Vail Country Club Golf & Lounge now open in Avon’s Chapel Square

It may not be surrounded by acres and acres of fairways and greens, but the Vail Country Club Golf and Lounge is the valley’s only public year-round golf facility and it’s opening this week at Chapel Square in Avon.

The Vail Country Club and Lounge will offer lessons, golf fitting, leagues, private parties, six big screen TVs and access to two TrackMan simulators and a lounge to talk about the game with your friends.

Kenny Thayer, a Class A PGA teaching professional, has been playing golf since he was a kid and his passion has taken him to the courses of Aspen, Hawaii and Beaver Creek where he was most recently the directory of golf.

Thayer loves to teach lessons and help people improve their game and get more enjoyment out of it and is thrilled to offer the TrackMan golf simulator technology.

“There’s a reason why every tour player uses it. If you watch a PGA Tour event, the coach is going to be on an iPad, looking at their player’s data with TrackMan,” Thayer said.

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“Normally, you’d only find the TrackMan at private clubs, there’s only three in the Vail Valley: Country Club of the Rockies, Red Sky Ranch and Eagle Springs. I’m so excited to bring this technology to more players. It’s truly amazing if you want to get better at golf,” Thayer said.

The TrackMan measures 26 different factors of your swing. From spin rate, launch angle, ball speed, club path and face path. There’s also an AI feature called “Tracy” that will give you pointers basede on your data.

TrackMan allows you to virtually play over 90 courses around the world like Pebble Beach in California, Royal Portrush in Ireland, and the four legendary St. Andrews Links courses in Scotland. And it doesn’t matter what the weather is like any day of the year here.

“It’s always 70 and sunny inside at Vail Country Club,” Thayer said.

The vibe is cool, almost like you are at a friend’s tricked-out basement with the music piped in, the huge TVs, and did we mention video games? Thayer has a Golden Tee game and a set up that allows you to play tons of classics like Centipede and Donkey Kong.

Although the video games may take you back to your adolescent years, the bar is very grown up. Thayer serves high end wines and top shelf bottles of liquor. He also would like to add liquor lockers soon.

“We’re just so excited to bring this concept to the Vail Valley and we can’t wait for everyone to check it out,” Thayer said. For more information go to vailcountryclub.com.

Rates and Times:

Peak: $85

• Monday – Thursday: 4 to 9 p.m.
• Friday – Sunday: 7 a.m. to 10 p.m.
• 1 to 8 players, $25 per additional players over 4

Non-Peak: $65

• Monday-Thursday 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.
• 1 to 8 players, $25 per additional players over 4

Lessons:

• 1 Hour – $130
• 1 Hour for 2 people – $160