Colorado WRX 2025

[pseudoswede]

This is an annual thread for Colorado residents. Feel free to post anything Colorado golf-related in this thread. For example...

 

• Great deals on green fees or club memberships
• Recommendations for Colorado club fitters, swing coaches, etc.
• Looking for a playing partner/golf league/club membership
• Colorado golf course news/reviews
• How awesome it was golfing last weekend wearing shorts and a t-shirt ... in January
• How awesome it was golfing last weekend wearing snow gear ... in June
• Accomplishing the Colorado duofecta of skiing and golfing on the same day

 

If you're new to Colorado, welcome! If you're a long-time Coloradan who just discovered this thread, welcome! Please introduce yourself!

[bobbyclampett!!]

Yes! I'm in again. Moved to CO November 2020 from Wyoming. Getting much more familiar with the golf scene here, which is incredible. So many great courses, people, tournaments, leagues. You can never get bored. Still looking to play TPC, Murphy Creek, Walnut Creek, Common Ground, Haymaker, Broadmoor, Eisenhower, and, if I'm dreaming, Colorado Golf Club, Cherry Hills, Catamount. Hard to believe I've been here four years and haven't played any of those. Slowly but surely...

 

Looking forward to this year. Not thinking so much about swing mechanics, but focusing more on intent and shot results, letting the ball flight teach me. Going to try to hit almost every shot so it starts just left of my target with a gentle fade back onto the target. Pay close attention to every shot, both range and course. Did it start left? Did it curve right? If not, implement a fix. Keep it simple. Can't wait. I've been playing golf swing my whole life. So sick of it.

 

Wishing everyone a great year of golf in 2025!

 

 

[Dancin]

heh. I played everything on your list except Haymaker. I really should have stayed an extra day in Steamboat when playing Catamount Ranch and played that too. Try and find a TPC member and play it before May. It's only $80 to walk out of season as a guest of a member. Conditions still great although they have hay bales and pallets in some of the bunkers to keep the sand in. Commonground might have the best condition winter greens on the front range although Highland Meadows were still really good in early December too.

[bobbyclampett!!]

How would you rank the courses on my to-play list, @Dancin?

Edited January 4 by bobbyclampett!!

[Dancin]

48 minutes ago, bobbyclampett!! said:

How would you rank the courses on my to-play list, @Dancin?

Ranking assuming best conditions at each course and no consideration of price or travel time to get to them:
Colorado Golf Club best course in CO after Ballyneal
Catamount Ranch  almost made this a tie with CGC but the first few holes at CR are pretty average. the back 9 is all world
Cherry Hills classic and challenging. I'd take CGC or CR over it every time though.

Highland Meadows including for reference since I know you played that. HM is my favorite public course on the front range and I likely have it higher than other people would put it, but if you took the houses away and get similar conditions, this is a superior layout to TPC

Broadmoor The Ross holes are really good but many of the RTJ holes are meh and the Ross holes are split between the east and west courses

TPC Colorado the long walks between holes really knocks this down. Making it a tournament course also dumbed it down a little compared to Art's effort at HM. If you play the proper tees, a lot of the holes are pretty easy

Walnut Creek solid and challenging golf. better golfers may put it above TPC as it is more challenging

Murphy Creek similar to Walnut Creek. Just solid and challenging

Eisenhower Blue you may have this a lot higher. I'm not a huge RTJ fan and find some holes here repetitive, but it is really good and very challenging especially if you aren't hitting it straight

CommonGround still amazing what Doak did with this property compared to what was there. I always have fun playing here

Edited January 4 by Dancin

[bobbyclampett!!]

6 minutes ago, Dancin said:

Ranking assuming best conditions at each course and no consideration of price or travel time to get to them:
Colorado Golf Club best course in CO after Ballyneal
Catamount Ranch  almost made this a tie with CGC but the first few holes at CR are pretty average. the back 9 is all world
Cherry Hills classic and challenging. I'd take CGC or CR over it every time though.

