Colorado WRX 2023

[Joelness]

On 8/30/2023 at 7:34 AM, movinggolfer said:

Hey Everyone, I am planning on moving to the Longmont CO area in the next year. My wife and I are avid golfers and are considering what courses we should try to live near or be members at. One option we were looking at was Fox Hill Country Club, does anyone have any thoughts on the clubs in that area? Thanks for any tips or advice!

 

Howdy! I'm a current member of Fox Hill. I've been there for 3.5 years now. I was a member at Colorado National for 5-6 years and during some of that time we had reciprocals at Fox Hill so I would come play it now and then. I absolutely fell in love with it at this time but I lived in downtown Denver and it was just too far to join. 

 

TL;DR - IMO Fox Hill is a great layout and extremely challenging. You need total control of your golf ball (flight and shape) to play well. That might drive some people crazy and wear you down but make no mistake, it will make you better because of it. Fox Hill is definitely a golf course first and a club second. There is no question it's the best priced club in the area. My wife and I joined and loved it so much that we bought a house on the course with our own golf carts. Culture-wise it's mostly made up of middle-class members so there's minimal snooty-ness. The age of members at the club has changed a lot since we joined. When we first joined in 2020 it was mostly retired people but there has been a TON of 30 and 40-somethings that have joined since then. The old guys still run the men's league and things like that which leads to too much teams and play from the whites (still rated even par but the course is 2x better from the blacks.) One last thing to mention is the Chef that joined in 2022 is amazing. The food is currently bomb AF and we're all just hoping we can hang on to this guy for a while.

 

23 hours ago, jda said:

 

This is near my area.  Fox Hill is the low-end private club in the area.  People who leave here join at Lake Valley near Boulder, Boulder Country Club in Gunbarrel, Colorado National in Erie (semi private, but good member perks) and there is a real TPC in Berthoud that hosts events and stuff.  The Ranch is not too far in Broomfield.

 

I was a member at Fox Hill for a while and I left because I did not like the golf course that much, there is a culture there on the mens side where the scratch folks would mostly play the whites and did not want to compete with other clubs (which I enjoy the competition and traveling of inter-club matches), about half of the members were not folks that I cared to play with getting too personal with politics and religion and stuff AND WOULD NOT SHUT UP ABOUT IT WHILE PLAYING.  Even though I told them that I just wanted to golf and not talk about EITHER SIDE of politics, religion or Amway (or whatever), too many just did not get it.  I would often NOT put my name on the tee sheet or else folks would join me that I did not want to play with... and I can get along with almost anybody.  The course is tree lined like many older courses and it can wear down lots of people.  Most of the members were older than us as empty nesters or beyond and it was hard to do things as couples since we still have kids in High School and stuff - this is starting to change, but my wife does not golf and she had very few connections.  The other half of the folks were great - I imagine that any club is like this.  On the plus side, they do really maintain the course, they are serious about a 4 hour round, the course is easy to walk, they let you bring your own golf cart, the food and bev minimum is not too high.  There are some long-running weekly games that are welcoming to all, or at least they were to me.  They have a litany of member guest events.  Mens and Women's league night is popular.  When my HS daughters played, they only got minor garbage from a few of the old guys about keeping up when they saw them on the first tee, but this was never a real problem and they accepted their tee time at 10:00 on a Sat like any other member.  In the end, I wanted to get better to compete in state-wide tournaments and not just be good at my niche home course and the club part did not do much for me beyond golf, so I left.

 

If I join again, I am going to the TPC, but I am enjoying playing the public courses which are nearly always available and there is plenty of opportunity to play the private clubs too.

 

As far as private goes, most of the COVID boom is over and you might be able to get a deal on initiation if you can lay out some pre-paid dues and stuff - I have been asking around since I might be in the market soon.

 

Ute Creek is the best golf course in Longmont... it is public and can get some wear, but it is a real RTJ.  There is a 9 hole course that I have never played by choice.  Twin Peaks is an older course in Longmont where every green is the same and I hate it and limit to like once a year, but many people like it OK - it is one of those where the folks who love it talk about how nice the greens are (the old "they have a nice personality' thing when being set up on a date).  Mariana Butte, Indian Peaks, Walnut Creek, Broadlands, Colorado National, Legacy Ridge, Todd Creek, Highland Meadows, Riverdale Dunes and many more are very nice public courses that were similar to private clubs where I moved from in Missouri and I like all of these better than Fox Hill.  You can often Golf Now for less than $50-60 at most of these places once the nice-weather May rush is done.  You are ninety minutes from mountain golf which is awesome this time of year and you can usually get cheap tee times on Golf Now for those during the week... then you can play, enjoy the small towns, get a nice meal and make a day of it if you are retired or can set your own schedule.

