New 9-hole ‘SNAG’ course, a tribute to former CGA Match Play champ Michael Lee, taking shape at Boomerang Links; Greeley mayor attended groundbreaking on Feb. 21
By Gary Baines – 3/3/2025
John and Amy Lee, along with the board of the foundation they created, have supported numerous worthwhile causes — in golf and beyond — in the four-plus years since the passing of their son, Michael.
Among other things, the Michael Ray Lee Foundation has donated money for college scholarships for senior high school athletes from the Greeley and Weld County area; for junior golf development in the community and at schools; for the college golf program at the Colorado School of Mines, where Michael was a standout player; and for the Colorado boys Junior America’s Cup team, of which Michael was a part in 2009.
But the next big step is particularly gratifying for the Lees, and those supporting them, after Michael Lee died in December 2020 at age 28 after battling Covid-19. After all, they wanted their efforts to be a fitting tribute to Michael, a well-liked, respected, upbeat young man who played high school golf at Greeley Central and won the CGA Match Play Championship in 2011. At the School of Mines, he twice was named the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference Player of the Year and earned NCAA Division II honorable-mention All-American status in 2013. In 2022, Michael Lee was inducted into the Colorado School of Mines’ athletics Oredigger Hall of Fame, and that same year, the Mines’ indoor golf center was dedicated to his memory and renamed in his honor.
Lee, who earned his degree at Mines in petroleum engineering, subsequently had been working as a Colorado-based senior drilling engineer for Occidental Petroleum. He was living in the Denver metro area.
That next step, as reported by Colorado Golf Journal last year, is the building of a nine-hole short course on part of the property on which the Boomerang Links golf facility sits in western Greeley, the city in which John and Amy Lee have long lived. Groundbreaking on what is expected to be called the Mike Lee 9 at Boomerang — the Greeley city council still has to give final approval to the name — took place on Feb. 21, and construction began the next week.
Mayor John Gates of Greeley (burnt orange sleeves) was among those who helped break ground on the new course on Feb. 21.
The course, which will cater mainly to beginner golfers, is expected to be completed around August, after which a grand opening is planned.
“It’s really very humbling and satisfying to Amy and myself and Joe (their other son) to think that Mike’s name will really live on there at that little course,” John Lee said in a recent phone interview. “It’ll be a great introduction for young kids, and our hope is that it will introduce more kids to the game. …
“We are honored to have Mike’s name live on in the golf community. Those are big footsteps for what that kid accomplished in 28 years and the type of person that he is. It really just warms our hearts. We’re proud, we’re honored to do what we’ve been able to do with the life we’ve been given without Mike.”
This course will be a very short one — even by short-course standards — with most of the holes in roughly the 50- or 60-yard range. And the people that play on it — both kids and adults will be welcome — will be limited to using SNAG equipment rather than traditional golf clubs and balls.
SNAG stands for Starting New at Golf and its “kits” feature clubs with heads that are larger than conventional ones and are typically made of plastic or fiberglass. SNAG balls are slightly smaller than tennis balls and bigger than golf balls. Players tee off from an artificial grass surface mounted on concrete pads.
The Lee family shows off some of the SNAG equipment which will be used on the Mike Lee 9. From left are Mike Lee’s brother Joe and Joe’s 7-month-old daughter Peyton; Joe’s wife Morgan; Mike’s mom Amy, Mike’s wife Morgan, and Mike’s dad John.
Along the Front Range, there’s also a SNAG course at the Cattail Creek facility in Loveland, where it opened in 2012.
A few years ago, when the Lees were trying to determine the best way to help get more kids involved in golf — with their foundation funds — they visited both Highland Hills Golf Course and Boomerang Links in Greeley to pick the brains of the pros there. In both cases, it was suggested that access to SNAG golf — in local schools and/or opening a SNAG course — would best fit the bill.
“That really was the seeds that were planted,” said John Lee, noting that the foundation has donated 10 SNAG kits (at a cost of $3,600 each) to Greeley-Evans elementary/middle schools to use in P.E. classes. Meanwhile, the Colorado PGA has kicked in support by funding transportation for students to the course. “It’s been such a big community effort.”
The short course at Boomerang Links was designed by Rick Phelps of Phelps Golf Design, a prominent Colorado firm that’s done much design and renovation work in the Centennial State and elsewhere in the U.S. It’s being built by Fort Collins-based Zak George Landscaping.
