First trip to Denver area (south). My thoughts.

exgolfpro · September 30, 2014

Flew to Denver this past weekend with the sole purpose of spending some time golfing with an old friend who moved out there about 8 years ago. He lives down in Castle Rock. We played 6 rounds (5 courses) in 3 days. Nothing but a pure golf orgy. Played some really nice courses and here are my thoughts on the courses we played.

The first course we played was Lone Tree. I shot my best round of the weekend here, 73. The course was nice from a quality/maintenance standpoint, but seems similar to many decent courses that I would find here in Missouri. Surrounded by houses. The greens had been punched and sanded, but were mostly healed by this past Friday. I would probably place this course last among the 5 we played.

The second course we played was The Ridge at Castle Pines. This course was much more of what I expected from a Colorado course. Big elevation changes. Some short holes, some long. A lot of fun to play. The greens were extremely quick, but very firm. Hard to spin a full iron shot from anything other than a wedge. We played this course twice, the second time as part of a Member/Guest tournament. I would rank this course 3rd of the 5 that we played.

The 3rd course we played was Arrowhead. Most of you have probably seen this golf course as part of some golf infomercials. It has the big jagged rocks that stick out of the ground. Very scenic. We had the first tee time of the day and the wind was like nothing I have ever played in. I would estimate it was 45mph with gusts in the 50's. Many, many balls were blown off of greens and you had to play 30-40 hooks and slices due to the wind. But about 9:15, the wind just stopped. Dead calm for the rest of the round. So my round looked like this 47-37. There greens here were in great shape with a lot of slope. Saw several huge deer walking the area. I heard a lot of golfers over the weekend say that they don't care for Arrowhead, but I really, really enjoyed my round (despite the wind). The scenery, the variety of holes, the quality of the conditions were all way above average. If I lived in the Denver area, I would play here a lot. This was my 2nd favorite course of the 5.

Our 4th course was Bear Dance. To me this was the ultimate Colorado golf course. Great conditions, very good variety of holes. The course conditions were solid and the greens were very nice. This course seemed very fair to all level of golfers and our foursome all seemed to shoot about where we should for our handicaps. The only thing that would make this course one of the best I've ever played, would be, if it were walkable. I don't like being in a cart and love the walk. But this was my top course for the weekend. That might surprise some, especially after seeing where we played next.

Our final course for the weekend is a private club called Raveena. For those in the area that have some $$$ they are running a new membership promotion. $500 down/$500 a month gets you a membership thru next November. Seemed pretty reasonable considering some of the prices of the other courses in the area. This course is a pretty sweet place, but in my mind is almost too difficult to be very enjoyable. (we played the back tees). The course only measures just over 7100 yards, but the back 9 in most of that (3887 on the back). This course consisted of long forced carries on most holes and severely undulating greens. From my point of view, the greens were almost too severe for the club that you were forced to hit into the green. Often I had a 4 or 5 iron, but the target was less than 15ftx15ft. On holes 13-18, there are 4 par 4's that are 475yds and a par 3 that is 240yds. Just a brutal finish. I would place this course 4th out of 5 simply due to the fact that the round seems more work, than fun.

But what a collection courses, south Denver has. He had a tee time at Murphy Creek, but decided to cancel it since I would be pushing it to catch my flight.

pseudoswede · October 3, 2014

Nice write-up. Based on your list (and I haven't played Ravenna), I would've replaced Lone Tree with Murphy Creek, Saddle Rock, or CommonGround. I may have also suggested Plum Creek in Castle Rock (a Pete Dye course). I've heard it's in good shape, and there is the threat of it closing down for good at the end of this year. The really nice thing about Lone Tree is that it is walkable, which I do value. It's also the closest public golf course to my house, so that is also a big plus.

hometeam30 · October 3, 2014

Excellent write up! I enjoyed reading it because I've played all the courses you discussed; and mostly agree with your assessment of the courses. I'm from Rapid City, SD but I play in Denver as much as possible.

One recommendation if you ever go play there again. Go play Riverdale Dunes. It's far and away the best course for the money! They could easily charge the same rates as Bear Dance or Fossil Trace but they don't. It's an incredible links style layout that I bet you'd enjoy. (Especially for 50 bucks)

Bear Dance..... I've played a ton of courses in Denver and I continue to come back to this gem. Each hole is it's own, beautiful views, Bear, Elk, Fox, and other wildlife. I agree with you about not being able to walk though. I just make up for it by playing 36! My favorite stretch is 10-16.

