WOLCOTT, CO — The views at Red Sky Golf Club will take your breath away. The elevation will, too.
The 17th edition of the Golfweek Red Sky Classic kicked off Monday, and the tournament offers some of college golf's most spectacular views. Red Sky Ranch, which has two championship golf courses that are about two-and-a-half hours west of Denver off Interstate 70, is situation high in the Rocky Mountains.
How high? The clubhouse sits at 7,665 feet, an elevation that puts the Golfweek Red Sky Classic in a different stratosphere as the highest-elevation college golf event in the country. The 16th tee box at the Fazio Course reaches just above 8,000 feet, while the sixth green on the opposite side of the golf course is right above 7,200 feet. One golf course and
nearly 1,000 feet of elevation change between the far ends of the course.
That just adds to the challenge of what is coming one of the strongest events every fall.
"At the end of the day, it's just numbers," said Miami coach Janice Olivencia. "We try to simple it out as much as possible. There are a lot of variables. A lot of factors."
Miami's campus rests only 10 feet above sea level, yet the Hurricanes shot 11-under 277 in the opening round and trail only defending champion Southern California after Monday. USC opened in 22-under 266, picking up where it left off last year after a record-setting performance to win.
Olivencia said some of the factors that go into calculating distance include how high or low a player is launching their shot and the feeling of being comfortable hitting a club that at sea level has no business going as far as it does in the mountains. Players are trying to keep it simple this week, even with a few more calculations that go into hitting each shot.
USC coach Justin Silverstein said his players are adding roughly 5 percent for shorter clubs and up to 15 percent distance for shots hit with longer ones. Last year, Silverstein said his team was hitting shots at 7,700 feet in the indoor facility to prep for Red Sky. It paid off, and that plan seems to be working after 18 holes this year, too, even if they did so a little less than in 2025.
The Fazio Course is a mountainous test with elevation changes on nearly every hole. The course doesn't get easier when reaching the greens, though, as slick, undulating putting surfaces challenge players after hitting their approach shots.
Add in the highest elevation of any course in college golf, it makes for a test unlike any other that the 20 teams in the field will face all season.
Colorado's Maya McVey with an incredible scorecard
Maya McVey had a round she will never forget Monday.
The senior at Colorado had a blemish-free scorecard in the opening round. She had zero bogeys, yes, but more impressive is that she had 18 pars in an opening 72.
"I honestly can't believe it," McVey said at scoring after the round.
A debut to remember for USC's Kaili Xiao
USC's Kaili Xiao was nervous on her first tee shot of the day. She made bogey on the first hole, but that was the only mistake of the entire round.
The freshman, making her college golf debut, rattled off eight birdies after the opening bogey to shoot 7-under 65. She had six of those birdies on the back nine, coming home in 30 to lead the Trojans after the first round.
USC holds the top three spots on the leaderboard. Jasmine Koo finished at 7 under, too, while Kylie Chong signed for 6-under 66. Koo and Chong tied for medalist honors last year at 13 under.
Cameron Jourdan is an assistant editor of Golfweek, covering college and amateur golf, the PGA Tour and plenty more. Follow Cameron on X/Twitter (@Cam_Jourdan) or Instagram (@GolfweekJourdan).
This article originally appeared on Golfweek: At 8,000 feet, the Golfweek Red Sky Classic towers above the college golf calendar