 

WOW, there is a lot here. I will need to do a full breakdown of each piece because there are some things in here I agree with and some things in here that I have never seen or experienced in 3.5 years of being a member:

 

1. The scratch players don't want to play the whites. Every one of them would rather play blacks but we have gotten used to the whites because a bunch of the older members and 5+ caps don't want to play further back.
2. There are plenty of us that want to compete with other clubs. We just had a "Longmont Presidents Cup" between all the Longmont courses two weeks ago.... As far as interclubs, I don't know why they don't happen, so some members don't want to?
3. I've never ran into the politics rant. I'm not sure who you played with but I've never had this experience in 3.5 years. Maybe it was 2020 and members hated the mask mandates and since the club is barely in Boulder County... I dunno. Again, I'm not sure who wore you down like that but it's definitely not indicative of everyone at the club or even 5% of us.
4. You are correct in the 4-hour round and course maintenance is solid (though an irrigation replacement is overdue.)
5. What I don't understand here is that you left to get better and compete in tournaments. There is no course within 15 miles that requires the ball-striking that Fox Hill requires so where would you go to get better? Did you know that half of the 2021 Colorado Cup Amateurs were Fox Hill members? As far as overall talent, Fox Hill has 4-5 of the top 20 CGA points getters every year (except maybe this year with Nygren leaving and Riskam, Burke, Bishop and Wannacott not competing as often.)
6. I think something that needs to be mentioned that hasn't been yet is that the men's league board is still made up of almost entirely old retired guys. We have one event a year that isn't a team net event. As a +3 cap that drives me crazy. In my case I play a ton of CGA stuff so that gets my competition itch scratched.

I've enjoyed having discussions with people about leaving for TPC. Personally I wouldn't do it for several reasons but they are debatable. It's good to hear the COVID craziness has died down on the public side as there was a time there where just getting a tee time was impossible. I've heard that's still the case for a lot of my friends.

 

There is something that needs to me mentioned here: Longmont is filled with challenging golf courses. Literally the two hardest but seemingly-easy courses I've ever played are Sunset and Twin Peaks. If you look at the Colorado golf scene you would see that Longmont golf courses create the best Amateurs as at least 1/3 of the top Amateurs in CO either grew up in Longmont or are still here.

 

Tbh, I'm shocked you think Ute is the best course in Longmont. It's a fun track and all but it's sooooooooooooo easy and every fairway is 40 yards wide. I understand the hate for Twin and Sunset though the more you play them the more you realize how hard they are and make you a better golfer. All the public courses you mentioned are fantastic tracks and there really are a ton of amazing public golf in the area.

 

One thing I noticed is the courses you like more are basically all wide-open links tracks. Have you thought about that? Did the trees wear you down too?

[Joelness]

22 hours ago, jda said:

One last thing about Fox Hill is that with all of the trees, it is one of the last to open during nice stretch in the winter or the spring.  Snow melts fast here with the sun and much of that course is in the shade including many of the greens.  That shade can be great in July or August.

 

This is 100% accurate. Because of all the trees and shade Fox Hill can have a pretty long winter season. It usually doesn't matter in the late fall but once you get into winter and early spring the course definitely takes longer to melt and therefore open back up again.

 

On 8/30/2023 at 9:01 AM, jda said:

Oh, one of my good Longmont friends left Fox Hill for Harmony Ridge.  This is like 30 minutes at non-peak driving times, but they are mostly retired and they make a day out of it.  It is really nice, but kinda far... and you have to take the interstate which can be a house of cards if you go during the rush hours (not rush hour).  Ptarmigan Club is up that way too if you decide to move a bit further north.  Fort Collins is nice, IMO.

 

None of the courses in Longmont have any real ties with neighborhoods that surround them.  

 

When we moved here a while back, anything north of 470 was in our wheelhouse.  We settled on Longmont because Fort Collins was a quick drive north and Denver Suburbs are not too far south.  I am a real estate appraiser in the area - if you have any questions send me a message and I will help if I can... and I am not selling anything.

 

Did you mean Harmony Club? I've never played it but it's a Jim Engh in Fort Collins. I've heard good things but overall there is no way in hell I would want to play an Engh every day, it would drive me nuts and make me a worse golfer.

 

If I'm joining another club north of Denver there's really only one option I would want besides Fox Hill which is Fort Collins CC. I absolutely LOVE that golf course. It has all the challenge and the greens are always a FIRM 12 or faster.