I'd disagree with your Lone Tree assessment just a little. It's a classic, park style course that's right out in front of you. Not sure how the greens were when you played it but they are tour caliber surfaces and speeds. Plus, it's a GREAT walk. There are some houses; I agree.

Arrowhead.... This is only my opinion; but it may be the worst value of all the course you listed. It's an awesome back 9, but the front is largely forgettable in my opinion. Glad I played it once, but there are WAY better courses, for far less money.

Raveena.... Holy Hell this is a hard course!! I'm a 3.4 index and have plenty of length off the tee. But, this course was an absolute workout! I've never played a harder stretch in Golf than 10-16. 480-500 yd par 4's followed by 240 yd par threes. The par 3 over the canyon is one of the coolest par 3's in the state! The course reminded me of playing Golden Tee. I was happy to play it once; but I couldn't be a member there without some sort of counseling.

I'll rank your 5 in my opinion.

1. Bear Dance
2. The Ridge
3. Lone Tree
4. Raveena
5. Arrowhead

My Top 5 in Denver area

1. Bear Dance
2. Riverdale Dunes
3. The Ridge at Castle Pines
4. Common Ground
5. Fossil Trace. Yes, it's a little hokey but you can't deny how cool some of the holes are!

Honorable mention: Fox Hollow, Legacy Ridge, and Colorado National

Go Broncos!

exgolfpro · October 3, 2014

[quote name='pseudoswede' timestamp='1412348417' post='10229519']
Nice write-up. Based on your list (and I haven't played Ravenna), I would've replaced Lone Tree with Murphy Creek, Saddle Rock, or CommonGround. I may have also suggested Plum Creek in Castle Rock (a Pete Dye course). I've heard it's in good shape, and there is the threat of it closing down for good at the end of this year. The really nice thing about Lone Tree is that it is walkable, which I do value. It's also the closest public golf course to my house, so that is also a big plus.
[/quote]

Thanks, my friend set up all the courses, I was just along for the ride, but he did try to schedule us at Murphy Creek, just couldn't make it happen with my flight time to leave. He had also mentioned Plum Creek as a good option. Thanks for the response.

exgolfpro · October 3, 2014

[quote name='hometeam30' timestamp='1412351773' post='10229859']
Excellent write up! I enjoyed reading it because I've played all the courses you discussed; and mostly agree with your assessment of the courses. I'm from Rapid City, SD but I play in Denver as much as possible.

One recommendation if you ever go play there again. Go play Riverdale Dunes. It's far and away the best course for the money! They could easily charge the same rates as Bear Dance or Fossil Trace but they don't. It's an incredible links style layout that I bet you'd enjoy. (Especially for 50 bucks)

Bear Dance..... I've played a ton of courses in Denver and I continue to come back to this gem. Each hole is it's own, beautiful views, Bear, Elk, Fox, and other wildlife. I agree with you about not being able to walk though. I just make up for it by playing 36! My favorite stretch is 10-16.

I'd disagree with your Lone Tree assessment just a little. It's a classic, park style course that's right out in front of you. Not sure how the greens were when you played it but they are tour caliber surfaces and speeds. Plus, it's a GREAT walk. There are some houses; I agree.

Arrowhead.... This is only my opinion; but it may be the worst value of all the course you listed. It's an awesome back 9, but the front is largely forgettable in my opinion. Glad I played it once, but there are WAY better courses, for far less money.

Raveena.... Holy Hell this is a hard course!! I'm a 3.4 index and have plenty of length off the tee. But, this course was an absolute workout! I've never played a harder stretch in Golf than 10-16. 480-500 yd par 4's followed by 240 yd par threes. The par 3 over the canyon is one of the coolest par 3's in the state! The course reminded me of playing Golden Tee. I was happy to play it once; but I couldn't be a member there without some sort of counseling.

I'll rank your 5 in my opinion.

1. Bear Dance
2. The Ridge
3. Lone Tree
4. Raveena
5. Arrowhead

My Top 5 in Denver area

1. Bear Dance
2. Riverdale Dunes
3. The Ridge at Castle Pines
4. Common Ground
5. Fossil Trace. Yes, it's a little hokey but you can't deny how cool some of the holes are!

Honorable mention: Fox Hollow, Legacy Ridge, and Colorado National

Go Broncos!
[/quote]

I feel the same way about Raveena. I am a scratch golfer, but am not good enough to play this course from all the way back. Too long and too hard. Couldn't read the greens at all, completely misread the slope and even direction of the slope many times.

Thanks for the heads up on the other courses, we may do this again next year.

As a side note, my (wealthy?) friend paid for the golf, so there was no cost vs course in my review. Have no idea how much arrowhead cost.