Colorado Golf Expo gearing up as it goes where it’s never — or seldom — gone before with the show moving to March; owner Kevin Morton hopes to build on momentum of recent years
By Gary Baines – 1/20/2025
When it comes to the Colorado(/Denver) Golf Expo, what has been a February Fixture is now Movable to March.
Traditionally, this time of year has been been when the owners of the Golf Expo have moved into high gear in preparation for a show that seemingly always was held in the second month of the year. That timing whet the appetite for Colorado golfers who by the latter half of winter were hankering for weather that allowed for rounds to be played in the Centennial State.
But this year, Kevin Morton, owner of the Colorado Golf Expo since late 2022, is taking a different tack, at least for 2025.
Wanting to move off its Presidents Day weekend timing of the last couple of years, but limited by date availability at the Colorado Convention Center, Morton has switched the slot for the 2025 Colorado Golf Expo to March 7-9.
Since at least 2008 — and very possibly earlier than that — the in-person Denver Golf Expo (as the show was known up until 2022) and the Colorado Golf Expo has never been held in a month other than February. It should be noted that a CyberExpo, held in place of the in-person Expo in 2021, was conducted in March. And a Southern Colorado Golf Expo, held in addition to the Denver-based show, was conducted in Colorado Springs in March of 2010 and ’13. But in-person Denver shows were always in February, at least for the last 17 years.
So why the change in 2025?
“The past two years we have been on President’s Day weekend. And some of the feedback we’ve received was that a lot of people who are golfers also enjoy skiing, and that’s a weekend where a lot of families go up to the mountains and spend the weekend skiing — enjoying the other opportunities Colorado has,” Morton said in a recent phone interview. “And so we thought if we move it a little bit back, could we have more people who are not traveling that week be at the show? We talked to a lot of people and that was the date we decided to try and see whether or not that’s a good date for everybody.”
Indeed, the last two Colorado Golf Expos were held the third weekend in February, with last year’s show Feb. 16-18. So how did the Expo end up with a date almost three weeks later this year, as opposed to any other weekend in the second half of winter?
“One of (the reasons) is just availability of space,” Morton said. “Colorado is a busy convention area and we’re limited to just a few dates. One of the other dates was Super Bowl weekend (Feb. 7-9) — and we definitely don’t want to do that. This was the earliest in March we could do, and we didn’t do any later than that because people, depending on weather, could be out on the golf course instead of at the Expo.”
Since 2008, the Colorado/(Denver) Golf Expo has started as early as Feb. 6 and as late as Feb. 25, but predominantly the dates have been in early and mid February. The best cumulative attendance ever for the three-day show was 2008, when it drew 11,202 for Feb. 8-10 Expo dates. The past two years, after the Expo drew sub-8,000 figures in 2020 and ’22, attendance jumped to 8,535 and 9,015 in 2023 and ’24, respectively, with dates on Presidents Day weekend.
“In this industry, you just never know,” Morton said. “It could be the best thing, or not as good as it was prior. That is a chance you have to take. From everyone I spoke with in the industry — and different partners we spoke with — they all seemed to like (the new dates). March being a very snowy month, it could be absolutely perfect where there’s a dusting of snow and golf courses are closed, or it could be 70 degrees outside. That’s just the nature of March. I’m not nervous (about the change). There will always be people who want to be at the show. The question will always be, ‘Do you have 7,000 people attending or do you have 9,000 people attending?’ That’s something I can’t answer until the third day of the show.”
The significant change of dates isn’t the only tweak for the Colorado Golf Expo, though it’s certainly the most notable one. Most things about the show will remain true to form — its focus on being an early-year opportunity to get deals on merchandise, equipment, services and rounds of golf; a place to try out clubs, get free 10-minute lessons from Colorado PGA professionals, attend seminars led by experts in the golf industry; and a chance to learn more about what’s going on in Colorado golf.
But the tweaking includes moving to a different hall within the Colorado Convention Center, going from Hall C last year to Hall D this time. The layout of exhibitors will be altered a bit as Lenny’s Golf, which occupies a large portion of the Expo “footprint”, will be situated perpendicular to an expanded driving range/demo area after being in front of it last year. “I think we have it set up really well this year; it’s going to be a good traffic flow — the best layout I’ve put together,” Morton said. Another change will be that the background music at the show will be toned down a bit compared to last year, with more acoustic and single-person piano or guitar.
