Windsor resort golf course ranked among 200 best in U.S.

RAINDANCE NATIONAL GOLF CLUB

At more than 8,400 yards, the par-71 course designed with consulting from PGA Tour legend Fred Funk, RainDance is the longest course in North America, according to the developer. COURTESY THE WATER VALLEY CO.

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By Dallas Heltzell

BizWest / Prairie Mountain Media

WINDSOR >> RainDance National Golf Club has been ranked among Golfweek magazine’s 200 best U.S. resort golf courses for 2025.

The course in Windsor, part of the recreational and residential complex owned by developer Martin Lind’s Water Valley Co., finished tied for 148th on the list. It was the only course in Northern Colorado to make the list and one of five in Colorado. A pair of Red Sky courses in Wolcott ranked 79th and tied for 124th, while The Broadmoor’s east and west courses in Colorado Springs were tied for 76th and 181st, respectively.

“We always knew Mother Nature’s canvas for this project was incredible,” Lind told BizWest on Thursday. “The stunning views from every vantage point make it such an enjoyable experience, but the fact that we’ve already produced a state championship high school team off of this course proves it to be the purest skill-challenging masterpiece that we all hoped it would be.

“Our entire team here at Water Valley Land Co. are beyond humbled by this prestigious accolation,” he said. “To have Raindance National honored in the same peer group as places like Pebble Beach, Torrey Pines or The Broadmoor is beyond exciting and honoring.”

The course, designed by PGA champion Fred Funk, boasts 250 feet of elevation changes and unobstructed views of the Front Range peaks.

Funk described creating the course as the “most fun thing I have done in golf.

“The spectacular piece of land helped create a very special golf course,” he said. “I’m thrilled it’s getting the recognition that we all knew it should deserve.”

Added Randal Picone, general contractor for the course, which opened in 2022, “It was all about a great team and a spectacular piece of property.”

The ratings were compiled with the input of more than 800 golfers around the world who play the courses and evaluate them based on 10 criteria, each with a scale of zero to 10, and also filed a single overall rating on each course. The ratings are averaged to produce a final, cumulative ranking, then each course is ranked against other courses in the category.

According to the magazine’s website, “This list focuses on the golf courses themselves, not the resorts as a whole or other amenities.

“There are no perfect 10s,” Golfweek said. “Only eight courses around the world with enough qualifying votes to appear on our top lists in 2024 are rated above a 9. An average rating above 8 indicates an incredible golf course. Anything above a 7 is worth traveling great distances to experience. Courses with an average rating of 6 to 7 are probably the best course in most cities and in several examples are the top layout in an entire state.”

RainDance scored an average rating of 6.14.

The 10 criteria used to rate the courses are:

• Routing: How well the holes individually and collectively adhere to the land and to each other.

• Integrity of design for classic courses or quality of shaping for modern courses.

• Overall land plan: Ease of integration of all built-out elements with native land including course, clubhouse, real estate, roads, native topography and landforms.

• Greens and surrounds: Interest, variety and playability of putting surfaces, collars, chipping areas and greenside bunkers.

• Variety and memorability of par 3s: Differentiation of holes by length, club required, topography, look and angle of approach.

• Variety and memorability of par 4s: Range of right-to-left and left-to-right drives and second shots required, as well as spread of length, topography and look of the holes.

• Variety and memorability of par 5s: Variety of risk/reward opportunities on tee shot; how interesting the second shots are; variety of third shots required.

• Tree and landscape management: Extent to which ornamentals, hardwoods, conifers and other flora enhance the design and playability of a course without overburdening it or compromising strategic flexibility and agronomy.

• Conditioning and ecology: Overall quality of maintenance, discounting for short-term issues such as weather; extent of native areas; diversity of plant life and wildlife.

• “Walk in the park” test: The sense of the place as worthy of spending four hours on it.

Notably, seven of the courses that made the list were designed by retired PGA champion Ben Crenshaw and Bill Coore, who also are building Rodeo Dunes, a resort property north of Roggen in Weld County.