"Welcome to Hayden," announced a flight attendant as our Continental Expressjet taxied into the Yampa Valley airport that serves Steamboat Springs, Colorado. The name sent a ripple of confusion through the passengers, the mountainous world swooping in to welcome them. It is a sensation that occurs frequently as arrivals are greeted by Hayden officials yet forgetting that the resort of Steamboat is still down the road. Twenty-five scenic miles separate the two communities and going from one to the other suddenly rearranges the drive into a new picture, as if someone had tapped a kaleidoscope.

Beginning in June, United Express will operate several daily Denver-Hayden flights taking just under an hour, allowing visitors their first taste of this friendly western town's hospitality. If you leave from Houston, Texas you're in Steamboat territory directly in under three hours via Continental Airlines.

Steamboat, like other Colorado resort complexes, has changed for the better. A beautification program and civic reordering is always underway and stores carrying chic goods line the main street. Cafes and restaurants vary from wannabe Mexico City to genuinely local; The Cottonwood Grill, serving Pacific Rim cuisine, is the most in vogue.

Despite hundreds of chalets and vacation homes dotting the hills above town, the old western atmosphere of openness prevails and there is little crowded swelter of tourists. Like Aspen, the town has an intimate relationship with the ski mountain though it is separated by a couple of miles. But my visit is during summer and the mountain is eagerly used by backpackers and bikers. The less athletic hop on the Silver Bullet gondola for the ride up, from its base at the Sheraton Hotel to the 9,000-foot top of Mt. Werner.

Steamboat's summertime activities are so varied that the list takes up eight pages in the Resort Association Guide. There is ballooning with early-morning ascents swooshing across the terribly lush Yampa Valley. Slip down to the Yampa River for some fishing and rafting or go horseback riding. There is also a natural hot springs pool and wonderful golf.

Golf is the reason we are here and September brings out the vibrant colors in the surrounding forested hills. Four courses are hard to resist seeing as they are all completely different, one from the other. We managed three: Haymaker, The Sheraton Golf Club and Catamount, a private golf and ranch club catering to those with deep pockets.

"How many balls did you lose?" club manager Jim Miller asked upon learning that I had played Catamount. It is, in fact, the first thing that everyone asks. Even Tom Taylor, the head pro, admits to losing three or four balls now and then on this unusual target mountain setup, and he presumably knows where to hit them. Catamount has a handful of hazardous holes, thanks to Tom Weiskopf's designing hand. The sprightly terrain rolls up and down over numerous hills that affords stunning views from each fairway.

"Oh, this is a piece of cake," echoes my partner after paring the first two holes. But trouble was brewing by the time we hit #4, the toughest par-3 on the course. At the eighth the green lies 80 feet below with a creek running in front. Don't pay attention to the yardage marker at the Gold tee box (198) as the shot plays about 170 yards.

All I can recall about the last seven or eight holes was the difficulty that we encountered. Fairway edges had steep dropoffs and blind holes seemed to dominate. In all fairness Catamount did offer a handful of holes that were laid out across flat terrain. Typical mountain golf and tough as nails. Though the risk vs. reward ratio is high at Catamount it's a must-play for the single digit player for its thrills-a-minute golf. Just bring plenty of balls.

One of the joys of playing Steamboat is Haymaker Golf Club, spread across an expansive wide-open Colorado prairie, it offers a totally different experience . The rarefied and windy air of the area provides for some mighty interesting play. True, there's nary a tree or homesite in view, only 6,728 yards of well-manicured fairways bordered by dense grasses. If the rough doesn't trap your ball the water will lick it up in a few places. Holes carry western names like Cattle Drive, Rabbit Ears and Ten Gallon. Unlike Catamount, this course plays fair and is a lot of fun to play if the flags aren't flying straight out.

Last, but not least, we coursed through 18 holes of the Sheraton Steamboat Golf Club winding in and out of tall aspen groves spying deer at several turns. Water comes in play on six holes and there are enough elevation differentials to challenge. The signature hole is #10, a monstrous par-5. It plays straight for most of its 540 yards with a boulder-filled creek lying in wait before the green. For us the 18th was a stunner, which was probably what architect RTJ II had in mind in 1974. The Sheraton layout is long, sporting five par-5s, but playing it presents a pleasant day's outing

For further information on Steamboat Springs' lodging and activities access www.steamboatchamber.com. For this trip we stayed at the Sheraton Hotel, a full service accommodation situated at mountain base and convenient to a host of mountain shops and cafes.