Last year’s show drew the largest attendance for the Colorado/Denver Golf Expo since 2019 — and the highest total since the show moved from the Denver Mart to the Colorado Convention Center prior to the 2022 Expo. So is this the year when the three-day Expo surpasses 10,000 attendance for the first time since 2012?
“It would be fantastic to hit 10,000,” Morton said. “I think that would be an amazing goal. Realistically, anything above 9,000 for me is going to be a success. Anything in the 8-9,000 (range), I’ll still be happy. But I really want to continue that progress, that momentum and try to get more people to be at the event. Ten thousand would be fantastic, but 9,000 is my goal.”
Morton said he expects about 90 exhibitors to be featured at this year’s show. There will be activity-based areas (a long putt challenge — with the accompanying Hole Hecklers, a driving range/demo area, a chipping challenge, free 10-minute lessons from the Colorado PGA, a 9-hole mini golf course, a closest to the pin and the junior golf/First Tee area. Then there are information-based exhibitions, including those devoted to the two biggest tour golf events set for Colorado this year (the U.S. Senior Open at The Broadmoor June 26-29 and the Korn Ferry Tour’s Ascendant presented by Blue at TPC Colorado July 10-13). Morton said he’s been told the U.S. Senior Open trophy will be brought to the show to be publicly exhibited. Also in that informational vein are the CGA (beside the U.S. Senior Open exhibit near the entrance) and the seminar areas. And, of course, there will be a lot of golf courses represented at the show, along with golf- and travel-related merchandise, various publications and general merchandise and services.
Regarding the dates for the show, and in what Colorado Convention Center Hall it’s located, the Golf Expo is limited in its ability to pick and choose as preference is given to events that will result in a lot of hotel-room booking, as opposed to shows with more of a local scope.
“The way the City of Denver works is outside trade shows that book 1,000 hotel rooms is priority,” Morton said. “Local shows where we’re not booking hotel rooms, we do not get the choice of the better space. We get what the opportunities are at the time when it’s available.”
Ever since purchasing the show from Mark and Lynn Cramer, Morton has said a big priority is bringing more kids and young adults to the show. To that end, he said his people have been in touch with elementary schools making sure they know that kids 15 and under are admitted free to the Golf Expo.
“We are adding more pieces to the junior program,” Morton said. “There’s more of the games, hitting challenges, those type of things. We purchased some new inflatable target areas for kids. We want to make sure there’s a lot of new and fun things.
“It’s very important for me that money is not the issue for a child to be at the event and have some fun. That’s why there’s things for those kids to do that don’t cost anything. They can come, they can chip, they can practice, they can learn from a pro, they can learn some skills and find out all the different junior programs that there are in Colorado between the PGA and First Tee. There are amazing camps during the summer and programs that kids can go through. We want to make sure that information gets out to as many people as (possible).”
And the Expo will carry over something that started last year, when a high school program (Rangeview High School in 2024) was selected to receive 10 free sets of golf clubs and bags, along with a golf simulator, thanks to Callaway Golf, GOLFTEC and Ryan French of Monday Q Info. A school hasn’t been selected for 2025, but will be soon.
“We’re looking for a school that needs a little extra help to get their high school program where it needs to be — to have the equipment and ability to compete and have fun in the game,” Morton said.
While the show will be almost three weeks later this year, Morton hopes the Expo will continue to be a coming together of many aspects of Colorado golf.
“It’s just a fun community event,” he said. “My attitude hasn’t changed; I love the event. It’s about community, and the golf community is amazing.”
The Colorado/Denver Golf Expo has been a fixture on the state’s golf calendar since the first half of the 1990s when it was co-founded by Colorado PGA professionals Stan Fenn and Danny Harvanek. Fenn sold the show to the Cramers in 2000.
Here are the hours for this year’s show at the Convention Center:
March 7 — 10 a.m.-6 p.m.
March 8 — 9 a.m.-5 p.m.
March 9 — 10 a.m.-4 p.m.
For more information and ticket information on the Colorado Golf Expo, CLICK HERE.
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