A Perfect Place to Play

Mid-length par 4 | 290-470 yards

Mission: Invite the golfer into the round with a proverbial “gentle handshake,” introducing the basic themes of the entire course.

Vision: This medium length par-4 occupies some of the gentlest, most welcoming land on the property and unfolds due west towards the Rockies.

There’s plenty of playing width on the tee shot, but the ideal line challenges a left fairway bunker and leaves a clear approach into the putting surface; bail our right for safety off the tee and the second shot is longer and partially obstructed.

Short par 4 | 265-375 yards

Mission: Commitment is the focus here, with opportunity for success leading to a meaningful gain but with some risk and uncertainty.

Vision: The green on this short par-4 is potentially within reach from the tee of each player who starts from the markers appropriate to their respective game. A huge cross bunker left center in the fairway is in the “go/no-go” zone, some 260 yards to carry from the back tee and progressively shorter and manageable to carry for each subsequent, more forward tee. The hole plays eastward, with the prevailing wind to the players back; a bail-out or short tee shot to the right leaves an awkward angle in over greenside bunkering to a putting surface that falls slightly away. Pull a bold tee shot slightly left and the recovery is also a delicate one – a chip over a pot bunker to a narrow shelf of putting surface. The green is inspired by the par-4 11th hole at Pebble Beach Golf Links—the ideal access is front left, through – or along – a narrow spine protected on both sides by lateral falloff and sand.

Long par 4  |  340-520 yards

Mission: This hole is all about the freedom to let it fly.

Vision: Very wide off the tee, with a tee shot flyover of a yawning blowout of sandy and scruffy growth that is ominous but easily carry-able, and which mid-to-high handicappers can avoid narrowly by playing safely to the right. We’re back on gently sloping land that runs downhill in the drive landing zone and allows for full extension on the second shot to get home in regulation, with a long second shot to a well contoured putting surface that falls ever so slightly away. There’s plenty of room up front to run the ball in; the trick here is getting it to stop before it rolls long and over onto short-grass recovery fairway beyond.

Par 5  |  420-560 yards

Mission: Deception, with a touch of allure, defines this short par 5.

Vision: The key to any fine par 5 is the second shot. Players must decide whether to go for the green, lay up to a comfortable wedge zone beyond the cross hazard, or deliberately leave a full third shot. Wetlands guard the final 200 yards, forcing those going for the green to skirt the hazard while providing ample room left for those laying up. But the safe route introduces a classic links challenge: bumps, hummocks and small mounds front and left, reminiscent of Royal Dornoch, Pinehurst No. 2 and Bandon Dunes. These features add whimsy and unpredictability, deflecting the ball without making outcomes entirely random. At Bluebird, that element of surprise is central to the fascination of the ground game.

Par 3  |  120-220 yards

Mission: Persistence will prove most helpful on this mid-length, uphill par 3 with spectacular views of Pikes Peak as you approach the green.

Vision: This hole presents a daunting sight from the tee. The green sits 30 feet uphill above the teeing ground, with a steep falloff short right and behind, an infinity edge that goes on for miles. The play here is generally into a crosswind from the right. Anything just marginally short will catch the offramp and tumble down, either into a cradle of supportive fairway or, with too much acceleration, way past that onto the fairway below. The “all or nothing” quality of the shot here already animates some well-known uphill par-3s, including the 13th at Sand Hills, the 11th at Shinnecock Hills and the 15th at Bandon Dunes.

Short par-4  |  265-380 yards

Mission: This hole is all about traversing complex ground, over hill and dale, to arrive at a desired destination.

Vision: Much planning and construction work has been deployed here to make sure the landing zone is visible from the tee and to avoid a blind shot. Most players will choose to drive down through the middle of the carved out saddle of land and then turn to the right for their short iron to the green. Longer hitters might be tempted to go for broke and cut the dogleg short on the right, aided by a seasonally prevailing left-to-right wind. If so, they run a few risks: a deep bunker 50-60 yards short on that side, greenside bunkering that has to be carried on the right, and wetlands from the adjacent fourth hole that touch upon the back of the 6th green to protect it even further from wayward incoming shots.

Long par 5  |  460-655 yards

Mission: Long walks can be fun, too, when the landforms are visually interesting. That’s what sustains the journey on this lengthy par-5.

Vision: As players approach this hole from behind the tees they’ll see the huge wetlands area on the right that previously came into play on the 4th hole. It’s barely an issue on the drive, however, not even from the back tee and certainly not with the more forward tees thanks to the prevailing breeze from behind. The landing zone is wide, but fairway bunkering intrudes at offset angles in the second shot zone creating the need for careful positioning. The green here, angled slightly to the right and wider than it is deep, is perched up on a natural knoll that is further exposed to the wind and requires control of trajectory on the approach. Like most greens at Bluebird, this one is accessible on the ground, though getting close to hole locations middle and back will take more than a basic run up.

Long par 4  |  320-495 yards

Mission: Challenge the nerve of a player.

Vision: On this long par-4, the primary issue is a green set alongside a large pond on the left. The front is wide open, the right side protected by a medium bunker, and the challenge is how best to approach the green – headlong through the air, along the ground, or more cautiously from the right and essentially playing for a bogey. The seemingly wide tee shot, played down the prevailing wind from the west, presents a stirring, downhill view of the putting surface in the distance. It is one of many moments at Bluebird Club when all of the alternative paths are clearly laid out in front of you and your mind has to calculate all of the risk/reward ratios. Here and throughout the course, it’s not a matter of a forced carry. The point here is to take on as much as you think you can handle without being required to choose any one path.

