The Golf Club at Bear Dance

This place is absolutely gorgeous. I'm going to have dreams about it, because it was so beautiful. Nestled in the foothills of the Rockies between Denver and Colorado Springs, Bear Dance is a must play if you're visiting in Colorado. Everything about this place was perfect, from the practice facilities, to the amenities, and especially the course itself. It was pristine from tee to green. The course plays fair if you can keep the ball in the fairway, otherwise it will eat your lunch. I'm a short hitter, usually hit drives around 220 at sea level, in a couple of the holes (#14 & #15), my drives went over 280yrds, which felt pretty awesome. I cannot wait to one day come back to Colorado and play this course again, and hopefully score better. For more pictures and videos of the course, check out my Instagram account: @golfyoucanafford

Everything was decent until I pieced it all together. The course was in good condition, it was busy but booking wasn’t too bad, staff seemed friendly.

As we approached the turn, we were rushing to get through a couple holes on the back 9 before sundown but stopped for beverages. In my periphery, I noticed a patron doing the right thing and giving the bag boys a pair of sunglasses they found while playing.

After calling the clubhouse lost & found the following day to ask about my lost sunglasses, they never returned my call. It wasn’t until that night that it hit me: the group that turned in those sunglasses were following us and those sunglasses were with high certainty, mine. I called back the next day and got the same lip service but asked to speak to a manager this time. The manager gave me the same spiel but did return my call a couple hours later but did not have good news. I will add: everyone was cordial in my interactions.

If you feel that $xxx green fees and the cost of whatever may fall out of your cart and NOT get returned is a deal, Bear Dance would be great. However, do NOT expect anything to be returned…when will the industry instill accountability. Friendliness and dishonesty do not equal satisfactory customer service.

Go dancing with the Bear! Simply one of the best in Colorado. May be the best on the front range. Beautiful conditions. Course couldn’t look any better. GPS carts. Nice range. Putting greens. Layout has tons of elevation. Enjoy the views. Friendly staff. Beware of the bear paw on 6. Go play!

This was our 2nd course of our Colorado golf trip and this one was as good as the first and more enjoyable. Paired up locals and that helped. I am not sure I had a flat, even lie and that is always a challenge.
There are some very interesting holes with the views to match. Greens were pretty fast and the pins in places that the locals say are never there and they were even having problems the break.
Again, the theme is undalations and going up or down a hill and it is a mental challenge to get it right where you need to go.

I took my daughter here for a round of golf to celebrate her birthday. Everything was perfect. The course,, facilities and staff were wonderful. Owen assisted with our bags and cart as soon as we arrived in the drop off zone. He was extremely friendly and knowledgeable about the course. Shelly in the snack shop was so nice. I highly recommend this course for its amazing views, challenging layout and friendly staff. I only wish the Green Fees were more reasonable (weekend rate of $150). Id come back and play it more often.

I must preface all of this by saying that I cannot remember the Last time I was irritated enough to write a review of ANYTHING. That said, I just played out there today and was astonished at how obnoxious the staff was. I paid $40 for a 6-pack of beer and when I asked for a bit more ice for the cooler on the other golf cart (they gave me 2 piece of “junk” carts without gps and barely working motors and no coolers - had to switch at the turn) I was told “the ice is only for mixed drinks”. F**** these people and do not give them a cent! I play out there 4-5x per year and typically bring clients (I.e. usually way >$1k bill for a foursome) and was treated like horribly the entire time I was out there. I’ll never play there again and I hope anyone that reads this heeds my warning. Overall the condition of the course was below average as well. Honestly wish I could give negative 3 stars as a 1 star review is FAR too much credit for the experience today

Also, they allowed a foursome to bring the course nearly to a halt until I asked the marshal “how many warnings they get?”. This is what it took to “take care of it...” absolutely insane and truly a shame given how great the course is. Miserable 5.5 hour round. NEVER AGAIN!!!

Been to Bear Dance several times. Never had been disappointed, until this one. For $100 I expect pristine conditions. Many of the fairways are terrible. Never complained about the price. I do now.

We played here on the afternoon of our arrival day and had a 2pm tee time for $100. The course is very scenic with very few homes in view and starts with a pleasant, downhill par 4. The drivable par 4 6th with the bear claw is a fun look. The name makes you think this is a Nicklaus design, but it's not.

No chance walking this course, and I don't think the greens needed to be as severe as they are. It was my first round in Colorado and it'd been some time since I putted bent grass so I was constantly above the hole and three putted like crazy. That said, there are some very memorable holes both uphill and downhill. I always love reachable par 5s as finishing holes.

The club was pretty busy and clearly very popular. It was a bit of a hike from Denver but not as far down south as Colorado Springs. I'd definitely make the trip again. If you want scenic mountain golf this is Top 3 easy within an hour of Denver.

According to their website, Bear Dance has been voted the best Denver golf course the last 7 years. I had really high expectations going in and when I finished my round - I left a bit disappointed. The main reason for being disappointed were the condition of the fairways and 3 greens which were tricked-up. You were not rewarded for hitting good shots into some of the greens. Also, if you were above the hole on many of the holes, you nearly had an impossible up and down or it was impossible to keep your ball on the green. On the bright side, this course has some beautiful holes and scenery. I have recapped the good and bad of Bear Dance:

Good:
Beautiful holes and scenery
On the back side, great views of Devil’s Head (aka The Sleeping Indian)
Many holes framed by Ponderosa pines
Fast greens
GPS on carts
The rough is cut low, so no issues if you miss the fairway
Good sand in bunkers
Staff was extremely friendly

Bad:
All the fairways had bad patches
2 of the greens had sodded areas (5 & 6)
3 tricked up greens (6, 7, 12). More details below.
The lay-up area on the par 5 (5th hole) is too narrow
Because of the speed and slope of the greens and several tricked-up greens - pace of play is slow.