 

We get reciprocals at Greeley CC and Fort Collins CC so if anyone wants to play them we can make a day of it.

[Dancin]

29 minutes ago, thaar said:

Got out to play Pradera yesterday for the first time. I really enjoyed it. It's a fun, challenging layout. There are some cool holes with good elevation changes...The one thing I was really surprised at though is how many ball marks there are on the green. Apparently the members don't take pride in their course or have standard golf etiquette.

I've played Pradera a few times this year. Course is still in great shape but as you noticed the member quality has gone down. It's not the premium club it was originally planned to be. The other issue is the course was designed for a much smaller membership cap and bigger tee time gaps than what Arcis is using. While rounds are still usually under 4.5 hours you are waiting on every shot for the last 3-4 holes if not more due to how they were designed.

[Joelness]

22 hours ago, bobbyclampett!! said:

Thanks, @jda, for the good round up of NoCo golf. I agree with all of this, although I have not played all the courses you mention.  There are so many awesome courses within 1 hour of Longmont (and Fort Collins, where I live), that it just doesn't make sense to me to join one place and play there nearly exclusively. I run to Collindale for quick nines, and try to get on other courses throughout the year once or twice, and play in tournaments that go to all different courses. This year I have played Collindale, Rain Dance, Fort Collins Country Club, City Park Nine in FC, and City Park Denver. I have not made it to Ute Creek, Riverdale Dunes, TPC, Marianna Butte, Highland Meadows, Harmony Club, Murphy Creek, Walnut Creek, and on and on, as I would like. I think we are truly blessed with some of the best golf in the country here in Northern Colorado. Most places are relatively affordable and you can almost always find someone to play with at the more private clubs. I just don't see any reason to join anywhere for the golf, but I guess I could see joining for the community or networking.

 

I agree with this but at the end of the day it comes down to cost. My wife and I play 7-10 rounds a week. If we were to go do the public thing we would be spending 2x-3x what we spend now. Also, there's nothing like being able to jump my fence and walk right on to the course and start playing. If I have 1-2 hours to kill I can go play 4-8 holes and not worry about it.

 

Also super underrated is the ability to directly interact with a tee sheet and never have to call the pro shop.

 

s***, yesterday I grabbed my shag bag out of the garage and jumped the fence to chip on 11 green. Once I saw two groups come down 10 I packed up my stuff and walked home. I realized I still had 30 mins to kill so I jumped in my golf cart and went to 15 green to chip until I ran out of time.

Edited August 31, 2023 by Joelness

[Joelness]

11 hours ago, pseudoswede said:

 

FRGC was supposed to have an event this year at Colorado National, but they have been having irrigation issues/repairs, so we were able to back out and find another course to host us.

 

I played Colorado National three weeks ago for my first time in a while..... Holy s*** that golf course is easy to me now. I played pretty mediocre and still went 34-36-36 (back, front, back) to take $10 off a Regis golfer that works in the cart barn. She didn't pay up and likely just forgot but she also gave me a lot of ammo to give her s*** now.

 

44 minutes ago, thaar said:

Got out to play Pradera yesterday for the first time. I really enjoyed it. It's a fun, challenging layout. There are some cool holes with good elevation changes. It is an Engh course so several of the greens are a bowl, which I know some people don't like. The greens were pretty tough - large and undulating. My only gripe is I do wish I could have used driver more often - I think I only used it four or five times. The one thing I was really surprised at though is how many ball marks there are on the green. Apparently the members don't take pride in their course or have standard golf etiquette.

 

As for my play, I don't think I have ever swung the club that well before, and felt like I could have shot under par. I ended up shooting a 74 with 3 3-putts and two birdie putts that lipped out, one of which I have no idea how. Two of the 3-putts were from over 50ft, so those were understandable - one of those was a bad club choice off of the tee. And the other 3-putt was just a really tough pin placement. It was a great feeling overall though, particularly for a course I've never played before.

 

I keep learning more and more about my swing and have never felt this confident about it.  I'm sure I'll go out this weekend and shoot a 90 😂 . I'm also paying closer attention to my lie to understand how it will impact my shot, and continue to learn more about good course management. I feel like I'm just hitting my stride this season and am hopeful I can get my handicap below 5, but it could be tough since I'm about to hit the point where I won't be able to play as often.

 

Pradera is one of the best Engh courses out there. It's a lot of fun and my boy Jeremiah did a great job with conditions the last couple years.

