When you head for the mountains, chances are you're thinking to bring the skis, not the golf clubs.
But come warmer months, Telluride trades powder days for cool mountain air, green fairways and one particularly satisfying perk: a golf course at 9,500 feet where your golf ball can absolutely fly.
It's one of the reasons this Colorado mountain town deserves a spot on the golf-trip list, even if golf isn't the only reason you come. Here, a morning tee time can turn into an afternoon of fly fishing, hiking or mountain biking. And for plenty of visitors, a weeklong getaway has a funny way of turning into something much longer.
Brian O’Neill knows that better than most, as he was one of many residents himself who came to Telluride decades ago and never really left. Today, after 36 years in town and nearly as long working in local real estate, he's helping bring the new Four Seasons Resort and Residences Telluride to Mountain Village.
There's an old saying in town, he says: "They came here for the winter and they stayed for the summer."
These days, some visitors skip straight to the latter.
Brett Schreckengost
What Makes Telluride a Golf Destination?
Start with the setting—Unlike many mountain-town golf courses tucked into valley floors, Telluride Golf Club sits high above it at roughly 9,500 feet. Instead of looking up at the lower flanks of surrounding mountains, golfers play with towering summits seemingly right in front of them.
"Here you're seeing the summits that are 5,000 feet above you," O’Neill says. "It's still very dramatic, very in your face."
The elevation also changes the game itself. In the thinner air, shots travel farther, something O’Neill admits makes even a less-than-serious golfer feel pretty good about his game.
"The ball goes forever," he says. "Your first time when you play, you're like, 'Holy cow. I gotta change my style of play.'"
Considering it’s the closest some of us are getting to our Happy Gilmore moment, this course tends to attract celebrities for a weekend stay. But the course adds another advantage, which is terrain. Rather than a flat valley-floor layout, its mountain setting brings natural undulation into the game, creating holes that play with the landscape. The first fairway heads downhill, immediately giving golfers a taste of just how far a well-hit ball can travel.
Despite the caliber of golfers who find their way to Telluride, the atmosphere is decidedly unfussy.
"It's got this really relaxed, collaborative feel to it," O’Neill says. "It makes it really different than most golf."
O’Neill says LeBron James recently played while visiting Telluride, even stopping for a photo with local high school students he met on the course. Professional golfer Scottie Scheffler has played in the area, too.
Golf, O’Neill says, may not be the only thing drawing them here. But once they're here? They want a tee time.
Make It a Weekend Stay
Part of Telluride's shoulder season months appeal is that you don't have to choose between a golf getaway and a mountain getaway.
O’Neill says golfers commonly book an early morning or late-afternoon tee time, leaving half the day open for another adventure. With summer daylight stretching late into the evening, there's plenty of time to squeeze in fly fishing, hiking, mountain biking, e-biking, rock climbing or a trip along Telluride's via ferrata.
"Everybody kind of jams things in the day here," he says.
For some, a few days isn't enough. O’Neill increasingly sees summer visitors drive in from Texas, California, Oklahoma and even the Midwest, golf clubs and dogs in tow, then settle in for weeks. While winter visitors might spend a week skiing over the winter holidays or spring break, he says summer travelers sometimes stay six weeks.
And with what’s coming to Telluride, a golf destination is looking more exciting than ever.
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Coming Soon: Four Seasons Telluride
That extended-stay mountain lifestyle is also part of the vision behind Four Seasons Resort and Residences Telluride, scheduled to open in Mountain Village in 2028.
The new alpine resort and residential development will pair Four Seasons luxury with the outdoor lifestyle that has kept O’Neill in Telluride for more than three decades. Designed by Olson Kundig, the property is planned with 52 hotel rooms, 43 hotel residences and 26 private residences, along with restaurants, a spa, fitness center, indoor lap pool and outdoor hot tub.
And for golfers, there's one particularly convenient detail: Telluride Golf Club is just steps away.