Breckenridge Golf Club

Owned by the Town of Breckenridge, this is billed as the only municipally owned Jack Nicklaus Signature golf facility in the world. The first nine, the Bear, opened in 1985 on high meadowland that early miners called Buffalo Flats; the Beaver nine followed in 1987, and the Elk nine completed a 27-hole complex in 2001. Sitting above 9,300 feet in the Colorado Rockies, it ranks among the highest-altitude courses anywhere, and the thin air sends tee shots soaring. Nicklaus routed the holes through stands of lodgepole pine, wetlands, and beaver ponds, weaving natural streams and native grasses into a demanding but strikingly scenic mountain test. Wildlife sightings are common, and the surrounding Tenmile Range frames nearly every hole. Public access to a Signature-caliber design makes it a rare and beloved municipal gem.