Denver in July.

[Alilmosquito]

My dad has chosen Denver this year for our golf trip. So I just want to know of some must play courses to look into. Thanks

[poppyhillsguy]

It's been a long time since I lived in that area, but when I did, Riverdale Dunes was my favorite course.

 

Here's a clip from Matt Ginella on his top 5 in the Denver area. http://www.golfadvisor.com/articles/top-five-golf-courses-in-denver-colorado-14768.htm

 

The Ridge at Castle Pines seems to be on everyone's list.

[007iron]

Drive to the mountains. Play a/the keystone cours(s) or steamboat (haymaker) or the Vail area (red sky ranch). If you make it as far west as Glenwood Springs play Ironbridge and/or Lakota Canyon.

[ogrehack]

Had recent trip in Fall '15. Generally ranked as noted below. All were great, but I'd probably only replay the top 3. Of note, Raven is a decent drive into the Rockies, and was our 1 mini-excursion from in/around Denver.

 

Raven at Three Peaks http://www.ravenatthreepeaks.com/teetimes/

The Ridge at Castle Pines North http://www.playtheridge.com/index.php

Bear Dance http://www.beardancegolf.com/

Red Hawk Ridge http://www.redhawkridge.com/

Common Grounds http://www.commongroundgc.com/

[deadsolid...shank]

Had recent trip in Fall '15. Generally ranked as noted below. All were great, but I'd probably only replay the top 3. Of note, Raven is a decent drive into the Rockies, and was our 1 mini-excursion from in/around Denver.

 

Raven at Three Peaks http://www.ravenatthreepeaks.com/teetimes/

The Ridge at Castle Pines North http://www.playtheridge.com/index.php

Bear Dance http://www.beardancegolf.com/

Red Hawk Ridge http://www.redhawkridge.com/

Common Grounds http://www.commongroundgc.com/

 

CommonGround just seems out of place on that list. Not saying anything bad about it, just different.

[CDM]

Had recent trip in Fall '15. Generally ranked as noted below. All were great, but I'd probably only replay the top 3. Of note, Raven is a decent drive into the Rockies, and was our 1 mini-excursion from in/around Denver.

 

Raven at Three Peaks http://www.ravenatth...s.com/teetimes/

The Ridge at Castle Pines North http://www.playtheridge.com/index.php

Bear Dance http://www.beardancegolf.com/

Red Hawk Ridge http://www.redhawkridge.com/

Common Grounds http://www.commongroundgc.com/

 

CommonGround just seems out of place on that list. Not saying anything bad about it, just different.

 

Ridge is pretty good. Bear Dance is very nice. Red Hawk I am torn on (some like it / some don't). Common Ground is a good track, though the others listed have a bunch of elevation change and I am sure why Dead noted it seems out of place relative to the others.

 

Riverdale Dunes is a great track, not real long....BUT you had better drive it straight, Rough is nasty fescue grass.

 

Fossil Trace is liked by out of town players because it is "different" and visual. Not a bad course but has some gimmick to it.

 

There are others in town that are decent but some the mountain courses are good too, and give some scenic views which makes them impressive, even if the golf course is average on challenge. (Elevation helps a ton here...)

 

Edit: Arrowhead is probably the most local scenic course because of the Redrock formations. Average track overall, but is scenic.

[Joelness]

Drive to the mountains. Play a/the keystone cours(s) or steamboat (haymaker) or the Vail area (red sky ranch). If you make it as far west as Glenwood Springs play Ironbridge and/or Lakota Canyon.

 

I would have to agree with this. If you're coming to Denver for a golf trip you've got to play mountain golf. There's some really great courses in the Denver area but people come to Colorado for the mountains. Keystone River course is great and Red Sky is well known to be two of the top in the state.

[Kuz013]

Had recent trip in Fall '15. Generally ranked as noted below. All were great, but I'd probably only replay the top 3. Of note, Raven is a decent drive into the Rockies, and was our 1 mini-excursion from in/around Denver.

 

Raven at Three Peaks http://www.ravenatth...s.com/teetimes/

The Ridge at Castle Pines North http://www.playtheridge.com/index.php

Bear Dance http://www.beardancegolf.com/

Red Hawk Ridge http://www.redhawkridge.com/

Common Grounds http://www.commongroundgc.com/

 

CommonGround just seems out of place on that list. Not saying anything bad about it, just different.

 

Ridge is pretty good. Bear Dance is very nice. Red Hawk I am torn on (some like it / some don't). Common Ground is a good track, though the others listed have a bunch of elevation change and I am sure why Dead noted it seems out of place relative to the others.

 

Riverdale Dunes is a great track, not real long....BUT you had better drive it straight, Rough is nasty fescue grass.

 

Fossil Trace is liked by out of town players because it is "different" and visual. Not a bad course but has some gimmick to it.

 

There are others in town that are decent but some the mountain courses are good too, and give some scenic views which makes them impressive, even if the golf course is average on challenge. (Elevation helps a ton here...)

 

Edit: Arrowhead is probably the most local scenic course because of the Redrock formations. Average track overall, but is scenic.

 

 

I did a trip last fall, and we started with Common Ground; it was the perfect course to start with, got off the plane that morning; solid warmup course.

 

Then played Bear Dance and Arrowhead, both courses I would play again because 1. Bear Dance is a really really good course and 2. like you said Arrowhead was just so scenic it was almost worth it alone even without playing golf ( but expensive)

 

Then we went down to Broadmoor, a few of the guys said we should've spent most of our time here because they place is amazing, courses were good but the amenities were first class.

 

We closed out with Fossil Trace and I thought it was a great closing course, fun layout, little gimmicky, but easy to hit fairways and a competitive way to end...

[VNutz]

I did Fossil Trace out there about 10 years ago, I enjoyed it but it was somewhat quirky. Has some really fun holes and some interesting stuff on the course. Some love it, some not so much. I'd play it again if I went back, but I wouldn't play it every week if I were out there.

[Gary8180]

We're fortunate to have quite a few nice golf courses in the Denver area. The so called "must play" courses, although debatable, usually comes down to Arrowhead, Fossil Trace, Riverdale Dunes and Bear Dance. They're all very different. Arrowhead kills you visually with beautiful red rock formations all over the course, Fossil Trace is hilly, seems to wind all over the place and you can walk in the footprints of dinosaurs. Riverdale dunes is a Pete Dye special with lots of railroad ties and fescue (a clump grass) covered dunes that line the fairways and seem to swallow any ball hit into them. Bear Dance is a newer course that winds through the pines and shrub oaks and is known for some interesting sand trap formations (look like footprints of its name sake). The Broadmore in Colorado Springs is probably the primo place to play golf but the last time I checked you had to stay at the resort to do so. As far as mountain courses go (and there's lots of them), I really like underrated Estes Park. Great views of Rocky Mountain National Park and always some kind of wildlife on the course. Don't be surprised if a herd of elk decides to nap in the middle of the fairway. It's no farther than the courses west on I-70 and it's a prettier drive to get there in my opinion.

[exgolfpro]

Went to Denver 2 years ago to visit a buddy. He took me around to many of the courses, including a few private ones. My favorite of the bunch was Bear Dance. Honestly would put this in the top 10 of all the courses I have ever played. Conditions weren't flawless, but what a fun course! Every hole is different from the others and had a blast. 2nd place on my trip would probably be The Ridge at Castle Pines. This is a very solid public venue. If youre out that way, you may want to play Arrowhead GC. We saw mule deer everywhere on the course and the rocks are pretty cool. Not a bad course at all, just not up to the design of the others. If I went back, I would want to play these 3 again.