Fitzsimons Golf Course - Course Review
By Chris | August 15, 2008
Fitzsimons Golf Course is a former military course located in Aurora, CO that is now open to the public and offers a great value to Denver area golfers. While the course won’t overwhelm you it delivers a solid track that will be enjoyed by both novices and more advanced players a like. The course has two very diverse nines with the opening nine playing significantly shorter than the back nine. The course has been in good condition each time I have played with very well conditioned greens. There is not a lot of rough on the course, however the course if very open with natural grass and dirt areas bordering the rough that. While these areas don’t look very pretty they are quite playable as long as you don’t mind a few shots over or through trees. The course may not win in awards but it is an exceptional value with 18 holescosting only $22 for Aurora residents.
The front nine play only 2,873 from the back tees with only one par 5 on the card. While the par 4’s won’t overwhelm you with distance most of the holes offer fairly dramatic dog legs that will either require you to carry a set of trees or to shape a shot off the tee. The back is a more traditional layout playing at 3,409 from the back tees. Both par 3’s on the back nine are fairly long and will challenge your long irons. There are low scores to be had on the course especially if you can get the putter going.
The practice facilities are more than adequate and offer players the opportunity to hone their skills for little to no cost. The driving range offers well conditioned grass during the summer months with a length of up to 280 yards. Long hitters may not be able to pull out the big dog put it definitely adequate. There are also two large practices greens where you can practice approach shots of up to about 100 yards. There is also a nice putting green where you can practice both chipping and putting. I have spent quite a bit of time at the practice facility at this course and it is a great way to practice your game free of charge. If you are looking for a good value course Fitzsimons is a great place to play!
Check out all of my photos of this course
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Book Review - Tales From Q School
By Chris | August 12, 2008
Tales From Q School - Inside Golf’s Fifth Major
by John Feinstein
I had been meaning t0 read this book since it came out in 2007 but never quite got around to it. The paperback version just came out this June so I picked it up and boy am I glad that I did. This book is a must read for any avid golf fan as it chronicles what may be one of the most gut wrenching tournaments there is in golf. We all know the pressure associated with winning a golf tournament in particular a major, but in this book Mr. Feinstein lets us into the world where guys are playing for a trophy but for their lives. The books follows the journey of the 2005 PGA Qualifying School from stage one to the nerve racking 6 day final stage.
If you are like me you always knew that Q-school existed and that most (99%) of golfer had to go through it to reach the tour, however the drama and heartbreak that exists over the 3 stages of this event are unlike anything you can imagine. The book was very well written and flows very nicely giving you a glimpse into all three stages of qualifying and an in-depth look at a variety of players many whom are now common names in the golf world. I also enjoyed the updated epilogues that detailed what the players that were chronicled have done since the writing of this book.
If you are looking for a good book to cap off your summer reading I recommend that you check this one out, I really enjoyed it.
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The Golf Club at Bear Dance
By Chris | July 30, 2008
My first Colorado course review!!!
Well I chose a pretty good course to do my first review on, the Golf Club at Bear Dance is Rocky Mountain golf at its finest. Located in Larkspur, CO (between Denver and Colorado Springs) this course may be a short commute from Denver but it feels as if your drove miles into the mountains. I received a gift card to this course for Christmas and I have been itching to play it even since. The course was rated “Best Overall Public or Resort Course” and “#1 Public Course” by Avid Golfer Magazine in 2006 and it deserves these honors. Designed and built by PGA Members Corey Aurand, Stuart Bruening, Dennis Hogan, and Brian Whitcomb, and home to the Colorado Section of the Professional Golfer’s Association of America, Bear Dance provides a true Colorado golf experience.
For those who have played the Prospect course at Suncadia in Washington you may find this course to have many similar qualities. To tell you the truth I kept trying to find out who the course designer was during my round since I found the courses to be so similar (to answer the question they weren’t designed by the same person). The service at Bear Dance was outstanding from the bag drop to receiving a pager to tell you when your group was on the tee I found the facility to be first class. I knew going to my round that the course, and the green in particular were supposed to be challenging and the course lived up to that reputation.
