Pelican Lakes Resort & Golf turns 25 on July 12, 2024! To celebrate, we are listing the top 25 moments in Pelican Lakes’ history. These events are not ranked and highlight the biggest events, features, and happenings at the distinguished 27-hole facility in Northern Colorado.
Pelican Lakes Highlight #1 out of 25: Tim McGraw & Faith Hill Tee It Up at Pelican Lakes
Did you know country music stars Tim McGraw and Faith Hill have ties to Windsor, CO?
The power couple have been married for nearly 30 years and besides racking up countless accolades as musicians and actors, they also fancy themselves as golfers.
While Tim has a more accomplished golf resume than his wife, having played in numerous pro-am events throughout the years, Faith has been known to tee it up.
Once such occurrence came on June 23, 1999, when the duo was in Northern Colorado to perform at the Greeley Stampede. Fun fact, other artists who performed that year were Huey Lewis & the News, Kansas and REO Speedwagon.
Prior to their performance in Greeley, Tim and Faith planned to play a round of golf at the Greeley Country Club. The round was halted when word leaked, and fans gathered at the private club.
Luckily for them, another venue was quickly identified as the perfect intimate host for a leisurely round of pre-concert golf.
That venue was the yet-to-be-open Pelican Lakes Golf & Country Club, now renamed Pelican Lakes Resort & Golf.
Pelican Lakes was weeks away from hosting its first golfers, which took place July 12 for the Windsor Chamber of Commerce’s fundraising tournament, and the ideal spot for two celebrities to hit mulligans in private.
Pelican Lakes owner Martin Lind and then-head golf professional Bob McNamee welcomed the couple to the course with not only complimentary golf, but a 3- by 4-foot banner featuring their likenesses. Fortunately for Pelican Lakes history, a picture exists of the couple standing in front of their banner.
The maintenance team scrambled to mow the rough, fairways, greens, and cut cups for this special round since the course wasn’t scheduled to open for 19 more days.
We aren’t privy to what each superstar scored during the maiden test drive, but they finished well under four hours which may indicate they posted several red numbers on their card.
According to a news report at the time, Faith described the course as “hard.” While her popular song “Breathe” isn’t necessarily about her golf game, we like to imagine she’s referencing Pelican Lakes when she sings “I can feel the magic floating in the air. Being with you gets me that way. I watch the sunlight dance across your face, and I’ve never been this swept away.”
That’s at least what we’re telling people.