Medium length par 3  |  115-205 yards

Mission: Ground game discipline is the guiding spirit here.

Vision: This is a lovely natural hole, with a wide green set downhill from the tee, across a diagonal crossing of a ravine, and built into the base of the slope that houses the Club’s Shelter (half-way house).

The ideal play is left-to-right, using the ground slope while allowing the prevailing wind from the right to act as a three-dimensional backstop to the tee shot.

Long, uphill par 4  |  350-505 yards

Mission: The ascent here is both physical and aesthetic, as the dramatic rise from tee to green contrasts powerfully from the front nine and sets the tone for a series of powerful long views as reward for the effort.

Vision: This hole unfolds from the base of the Shelter mound to the highest point on the entire property.

The fairway starts a gradual sweep upwards, culminating in a green sitting in a natural elevated saddle that provides some isolation and sense of relief – akin to the 15th green at Bethpage State Park-Black Course or the 12th green at Sand Hills.

Par 5  |  450-615 yards

Mission: Cross country hike.

Vision: This long par-5 plays across a series of modest rises that create interesting and not entirely predictable bounces for shots along the way. The shorter, “high road” is down the left side, while the wider right side tends to steer the ball down and away from an ideal line and leads to some semi-blind views of the next landing area. As with most greens at Bluebird Club, the putting surface here is accessible on the ground up front, but pins cut midway and further will require aerial precision to get approaches close.

Par 4  |  315-445 yards

Mission: The great equalizer.

Vision: Call it a “razorback” hole out of respect for the local wildlife, but the point here is to get everyone over the hill and onto the downslope so that regardless of starting position, they all will have a similar length shot in.

They’ll need it, because there’s a ravine sitting diagonally at front-right of the green and a cottonwood tree that guards that side; coming into this green with a short-iron is imperative.

It is not a forced carry over that dry gulch since there is plenty of bailout to the left and from there, a clear ground-game chip onto the putting surface. But the whole point of this hole is to get everyone into a comfort zone of a second shot, which is why elite players might well put the brakes on and hit less than driver off the tee.

Short par 3  |  90-170 yards

Mission: Short and sweet, or the virtues of intimacy.

Vision: Links golf is all about variety, including the little drop-shot par-3 hole. Among those holes that were referenced during design of this downhill hole were the 11th at The Country Club in Brookline, Ma., the 7th at Pebble Beach, the 10th at Royal Dornoch and the 15th at Los Angeles CC-North, whose confounding green made the world’s best players sweat during the 2023 U.S. Open, even when the hole played only 95 yards short.

The tightly bunkered green here offers a devilish set of counters and will prove challenging at lengths that vary from 90 yards to 170.

Par 4  |  335-495 yards

Mission: Judging the slope of an open, tilted plain.

Vision: This hole occupies a broad, sloping plain framed by drainage swales. It calls for a strong second shot across a wash to a green sitting on the low side of the terrain.

No need for bunkering here — the only hole at Bluebird Club without a sand hazard, there is enough to deal with in the fairway contours and the short grass framing the green.

Uphill par 4  |  270-410 yards

Mission: Uphill all the way.

Vision: Not a long hole at all, but one that looks intimidating from the tee due to a line of scrub oak short of the fairway that requires a modest carry to traverse.

The fairway sits in a large natural bowl of land that looks all-the-more dramatic because the high right side is potted with bunkers and native prairie plants. It is actually only a short iron uphill to a putting surface that, much like the 16th green at Pasatiempo, looks as if it’s about to slide down the hill.

Short, drivable par 4  |  210-345 yards

Mission: Blue skies await.

Vision: The walk from the 15th hole to the 16th tee brings a perfect view into focus of Mount Blue Sky, right over the target green and 50 miles to the west. It is a perfect expression of the spirit of the hole, which is to hit away into big open sky country and hope the ball winds up somewhere near this perched, infinity-edge green. The concept here is akin to the legendary short par-4 10th hole at Riviera Country Club, which is to make a short shot to a narrow green confounding and potentially frustrating, and to allow players of every skill level a chance of defying the contours and feeling great about it. One difference is that the hole plays along the highest ridge of the property – 6,050 feet above sea level. From here the play to the 18th green is all downhill, 125 feet.

Long downhill par 3  |  135-260 yards

Mission: Hang on for the ride.

Vision: Here’s a long par-3, downhill all the way, and evocative in distance, slope and scale of view to the par-3 11th hole at Los Angeles CC-North. From the tee it looks as if the green is sitting right over a crossing gulch, but in fact there are 40-60 yards between the ravine and the putting surface, with enough fairway to work the ball in rather than having to fly it all the way. If the effective distance is shorter than the scorecard yardage, there’s still considerable ground game to estimate and utilize on the right-to-left approach slope.

Downhill par 5  |  430-585 yards

Mission: Take a deep breath and take in the view.

Vision: The path from the launch pad tee down 100 feet to the green sitting at the foot of the Shelter mound is a powerful journey over dramatic terrain. A massive waste bunker lines the inside of the dogleg right fairway; above that on the right side of the fairway runs a little drainage ravine that at times will serve as a hazard for those who bite off more than they can chew from the tee. Along the way is a stunning, nearly 180-degree view of the Rockies, with clear vistas from Pikes Peak to the southwest up to Longs Peak to the northwest. The nearly 100-foot fall from tee to green brings the green into reach for many players who might otherwise be playing safely. Thus the 18th hole serves as a tempting stage for last-round theatrics.