Breckenridge Golf Club - Bear #8 & #9

Getting To Know: Breckenridge Golf Club

An Insightful Interview With Erroll Miller, Head Professional

By Brian Weis

Whether you have played a course 20+ times a year or looking to play the course for the first time, insights from an insider can help enhance your golf experience. Below is an interview with Erroll Miller who shares some valuable tidbits about the course, memorable holes and must eats and treats at the 19th.

Give Our Readers An Overview of the Golf Course/Property
Set at 9324' in elevation, Breckenridge is one of the highest courses in the world. Designed by Jack Nicklaus with Mother Nature enhancements, Breckenridge is one of a kind. Snow capped peaks are always in view. The course is challenging, so bring your "A" game and a lot of golf balls!

Breckenridge has a mix of tree lined holes as well as open links style holes with most giving views to mountain peaks that are around 13,000 feet in elevation.

Breckenridge is a must play and should be on every golfers bucket list.

If Someone Was Looking To Golf In The Area, Why Should They Play Your Course?
Breckenridge is most known for skiing. But if you ask the locals, summer is the best time of the year. Temperatures are always mild and the sky deep blue. Growing grass at 9324' is not an easy task, but Breckenridge prides itself on quality conditions and excellent customer service to match the quality of the Nicklaus design. Your game will be challenged, your senses massaged and your ego probably bruised. But, you will leave with a smile and a wonderful memory.

What Tips or Local Knowledge Would You Provide To Help Them Score Better At Your Course?
At high elevations, your golf ball will fly straighter and further. But don't let that fact go to your head. Jack designed this course with very narrow fairways and small greens. Don't always select driver off the tee. Select what you can hit straight. Aim for the middle of the greens as anything on these small greens is almost a birdie putt. And if your score isn't what you had hoped for, check out the wildlife and scenery and you will find inner peace! One final tip to score better if needed; our golf pencils have erasers.

Recent Awards or What You Are Most Proud About The Course?
Golf Digest, "4 1/2 Star Places to Play Facility"

In May 2012, Golfweek rated Breckenridge as one of the "Top 50 Municipal Courses" in the nation (#35).

Rated by the Summit Daily Newspaper as , "The Best of Summit County"

What Is The Signature, Most Talked About, or Most Photographed Hole?
Beaver #8 - Where else can you play alongside numerous Beaver ponds. This hole has it all; length, beauty, views, numerous wildlife sightings including, elk, deer, moose, beavers, and a fox that will steal golf balls.

This is one of the prettiest and toughest holes of the 27 at Breckenridge.

What Is Your Favorite Hole? Any Tips to Play It?
I have a favorite on each nine. Bear # 9 has such great views of the Breckenridge Ski Area and Ten Mile Mountain range. One of the peaks in the distance is Quandry that rises above 14,000 feet. This hole is just breathtaking and the most difficult on the Bear nine, playing uphill at 473 yards for a par 4.

Beaver # 8 described above is my favorite on the Beaver nine.

Elk #7 has the most elevation change of any of the 27-holes at Breckenridge. The tee box elevation on #7 is 9445', the highest point on the entire golf course. The green level of #7 is 9370', a change of 75' from tee to green! Mountain Golf at its' pinnacle!

Make par or birdie on any of these and you should pat yourself on the back as all three will challenge you.

Must Have Dish or Drink after the round at the 19th Hole?
Colorado is one of the top producing craft brewery states. So why not enjoy a beer from Breckenridge Brewery and a vodka or whiskey from the Breckenridge distillery. Theses craft sprits and beers have won numerous awards.

You can't go wrong with a Club Sandwich, the classic golf clubhouse item.

Who Holds Course Record and What Was Their Score?
Beaver/Bear - 69, held by Morris Hatalsky of the PGA Tour, Erroll Miller and Ryne Scholl.

Bear/Elk = 68 by Robbins Manley

Elk/Beaver = 66 by Corey Stanton

Back Tee Stats
Par: 72 on all
Yardage: Beaver/Bear = 7266 Bear/Elk = 7258, Elk/Beaver = 7120
Slope: we have 27 holes so 3 different ratings; Beaver/Bear = 147, Bear/Elk = 146, Elk/Beaver = 146
Rating: Beaver/Bear = 73.9, Bear/Elk = 73.9, Elk/Beaver = 72.8

More Information
Breckenridge Golf Club
200 Clubhouse Drive
Breckenridge, Colorado, 80424
970-453-9104
www.breckenridgegolflcub.com

Revised: 04/24/2013 - Article Viewed 31,791 Times - View Course Profile

About: Brian Weis

Brian Weis is the mastermind behind GolfTrips.com, a vast network of golf travel and directory sites covering everything from the rolling fairways of Wisconsin to the sunbaked desert layouts of Arizona. If there’s a golf destination worth visiting, chances are, Brian has written about it, played it, or at the very least, found a way to justify a "business trip" there.

As a card-carrying member of the Golf Writers Association of America (GWAA), International Network of Golf (ING), Golf Travel Writers of America (GTWA), International Golf Travel Writers Association (IGTWA), and The Society of Hickory Golfers (SoHG), Brian has the credentials to prove that talking about golf is his full-time job. In 2016, his peers even handed him The Shaheen Cup, a prestigious award in golf travel writing—essentially the Masters green jacket for guys who don’t hit the range but still know where the best 19th holes are.

Brian’s love for golf goes way back. As a kid, he competed in junior and high school golf, only to realize that his dreams of a college golf scholarship had about the same odds as a 30-handicap making a hole-in-one. Instead, he took the more practical route—working on the West Bend Country Club grounds crew to fund his University of Wisconsin education. Little did he know that mowing greens and fixing divots would one day lead to a career writing about the best courses on the planet.

In 2004, Brian turned his golf passion into a business, launching GolfWisconsin.com. Three years later, he expanded his vision, and GolfTrips.com was born—a one-stop shop for golf travel junkies looking for their next tee time. Today, his empire spans all 50 states, and 20+ international destinations.

On the course, Brian is a weekend warrior who oscillates between a 5 and 9 handicap, depending on how much he's been traveling (or how generous he’s feeling with his scorecard). His signature move" A high, soft fade that his playing partners affectionately (or not-so-affectionately) call "The Weis Slice." But when he catches one clean, his 300+ yard drives remind everyone that while he may write about golf for a living, he can still send a ball into the next zip code with the best of them.

Whether he’s hunting down the best public courses, digging up hidden gems, or simply outdriving his buddies, Brian Weis is living proof that golf is more than a game—it’s a way of life.