Colorado cracks the top 3 states when it comes to golf shops making this top 100 elite list
By Gary Baines – 12/16/2024
When it comes to being a home state for premier golf shops in the U.S. and beyond, Colorado certainly doesn’t corner the market. But the Centennial State does have far more than its share of those highly-rated retail operations which often serve as the gateway to many people’s golf experience.
At least that’s the case if you go by the Association of Golf Merchandisers.
Earlier this month, the AGM announced its 2025 Platinum Awards, which recognize the top 100 golf shops in the U.S. and internationally — in the public, private, resort and off-course categories. Among the ways golf shops are rated are merchandising, promotional strategies, retail operations, marketing, customer service and management.
Included on the 2025 AGA Platinum Award winners list were six golf shops from Colorado — five at private clubs and one at a resort:
— Castle Pines Golf Club in Castle Rock, which hosted the PGA Tour’s BMW Championship in 2024 and The International from 1986 through 2006.
— Columbine Country Club in Columbine Valley, home of the 1967 PGA Championship.
— The Country Club of Colorado in Colorado Springs.
— Roaring Fork Club in Basalt.
— The Broadmoor Golf Club in Colorado Springs, a five-star resort which will host the 2025 U.S. Senior Open, its ninth USGA championship.
— The Country Club at Castle Pines in Castle Rock.
For what it’s worth, only two states — or countries outside the U.S. — put more golf shops on the list than did Colorado. Florida had 20 and California 15. And, for the record, Georgia matched Colorado’s total of six.
The award winners will be recognized on Jan. 22 at the PGA Show in Orlando.
Applications came from both AGM members and non-members.
For the AGM’s complete list of golf shops that made the Platinum Awards list, 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