 

Congrats on playing well man, it can be tough to go low out there with a few of the really stupid pins they can drop (back on 8, back on 17.) We gotta get out and play again!

Edited August 31, 2023 by Joelness

[Dancin]

15 minutes ago, Joelness said:

Tbh, I'm shocked you think Ute is the best course in Longmont. It's a fun track and all but it's sooooooooooooo easy and every fairway is 40 yards wide. I understand the hate for Twin and Sunset though the more you play them the more you realize how hard they are and make you a better golfer.

Most of the people I play with also prefer Ute Creek over the other two. Twin Peaks is very tough to score well on due to the small, domed raised greens. That gets repetitive and if you are having a bad day with your approach shots it can be a torturous slog.

[Joelness]

1 minute ago, Dancin said:

Most of the people I play with also prefer Ute Creek over the other two. Twin Peaks is very tough to score well on due to the small, domed raised greens. That gets repetitive and if you are having a bad day with your approach shots it can be a torturous slog.

 

I agree with Ute over the other two but I don't agree that it's better than Fox. 

 

I'm 100% with you on the domed, raised greens. Sunsets' are even more domed and even smaller which is why it plays so stupid hard for 6400 yards. This is also why they both make you better golfers. Too bad making people better golfers also means more challenge and more slog if you're not playing well.

 

BTW, Sunset destroyed all the other clubs in the Presidents Cup for this exact reason. Every year in the Longmont City Championship (CGA points event) Sunset is the deal-maker or deal-breaker. 

[Dancin]

2 minutes ago, Joelness said:

 

I agree with Ute over the other two but I don't agree that it's better than Fox. 

 

I'm 100% with you on the domed, raised greens. Sunsets' are even more domed and even smaller which is why it plays so stupid hard for 6400 yards. This is also why they both make you better golfers. Too bad making people better golfers also means more challenge and more slog if you're not playing well.

 

BTW, Sunset destroyed all the other clubs in the Presidents Cup for this exact reason. Every year in the Longmont City Championship (CGA points event) Sunset is the deal-maker or deal-breaker. 

Oh yes. None of the public courses within 20 minutes are better than Fox Hill.

[Joelness]

Anyone else playing the Wellshire Four-ball this weekend?!?! Every single one of you that can play in it, should be. It's a blast and one of my favorites every year.

 

It's open to everyone and their format is that they create ten flights after the first 36 holes. The top flight gets CGA points so you'll have the entire gambit of best CO Amateurs all the way to teams that shoot 105 (in a four-ball!) 

 

Ironically last year my team played so bad that we were in a 4-way tie to get bumped to the next flight. The golf shop chose my team to drop to the 2nd flight (I think we were -5.) Great news, right?! Now we can make $500 by winning our flight. Welp, I made six birdies and an eagle and we shot -10 -9 on Sunday. We won our flight and ended up second overall when the leaders birdied 18 to win. Unfortunately I got 0 CGA points out of it "because we weren't in the top flight" even though we got arbitrarily bumped. It turns out that second in the top flight paid $500/ea anyway so the money would have been the same too.

 

This might be the first time where it was actually worse for me to get bumped to the flight below 

Edited August 31, 2023 by Joelness
I looked up my score and it was -9 on Sunday

[bobbyclampett!!]

41 minutes ago, Joelness said:

 

I agree with this but at the end of the day it comes down to cost. My wife and I play 7-10 rounds a week. If we were to go do the public thing we would be spending 2x-3x what we spend now. Also, there's nothing like being able to jump my fence and walk right on to the course and start playing. If I have 1-2 hours to kill I can go play 4-8 holes and not worry about it.

 

Also super underrated is the ability to directly interact with a tee sheet and never have to call the pro shop.

 

s***, yesterday I grabbed my shag bag out of the garage and jumped the fence to chip on 11 green. Once I saw two groups come down 10 I packed up my stuff and walked home. I realized I still had 30 mins to kill so I jumped in my golf cart and went to 15 green to chip until I ran out of time.

Ahhh, I didn’t really think about that aspect of it. Living on the course and playing 7-10

rounds a week definitely makes joining somewhere worth it. I was just envisioning my own golf-deprived scenario where I live 10 minutes from a course and I only get to play about nine holes a week, on average. 
 

I love FCCC too. I have a friend who is a member out there and I play there once or twice a year. I love how open it feels compared to Collindale, like I can actually swing the driver freely and get away with a shot that isn’t within 3 yards of the center if the fairway, lol. 

