As U.S. Senior Open approaches, The Broadmoor is set to once again present one of the toughest tests in senior golf; possible ‘diabolical’ hole locations, confounding greens, elevation adjustment present unique challenges
By Gary Baines – 5/13/2025
COLORADO SPRINGS — When golfers play the East Course at The Broadmoor, phrases such as “a monster of a layout” or “brutally difficult” probably aren’t the first things to come to mind.
Rather, “sheer beauty” or “a unique experience” may be more likely.
Yet, the winning scores of the previous two U.S. Senior Opens held at The Broadmoor’s East Course — or those for the two U.S. Women’s Opens conducted at the resort — do indeed indicate it is one of the toughest tests around for those USGA championships.
For instance, David Toms’ winning total for the 2018 U.S. Senior Open at The Broadmoor was 3 under par for 72 holes. That ties for the most difficult, relative to par, for any USSO since 2001. And Eduardo Romero’s 6-under tally in 2008 at The Broadmoor also ranks among the five most difficult, relative to par, for U.S. Senior Opens in the 21st century.
In fact, in those two USSOs at The Broadmoor, a grand total of one player has finished better than 3 under par overall — Romero.
As for the U.S. Women’s Open, The Broadmoor has produced winning totals of 2 under par for Annika Sorenstam in 1995 and 3 under for So Yeon Ryu in 2011. That places them among the 10 most difficult USWO tests since the early 1990s.
With the U.S. Senior Open returning to The Broadmoor June 26-29, it seems like Hale Irwin might be a good one to ask just what makes the five-star Colorado Springs resort such a formidable USGA test. After all, not only did Irwin grow up in Colorado and play the U.S. Senior Open more times (23) than anyone but Dale Douglass (26) and Arnold Palmer (25), but he’s won the event twice — once at a very difficult layout (+1 prevailed at Riviera Country Club in 1998) and once at a much more forgiving one (he finished at 17 under at Saucon Valley Country Club in 2000). Moreover, Irwin won the first of his three U.S. Opens at Winged Foot in 1974 — a tournament dubbed the “Massacre at Winged Foot” as the winning tally was 7 over par. On Tuesday, Irwin called Winged Foot “probably the hardest golf course I’ve ever played where weather wasn’t a factor.”
Though Irwin isn’t competing in this year’s U.S. Senior Open, he played in the previous two held at The Broadmoor — and he also won the prestigious Broadmoor Invitation in 1967 as an amateur.
“It’s a different kind of a golf course because it’s a mountain golf course” at roughly 6,300 feet above sea level, Irwin said on Tuesday as he made a personal appearance at U.S. Senior Open media day in his role as honorary chairman of the championship. “You’re playing at some altitude. The golf course itself is most enjoyable to play. Is it extremely difficult? No. But when you throw in the altitude … When you’re at a professional level, you need to know within a yard or two how far you hit a ball. When that’s undeterminable because of altitude, that brings questions. And questions bring mistakes.”
In addition, there are The Broadmoor’s very-hard-to-read greens. Balls break away from the Will Rogers Shrine on Cheyenne Mountain; just about everybody who plays The Broadmoor knows that. But it still confounds even many of the best players in golf, including longtime tour pros.
“Besides the altitude, the green and the green complexes,” Irwin said of The Broadmoor’s challenges.”There’s slope coming off that mountain. It looks relatively flat, but it’s not. … I’ve found through the years when you learn to play a golf course near a mountain, you really should factor in more (slope) than you think is there. It’s disguised.
“Those (players) who come in from Florida, Texas — most places that may have hills but they don’t have mountains, and they’ll find this to be challenging. To the credit of the players and caddies, they will figure it out. They may not have the precise lines of every break, but no one does. It’s not necessarily which way is it going to break — they’ll figure it out — but will those lines change from practice rounds to tournament rounds? Will weather be in the mix, will the devious (USGA) set-ups come into the mix?”
