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Jean Pazour is a proud member of one of the most prestigious and fun associations at Longmont Sunset Golf Course. The Ladies 9-Hole league includes as many as 40 members who gather to socialize, and enjoy the leafy surroundings at Sunset.
“Oh, it’s fun,” Pazour said. “We get together and laugh. Some play better than others but it really doesn’t seem to matter.”
“I just love the trees here, it’s also so shady and the view is great,” added Pazour, while teeing up for the ninth and final hole at Sunset. From her vantage on the ninth-tee, Pazour gets a clear view of Longs Peak. “It’s just a nice place to play.”
There are also lunches and meetings at the clubhouse, Pazour said. “There is just a great sense of camaraderie,” she said.
Sunset players and officials are celebrating the golf course’s 100th birthday this month. A highlight of the anniversary was a free “Par Tee” at the clubhouse from 5-8 pm on Thursday.
Commemorative 100 Year Anniversary merchandise is now on sale in the pro shop at 1900 Longs Peak Ave.
Play at Sunset climbed during the COVID-19 pandemic with 27,928 rounds played in 2019, compared to 34,299 rounds in 2019, said Jeff Friesner, recreation manager at the city of Longmont.
The Longmont Golf Club, a private group, was founded in August 1922. They selected a site for a golf course near Sunset Park, according to the Sunset website.
Forty acres of farmland was leased from the city. Additional land north of what is now Longs Peak Avenue was purchased to complete the course, according to the website.
A committee, including Jacob Schey and others, presented suggestions for the course to Council on Nov. 22, 1922. Council approved several of their recommendations, including naming the course the Longmont Golf Club, and stipulating a $1 daily green fee.
No one can confirm when the course was renamed Sunset.
The website lists other facts about Sunset including:
• The 9-hole course was redesigned and lengthened in 1929.
• During World War II, membership dues were reduced from $3 to $1, and Defense Stamps were given as prizes in tournaments
• In 1966, a new clubhouse was built.
• A campaign for an 18-hole golf course was the most controversial part of a major City construction effort called “Project 75.” A citizen vote in 1970 prohibited construction of a golf course near Longmont Estates. Somehow, the City ultimately built a course there anyway. Named Twin Peaks after a naming contest, Longmont’s second golf course opened in 1978.
• In 1980, a proposal to have liquor sales at the golf courses was defeated. However, in 1982 City Council approved it.
Jacob Schey’s descendants are also part of the Sunset family. Candi Schey is the current ladies’ 9-hole president. Her late husband Dave Schey still holds the course record, having played all 9 holes twice for a score of 61 in the 1991 City Championship.