[pseudoswede]

41 minutes ago, Joelness said:

Anyone else playing the Wellshire Four-ball this weekend?!?! Every single one of you that can play in it, should be. It's a blast and one of my favorites every year.

 

It's open to everyone and their format is that they create ten flights after the first 36 holes. The top flight gets CGA points so you'll have the entire gambit of best CO Amateurs all the way to teams that shoot 105 (in a four-ball!) 

 

I wish I had the confidence to play in four-ball tournaments. I'm always scared that I'm just going to go out and shoot smooth triples every hole and be absolutely useless to my partner.

[jda]

I don't mind the trees.  I come from the midwest where trees are everywhere and most courses are lined.  The trees are the main complaint that I hear about the course... not that it has them, but that it is relentless and a grind.  That course was different when I joined with so many trees gone now.  I didn't exactly include Saddleback on my list of good courses.  🙂

 

Sunset is no problem for me.  Grew up playing older tree lined hallways with small bowl greens - military course in my case.  I just don't like it and don't play it unless I have to.

 

I am sure that the COVID boom has helped a lot, but anybody talented who worked at Fox left for what they thought was a better job.  Some of my membership time was in some dire straits for the club when they were unsure if they club would close, continue, get sold or whatever.  They did a really good job with staff coming and going all of the time.  There was chatter about trading the course to the city for the owners to get some other land to build condos - no idea if it was true.  A different time to be sure.

 

Even outside of the some of the weekly games, the best guys still played the whites even when I scooted back to play the blacks.  Half of the holes play completely different from the Blacks, which is fun - hole one used to play by the clubhouse on the other side of the train tracks back then.  I didn't score any differently from either.  I NEVER understood this about the club.  Many of these folks left when TPC opened, and I heard that one or two got asked to leave, so a lot can change since 2018.  I am telling you, it was a culture thing which sounds like it is still there in some capacity but might be changing for the better.  I did not know everybody, but I would be shocked if there was a true plus HC member when I was there... but I did sub one night in Mens League with a dude carrying a 22 index that shot 30 and every shot looked like it was hit by one of the Oklahoma St mens team.  I offered to get in touch with other interclub leagues and was told not to by the board... like they didn't care so none of us could.

 

I was there from like 2013 to 2018, or so.  You would be appalled by some of the behavior from some of the members regarding their newfound emboldened spirit to act poorly.  If we ever meet in person, I can give you some stories and you would believe them since you know some of them.  I got over it and focused on the good folks, but it happened to more than just me.  My biggest issue is that a few of them would see my name on the tee sheet and join up after I asked them not to lecture me about this or that... and they would do it still.  Again, a lot can change in a few years.

 

Guest fees were about $35-40 and I could not get friends to want to play there, but they would play 5x a week at Twin, Ute or Saddleback.  I think that it is mostly the opinion of Fox Hill members that it is a best course in the area, which it should be their opinion.  It was free, or nearly free, to join when I did and dues were less than four hundo and they were always looking for more members.

 

There was nearly nobody around 40 years old when I was there.  I have heard that this has changed a lot and that might have helped our decision if my wife or kids had more interaction.  I would totally be a member if I lived in Fox Hill or Stardance.  That would tip the scales.  I would still probably walk.

[thaar]

1 hour ago, Joelness said:

 

I played Colorado National three weeks ago for my first time in a while..... Holy s*** that golf course is easy to me now. I played pretty mediocre and still went 34-36-36 (back, front, back) to take $10 off a Regis golfer that works in the cart barn. She didn't pay up and likely just forgot but she also gave me a lot of ammo to give her s*** now.

 

 

Pradera is one of the best Engh courses out there. It's a lot of fun and my boy Jeremiah did a great job with conditions the last couple years.

 

Congrats on playing well man, it can be tough to go low out there with a few of the really stupid pins they can drop (back on 8, back on 17.) We gotta get out and play again!

 

My buddy is now the course supe out there. Definitely would love to get a round in again!

[Joelness]

17 minutes ago, jda said:

I don't mind the trees.  I come from the midwest where trees are everywhere and most courses are lined.  The trees are the main complaint that I hear about the course... not that it has them, but that it is relentless and a grind.  That course was different when I joined with so many trees gone now.  I didn't exactly include Saddleback on my list of good courses.  🙂

 

Sunset is no problem for me.  Grew up playing older tree lined hallways with small bowl greens - military course in my case.  I just don't like it and don't play it unless I have to.