Highland Meadows including for reference since I know you played that. HM is my favorite public course on the front range and I likely have it higher than other people would put it, but if you took the houses away and get similar conditions, this is a superior layout to TPC

Broadmoor The Ross holes are really good but many of the RTJ holes are meh and the Ross holes are split between the east and west courses

TPC Colorado the long walks between holes really knocks this down. Making it a tournament course also dumbed it down a little compared to Art's effort at HM. If you play the proper tees, a lot of the holes are pretty easy

Walnut Creek solid and challenging golf. better golfers may put it above TPC as it is more challenging

Murphy Creek similar to Walnut Creek. Just solid and challenging

Eisenhower Blue you may have this a lot higher. I'm not a huge RTJ fan and find some holes here repetitive, but it is really good and very challenging especially if you aren't hitting it straight

CommonGround still amazing what Doak did with this property compared to what was there. I always have fun playing here

 

 

 

Awesome, you are the man. I always trust your judgment. I can’t believe how much you know about Colorado golf (and apparently golf around the country). We gotta play together again this year. 

[Dancin]

I will say Haymaker looked good when I drove by it to Catamount Ranch 😃, but not exciting enough that I would make a trip to Steamboat just to play it. If I ever go back to play CR I will make sure to play it though. That's a long detour from anything else you'd want to play in CO if you aren't playing CR. I think I would choose the Glenwood Springs area (Ironbridge, Lakota Links, River Valley Ranch, Battlement Mesa)  over going to play just Rollingstone Ranch and Haymaker if I was driving that far

[bobbyclampett!!]

8 minutes ago, Dancin said:

I will say Haymaker looked good when I drove by it to Catamount Ranch 😃, but not exciting enough that I would make a trip to Steamboat just to play it. If I ever go back to play CR I will make sure to play it though. That's a long detour from anything else you'd want to play in CO if you aren't playing CR. I think I would choose the Glenwood Springs area (Ironbridge, Lakota Links, River Valley Ranch, Battlement Mesa)  over going to play just Rollingstone Ranch and Haymaker if I was driving that far

I like Glenwood Springs area. My wife likes the hot springs there. I’ve played RVR and love it, but it’s been forever. Haven’t played the others. So much good golf in CO. 

[Dancin]

Ironbridge is ridiculous cart ball golf on the back 9 (minutes of transition between holes in the cart) but those holes are so good. It took a couple years but the new owners of Lakota Links have that back in good shape and I think that is Jim Engh's best design. Battlement Mesa is very underrated. If it wasn't in Parachute a lot more people would know about it.

[Double Mocha Man]

On 1/2/2025 at 7:01 AM, pseudoswede said:

• Accomplishing the Colorado duofecta of skiing and golfing on the same day

 

 

I did that in Washington state a few years ago.  Skied Mount Baker in the morning with my son, came home, was sitting in my favorite bar having an apres ski cocktail when I noticed how sunny it was, and how mild the temperature was. So I zipped out to Lake Padden Golf Course and played nine holes!

 

And I can post in this forum because I once lived in Colorado for 7 years. 😄

Edited January 4 by Double Mocha Man

[Double Mocha Man]

2 hours ago, Dancin said:

I will say Haymaker looked good when I drove by it to Catamount Ranch 😃, but not exciting enough that I would make a trip to Steamboat just to play it. If I ever go back to play CR I will make sure to play it though. That's a long detour from anything else you'd want to play in CO if you aren't playing CR. I think I would choose the Glenwood Springs area (Ironbridge, Lakota Links, River Valley Ranch, Battlement Mesa)  over going to play just Rollingstone Ranch and Haymaker if I was driving that far

 

I lived in Glenwood Springs for a year and a half. Is the municipal course, west of town, up on a bluff, still there? I played a lot of thin air golf there.

[007iron]

9 hours ago, Double Mocha Man said:

 

I lived in Glenwood Springs for a year and a half. Is the municipal course, west of town, up on a bluff, still there? I played a lot of thin air golf there.

it is! The trees are all grown up now so it’s a little over grown and slightly too tree-lined for my liking but it’s a great 9 holes with excellent views and tough greens. 

[pseudoswede]

13 hours ago, Double Mocha Man said:

 

And I can post in this forum because I once lived in Colorado for 7 years. 😄

 

Anyone's welcome here!

[MickeyTankBank]

Just patiently waiting for some golf weather 

 

[CDM]

On 1/3/2025 at 6:53 PM, Dancin said:

Ranking assuming best conditions at each course and no consideration of price or travel time to get to them:
Colorado Golf Club best course in CO after Ballyneal
Catamount Ranch  almost made this a tie with CGC but the first few holes at CR are pretty average. the back 9 is all world
Cherry Hills classic and challenging. I'd take CGC or CR over it every time though.

