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Spring golf in Denver

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mngolferguy

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Hi Guys.
I may end up in Denver the 1st week of April and was looking thru old posts but cant find any info on course openings or conditions for this time of year.
Found a bunch of reviews, but looking for info as to current situations.
Did go to Bear Dance web site and it shows closed, no other info.
If I head south of Denver, does that help, and how far and what courses to play?
I read a bunch about Arrowhead, Fossil Trace, Red Hawk, Bear DAnce,...?
Any feedback would be appreciated.
Thx to THP.
 
fossil trace is one i want to play if i ever get to denver. looks very nice from all i have read about it.
 
Tons of great golf in Denver area, I lived there for several years. Murphy Creek is awesome on the East Side (hosted some USGA events), Red Hawk Ridge on the South side is my fav for the quality for your dollar.
 
ddxu,
Having lived there for a few years, any idea about this time of year?
Any idea what kind of winter this?
 
This winter has been pretty mild for Denver. They've gotten 2 big bouts of snow, but overall its been mild. I know my buddies have been playing for a couple weeks now. Its surprisingly sunny there almost every day, so the sun & temps in the 60s helps get the courses open and in decent shape pretty quickly.
 
Where's Ron when you need him. Born and raised in Denver and could give you a lot of names but couldn't tell what the weather is like.


Tapaway!
 
The courses in Denver are open. I played yesterday at City Park. Some of the courses in the mountains areas may not be open. Courses like Murphy Creek is probably open as it is in Aurora.
 
Everything around Denver is open and it will be in the 60's all week. First week of April everything will be greening up nicely. The mountain courses won't open until late May/ early June. There are several of us in the area so let us know when you are coming and we can make a THP event out of it.
 
I am going to add to this thread. I am coming up to Denver in 10 days. I will be there from the 21st and leaving early 25th. It is a business trip, but I am hoping to get a round in. I am staying with my sister up in Golden and was thinking about playing Fossil Trace since it is so close. Anyone up for a round? Any other suggestions? What days would you guys be able to play?
 
milehighgolfer said:
Everything around Denver is open and it will be in the 60's all week. First week of April everything will be greening up nicely. The mountain courses won't open until late May/ early June. There are several of us in the area so let us know when you are coming and we can make a THP event out of it.
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Looks like a buddy and I will be flying in Thursday night the 5th and leaving town on Monday night the 9th. Looking to play 2 rounds each day, Fri, Sat, Sun, one on Monday. He is making sure it works for him tomorrow.
Which courses would you recommend?
Would love to make a THP outing happen too.
 
Dr. Teeth said:
I am going to add to this thread. I am coming up to Denver in 10 days. I will be there from the 21st and leaving early 25th. It is a business trip, but I am hoping to get a round in. I am staying with my sister up in Golden and was thinking about playing Fossil Trace since it is so close. Anyone up for a round? Any other suggestions? What days would you guys be able to play?
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Saturday would be the best bet to get as many of us together. I am off work this month and hope to be playing again by then. Fossil would be good and there are other good courses in the area. PM me when you get in town and we will set something up.
 
mngolferguy said:
Looks like a buddy and I will be flying in Thursday night the 5th and leaving town on Monday night the 9th. Looking to play 2 rounds each day, Fri, Sat, Sun, one on Monday. He is making sure it works for him tomorrow.
Which courses would you recommend?
Would love to make a THP outing happen too.
Click to expand...

Thats alot of golf! The courses you mentioned are all tops for the area. Many other choices also to fill the rest of your rounds. Are you wanting to play 36 on the same course or move to another course for the second round of the day? There are no 36 hole facilities in the area but you can book courses close to each other. Also there are a few 27 hole courses if you just wanted to play another 9 after your round. When it gets closer let me know and I'll try to set up some rounds if i'm not back to work by then.
 
milehighgolfer said:
Saturday would be the best bet to get as many of us together. I am off work this month and hope to be playing again by then. Fossil would be good and there are other good courses in the area. PM me when you get in town and we will set something up.
Click to expand...

Sounds like a plan!
 
ddxu said:
Murphy Creek is awesome on the East Side (hosted some USGA events)...
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I live on Murphy Creek, and yes, it is open. They opened last Tuesday 3/6/12. I believe that all of the Aurora muni courses are now open. Murphy Creek hosted the 2008 U.S. Amateur Links Championship.

I would imagine that everything in the Denver Metro will be open by the first week of April, including Fossil Trace over in Golden. The foothills courses will depend upon any March snow. Denver can get some big snows in March, so watch the weather before your trip.
 
The weather has been fairly mild in Colorado lately and I'm guessing it won't be a factor when you're out here. There's a good chance the courses won't be "green" yet but they will still be playable. Make sure to check Golfnow (use the THP link above) for some pretty good deals. As for courses... Arrowhead, Colorado National, Red Hawk Ridge, The Ridge at Castle Pines, Bear Dance <-- all good!!

