Denver and our Front Range area is a dream vacation area for avid golfers. At current count, there were 63 public courses listed in the Denver Yellow Pages and it seems they open a new course just about every week, In fact, my son used to say he wanted to play every course in the Denver metro area, but gave up the idea when he realized they were literally building courses faster than he could play them. The air is thin here at a mile high, so the good news is that your drives will probably go 15 to 25 yards farther than you're used to assuming you normally play at or near sea level. The good/bad news is that you will have to adjust your use of irons and fairway woods. My suggestion is that the first time you play one of our courses, you view it as an experiment. For example, if you think you're within a 3 Wood of the green, try hitting with a 5 Wood and see what happens. Or, if you think you're within a Pitching Wedge of the green, see what happens if you use a Lob Wedge or Sand Wedge. My guess is that you will be able to adjust your game to fit our thin air in less than 18 holes. So far as Denver golf courses are concerned, we have some that are both challenging and fun. My person favorite is Arrowhead Golf Course. It is up in the foothills and the scenery is just spectacular. The course's signature hole is its 13th and the minute you walk up to the tee box, you'll see why Arrowhead is so proud of it. Another course that's both beautiful and challenging is Red Hawk Ridge, which is near the town of Castle Rock and is about a 45 minute drive from downtown Denver. You'll find very little water on our courses. In fact, I often play 18 holes with the same ball unless, of course, I lose one in the rough. Most of our courses are called "links style" courses. Three I like are Murphy Creek, Canterbury, and Buffalo Run. We also have some nice executive length courses, including The Links, Littleton Golf, and my personal favorite, Homestead at Fox Hollow. Week day tee times at these courses are fairly easy to get. If you want to play on the weekend, you best call four to five days in advance. Golf at a mile high is a blast in more ways than one. So, schedule a Denver vacation and start calling for tee times. |
