Goffin' in Colorado

[GolfSpy Barbajo]

Wanted to share some pix with you guys. Played two rounds during a "business" trip to Denver. First was at one of my favorite courses - Fossil Trace:

 

View of first hole - downhill dogleg par 5

 

 

10th tee on left, 18th fairway on right, 17th tee in the middle, mountains in the background!

 

 

10th green - par 4, green is a 304 yard carry from the blues. We all went for it, only one made it.

 

 

View of 18th green from 10th tee.

 

 

11th hole - neat little par 3. I landed in the bunker on the right. Easy double-bogey from there.

 

 

View of 15th fairway from the 11th tee. Green is in a huge gully.

 

 

Signature 12th hole - Par 5, cliffs on the left, severe dropoff to the 15th fairway on the right, and bigass rock formations in the middle of the fairway.

 

 

Looking back at the 12th fairway. Gets kinda narrow.

 

 

12th green. From here it was an easy double-bogey.

 

 

This is why it's called Fossil Trace - big fossil dig between 12 and 13. Lots of non-golfers taking in the sights.

 

 

13th hole - great elevation changes on this course. Most are downhill. Not sure how they pull that off! Birdied this sucker!

 

 

Another look at 13 -- scenery was amazing!

 

 

15th green - in the gulley. That's my ball, about 12 feet for birdie.

 

 

18th green - great finishing hole, par 5. A good drive will tempt you to go for the green in two. I did not hit a good drive.

 

[GolfSpy Barbajo]

Second Round - at maybe the best Executive Course I've ever played -- Homestead at Fox Hollow. Par 65, less than 5,000 yards but demanding as heck! And for a muni - it was in amazing condition with some of the trickiest greens around. Lots of fun!

 

Course looks wide open, but get too far off the fairway in that brush is pretty sticky.

 

 

Lots of elevation changes. 4th Tee- scramble partner Luke could hit the ball a mile. That bridge connects 16th green to 17th tee

 

 

4th hole - dogleg left par 4. About 350 yard - luke left it on the fringe. Slacker...

 

 

10th hole - Luke's brother Adam - not as long as Luke, but both made me feel my age.

 

 

14th hole - not very long, but demanding -- stream cuts through the fairway at about 240 to 260 yards.

 

 

Par 3 on the back 9 - highest point on the course. Not much room to bail. Long, right and left are trouble. Especially right.

 

 

Denver skyline

 

 

17th green - another par 3. Great golf hole! Elevated tee to elevated green. Long, left or right is trouble. Dropped mine 20 feet left of the pin. Not a straight putt to be found on the green, however.

 

 

Another look at 17

 

 

Two awesome, but very different courses. Was disappointed at first that we'd be playing a scramble on an Executive Course, but it was a really fun and demanding little track. And Fossil Trace is an experience!

[GolfSpy WD]

Wow, that first course looks amazing and pretty reasonably priced. The tire tracks across the green in the second course make me cringe though. I was paired with a group a year or so ago that just didn't give a damn about the course and I actually had to tell them to not drive onto the green. Worst round of my life.

[forgiven2008]

Fossil Trace is a good course but it is usually packed full and the rounds take forever. If you get lucky and get a day where not many people are playing then it is a great course.

 

You should check out Riverdale Dunes and Colorado National next time you are out there.

 

Or if you are down to pay for it play Arrowhead Golf Club down in Littleton.

 

[GolfSpy Barbajo]

Fossil Trace is a good course but it is usually packed full and the rounds take forever. If you get lucky and get a day where not many people are playing then it is a great course.

 

You should check out Riverdale Dunes and Colorado National next time you are out there.

 

Or if you are down to pay for it play Arrowhead Golf Club down in Littleton.

 

 

Been lucky enough to play Fossil Trace mid-week each time (3 rounds total) - haven't run into any pace of play issues. I'd guess it's different on weekends - lots of places where folks can waste a lot of time looking for lost balls. Haven't played the other tracks you're talking about. I did get to play a round at the course south of Denver owned by the guy who owns ReMax -- forget the name of it, but we were fortunate to get on. Pretty spectacular! Interested in CommonGround for the next trip out, too...

 

Played the Grand Lake golf course last summer -- had been about 15 years since I had last played it. Where did all the damn trees go????

[forgiven2008]

Are you talking about The Sanctuary. If you got to play that I hate you more than anything

 

My dad has played that course a few times and I am so jealous. Such a gorgeous course.

[GolfSpy Barbajo]

Guilty as charged. Feelin' the hate all the way here in MN!

 

The course was magnificent - except for 2 things: the ReMax balloon shaped green (forget which hole) - tiered in a way that makes Augusta's greens look flat.

 

The other should make you feel better - strained a muscle in my wrist on the back nine - couldn't finish the round or play golf for the rest of the season.

 

But I'd go back there again in less than a heartbeat!

[forgiven2008]

ya my dad says its the best course he has ever played, behind Whistling Straits

[SeeRed]

Helluva great business trip!

[GolfSpy Barbajo]

My job doesn't suck....

[forgiven2008]

Speaking of golfing in Colorado my dad was at a dinner with his new CEO at Castle Pines Country Club and you would never guess who sat at the table next to him.

 

Jack Nicklaus, his wife and kids. My dad was antsy and also made because he had to act professional around his CEO and couldn't go and ask for an autograph or anything. It wouldn't have been that bad since my dad's table and Jack's table were the only people there. So jealous of my dad.

[GolfSpy Barbajo]

Mercy! I would have babbled like an idiot!

[forgiven2008]

Oh believe me if I was there I would be staring haha. And possibly ask him for an sutograph.