The project is expected to cost just under $500,000.
The Mike Lee 9 will be situated on about 2 acres of property near the 10th hole of the Boomerang Links championship course.
About 50-60 people came to the Feb. 21 groundbreaking ceremony, including longtime Greeley Mayor John Gates, members of the Lee family, and various people from the Greeley golf community.
“It was a great day with family and friends,” John Lee said.
This ongoing process to build the short course started about two years ago. After a previous attempt by the Lees and the Michael Ray Lee Foundation to partner with the city of Greeley on a proposed course project didn’t work out due to funding shortfalls, Gates suggested to the Lees that the foundation apply for an American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) grant. In all, ARPA provided $350 billion in aid to state, local, tribal and territorial governments to help them recover from the Covid pandemic.
“John Gates, the mayor of Greeley, was always so supportive of our cause when Mike passed away,” John Lee noted. “He said the board should apply for the ARPA funds (that Greeley had available to distribute). Amy did all the legwork and put this grant (application) together. It was quite an ordeal. We applied for $350,000 in 2023. We found out in August or September of 2023 that we were awarded $350,000 for this golf course.”
So the Michael Ray Lee Foundation will put the $350,000 in ARPA funds toward the short-course project, with the city picking up the rest of the cost.
A plaque that will be situated near the first tee of the new short course.
Once the short course is completed, the staff at Boomerang will provide ongoing maintenance and upkeep. And the city will supply SNAG equipment for the course. Meanwhile, the foundation plans to “provide resources for those who can’t afford to play. We will definitely help with that.”
Specifics on the green fees at the SNAG course haven’t yet been finalized.
A 24- by 18-inch cast aluminum plaque paying tribute to Michael Lee will be mounted on a post and placed near the first tee of the short course.
Accompanied by a photo of Mike, it will read, “Dedicated in the memory of Michael Ray Lee (1992-2020) / A devoted husband, loving son, caring brother, and loyal friend / Michael brought a light to every life he encountered. He will be forever remembered for his passion for golf and infectious smile, leaving behind cherished memories for all who knew him. / The Michael Ray Lee Foundation extends our deepest gratitude to the city of Greeley and all those involved in honoring Mike’s memory. It is through their support that we pay tribute to Michael in a meaningful and everlasting way. / The ‘Mike Lee 9’ is in memory of Michael and to all those who lost their lives, or were affected, during the Covid pandemic. May their memory be a blessing …”
Said John Lee: “It’s only fitting that the ARPA funds go to a recreational course where the person it’s named after passed away from Covid. Our deepest gratitude goes to the city of Greeley and many others. Mike’s name will live on, but this is also for the others who suffered through Covid-19 — for those who lost their lives or were affected by Covid. There’s a lot of names that won’t be written about; this is for them as well.”
Quite a few people attended the Feb. 21 groundbreaking ceremonies.
Meanwhile, John Lee said the annual Mike Lee Memorial fundraising tournament for the MRL Foundation — normally hosted by Greeley Country Club — will be held this year at Boomerang Links, on June 6.
“We wanted to have it there this year to showcase the new little course and where it’s going,” he said. “The groundwork will be done by that time.”
Also at Boomerang, the foundation is eyeing another project.
“Everything is working out and falling into place,” John Lee said. “We as a board are going to meet with the city of Greeley to put together an indoor/outdoor-type training facility where kids can hone their skills in the wintertime. On one side there will be bays to hit into (indoors) and the other side will open up to the range. That’s going to be our next big project. They’ve got the room to accommodate something like that.”
Besides the new course, the foundation is expanding its support of the Colorado School of Mines golf program. And, after helping fund the CGA boys Junior America’s Cup team in recent years, it will donate for the first time to the new Team Colorado junior elite squad that’s part of the USGA’s national development program, kicking in $5,000 this year.
It should also be noted that the winner of the CGA Match Play from the period from 2021 through ’30 receives a medal in honor of Lee, and a plaque with the names of those champions hangs in the CGA offices.
In all, besides the ARPA funds, the amount the MRL Foundation has donated to all its various causes is approaching $200,000.
In addition, with John Lee retiring at the end of this month from his job in sales in the senior retirement business, he plans to help out with a new middle school golf program in the district as an assistant coach.
All in all, while Mike Lee may be gone, his legacy continues to live on.
For more information about the Michael Ray Lee Foundation, 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