The course provides 5 sets of tee boxes ranging from 7726 to 5240 in yardage, although the tips are not actually open for play. The course is closely guarded by large mature pines that demand accuracy off the tee all day. However, once the tee shot is complete take a deep breath because the fun is about to begin once you hit the large, firm greens. If this is your first time playing the course you will want to know that the greens are fast, but more importantly you will ALWAYS want to keep the ball below the cup to have a chance to make your putt or even keep it close to the hole. Due to the large amount of ridges and elevation changes on the greens getting above the hole will put you at a major disadvantage.
The course was well balance as far as holes go, however the views on the back nine face the mountains to the West and the views are breath taking. The par 4 sixth is one of the signature holes on the course, with this very drivable par 4 guarded by a bear paw shaped bunker on the front of the green. Be careful not to get in the front of this bear paw or you could spend a while trying to get out. I was impressed with the course conditions even during a hot and dry Colorado summer the course was green and lush. Be sure to pick up a yardage book at the start of your round and make use of your cart GPS as there are some blind tee shots on the course.
I was very impressed with Bear Dance and will definitely be making a return trip in the future. If you are a Colorado resident of just visitng you should put this course on your must play list. Due to the great resort setting this course also hosts many weddings and events.
Check out all my photos of the course.
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The Move is Complete!
By Chris | July 30, 2008
I have recently made the move from the Seattle back home to the sunshine and Rockies in Denver.
What does that mean?
That means a whole new group of courses to play and review. I have been enjoying my time off getting in as much golf as possible and I should have a large group of new reviews for you shortly!
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Horn Rapids Course Review - Desert Golf in Eastern Washington
By Chris | May 21, 2008
I had the chance to the play Horn Rapids golf course as part of my recent tri-cities golf trip. Horn Rapids is located in Richland, WA and is part of a master planned golf course community. The course is billed as a desert layout which will challenge golfers of all skill level. The course stretches just under 7,000 yards from the back tees and can play as short as 5,000 from the front tees. I was looking forward to playing Horn Rapids as I really enjoy the desert golf that I get to play on my trips down to the Tucson area, however this course was quite different from the desert courses in the Arizona sun. After talking to several folks that have played this course it seems that you either love the layout for it challenge to your shot making skills or you are not a fan of it due to the course conditions and high winds.
I must admit that I fell into the latter category. For some reason I just wasn’t feeling this course. The wind was in full effect the day that I played, which is always seems to taint your opinion of a course. However, it wasn’t the wind that bugged me about the course, it was the condition of the course itself. The greens were in decent shape; however there seemed to be plenty of weeds and dandelions to go around. Also being a master planned community there were plenty of houses lining some of the holes on the course.
Despite the flaws mentioned above it isn’t often that you get to play a desert layout in Washington state and this course does offer a pretty good value with green fees only running about $40 on the weekends. The course opens with a very short and straight forward par 4 which given the right wind conditions is drivable. However, a nice long iron off the tee will leave a short wedge into this green. The par 5 third has a slightly uphill tee shot that played directly into the wind during our round. The green is tiered so make sure that you are on the right level. The par 4 fourth is a big dog leg right. Longer hitter can cut the corner on this hole and leave themselves with a very short approach. The only water of the day will come into play on the par 4 ninth. A good long iron or fairway metal should take the water out of play on this hole.
The back nine opens with an uphill par 4 that plays much longer than it looks. Be sure to take enough club on your approach shot to this green or you may be left scratching your head on how you came up short. The par 5 twelfth is a big dog leg left where taking the right line off the tee is of the utmost importance. The rest of the back nine plays pretty straight forward until you get the par 5 eighteenth. This is another hole where if you take the right line you can put yourself in good shape. We had a little wind at our backs and I took an aggressive line and ended up having a wedge for my second shot into this par 5.
As mentioned this was not one of my favorite courses but I can see how it may be a course that you have to play more than once to enjoy. The sand in the desert is very soft and if spend too much time in it you will find yourself washing sand out of your ears for the rest of the week. It is very hard to hit a solid shot out of the desert on this course so accuracy is a must for a low score at this course. If you are looking for a desert golf experience without going to the southwest than this may be the course for you.
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Canyon Lakes - Richland, WA
By Chris | April 27, 2008
I recently made the short trip over the Cascades to Eastern Washington for a little Tri-Cities golf weekend. The weather was not as nice as I had hoped, with temperatures topping out in the low 50’s and 25-30 mph winds, mother nature didn’t quite cooperate.