Hale Irwin, pictured Tuesday at The Broadmoor, has his named etched twice on the U.S. Senior Open trophy.
Shane Bertsch of Parker, who will be in the field for next month’s Senior Open, is likewise on the lookout for how the USGA sets things up on the greens.
“They can really make them right on the edge for sure,” he said.
“What shots are you going to play into the green complexes to get to the hole locations?” Irwin asked rhetorically. “There are some gettable hole locations where you can be aggressive, but there are some that you cannot — and should not. You have to play the percentages. That’s the determination every player has to make when you’re playing any golf course, but particularly here.
“What the USGA does to The Broadmoor will largely determine what the scores are. They could go for some diabolical hole locations” if they so choose.
Ben Kimball, a USGA senior director of championships, said on Tuesday that targeted green speeds for the U.S. Senior Open will likely be in the 11.5-12 range on the Stimpmeter. And while the primary rough for the U.S. Senior Open will start out around 3.5 inches, Kimball said he wouldn’t be surprised if it surpasses 5 inches at some point during the championship. As for course length, it will play roughly 7,264 yards to a par-70, with one par-4 (the 545-yard 17th) playing longer than one par-5 (the 535-yard ninth).
“We talk so much about what is the USGA going to do to make the golf course challenging for the players,” Kimball said. “Well, Mother Nature has a big hand in this year’s U.S. Senior Open. Not only the altitude — getting into club selection and those sorts of things — but oxygen levels (given the thin air at altitude). How do you feel and can you adjust? There are some factors that are in play for this championship that don’t exist anywhere else that we conduct our national championships, which is really intriguing to us.
“But the true defense of Broadmoor East is obviously the putting greens. … I’d like to say that (the greens) are going to be the hardest (PGA Tour Champions players) see. These are going to be the ones that have them scratching their heads. … I think it’s going to drive them crazy — in a very positive way.”
Kimball reiterated the USGA’s general philosophy in setting up courses for its open championships.
“We aim to deliver the ultimate test of golf, but it’s not necessarily the hardest test,” he said. “It’s about skill, mental toughness and using every club in the bag. A firm-and-fast golf course puts a premium on decision-making.
“When you show up, the golf course should have your attention. Maybe not fear, but some anxiety of what you’re about to experience over the next four days. There should be some butterflies in the stomach as part of that. … That’s what speaks to this property. Pretty quickly, we can turn it into a major championship venue and it’s just another reason why we enjoy coming back to The Broadmoor.”
Rocco Mediate, winner of six events on the PGA Tour and five on PGA Tour Champions, is among those who competed in the 2018 U.S. Senior Open at The Broadmoor, and he very much enjoys the challenge the course presents for this championship.
“The elevation is real tricky,” he said. “It’s just a great Open course for us. From start to finish, it’s like a U.S. Open should be. You can’t fall asleep at any time or you’re done. … It’s a perfect set-up for us.
“The greens don’t like anything coming out of anything but the fairway. And that’s how it should be. Fairways used to be the most important thing on the list for us back in our day. And at the U.S. Opens they still are. They’re maybe the last bastion of ‘Fairways truly matter.’”
All in all, Irwin is a big fan of The Broadmoor for a senior major venue.
“This is a very, very good golf course for senior golf because it’s not terribly long,” he said. “It’s going to play short (because of the altitude), but that doesn’t mean it’s going to play easy. … I think this is a great venue for, in my opinion, senior golf’s biggest championship.”
— Another Broadmoor-Based U.S. Senior Open on the Horizon?: While next month’s tournament will be the third U.S. Senior Open held at The Broadmoor in the 21st century, it almost certainly won’t be the last. As has been reported here previously, there’s a very good chance the 2031 USSO also will be held at the Colorado Springs resort. The paperwork hasn’t been finalized, but it’s expected to be.
According to the USGA, every U.S. Senior Open through 2033 — except for 2031 — has been set for a specific site.
— Birthday Boy: On June 3, Irwin will turn 80 years old. ColoradoGolf.org asked him if he had anything special planned for the milestone.