General comments:
You must be cautious of all your approach shots and stay underneath the hole. I felt the golf course was designed from the back tees. When you play from the white tees, you are not sure of where your landing area is. Lot of hidden, blind shots. With 7 holes turning left, 3 holes moving right and only 4 straight holes, you were constantly looking at the GPS views to figure out where to hit your tee shot.

The greens were firm, and I never saw one ball back up. If they had a professional tournament there, there would be so much white paint used to indicate all the ground under repair (GUR) areas in the fairways.

Referring to the tricked-up greens. On hole 6, I hit a sand wedge to 3 feet of the pin. My ball rolled away 30 feet. I had an impossible putt to even get near the hole or keep my putt on the green. On the par 3, 7th hole. The pin was in the back right on a ridiculously small plateau. I hit my shot within 15 feet of the pin. The ball rolled down 60 feet from the hole. My playing partners were above the hole and to the side. Their chips rolled down the slope and within 1 foot of going into the pond in front of the hole.
On the par 3, 12th hole, I hit my shot over the green. My best option was to putt my ball through 15 feet of rough and trickle my ball on the green. My ball goes down the slope another 50 feet. Now I must putt up a very severe slope. I leave my ball 3 feet above the hole. I barely tap my ball; it misses the cup and then rolls down the slope the 50 feet again. This was no fun and it only creates slow play.

With all that said, I would recommend people play this course. It has such beautiful scenery. However, you must tell yourself you must stay below the hole to score. Unfortunately, you will have to deal with three poorly designed greens. You really need to play this course several times to understand all the nuisances of the course.

Bear Dance was the first stop on my group's annual trip (held in Denver this year obviously).

For once we arrived well in advance of our tee time and had time to take advantage of the very nice practice facilities. Nice range, good chipping area, and the fastest practice green this side of the Mississippi.

The course is a nice collection of holes. Most are fairly tight, with trees defending one or both sides. However, there is good variety; with a few short par 4s and plenty of tee shots where you have options besides driver off the tee. The par 3s are all beautiful and enjoyable as well. Conditions this day were great. Everything was lush. The real greens were not nearly as a fast as the practice green... but were still challenging.

#6 is the signature hole. It's a fun short par 4. You can go for the green, but if you miss in the paw print bunker, be prepared for a tough par.

At $100, this was the most expensive round of our trip. In that context, I think it's just a decent value as the other courses were also very nice. But in a larger context, $100 for a quality round of golf isn't outrageous.

I'd definitely recommend adding this course to your itinierary if you're in the area. It was a favorite of many of the folks on our trip.

The course layout is one of the best I've played. Every hole had its own personality and weaved throughout the mountains. I would love to play it again to learn the layout, unfortunately it is not worth the 100$ they charge. A lot of the greens were under repair/had spots of dead grass. Plus we had an unusual start to the round, our group already teed off and we met them on the first green. It was a good course, just isn't worth the price tag.

I recently was on a trip to Denver and decided to play Bear Dance with a few friends. I had read previous reviews and was excited to give it a go.
Tee times were scarce even a week out but we managed to get an afternoon time so we decided to get lunch at the clubhouse before playing. The menu was excellent, service great and the food arrived promptly and was great. They also have a great pro shop with very friendly staff and a great selection of apparel and other gear.
Practice facilities were also great and well maintained and the pager system similar to a restaurant was a great way to know when it was time to get to the tee box.
The course has a great layout and great views throughout and even though there were many groups out each hole is its own experience where you don’t see the other groups.
My only complaint was the greens. It might have been the fact that we were in the afternoon but they were very firm and difficult to land a ball on and keep it from running off. A few of the greens are a bit ridiculous with two to three foot mounds in them. They were fast but fair when putting but not great for the approach shots.
I also want to note that due to their native areas and the risk of fire they do not allow smoking of any kind so if you like to smoke a cigar during your round you can’t do that here.
Overall a wonderful experience for the money and I will definitely return.

This course is now marked down as my favorite course I've ever played, and I've been fortunate to play some of the top courses in the country. Absolutely stunning layout, extravagant views, wonderful course conditions, great service, and awesome pro shop! I didn't have a SINGLE complaint. I honestly didn't want the round to end. Hole 16 is probably one of the best/coolest holes I have ever seen or played. And 17 is a very special par 3. I can't wait to play here again, you HAVE to play this golf course!!!

I played in a 4-some (my friend and I were paired with 2 other people) at 7:27am on Saturday. We were told we were the 5th group out that morning. We waited on EVERY hole and the round took almost 5 hours! We saw the ranger once, and we asked about the pace of play, he rolled his eyes and seemed annoyed that we were even asking. No round of golf should take 5 hours to play. While the scenery was beautiful and the course was in good shape, were we so fed up with the slow pace that we skipped the last hole. Note: My friend made a hole in one on the 17th hole, so we were both glad we didn't end our round any earlier. Lots of good courses in the Denver area. I am crossing this one off my list due to the ridiculously slow pace of play.

This course is phenomenal. It is a true Colorado Mountain Golf experience. It's close to Denver, close to Colorado Springs, but yet it's in a class of its own. Great staff, excellent course conditions and solid pace of play. This is a must for Colorado Golf!

Played here while visiting from out of town. We heard so many recommendations, we had to give it a try. It lived up to the reputation. Great layout with beautiful scenery. Challenging holes - made you think off the tee. You can't just grab driver and smash it. Tees, fairways, and greens in excellent condition. Staff was friendly and helpful. Recommend if you're in the area.