. By the way, a “shorter” course doesn’t always equal easier. There's nothing boring about the tee shots on the first nine at Airport. They force you to pick a target, which is never a bad thing.
Airport Golf course was built in 1929. At least that’s the year the first holes were laid out, on what is now the north side of Central Avenue, which was not there 87 years ago. Mike Letore couldn’t say exactly how many holes were first finished. The ensuing Great Depression put the game on hold for most people. In 1941, World War II improved things for a course that gave recreation to B-17 pilots and those working on the Cheyenne Tail Gun Turrets.
In 1950, the greens were still cottonseed, when the rest of the course configuration was built around Kiwanis Lake. It is now the front nine. Longer hitters call it short, but it may have the best bunch of tee shots I’ve ever played on one course. The back nine is another story – more open and longer. It's the best of both worlds if you're a long hitter. You can book a tee time here.
One more thing: If it gets slow, consider that another one of the game’s many irks and quirks that teach character. Chat with the good people in your group. When it's finally your turn to hit it again, loosen up your semi-frozen back with some extra practice swings and play on. When you're standing in the fairway waiting again for that group at the green to get off or wave you through, pick up that conversation with your partner.
Major Champion Jackie Burke said, "Golf is not a game of perfect." Neither is Airport, but it has bluegrass fairways and bent grass greens. When the bent is tight it can roll fast enough for the best putters. With the stimpmeter in double digits, I don’t believe anyone is going to try to tell me that Airport’s greens are flat and boring.
I don’t score like I used to, but I also don’t have those days when I fight taking it too seriously, and just enjoy it. On this golf course, at those green fees, I can't ask for more. On a muni, on most days, Airport is as good as any I’ve ever played. And I've played courses all over this country.