joshsmith12

Played a few Jim Engh designs around the area now. This may be his best work. Red Hawk has spectacular views. Great use of the undulations of the land. Up and down, but never felt too funky. Great course. Conditions were great. Fairways were wet in spots despite the lack of rain. I’m sure that’s the grounds crew keeping the course alive. Greens were rolling! Probably one of the easier ones around the area, but definitely worthy of a play. Views, great golf, nice clubhouse. Building a few new tee boxes that are going to be a blast to play. Suggest this one! Go play it!

Riverdale Dunes in Brighton is such a bright spot. One of the best public conditioned golf courses I’ve played. From tees to greens, the place was immaculate. Not sure why everyone reports unfriendly staff. Never felt rushed. Started exactly on time. 4hours 15 mins to finish. Clubhouse is great afterward. Fairways were ample wide. Stay clear of the water hazards. Has to be one of the best deals around…60 dollars to walk with a ball token on a Sunday. A Dye classic that isn’t overly difficult. If you can catch a tee time, it’s worth the play!

Plum Creek had its Dye roots with angled tee boxes, giant sloping greens with runoffs, and the classic railroad tie water par 4. But, you could tell it had been softened to make it more player friendly from its Senior PGA tour days. Not a bad thing as the course still plays plenty difficult. Traps had tons of nice new soft sand. Greens were fast. Pace of play was 4 hours for a 4some. Never an issue. Not a walking course, distances between holes can be longer in spots. Helps to play with someone who knows sitelines. Never played before, but previous reviews were showing this place had downturned. Not the case right now, the recent Bear Dance ownership has taken over the course. Worth a play all day every day! Classic Dye with elevation. Keep it up Plum Creek. Course will continue to improve through years and makes for a must play!

Blue returns to its former glory. Course is in excellent condition at the time. Military only to be able to play, but if you get the chance go enjoy it! Watch putts from the mountain. Player tip…everything goes away from those mountains! Everything! Clubhouse is top notch. Driving range is large. Go play if you have the chance!

Colorado National is the home to the Colorado Buffaloes. Nice course. Nice homes surrounding the course. Could play VERY long if stretched out to full length. Pace is every 9 minute tee time slots. Told exactly 4.5 to get around. Not blistering, but expected for a busy Sunday evening. Course was in fantastic shape. Bunkers, greens, fairways, rough all good. Could tell tees get a lot of play, but that’s expected. Average width off the tee. Odd par 5s all have split fairways with difficult to reach 2nd fairway unless 285+ carry. Didn’t like the 600yd par 5s with that feature. Ran through 1st fairway a few times. So should I lay up on a 600+ par 5 off the tee? Odd. Par 3s were all good with some length. Variety of holes was very varied. Views were excellent. Amenities, club house, all top notch. GPS carts. All good. Catch a deal and go play. One of the nicer ones around Denver!

Multimillion dollar homes, Pike’s Peak, and far East views are the backbone of the Ridge at Castle Pines North. Nice course. Great conditions on a 71 degree sunny April day. Beware when the wind blows, the course has little protection. Elevation changes are abundant here. Mix of wide landing areas with some holes playing down a bowling alley lane as well. Keep it in play, adjust for the elevation and uneven lies and enjoy your round. Pace of play was decent but not lightning quick. Can see where it could get busier. Clubhouse and amenities are top notch. Staff, bag attendants, all friendly. If looking for good golf between Colo Springs and Denver, this one is worth a try.

Pine Needles is part of the new trio of Mid Pines, Southern Pines, and itself. This is the championship course amongst those. You can tell. Fairways are wider. Greens are slightly more severe than Mid Pines. Conditions are top notch. You can tell the club house has kept its older feel, but had money put into it to keep the quality better than Mid Pines. 5 star course. Management could be better if trying to compare this place with other top 100s. I want to explain this more thoroughly. Staff friendliness isn’t bad when comparing to other facilities. But, if you are going to compare to a top 100 this has got to be without question. No GPS on carts. Starter didn’t arrive until 9:15 and was more occupied with trying to get his non-correct tee sheet right than customer service. When going to a top 75 in America. These things are ran flawlessly. The course itself, could not be any better. Greens rolled perfect. Runoffs expected if a Donald Ross. Just an absolute gem. Hard to pick between this and Mid Pines. Go play both and compare.

Mid Pines deserves its place amongst the best in the Pinehurst area. Better yet, the best amongst the country! Conditions are amazing. Course layout is one of the best I’ve played. Slight uphills, slight downhills. Side hills aren’t severe. Just every aspect of this place screams top 100. Practice green is top notch. Greens aren’t running 12 but I promise with the slopes they’re fast enough. Any faster and they would get silly. Pace of play was excellent. Hotel could use some updating, but the course itself is top 2-3 I’ve ever played traveling the country. Just go play. That day will be special.

Talamore is a must play on any Pinehurst golf trip. The bunkers provide a very unique experience to the area’s other courses. Extremely good course. Book and go play. You won’t regret it.