 

I am sure that the COVID boom has helped a lot, but anybody talented who worked at Fox left for what they thought was a better job.  Some of my membership time was in some dire straits for the club when they were unsure if they club would close, continue, get sold or whatever.  They did a really good job with staff coming and going all of the time.  There was chatter about trading the course to the city for the owners to get some other land to build condos - no idea if it was true.  A different time to be sure.

 

Even outside of the some of the weekly games, the best guys still played the whites even when I scooted back to play the blacks.  Half of the holes play completely different from the Blacks, which is fun - hole one used to play by the clubhouse on the other side of the train tracks back then.  I didn't score any differently from either.  I NEVER understood this about the club.  Many of these folks left when TPC opened, and I heard that one or two got asked to leave, so a lot can change since 2018.  I am telling you, it was a culture thing which sounds like it is still there in some capacity but might be changing for the better.  I did not know everybody, but I would be shocked if there was a true plus HC member when I was there... but I did sub one night in Mens League with a dude carrying a 22 index that shot 30 and every shot looked like it was hit by one of the Oklahoma St mens team.  I offered to get in touch with other interclub leagues and was told not to by the board... like they didn't care so none of us could.

 

I was there from like 2013 to 2018, or so.  You would be appalled by some of the behavior from some of the members regarding their newfound emboldened spirit to act poorly.  If we ever meet in person, I can give you some stories and you would believe them since you know some of them.  I got over it and focused on the good folks, but it happened to more than just me.  My biggest issue is that a few of them would see my name on the tee sheet and join up after I asked them not to lecture me about this or that... and they would do it still.  Again, a lot can change in a few years.

 

Guest fees were about $35-40 and I could not get friends to want to play there, but they would play 5x a week at Twin, Ute or Saddleback.  I think that it is mostly the opinion of Fox Hill members that it is a best course in the area, which it should be their opinion.  It was free, or nearly free, to join when I did and dues were less than four hundo and they were always looking for more members.

 

There was nearly nobody around 40 years old when I was there.  I have heard that this has changed a lot and that might have helped our decision if my wife or kids had more interaction.  I would totally be a member if I lived in Fox Hill or Stardance.  That would tip the scales.  I would still probably walk.

 

You are not wrong, it's definitely relentless. Frank Hummel was so good at making courses where double is in play on just about every hole. Yep, I understand on the Sunset side. I want to play it just enough to get good at it, lol. The friends I have at Fox that grew up in longmont grew up on Sunset and still love it.

 

Ohhhhh yeah I heard about some of those days! I couldn't imagine how different it would be at that point. Now it's owned by Tebo and Stuart Horsfall. Thankfully Stu owns the majority of it and cares deeply about the course so it's a lot more solid these days. I would love to get rid of our Supe as I think he's gotten a bit complacent after 20 years but that's my only gripe on the leadership side. To be fair, he did do a great job this year, the course has been PREEM after a really rough winter. I think we're ~375 members. The nice part about the old retired crowd is they all play before noon so the course is empty most afternoons. I still remember playing at 1:30 on memorial day my first year and I saw one other group on the course and I couldn't believe it.

 

Oh yeah! I love that old teebox! The feeling stepping on that box in a real tournament to start your day was unreal. All of us + caps want them to reopen it but I don't see it ever happening due to safety reasons. To be honest, I'm happy those members left for TPC, especially if it's the ones you're talking about. As far as the board, Al Linton finally got booted. Either way a lot of the other guys there will need to pass the torch in the next five years. It will be interesting to see it change and we will get more young guys on the board. I'm pulling hard to change the twilight league to stroke play. It's going to be a long-term thing but I'm here for the long haul. Oh man, if I saw a 20 shoot under par I feel like that person would get rightfully thrown out. I constantly shoot 34 for 35 and get waxxed but that's net golf for ya. It's great for 99% of people but breaks down at the edges (+ and over 30.)

 

OK, the timing makes a TON of sense now. I would actually love to meet and hear some of these stories. There are a few a*******/crazies/drunks at every club so I would be curious who would surprise me. OMG about guys joining you to do that to you for four hours. That seems very vindictive and would drive me out also. Now that I think about it, all the best + caps I know and am speaking about all joined in 2020-2021 when initiation dropped. There has been a HUGE influx of the younger crowd since 2020 and it has definitely changed the vibe.

 

Guest fees have gone up around 2x since then so bringing people doesn't happen as often. All my friends would love to play Fox and I burn guest passes to make it cheaper but I definitely don't get a lot of my buddies in Westminister and south to make the drive often.

