Niwot Historical Society presents the history of Haystack Golf Course

Niwot Historical Society President Kathy Koehler presented the second lecture in the current season of the "Niwot Now & Then" series at the Left Hand Grange on Oct. 2.

The presentation, "The History & Story of the Haystack Mountain Golf Course," was created by Koehler through a massive effort to gather interviews, photographs, drone video, documents and artifacts related to the well-known local golf course, which closed last year. Asked why she did this work, Koehler responded in a way reminiscent of mountaineer George Mallory, "Because this history needed to be preserved."

Fifty-five years of a significant part of the history of Niwot was coming to a close, and Koehler was compelled to keep it from fading away.

The lecture began with the history of the first people of the land, the Native Americans. They camped in the area of Haystack Mountain and used it as a lookout for bison and deer. Koehler covered the history of treaties made and broken as gold and land drew the settlers to push the Native Americans in the area into southeastern Colorado.

In 1859, Jacob Affolter built a cabin south of Haystack. The cabin was still in use on the golf course as it sat at the fifth tee, serving to host local events for many years. It was later moved to Longmont where it is preserved in Old Mill Park.

"The Arbuthnot family put forth a claim to 160 acres at Haystack in 1864," Koehler said. A number of family names in Niwot have a connection to Haystack. Koehler traced the ownership of the land through multiple families, from the Arbuthnots to the Dodds, Pounds, Hammans and Paynes, and, ultimately, to the Ebel family who created the golf course. Bud and Lois Joann Ebel bought the land in 1963, then designed and built Haystack Mountain Golf Course, which opened on July 5, 1966.

Koehler described a number of historic buildings at the golf course. The barn near the parking lot was probably built sometime between 1864 and 1869. The house on the property dates back to 1868. The house was modernized and expanded over the years by the Ebels.

The clubhouse was built in 1974. "I marvel at the masonry of that building," Koeler said. "Some people thought it was a church." It was designed to look natural to the area. "A mason and his son found the bricks in a brickyard in Denver," Koehler explained. The railing dividing the restaurant inside from the golf shop was built using original fence railing dating from the Arbuthnot family in the mid-1800s.

Grill Night on Wednesdays made the clubhouse a popular social gathering place from 2008 to 2021. Niwot musician Kevin Dooley helped launch the event. "I got referred to Lois and we sat down and did planning meetings when she had the idea for the Grill Night and to bring in some music," Dooley explained. Dooley played every Wednesday for four months in that first season.

Dennis Bloemker, who lived in a home adjacent to the golf course for many years, provided a fun story about night golf at Haystack. They had transparent golf balls filled with a chemical like that in glow sticks, he explained. "You can't see your club. It's amazing how well you can hit the ball, but it's still hilarious," Bloemker said.

The flood of 2013 did significant damage to the golf course. One-third of it was under water. Loans for repairs were substantial and the number of golfers did not return to the level prior to the flood. The COVID-19 pandemic then hit the business which further reduced the number of golfers and events. The final days of the golf course were Oct. 2 and 3, 2021.

The Niwot Historical Society has archived a number of artifacts from the closing. Objects with the Haystack Mountain logo include a golf ball, scorecard, embroidered t-shirt and beer glasses.

The audience seemed to greatly enjoy the presentation, given the laughter, anecdotes and applause. There was a good turnout for the popular lecture series as it ramps back up to pre-pandemic participation.

Koehler said that the next "Now & Then" lecture would probably be held in February, 2023.