Many people share that the experience – that Happy Canyon feeling – when driving onto our access road gives them a sense of peace. The first visit of Jack Vickers, the founder of the Village at Castle Pines may have felt that same way. In the 1970’s, his search for land to build a world-class golf club ended on Happy Canyon Road, today’s gateway to our community.
The Golf Dream
Jack Vickers II, a successful Texas oilman, had a passion for golf. As an Augusta National Golf Club member, he was exposed to the world’s highest-quality golf and amenities. Jack dreamed of building his own National Golf Club in the West, patterned after Augusta. His place would be along the Front Range of Colorado—a place of forests, mountain views, privacy, and wildlife.
Jack searched years for the right spot and found it south of Denver — 2,800 acres of ranch land, forests, rocky cliffs, and far views of the Rocky Mountains. Gathering together 29 separate parcels of land, he pursued his dream of building a golf course, working with Jack Nicklaus, one of the greatest PGA golfers of all time (albeit new to course design), to create a world-class competitive golf course with all amenities for world-class quality. It was to be a place that could host an annual PGA tournament for the world to see and enjoy. They named the golf course Castle Pines Golf Club.
The dream of a National Golf Club and national tournament was achieved with the International Golf Tournament, played here before national television audiences from 1986 to 2006.
While Jack Vickers focused with Jack Nicklaus on the development of the golf dream, Jack’s son, Jack Vickers III, took control of the development of the Village community that would surround the golf course, and a second Jack Nicklaus signature course would be built, the Country Club at Castle Pines.
- The community would feature a “controlled access entry” staffed by a security force. This security group would deliver services to the residents, such as checking on homes and property while residents were traveling, EMT service so trained staff could immediately respond to emergency health needs, and gate agents that could be viewed much like Park Rangers at National Parks welcoming and serving the daily visitors but also the residents and their needs.
- The community would be a private, standalone community run from within. All services for water, sewer, roads, snow removal, security, and recreational amenities would be delivered by resident-owned and managed entities: the Metropolitan District and the Castle Pines Homes Association.
- All development and building would be closely managed with nothing but high-quality standards allowed. House design, unit placement, construction, landscaping, and maintenance were to be of the highest possible quality, with the strongest emphasis on maintaining the uniqueness and natural aesthetics of the terrain and the environment.
- Great care was taken in writing the critical documents that controlled all development and provided for the long-term stewardship that would be required.
Jack Nicklaus has built some 390 golf courses worldwide, but the Castle Pines Golf Club remains one of his top achievements.
Castle Pines Golf Club is one of the top-rated golf courses in the United States, as rated by Golf Digest and other rating entities.