Red Rocks Country Club Sits on What Was Once Known as the Harwood Ranch and Also Has Ties to a Historic Supper Club.
Red Rocks Country Club stakes its claim in southwest Jefferson County just outside of Morrison, Colorado - an area rich with natural history and pioneering spirit. Nearby, families can examine fossils along Dinosaur Ridge, take in the geological wonders of Red Rocks Park, or enjoy a day trip around the historic Lariat Loop National Scenic Byway. Up the hillside from Red Rocks Country Club, a thriving supper club with a storied past billing itself as a "mountain club" once hosted dinner and dancing for members from across the metro area, including a few characters said to have ties to organized crime. The old club, known as Willow Springs Country Club, was destroyed in a fire.
In the early 1970’s Stanley Harwood began realizing his vision of building a neighborhood surrounding an 18-hole golf course. The local community of homeowners organized to see that vision carried out and the club was incorporated as Whale Rock Country Club in 1993, named after a prominent rock formation on what is now Hole 16. Today, the club is known as Red Rocks Country Club, honoring the myriad red rocks in the local scenery. When the new clubhouse opened in 1997 amenities include an outdoor heated pool and cabana area, a tented dining Pavilion, and the main building which houses the Golf Shop, dining areas, locker rooms, and meeting space.
In 2000, the Club embarked on a golf course redesign by Phelps-Atkinson Golf Course Design to make it more challenging and scenic as it winds through beautiful red rock outcroppings. In subsequent years improvements have been made to pave the cart paths, add irrigation and water storage systems, and the Club established a master vision for the golf course. In 2022, the golf course underwent a major greens renovation project which included a complete rebuild of nearly every green and green-side bunker, all of which are now built to current United States Golf Association specifications and standards. Today the golf course extends beyond the footprint imagined by the first developer and incorporates a more natural landscape design that accentuates the club's unique location.
In 2015, a major renovation to the Clubhouse took place, nearly doubling the square footage of the existing building. The Bar & Grill area was expanded as well as a dining area that can also be utilized for event space. The kitchen also grew in size, and cart storage was relocated to under the building.
Today, Red Rocks Country Club embodies a different kind of country club model with a vision of being a sought-after, private club committed to its unique family-friendliness and natural landscape.
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