Legacy is an extremely good value play in Pinehurst. One of the better layouts in the area. About 15 mins from Southern Pines. Some new construction going on but nothing abnormal for a new neighborhood as many of the reviews would suggest. It’s not distracting. Management could use a lesson in customer service. Had to ask every question I wanted to know. No information was offered even after saying it was my first time there. Range is nice. Conditions are nice. Prepare for 5 hour plus rounds. Many tee boxes were backed up for 20 minutes as I was playing. Took 5 and 15 to get around for a single digit handicap. Just enjoy the evening and value. With some better management practices this could be a top 12 in Pinehurst area easily. Par 3s are some of the best in the area!

If you have never experienced Pinehurst and want the experience of being there without the cost of staying on the resort, you’re only able to play 1,3,5. I chose 5 due to it being the full course. This was not the same quality course as the others are. It showed as well. It was average to above average conditioning, but nothing special. Greens were smaller, not much undulation. Many members were on the course which looked like a member’s type of course more than 2,4,8 would be. Just skip it, play one of the other places off of Pinehurst unless you want the experience of the putting course and Pinehurst.

Southern Pines post Kyle Frantz re-do is amazing! Elevation changes are unreal. Greens have way more undulation than the Mid Pines/Pine Needles combo. Way more severe. Conditions are great. Cannot wait for the new clubhouse. This will continue to be one of the best in the country with continued improvement.

Plum Creek doesn’t disappoint for a difficult test of skills. Miss greens and your short game will be challenged. Greens runoff on all sides well below the surfaces. Fairways, greens, bunkers were all in great condition. Hard, fast, just as expected with the lack of rain we’ve had. Great test, stay on the right tier of the greens to aide putts. If it gets windy, good luck.

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!

Mid South is just a delightful round of golf. It’s an every day play type of place. Big, brawny. Wide corridors. Large, quick greens. Holes that allow driver and then a thoughtful 2nd shot. Skip any lower tier Pinehurst course and go play here. “Resort” style without the runoffs of a Donald Ross. Clubhouse has a great bar as soon as you walk in. 9 and 18 views are epic. Must play in the Pinehurst area!

Played Fossil Trace on a warm December day. What a unique course. Would be beneficial to play more than once to know pins/tiers/fairway bounces. Green tiers were some of the toughest and easiest I’ve played at the same time. Tons of shelved pins along with tons of tucked pins. Placement could increase or decrease difficulty by multiple shots per hole. Most fairways corralled errant tee shots back to it and many greens had “bumpers” as surrounds that would kick balls back onto greens. Hole 12 deserves all the accolades it gets. Extremely beautiful and unlike any other I’ve played with boulders up the fairway. Bunkers are DEEP. Luckily they were closed for winter and look as if they are undergoing a slight renovation, wasn’t in any of them anyway, but would HIGHLY suggest staying away from them during play. Fun course, played during winter so the deal was good. Not sure it’s worth the steepness of summer rates for out-of-towners unless hole 12 is on your bucket list. A course that the more you’d play the better it would be.

5 stars! Absolutely gorgeous golf course. Played in early December and hit a 68 degree day! Couldn’t ask for better. Staff was friendly. Course conditions were excellent even in December. Layout is beautiful! If anyone is familiar with The Garden of the Gods in Colorado Springs. This is like they routed a golf course thru it. Bucket list type place. Warm up range is only about 200 but adequate to warm up. Practice green is very nice. Carts had GPS. I chose to walk. It’s got some elevation up and down, but it’s doable just not recommended unless you really enjoy walking! Bucket list! Go play!

Highland Falls finishes on a high note. The back 9 stood out as you make the turn on 14 around the corner. 14-18 are 5 great finishing holes. Elevation changes are ever present throughout the course as both 9s play in a box down around and back up toward the mountains. Tee boxes were nice. Fairways were a bit long, but had good amounts of grass which helped hold a few more fairways with the driver. Sand traps felt good with good amounts of sand. Unfortunately, the downfall of the course at the moment is on the greens. They need some work. A few reviews talk about recent aeration. This, at the moment, is more than that. Seems like a removal of Poa grass which has caused many spots to be bare. Putts are “bumpy” at best. If the Bermuda can grow eventually, Highland Falls can become a course that is worth the value play.

When in LV, play Paiute. Worth the drive to the Northwest side. Played the Snow course. Looking forward to getting to Sun and Wolf. Conditions are excellent. Rough is lush. Greens are great. Fairways and tee boxes are top notch. Carts with GPS. Pace wasn’t the best. 4:50 for 18. So wasn’t the quickest. But the views are spectaculars. Wind always blows out there. Even on a no windy day. Finishing holes are brute beauties! Clubhouse amenities and practice facilities are top notch. If you’re in Las Vegas and looking for golf, play Paiute.

This may simply be the best course around 100 bucks in LV. The grass conditions were perfect. Fairways were manicured, greens rolled amazingly, rough was a great length. Bunkers were 8/10. Some (just a few) could use a little extra sand, but overall they were good. Driving into Rhodes Ranch is gorgeous. The variety of holes is very good. Beware of driver on a few places. Range was large. Practice areas are very good. Food at the clubhouse restaurant was great. Pace of play was atrocious, 5:05 to play 18. But, I was out to enjoy the day and Rhodes Ranch did not disappoint.