The Man, The Myth, The Legend….

Many stories have circulated over the years, but here is the real story about the Real Mad Russian…

October 1986 Bob Ehrlich purchased an abandoned golf course name Jack Rabbit Trail along with clubhouse and a round rotating residence located just north of Milliken, Colorado.  These unique structures and course had once been owned by a Russian farmer named Ted Blehm, who was known in the area for being a little ornery and always up for a challenge.  As the story goes, Ted was not allowed to join a local golf club so he decided he would go out and build his own, bigger and better golf club.  A few years later Ted, with a couple of trusty sidekicks, finished his field of dreams.  Unfortunately, Ted’s dream soon had to be shuttered due to the economic climate of the early 1980’s.

After years of the course and buildings going unused, Bob purchased the property and with a crew they began to mow down weeds that had overtaken the course, locate sprinklers and plan out a new 18 hole golf course.  Utilizing his background in agriculture and real estate Bob and his crew of farm hands built a unique, challenging course named The Mad Russian in honor of Ted, and his courage to challenge the established way of doing things.  The course opened to play on August 1, 1987 and every year we celebrate the date as Mad Russian Day.

After continued success for years Hall-Irwin decided to lease the course from May 1999 to December of 2008.  Starting January 2009 The Real Mad Is Back!