In fall of 2015, a special occasion returned Jack Nicklaus to The Broadmoor’s golf clubhouse. He was chatting with a group of hosts and admirers that included Jack Damioli, the hotel’s president and CEO. They were upstairs, looking out at the 18th hole.

“He looked down and said, ‘Let’s walk out there,’” Damioli recalls.

So he and others followed in the footsteps of the legend.

That’s Nicklaus — widely considered the greatest golfer of all time, with a record 18 major championships. And by his own account over the years, it all began here in Colorado Springs, at that 18th hole in 1959.

That September, the 19-year-old sunk a putt for birdie to claim his first U.S. Amateur Championship. It was a moment he recounted that day in 2015.

“He said, ‘At that point, I knew I could compete,’” Damioli says. “‘I knew I could be a champion.’”

It is but one chapter in the storied history of golf at The Broadmoor — a history as old as the 107-year-old resort itself. Another will be written this summer, courtesy of the 45th U.S. Senior Open, to be played June 26-29.

The tournament returns to The Broadmoor for a third time, tied for most among host sites. It’s no wonder to Damioli.

He credits the resort’s director of golf, Russ Miller, and the man in charge of course maintenance, Freddie Dickman. They’ve both been here more than 25 years, on hand for several of the eight United States Golf Association (USGA) championships played at The Broadmoor.

“The ability to work with the same team over and over and over really means a lot,” Damioli says.

Sure, Dickman agrees. But the credit, he says, stretches over a century — over all the years that saw the creation of this impossibly pristine, incredibly scenic landscape called the East Course, this series of rolling greens and pine-lined fairways backdropped by the craggy, hulking Cheyenne Mountain.

Put simply: “It’s a great venue,” Dickman says.

It’s a venue that’s been described as “devilish,” like the mountain’s horns of lore. It was something Nicklaus remarked on during his 2015 visit, as Miller recalled in an interview with Golf Journal.

“He said to me, ‘Russ, I want you to know that Augusta National has the second-most difficult set of putting greens in the world.’ … I said, ‘So Mr. Nicklaus, you mean these are the toughest?’ He replies, ‘The Broadmoor East are the most difficult set of greens I’ve ever played — fair, but difficult.’”

It’s the natural work of topography and the physical work of Dickman’s team.

The team of supervisors and horticulturalists follows strict, scientific guidelines of an agronomy plan. The plan calls for a certain mix of nutrients to keep the course vibrant; for certain irrigation to keep it that way but also firm; for constant soil testing.

Work ramps up in the days prior to a USGA championship. Mowing happens twice daily. Instead of irrigating, staff fan out across the course to water areas by hand, checking meters that measure desired moisture content. Technology resembling a golf ball provides data on the ground’s smoothness and roughness. There is heightened attention to every detail imaginable.

That’s why Dickman might be seen with his two border collies. Brothers Blaze and Fly are trusted to chase away pooping geese.

Dickman and the dogs might go by golf cart, or they might walk as he prefers — reminiscing as he goes. He thinks back to 1916, when Broadmoor founder Spencer Penrose hired a renowned course architect from Scotland, Donald Ross, to bring him a world-class design.

“They would’ve built the course with just hand labor and horses and mules,” Dickman says. “Your newer courses are shaped by bulldozers and big equipment.”

The resulting layout was fit for “Long” Jim Barnes. Penrose made him The Broadmoor’s first pro — “and paid him very well,” says hotel historian Cynthia Leonard. “He was the highest paid golf pro in the country.”

The money was to send a message, she says: “This isn’t just some golf club and course. This is serious.”

As the long history of USGA championships goes to show, starting with Nicklaus’ victory in 1959. Now comes the U.S. Senior Open.

“It’s a special time not only for our team and our guests, but I also think for the community,” Damioli says.

It’s a time that only comes around every so often. It’s a time that sees dozens of volunteers lend a hand, that sees thousands of spectators line the course and fill the grandstands. They take in the view, awaiting another moment in history.

Only one word describes it, Damioli says: “Magical.”