Denver course reviews

[3puttguy]

Denver area courses
Below are my reviews of the five courses I played in Denver the week of 3/11/07.
All of the courses were in decent shape but since they all have just opened for the season I won’t comment course conditions.

5. The Olde Course at Loveland http://www.golfloveland.com/oldemain.htm
Pros) Very forgiving course, good for beginners.
Cons) A long drive from Denver and fairly expensive for what you get.

My friend and I played this course with a guy he used to work with who had moved out here several years ago. My friend hadn’t played with him since he moved to Denver late last year and this guy recommended it so we decided to meet up there. The course is a parkland type course with some interesting holes, but overall was nothing special. It was a good course for my first round of the trip since I hadn’t swung a club since Nov. of last year. **1/2 out of ***** stars

4. Saddle Rock Golf Course http://www.auroragov.org/AuroraGov/D...urceSiteId=621
Pros) Very playable for high handicappers, but challenging enough for better players.
Cons) Housing surrounds most of the holes, some are fairly close and could be hit with
a wayward shot.

Another parkland style course that winds thru a residential community and has a nice variety of holes except for the par 3s. I hit the same club on three of them (6 iron) and two of those holes were almost identical. The back nine does play a little tougher than the front. *** out of ***** stars

3. Red Hawk Ridge Golf Course http://www.crgov.com/SectionIndex.asp?SectionID=41
Pros) Spectacular views of the town of Castle Rock and the Rocky Mountains, not much housing around the course itself (yet)
Cons) This is not a course most people are going consider walking.

This was one of the courses recommended by ColoradoGolfer and I can see why. Many of the holes had outstanding views of the surrounding area. There are some extreme elevation changes on some of the holes and all of the holes seemed to play up or down hill, which makes club selection a challenge. I usually walk but because of the elevation changes I don’t think I would ever consider walking this course. There is a big difference in yardage between the tips and the next tee (almost 700 yards) but the tips didn’t seem to play to much harder because most of the long holes were down hill. I shot my best round of the trip here (79) and really enjoyed the course. ***1/2 out of ***** stars

2. Murphy Creek http://www.auroragov.org/AuroraGov/D...reek/index.htm
Pros) Excellent layout and a cool theme. Very reasonable twilight rate.
Cons) Noisy. The course is close to a military base and there were jet fighters flying over the course and it is right off the highway.

I guess I would call this a links style course, although there is some water on the back nine. There are a lot of bunkers on the course and some of them are quite deep. There is a nice variety of holes including a great risk reward drivable par 4. This is a very challenging course (they are hosting the 2008 U.S. Public Links Amateur Championship), but playable for the higher handicapper if they play from one of the forward tees. I would highly recommend this course and will defiantly play it again the next time I in Denver. **** out of ***** stars

1. Green Valley Ranch http://www.gvrgolf.com/greenvalley.asp?cid=30
Pros) First class course. Excellent food at the clubhouse.
Cons) Difficult course for a beginner or high handicapper.

Of the five courses I played this was my favorite. It is a parkland style course with marsh and wetlands on many of the holes. There is houses but they set back well away from the course. They have hosted several regional tournaments and currently host the Colorado Open.
This is not a good course to play if you want to grip it and rip it on every hole. The par 4s tend to be fairly short and tight or very long. They have four great par 3s. This is a very challenging layout that I look forward to playing again. **** out of ***** stars