In the early morning hours of most summer days, a small team at the Yampa Valley Golf Course is hard at work meeting the simple yet ambitious goal to present the public with a course that does honor to the landscape, to the people who built it and to the community that uses it as a center of physical and mental health.

“Golf can be a kind of therapy,” course superintendent Tyler Martinez said. “It gives people a way to let go, even if that is just for a little bit. That’s what keeps me going and I love being part of that experience for others.”

Founded in 1968 as a nine-hole facility, the course has grown through decades of community vision, volunteer effort and local pride. The course went to 18 holes in 1982.

Over the last four years, the course, which is located just south of Craig, has undergone a quiet yet remarkable transformation driven by long hours, renewed leadership, mentorship and a commitment to returning the course to its former glory. Once known as a must-play public course according to Golf Digest, YVGC has since faced turf damage, irrigation issues, aging equipment and uncertainty regarding its future.

Many of those issues have turned around thanks to the efforts of a dedicated maintenance crew and volunteer board. It is also the result of a deep level of community support and of a drive to make it one of Northwest Colorado’s finest golf courses once again.

Martinez, who started his career in irrigation at YVGC 15 years ago, returned to Craig after years of working in Grand Junction. Once he returned, he went straight to work on what he feels is the most important aspect of a course’s ability to flourish.

“We started with water,” he said. “The pump house is like the heart of the course. Without water, nothing works.”

Under his leadership, the maintenance team rebuilt pump houses, upgraded control systems and fine-tuned all the sprinkler heads to ensure precise, sustainable watering across the course. Martinez and his team also implemented a consistent fertilization schedule and applied preventive treatments to mitigate mold damage that can occur due to snow and cold.

The transformation of the course, while based on technical expertise, has also been a deeply personal journey for the staff. Zane Smith, who serves as assistant superintendent at the YVGC, described the deep emotional connection he has formed with the course and the therapeutic impacts it, and the game of golf, has had on his life.  

“I came here because I love golf,” said Smith, a former firefighter who credits the sport with helping him heal from PTSD. “Being able to build something every day that others get to enjoy is something that I’ve always dreamed of.”

Smith, Martinez, crew member Carson Laehr and the entire maintenance staff speak about their work as if it is a form of art. Whether it’s keeping the greens within five-thousandths of an inch of tolerance, maintaining razor-sharp mower blades or simply getting up before dawn to leave behind a perfect set of cut lines, their pride in the presentation and playability of the course is unmistakable.

“Sometimes it’s the little things like clean benches and trimmed grass around the trees,” Laehr said. “But when you see a hole completed, when everything lines up, it’s simply rewarding.”

Laehr, a sophomore in college, began working at the course while still in high school and has returned every summer since because of the positive work environment and his feeling of being part of something special.

“It’s just a great place to be,” he said. “It’s like secondhand therapy, even if you don’t play golf.”

YVGC board president and longtime community member Steve Maneotis agrees, describing the course as “the crown jewel of Moffat County.”

He explained that the cooperative management model, in which a volunteer board oversees the course in partnership with the city and county, represents something larger than recreation.

“This community knows how to come together around the course,” Maneotis said. “We may not always agree, but we make decisions for the greater good of the course. That says a lot about Craig and Moffat County.”

The golf course is also home to events like the Cottonwood Classic, the Silver Bullet Ladies’ Invitational, Young Life’s charity scramble and tournaments for Memorial Regional Health, Colorado Northwestern Community College and Victory Motors. It also plays host to a revitalized junior golf program, run by Trinidad Loya, which has brought more area youth out to learn the game.

Maneotis credits volunteers like Loya and Justin Kawcak for reigniting youth interest and investment in YVGC. 

“They’ve built something special for our kids, and we’re proud to support it,” said Maneotis. “Golf teaches discipline, mental focus and it’s something you can do your whole life.”

From a management standpoint, the work of providing a facility to youth and adults alike is never done. Aging equipment, tight budgets and Colorado’s climate bring new challenges each season. Martinez and his team remain focused and driven to address those challenges, and others, with a drive based on the satisfaction that comes with a job well done and the joy they see on the face of players.

“There’s something about that moment after a cut, when the lines are just right,” said Smith. “No one’s stepped on it yet. You look back, and it’s perfect in that moment. That’s what we’re chasing.”

For Martinez, the goal is to bring the course back to its full potential, not just from a playability standpoint, but in spirit, so that others can experience the same therapeutic benefits he has.

“It used to be a destination. We want to be that again,” he said. “I think we’re on track. This is more than grass and bunkers — it’s a place to breathe and belong.”

For more information on Yampa Valley Golf Course, please visit YampaValleyGolfCourse.com or VisitMoffatCounty.com/Activities/Golf.