Colorado Trip Report - Denver & I-70 corridor

[AU94CMK]

Just got back from our 13th annual golf trip on July 6th - 11th, and thought I'd share a trip report that might help anyone heading out there from out-of-town in the future. Thanks to all on here who offered input to help plan this trip!

 

Courses Played (with top tier courses in bold)

Friday - Golf Club @ Bear Dance

Saturday - Raven @ 3 Peaks (with afternoon replay)

Sunday - Sonnenalp & Red Sky Ranch (Fazio)

Monday - Breckenridge (Bear/Elk/Beaver)

Tuesday - Keystone River & Ranch

Wednesday - The Ridge @ Castle Pines

 

 

Course Reviews:

Golf Club @ Bear Dance - a few holes with beautiful views, interesting & fun layout, and good course conditions. Some greens had a few rough spots. Course was cart path only due to some rain they had the day before, but fairways didn't seem to have any wet spots, so that was a bit frustrating. Friendly staff. Was in our top tier of courses

 

Raven @ 3 Peaks - Played in the morning and replayed in the afternoon. Stunning views. Lots of elevation changes with a few holes that had major drops from tee to fairway or green. Course conditions were pretty rough. Had lost a few greens, and some fairways were pretty torn up. Great breakfast burritos and lunch. Scenery was top tier, but course conditions made it a bottom tier course for us.

 

Sonnenalp - Played in the morning. Nice views with excellent course conditions and fantastic greens. Very playable without being a boring layout. The grill was supposed to be open at 7 but was not, and we stopped at the turn to grab some gatorades, and they didn't seem to know how to handle that. No beverage cart. Course conditions made it top tier, but the breakfast and gatorade experience brought them down to middle tier for us.

 

Red Sky Ranch - Fazio - Played in the afternoon. Had an excellent lunch in the guest clubhouse. Staff was super-friendly, from starter to clubhouse to beverage cart. Course conditions were excellent. Greens were fast & smooth, but had something that looked like poa anna on them that led to some inconsistencies on the greens. Awesome layout & views. We actually had a lightning delay for about 30 minutes when lighting struck across I-70 and started what's now being called the Red Canyon wildfire. A top tier course.

 

Breckenridge - we played all 27 holes. Good course conditions with excellent greens and some very nice views. It looked super-crowded to us, but staff told us it was actually a light day for them. Pace of play was slow...took a full 5 hours to play 18 which left no time before our afternoon 9, but the course marshall met us on 18 and arranged for the beverage cart to bring us some sandwiches. Very cool clubhouse deck for drinks and apps after our round. A middle tier course.

 

Keystone River - played in the morning. Fun layout with lots of elevation changes. Probably the most scenic course we played. Conditions were good, except the greens were a bit patchy and didn't putt as well as most other courses we played. A top tier course, even with the greens being inconsistent.

 

Keystone Ranch - played in the afternoon. Fun layout with more of a links style. Not as scenic as the other courses. Good conditions overall, with nice greens but a bit on the slow side. A middle tier course.

 

The Ridge @ Castle Pines - played early morning. Fun layout with lots of elevation changes and pretty good views. Greens were superb - fast & smooth. Tee boxes were the most immaculate I'd ever seen...probably would have rolled about an 8.5 on the stimp meter if they were greens. The last few holes were a bit of a let down as they took driver out of your hand...fun holes, but a bit strange to end on. Starter and beverage cart staff were awesome. A top tier course.

 

Top 3 based on Course Conditions:

1. The Ridge @ Castle Pines

2. Sonnenalp

3. Red Sky Ranch - Fazio

 

Top 3 based on Setting/Scenery

1. Keystone River

2. Raven @ 3 Peaks

3. Red Sky Ranch - Fazio

 

Top 3 Layouts:

1. Golf Club @ Bear Dance

2. Red Sky Ranch - Fazio

3. Keystone River

 

Top 3 Beverage Cart Experiences (I'm too PC to explain this further...draw your own conclusions)

1. The Ridge @ Castle Pines

2. Red Sky Ranch - Fazio

3. Breckenridge

 

For those wondering about club distances at elevation, we were told to add 10% to our distances. My experience was that the increase was closer to 15%:

 

PW - 140 yds vs 125 (at sea level)

9 iron - 160 vs 140

7 iron - 190 vs 165

5 iron - 215 vs 185

4 hybrid - 240 vs 205

3 hybrid - 265 vs 225

Driver - 310 vs 265

 

We played mostly 6800 - 7000 yards, and I I found myself teeing off with my 3 hybrid a lot. Probably would have used 3-wood some if I was more consistent with it off the tee.

 

We had a great meal at the Briar Rose Chop & Steakhouse in Breckenridge. Our condo in Silverthorne was the perfect location for good access to all the courses.

 

Hope this helps future trip planners!

[Chanceman]

Thanks for that - very useful info for my trip out there in September '19. Interesting ratings too but which course would you most want to go back and play again? And where did you stay in Denver and how was that?

[AU94CMK]

If I could only go back and play 1, it would be Red Sky Ranch. The course layout, conditioning, and staff were all fantastic. Of course, it’s also the most expensive.

 

We actually didn’t stay in Denver. Flew in about 10 am, drove to Bear Dance, teed off at 1, and drove to our condo in Silverthorne arriving at 8 pm. On our getaway day, we left Silverthorne at 5:15, drove to The Ridge, teed off at 7:30, and flew out at 3 pm.