“Birthdays are great; I’m glad I still have them,” he said with a laugh. “I don’t need to be reminded how old I am.”
— USSO Qualifying Update: As was previously reported, 2,585 entries were received for the 2025 U.S. Senior Open. That included 101 from the state of Colorado.
This year marks the first time the USSO has gone to a two-stage qualifying process. In Colorado, the first-stage qualifying tournament was held May 5 at Cheyenne Shadows Golf Club at Fort Carson, where the top 16 finishers earned berths into final qualifying.
Those who advanced were Caine Fitzgerald of Parker (70), three-time PGA Tour winner Gary Hallberg of Longmont (71), Matt Schalk of Erie (71), Shawn McCaskey of Denver (71), Ed Kerr of Windsor (72), Lamar Carlile of Denver (72), Scott Mendelsohn of Parker (72), Australian Grant Jackson (73), former Colorado Open champion Scott Petersen (74), Sean Crowley of Littleton (74), Jim Doidge of Lander, Wyo. (74), Mark West of Colorado Springs (74), Owen Ellis of Boulder (74), Henry Bissell of Littleton (74), Greg Turner of Colorado Springs (75) and John Woody of Highlands Ranch (75).
The final stage of USSO qualifying is set for May 19-June 12 at 12 sites across the U.S., including June 10 at the Country Club of Colorado in Colorado Springs. Like the local qualifier at Cheyenne Shadows, the final qualifying at the CC of Colorado will be conducted by the CGA.
“We couldn’t make qualifying happen if it wasn’t for the countless staff and volunteers — especially from organizations like the Colorado Golf Association,” Kimball said. “We thank them for everything they do in the state — not only for Senior Open qualifying — but for USGA qualifying in general.”
The U.S. Senior Open is open to professional golfers, and amateurs with a Handicap Index not exceeding 2.4, who are at least 50 years of age by June 26.
— Notable: Longtime Broadmoor director of golf Russ Miller said he expects attendance of about 130,000 for U.S. Senior Open week, with 70 percent of the attendees coming from places other than the Front Range. Asked where ticket sales stand currently, he said, “They’re running well. The championships the last two years, 50 percent of the ticket sales occur in the last two months prior to the championship. We’re in good shape (but) we’re not where we need to be (yet). But I think we’re going to be fine.” … Kids 17 and under will be admitted free to the U.S. Senior Open when accompanied by a ticketed adult. … For U.S. Senior Open ticket information and packages, CLICK HERE. … Miller said local economic impact from the U.S. Senior Open is expected to reach $24 million for the one week of the championship. … Colorado Springs mayor “Yemi” Mobolade was on hand at media day to roll out the red carpet for the U.S. Senior Open. … About 1,600-1,700 volunteers are expected to help out during tournament week next month at The Broadmoor. … The original field of 156 players for the USSO will be cut to the low 60 and ties after 36 holes. … Should the leader be tied after 72 holes, the U.S. Senior Open utilizes a two-hole aggregate playoff — with those holes at The Broadmoor being the par-5 fourth and the par-4 18th.
(Note: Previously published stories in this periodic series related to the 2025 U.S. Senior Open: Ranking of the previous 8 USGA championships held at The Broadmoor; U.S. Senior Open record book brimming with Colorado-related superlatives; fully exempt players for 2025 U.S. Senior Open; highlights of the three previous times Colorado has hosted the U.S. Senior Open; Hale Irwin named honorary chair for 2025 Senior Open; Senior Open going to a 2-stage qualifying process in 2025)
About the Writer: Gary Baines has covered golf in Colorado continuously since 1983. He was a sports writer at the Daily Camera newspaper in Boulder, then the sports editor there, and has written regularly for ColoradoGolf.org since 2009. The University of Colorado Evans Scholar alum was inducted into the Colorado Golf Hall of Fame in 2022. He owns and operates ColoradoGolfJournal.com