This is not Michael Keizer’s first rodeo. But this is his latest project on Bucking-Bronco Land in Colorado.
If you own a club and love traveling, you probably know Keizer, son of Mike Keizer, founder of Bandon Dunes, and his brother Chris, based in Sand Valley, Wisconsin. You may also hear that he has been busy adding a family dream golf portfolio of Colorado Sand Hills about 50 minutes northeast of Denver.
Earlier this week, Keizer and Co. spent a day preview at Rodeo Dunes, peeking at their destination making destination.
The property’s course of the same name, designed by Bill Coore and Ben Crenshaw, all 18 holes covered with grass. However, because the turf is too young in places where it absorbs wear, the game is limited to 11 holes: Nos. 1-4 and 12-18. The sampling, though, is a faithful taste of what is about to happen: a relaxed, walking-only layout that passes through the folds of a clumsy sandy canvas. The fairway bent and swept through the terrain, with enough width but emphasised angle.
For example, Strike 4 1 is a friendly opener with plenty of right, but the best line is on the left, along a considerable bunker covering the landing area. Fan or block your drive and you will see it landing in the short grass. What you can’t see is the green method. You won’t see other players often, either, as the grand dunes hide parts of the course that surface from the high points of the attributes and the vision that extends into the Rocky Mountains.
The chopping mountains around the Dunes of Rodeo are reminiscent of those hills in the Barlini Mountains in eastern Colorado, as well as several respected clubs on the High Plains of Nebraska, including Greble and Dunes. The most obvious difference is that these courses are private. They are also farther away. Rodeo dunes will be open to the public, and less than an hour of driving in the metropolitan area has made it feel like a place.
3 other things to know…
About that serving time
The preview game is designed to help attract public interest, but the public still has to wait a little. The season’s courses are closed after this week’s preview game and in 2026 it will be open primarily to its founding members. The official open opening is scheduled for 2027.
More golf
Like Bandon Dunes and Sand Valley, Rodeo Dunes began a course. But there is more room for golf, probably six courses. Former longtime Coore & Crenshaw Shaper Jim Craig has revealed a second in the dunes, which will stamp his name with his first solo design honors. If all goes well, a dream golf rep told me that a second course might see a preview at the end of next year.