Highland Meadows including for reference since I know you played that. HM is my favorite public course on the front range and I likely have it higher than other people would put it, but if you took the houses away and get similar conditions, this is a superior layout to TPC

Broadmoor The Ross holes are really good but many of the RTJ holes are meh and the Ross holes are split between the east and west courses

TPC Colorado the long walks between holes really knocks this down. Making it a tournament course also dumbed it down a little compared to Art's effort at HM. If you play the proper tees, a lot of the holes are pretty easy

Walnut Creek solid and challenging golf. better golfers may put it above TPC as it is more challenging

Murphy Creek similar to Walnut Creek. Just solid and challenging

Eisenhower Blue you may have this a lot higher. I'm not a huge RTJ fan and find some holes here repetitive, but it is really good and very challenging especially if you aren't hitting it straight

CommonGround still amazing what Doak did with this property compared to what was there. I always have fun playing here

 

Great points for each course.   

 

I think the CR vs CGC will come down to personal preference.  I know a number of people who like CR over CGC and number that go CGC over CR.   Different type of courses being the main factor. 

 

Broadmoor, not sure what it is about the courses but I have never really been a fan of it and I know many love it.

 

Played Haymaker a few time and Catamount and I would say 6-7 out of 10 times I would play Catamount over Haymaker.  Haymaker is a decent course but as @Dancin the back 9 at Catamount is fantastic. 

 

When you get around to playing Murphy let me know, the group I routinely play with, we play MC a number of times in the summer and typically have an opening.  All of them are good sticks too, unlike me. 

[CDM]

So hope everyones year in golf went as planned.   

 

Nothing new for next year for me as noted in prior thread as it relates to golf.  Doubtful but thinking of swithing out shafts on irons but not sure I will.  

 

Only goal over the next 3-4 months is to figure out the BS medical nerve issues that now know is causing other issues no one was aware of.......LOL   I swear its true when doctors note they are particing medicine it means they are really just "practicing" 🤣

[Dancin]

1 hour ago, CDM said:

Broadmoor, not sure what it is about the courses but I have never really been a fan of it and I know many love it.

It's the RTJ holes that bring it down. If you could play just the Ross holes I think it would be ranked a lot higher. Also why I really enjoy playing the free winter layout since it is mostly Ross holes.

Edited January 6 by Dancin

[bobbyclampett!!]

Oh I forgot another thing we share on here is planned golf trips. Finally doing Bandon this year, as long as I don’t have a trial. May 4-6. Old Macdonald and Sheep Ranch day 1, Bandon Trails and Pacific Dunes day 2, the Preserve Par Three and Bandon Dunes day 3. So I think that pretty much covers it in three days. Hoping for some good weather and good course conditions. I heard a couple of the courses were in rough shape last year, at least the greens were. 

[Joelness]

@Dancin is on point with the course descriptions! I found myself nodding through almost the entire post (minor disagreements )

[Joelness]

@birdiemachine How did you get that GHIN data? Is there an API I don't know about? 

 

The Fox Hill men's league is getting pushed to re-handicap each hole and I need some data if I'm going to back any changes. I've asked our head pro buuuut I'd love to know if there was a public API I could get hole by hole data from.

[birdiemachine]

9 hours ago, Joelness said:

@birdiemachine How did you get that GHIN data? Is there an API I don't know about? 

 

The Fox Hill men's league is getting pushed to re-handicap each hole and I need some data if I'm going to back any changes. I've asked our head pro buuuut I'd love to know if there was a public API I could get hole by hole data from.

For that histogram I just used a point in time (Club Championship date) for caps.  We use golfgenius and I pulled the data from there.  There's all sorts of neat info there.  For example, here's my scoring stats compared to all players for the year.  There are only 4 holes whose handicap on the scorecard matched actual performance. But in my opinion, I don't think hole handicaps have any impact on tournament results.

 

Edited January 8 by birdiemachine
Added additional text

[Joelness]

1 hour ago, birdiemachine said:

For that histogram I just used a point in time (Club Championship date) for caps.  We use golfgenius and I pulled the data from there.  There's all sorts of neat info there.  For example, here's my scoring stats compared to all players for the year.  There are only 4 holes whose handicap on the scorecard matched actual performance. But in my opinion, I don't think hole handicaps have any impact on tournament results.