 

For us we knew we always liked the course. We really only decided to buy (ended up on Stardance, lol) after being members for six months and finding for us what was a low-key middle-class golf lovers cultural vibe. Most members are golfers first which is my wife and I also. I can picture some of the people you are likely referring to but since I'm 38 I really only run into them during the 10 or 11 am games and men's league. My every day friends are in their 30's and 40's.

 

Lastly, while I love Chappy I could see some good drunken shenanigans stories LOL.

[Joelness]

53 minutes ago, thaar said:

 

My buddy is now the course supe out there. Definitely would love to get a round in again!

 

That's awesome! My only word of advice is to tell him to watch out for his boss.

[Joelness]

One thing I should also note about Fox Hill is that it has been and will continue to change drastically since 2019. Most of the big banks of trees are cottonwoods that are end of life (50 years) and they are starting to go. They are replanting but also replanting slower growth but longer-life trees (oaks, willows, maples, etc.) so the areas where the trees have died and will continue are now easy to play from and will be that way for 5-10 years. A perfect example is left on 13 is a bunker and a huge bank of ~60 40+ foot tall cottonwoods. It's now easier to miss right as the trees are shorter and easier to get over but the left side will die out as the right trees grow so it's going to completely flip.

 

@jda The spots that are drastically different right now since you left (I'm sure I will miss something but these are the biggies I know of):

• Two Big trees right on one are gone
• Big overhanging tree left on two is gone
• Removed mounding next to the lake on six. Trees have died on direct line from white tees. It's drivable for the next ~5 years until a maple planted 3-5 years ago gets big enough.
• Most of the trees left on 9 are gone. There is still that mf'ing overhanging ash tree, but they finally trimmed it this winter.
• 12 is much more open as a lot of trees on the left have died. It's now the 18 hcp
• Trees between 16 and 13 tee are gone. 2-3 of the trees on the ditch left and right on 16 have broken/collapsed also.
• Trees right on 18 (same as left on 9) are all gone except for the last cottonwood. They planted ~5 more this spring but its super easy to blow it right now.

 

Spots that will change drastically from 2023-2028 as trees are already dead and/or very soon to die:

• Left on 8
• Left on 10, behind green on 10
• All trees within 30 yards of 11 green on left are dead/gone. Most left will die within 5. New trees between 11 green and 12 fwy. New trees along cart path behind 11
• Left trees on 13/16. Currently the two closest to the fairway on 13 are completely dead
• 90% of left trees on 14/15 are within 5 years. I bet they cut down 5-10 this winter.
• Trees between 16 green and 17 tee are all dead. IMO I would love it if when they all go around the bathroom they pull 9 tee back to the bathroom, make it a par 5 and move 17 tee to the dead zone.
• Trees left in the first half of 18 will go in 5 years

Edited August 31, 2023 by Joelness

[jda]

I played in the M/G this year and still like to play there once or twice a year.  The big tree that overhangs #7 fairway on the right is the one that I want to bulldoze.  I can drive the ball past the bunker and if it goes even a little bit right then I have to play a cut into the green with a longer iron... from the fairway.  I hate it with respect.

 

I get why they don't make #1 a par 5, but I wanted them to make a shared/connected fairway to #2 down to the right where they planted all of those new trees - board laughed at such a ridiculous whimsical idea.  🙂

 

I hate the trees on 12 down the neck as much as anything.  Thread a needle.  Those bastards are not cottonwoods either.

 

Before long, that course will have 40 yard wide fairways for a few decades as those new hardwood trees grow up.

 

I was happy that they re-rated the course.  #11 makes my top 18 holes in the area and it was like the 16 or something.

 

I would have to think about this, but #18 at Ute might be my top finishing hole in all of Colorado.  It would be fun to see everybody top 18 holes in Colorado list.

[Joelness]

10 minutes ago, jda said:

I played in the M/G this year and still like to play there once or twice a year.  The big tree that overhangs #7 fairway on the right is the one that I want to bulldoze.  I can drive the ball past the bunker and if it goes even a little bit right then I have to play a cut into the green with a longer iron... from the fairway.  I hate it with respect.

 

I get why they don't make #1 a par 5, but I wanted them to make a shared/connected fairway to #2 down to the right where they planted all of those new trees - board laughed at such a ridiculous whimsical idea.  🙂

 

I hate the trees on 12 down the neck as much as anything.  Thread a needle.  Those bastards are not cottonwoods either.

 

Before long, that course will have 40 yard wide fairways for a few decades as those new hardwood trees grow up.

 

I was happy that they re-rated the course.  #11 makes my top 18 holes in the area and it was like the 16 or something.

 

I would have to think about this, but #18 at Ute might be my top finishing hole in all of Colorado.  It would be fun to see everybody top 18 holes in Colorado list.