Enjoy your visit to Colorful Colorado!!!
 
I havent heard back from my buddy yet, but he seemed pretty sure.
Wanted to thank the THP group for great feedback.
Have been looking at course websites and they look tremendous. I know it wont be greened up like the photos, but still, wow.. Some nice views, nice courses and pretty reasonable prices to boot.
I'm jazzed.
Been to many places throughout the USA, Canada, Mexico and yet not been to Denver.
It seems like there are a lot of choices, yet doesnt get much published for its golf.
 
I took a golf trip to Denver last April. I was there from April 19-22. The grass was not really dormant. Most of the fairways were green and lush. I thought for the price Denver has to be the best value golf in America. I live in Houston and our nicest public course in town would be less than a average track in Denver. I also like that I could walk every course there. I played Common Ground, Fossil Trace, Foothills and Green Valley Ranch. If I had to do it over again I would have went down to Arrowhead and played there. The other thing I loved is the thin air. I always hear how you can hit it further in the thin air but what they don't mention is the ball curves less. So my genital fade straightened out in Denver. Downtown Denver is nice, lots of good restaurants and brewery's. Have a great time.
 
I have lived in Denver for years.

These are my top 10 favorite public courses in the area.

1. Bear Dance (Open)
2. Ridge at Castle Pines
3. Arrowhead
4. Fossil Trace
5. Riverdale Dunes
6. Red Hawk Ridge
7. Omni Interlocken
8. Plum Creek
9. Colorado National (formerly vista ridge)
10. Black Bear

There are so many great courses here! Honorable mentions include - Indian Peaks, Coal Creek, Thorncreek, Hyland Hills, Westwoods, Common ground, Ute Creek, Murphy Creek, Saddlerock, Buffalo Run, Heritage at Todd Creek, Legacy Ridge and probably a lot more that i'm forgetting
 
For your 4 day vacation i would do

Day 1 Red Hawk Ridge, Bear Dance

Day 2 Fossil Trace, Arrowhead (arrowhead usually includes lunch and dinner before and after round)

Day 3 Colorado National, Riverdale Dunes

Day 4 Ridge at Castle Pines
 
Dr. Teeth and I played Fossil Trace today and they have all the bunkers covered and they will be aerating the greens the first week in April. I'd go somewhere else that week and call everywhere to see what green/fairway maintenance they are doing as it is that time of year here. 36 holes a day on separate courses will be difficult as you only have 11 hours of light and the travel time between courses will hurt. Arrowhead includes range, food, and drink with your green fee so enjoy an entire day there and don't rush off to play somewhere else. Fox Hollow, West Woods, Omni Interlocken, and Kennedy are 27 holes so you can get another 9 in there. Riverdale is 36 holes with the Dunes course the much better 18. Bear Dance is a must do also and RedHawk and Ridge at Castle Pines are both close. Post your plans and I will try to play a day with you guys.
 
Hey all.
Really appreciate all the imput and after viewing webpages, I am anxious to get out and play the Denver area. Great looking tracks abound.
Update, last Friday my playing partner was out longboarding around the lakes here in the Twin Cities, caught a rock, went down, broken wrist.
Cast for 6 wks.
His new clubs arrived on Friday afternoon to make his suffering worse.
I hope that we can plan an August visit.
 
This week I got to play Bear Dance and Fossil Trace. I played Fossil Trace with milehighgolfer, who is a ton of fun to play with and if you get the chance you should definitely tee it up with him. Both of these courses are nice tracks, but Fossil Trace was definitely in better condition right now. The greens at Bear Dance were sanded and running super slow. Fossil Trace had all of their bunkers covered which was definitely no good. But besides those two things, the courses were a ton of fun to play. I would live to play these courses when they are in their peak conditions. I am sure they would be even more awesome!
 
Hi all-

Gonna piggyback on this post. Pops is getting surprised with a trip to come out and visit for his birthday. He'll be out here 5/2-5/6, golfing on Thu-Sat. They'll be staying downtown.

I'll be working except for Saturday, but wanted to get thoughts on especially Thursday and Friday. Thinking of Arrowhead, Ridge at Castle Pines, Fossil Trace, and Colorado National. I've been away from golf for a few years, so I'm not sure if I'll just ride along on Saturday or join in. If I do join in, of these it seems like Colorado National would be the friendliest to a hack job, so we'll probably do that on Saturday.

Between the other 3, if you picked 2, which would they be? Also, if he were interested in getting 27 in one day, would Interlocken be worth it? As nice as the others? Hoping for top-notch courses and conditions, for sure- price is less of a concern. Trying to figure out how to get the best golf experience for him, appreciate your thoughts.
 
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