 

 

Gotcha, we moved to GG last year so I'll pull tournament data from there for now. We play a lot of match play so the hole handicaps are more important. Tbh, I'd prefer to stay out of it and blame the CGA for a just a couple badly handicapped holes (IMO the ratings are too dependent on length.) It sounds like the prez isn't going to stay out of it so here we are.

 

So far we're just going to tell everyone if they want the hole handicaps changed then they need to put in hole-by-hole scores so we can have some half-decent data to base some decisions.

[Joelness]

On 1/6/2025 at 8:00 PM, bobbyclampett!! said:

Oh I forgot another thing we share on here is planned golf trips. Finally doing Bandon this year, as long as I don’t have a trial. May 4-6. Old Macdonald and Sheep Ranch day 1, Bandon Trails and Pacific Dunes day 2, the Preserve Par Three and Bandon Dunes day 3. So I think that pretty much covers it in three days. Hoping for some good weather and good course conditions. I heard a couple of the courses were in rough shape last year, at least the greens were. 

 

That place is so good. I still can't believe it lived up to the hype.

 

I get those same feels when I go to Ballyneal, it's special.

[pseudoswede]

2 hours ago, birdiemachine said:

For that histogram I just used a point in time (Club Championship date) for caps.  We use golfgenius and I pulled the data from there.  There's all sorts of neat info there.  For example, here's my scoring stats compared to all players for the year.  There are only 4 holes whose handicap on the scorecard matched actual performance. But in my opinion, I don't think hole handicaps have any impact on tournament results.

 

 

Wow. This is seriously solid data to use in match play and knowing whether you can move up one tee box or can move back one tee box depending on how your opponent has played certain holes.

[Dancin]

34 minutes ago, Joelness said:

So far we're just going to tell everyone if they want the hole handicaps changed then they need to put in hole-by-hole scores so we can have some half-decent data to base some decisions.

Was going to say it's kind of crazy to even consider changes without having at least a year of solid data backing that up.

[Dancin]

20 minutes ago, Joelness said:

 

That place is so good. I still can't believe it lived up to the hype.

Same. When Brett and I went to Bandon it was completely full with all rooms filled and two tournaments going on and it never felt packed except one night at dinner on site. I'm still amazed I was able to play 54 holes two days with all those people there. And all the courses really are as good as they say.

[jda]

3 hours ago, Joelness said:

So far we're just going to tell everyone if they want the hole handicaps changed then they need to put in hole-by-hole scores so we can have some half-decent data to base some decisions.

 

When I was at FH, they did this twice with mountains of data, stats and differentials.  You should just pull holes out of a hat and give that a shot.  Nobody was happy when it was done, so just blame the luck of the draw.  ...blessings if you have to get involved in any way.  🙂

 

I will start with the first 6...

9,

15,

1,

11,

6,  everybody will want this, but blah...

13

 

Scoring averages on 6 are skewed by bad players going for it, so 8 or 2 might be a better choice here.  For me, it is 5 with the protected green and forced dogleg left.  Put 6 in the middle somewhere and make guys stop going for it with the "I get a stroke anyway" attitude.

[Joelness]

1 hour ago, jda said:

 

When I was at FH, they did this twice with mountains of data, stats and differentials.  You should just pull holes out of a hat and give that a shot.  Nobody was happy when it was done, so just blame the luck of the draw.  ...blessings if you have to get involved in any way.  🙂

 

I will start with the first 6...

9,

15,

1,

11,

6,  everybody will want this, but blah...

13

 

Scoring averages on 6 are skewed by bad players going for it, so 8 or 2 might be a better choice here.  For me, it is 5 with the protected green and forced dogleg left.  Put 6 in the middle somewhere and make guys stop going for it with the "I get a stroke anyway" attitude.

 

"Nobody was happy when it was done" is the exact reason why I want to just leave it and tell everyone to blame the CGA and stfu.

[Joelness]

Anyone getting out Thursday? We have a couple open spots if anyone wants to jump in.

 

EDIT: Fox is still closed, ironically opening Friday. It appears that Ute is still closed also. I booked a 1:10 at twin tonight. I doubt we finish but it's still something

Edited January 16 by Joelness

[CDM]

@Dancin is such a bad influence when it comes to golf trips....!  Unreal......🤣

Edited January 16 by CDM