 

OK cool, then you saw some big changes since 2018. I agree with you on 18 at Ute, it's the same spot in my list as well.

[bobbyclampett!!]

16 hours ago, ASak10 said:

I just played there this afternoon ☺️ I love that course so much. I wish I could afford to join but for now, I’m happy to have friends who can! It’s a really great course and the clubhouse/staff/ amenities are top notch. 

Ummmm, got room for one more some day?? Gotta see that place!

[ASak10]

55 minutes ago, bobbyclampett!! said:

Ummmm, got room for one more some day?? Gotta see that place!

 

Will definitely try!  

[jda]

Anybody been to Fox Acres lately?  How is the condition, for them?  Last minute guests in town and want to play last minute over a Holiday Weekend.

[Joelness]

One last note on the Fox Hill front. The paperwork hasn't been signed yet but the CGA and Fox Hill have agreed to host the 2024 Mid-Am at Fox Hill. I'm pretty excited!

[deadsolid...shank]

After living here for almost five years I finally played Greeley Country Club for the first time last week. I  enjoyed the course. Of course after playing Highland Hills it seems wide open. It’s a course I could play on a regular basis if I could justify the cost. But I just don’t play enough to justify it. Especially with only one person playing. 

[golfingforfun]

On 8/30/2023 at 7:34 AM, movinggolfer said:

Hey Everyone, I am planning on moving to the Longmont CO area in the next year. My wife and I are avid golfers and are considering what courses we should try to live near or be members at. One option we were looking at was Fox Hill Country Club, does anyone have any thoughts on the clubs in that area? Thanks for any tips or advice!

 

We are members at TPC and if your wife is an avid golfer and enjoys competition she may not like it there. They are much more geared toward men. 

 

Men have 4 sets of flex tees (5 per GHIN but 4 per TPC). Women have 0

No member/member for women (although some women put one on themselves this year)

No real leagues for women - 9 hole fun league Tuesday night and the 18 hole league is just blocked tee times Thursday morning, not organized and no competition

They moved the member/guest to the "weekend" this year - Sunday afternoon and Monday morning. 4 nines for $700

 

We did just get a female pro so maybe things will change, but it is nothing like what was promised during the sales pitch. The people are great and the course is usually in excellent condition, however knowing what we know now we wouldn't have joined.

 

[bobbyclampett!!]

Anyone know a place in CO where you can test Fujikura Ventus shafts and other premium shafts and heads while hitting balls outdoors on a Trackman? Just don’t like testing shafts and driver combinations indoors. 

[007iron]

True Spec down in Castle Pines has Fujikura and it's outdoor on grass with a GC Quad (as of last summer at least) - I think 1 hour of shaft testing is $125 as True Spec is not cheap

[Dancin]

4 hours ago, bobbyclampett!! said:

Anyone know a place in CO where you can test Fujikura Ventus shafts and other premium shafts and heads while hitting balls outdoors on a Trackman? Just don’t like testing shafts and driver combinations indoors. 

Gott Golf does fittings in covered bays at Green Valley Ranch hitting out to the range. I think they use flightscope X3s instead of trackman though. They don't specifically have fujikura listed on the website so you'd want to ask and make sure they have ventus

Edited September 4, 2023 by Dancin

[thaar]

Does anyone know if Gott Golf or True Spec use non-range balls? I would much prefer outdoor fittings as well, but if they don't use something similar to the golf ball I use, it makes it more challenging to get properly fit.

[007iron]

1 hour ago, thaar said:

Does anyone know if Gott Golf or True Spec use non-range balls? I would much prefer outdoor fittings as well, but if they don't use something similar to the golf ball I use, it makes it more challenging to get properly fit.

 

Range balls at True Spec for sure hitting out onto the public range. 

 

 

[Joelness]

2 hours ago, thaar said:

Does anyone know if Gott Golf or True Spec use non-range balls? I would much prefer outdoor fittings as well, but if they don't use something similar to the golf ball I use, it makes it more challenging to get properly fit.

 

I would be surprised if any place has this. Especially since they would be essentially burning the golf balls that got hit. The only exception I could see is a place with premium balls for the range (like Harbor town.)

 

You could always narrow it down with range balls and bring your own from your shag bag to finalize the decision. FYI - If any of you want to do this I have plenty of used ProV1's. I think I have ~10 in my regular bag right now that are looking a bit beat up and will get kicked out. I have at least 30 others and a full shag bag.

Edited September 5, 2023 by Joelness