Some people might paint, read, or get a massage to wind down. Tom Bagley retreats to the basement of his home in Englewood, Colorado.
There, he sinks golf balls at his indoor putting green. “It's very therapeutic," said Bagley, 72, a semi-retired private equity firm leader.
His house and prized golf green are now on the market for $16.6 million.
Originally from Chicago, Bagley moved to Denver with his wife, Mary, about 10 years ago, purchasing the five-bedroom, eight-bathroom, 10,956-square-foot home at 18 Cherry Hills Park Drive. Bagley, who took up golf five decades ago, spent three months building the perfect place to practice his putt.
“It's a custom design putting green, which actually has undulation built into it,” Bagley said. “It was actually a very interesting process to see how they built it. What I was trying to achieve is, I wanted putts that would break to the right. I wanted putts that would break to the left. I wanted uphill putts and downhill putts like a true putting green.”
Bagley said the room housing the green is big enough to make a putt three feet away to 30 feet away from a hole.
The flooring is covered in nylon putting turf, which simulates "the speed of the greens of the country club that I belong to,” he said.
For Bagley, putting is the best part of golf, which he took up after searching for a new sport when he graduated college and had to stop playing basketball, baseball and football. "You relax, you’re in your zone and you put the TV on in the background ... while you're practicing your putting,” he said. “But then, it's also a real fun thing to have when you have people over, because anybody could actually putt.”
Bagley recalled one party he hosted on the green where he and friends indulged in a hometown favorite — and some friendly competition.
“We had a Chicago-style pizza party,” he said. “We had a putting tournament, and it was a blast, and everybody enjoyed it.”
He added that many golf enthusiasts, including professionals, typically opt for outdoor putting greens, especially in warmer climates such as Florida or Arizona. Colorado weather made that impossible.
The quest for a dream home
Listing agent Libby Weaver with the Helm, Weaver Helm team at Compass in Denver said the property is "one of a kind for many reasons," adding that the Cherry Hills Park neighborhood where it is located is a major one given its location and community. The home was built in 2005.
“It had very good bones and a good flow to it," Bagley said, "very similar to what we were going to build, but it was in need of renovations. So, we did a complete renovation on the house in various phases over about a three-year period, and moved in, and we've been enjoying the house ever since.”
The house also has a fitness center and several security features, including ballistic film on all windows to prevent break-ins and a safe room. Bagley explained that the extra security measures were added to ensure Mary felt safe while he was away on business.
The couple has decided to sell so they can split their time between Florida and Chicago, where they want to buy condos.
The great outdoors
In addition to the putting green, the Bagleys custom-designed and built outdoor elements of their 2.38-acre estate. Bagley recalled nights where he and family would gather around the firepit or play a friendly game of bocce ball, which they built, on their outdoor court.
One of his favorite things to do outside the house, he said, is to curl up with a good book with his dog, a Tibetan Terrier named Sam, and enjoy one of the many "destinations" in the gardens.
“Both my wife and I absolutely love European gardens, particularly French gardens and English gardens,” Bagley said. “Usually with a French garden and English garden, you have quiet, little spots on the property where you can just go sit and just think and have some peace and quiet.”