The first course that I played was Canyon Lakes Golf Course in Richland, WA. This course was recommended to me by one of my playing partners in the Seattle, and I appreciated the recommendation. According to their website the course received a four star rating by Gold Digest magazine. While I am not sure I would rate this course as one of my favorite in the Northwest I did enjoy the design and my round. Due to a tournament that day I teed off with some of the regulars as part of a 7:30 am shotgun. It was very cold and quite windy for most of the round.
The course stretches just slightly over 7,000 yards from the tips and just over 5,500 from the front tees. The wind was a challenge for most of the day and after chatting with my playing partners I was told that the wind is regularly pretty strong at the course. It seemed like the course has a pretty large group of regulars that play a lot of golf on the course. I was told by one of my playing partners that the course was originally intended to me an upscale private course when it was first build, but due to a lack of membership the course was sold and became public.
The course opens with two straight forward par 4’s where a tee shot down the left side of the fairway will leave an ideal approach and take tees and bunkers right out of play. The par 5 third provides the first real challenge of the day. It plays at just over 600 from the tips, with water left to challenge that driver early in your round. The saving grace is that there is plenty of room to miss right and I was told the wind does tend to assist this tee shot. The par 4 eighth is a nice slight dogleg left with a tiered green to greet your approach shots. For the long hitters the line off the tee is key to hitting the fairway on this hole. The par 5 ninth was named to the Northwest Dream 18 holes. With a tee shot off an elevated box and homes right a nice stroke down the right side is key. However, with a large slope on the left a slight pull should roll back down into the left rough. The green is slightly elevated with water protecting the entire right side of the green, making an errant approach get gobbled up. I attempted to reach this green in two and hit the back wall of the water, making me wish I had pulled out the 7 iron instead of the 3 wood.
The back nine opens with two par 4’s the second of which is driveable with the wind at your back. I took a 3 wood off the tee and chased the ball up onto the front fringe, providing the group in front of us with a nice surprise. The par 3 twelfth is supposed to be one of the largest greens in the northwest, but plays as a pretty straight forward par 3 from an elevated tee box. The rest of the back nine played fairly typical with the par 4 eighteenth providing a nice finished hole
There were a lot of homes surrounding the course, however I didn’t feel that too many of them came into play. After playing so many rounds in the Seattle area where courses are draped by large mature trees I found Canyon Lakes to be a more open course off the tee. The course provided a nice mix of holes with a fairly challenging layout. The greens played pretty quick, which I have to think could be attributed to the windy conditions. I would imagine that the greens can get pretty slick in the summer time. I wold imagine that without wind the course would not be overly challenging, however the wind will make this course play a lot trickier.
If you are planning a Tri-Cities golf outing I would recommend that you take the time to play a round at Canyon Lakes.
Check out all my photos of this course.
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Northwest Top 10
By Chris | April 3, 2008
I have high hopes that we are starting to see the end of our wet spring and I will actually get a chance to play a round of golf where the ball rolls in the fairway instead of plugging. In honor of this I have assembled a top 10 list of the course I have played in the Northwest. I have lived in the Seattle area for almost four years now and I have had the chance to play some fantastic courses. So without further ado here are my current 10 favorite Northwest courses:
- Chambers Bay - University Place, WA (#1 by a good measure)
- The Home Course - Dupont, WA
- Gold Mountain, Olympic Course - Bremerton, WA
- The Reserve Golf Club and Vineyard - Aloha, OR
- New Castle, Coal Creek - New Castle, WA
- The Prospector - Suncadia, WA
- Kayak Point Golf Course - Stanwood, WA
- The Dungeness -Sequim, WA
- Trophy Lake - Port Orchard, WA
- Washington National, Auburn, WA
Just in case the weather doesn’t improve here I already have my Arizona trip lined up for early May.
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Pure Links Golf = Pure Fun, Chambes Bay Golf Course
By Chris | March 30, 2008
When they awarded Chambers Bay in University Place, WA the 2015 US Open I knew that I had to make my way to play the course. You can’t pass up the chance to play an Open course while it is still somewhat affordable. My dad flew out for my Birthday and we made the drive down south to play this great course. I said in one of my first posts that The Home Course in Dupont was was my new favorite, well Chambers Bay just lept over it for that honor.
If you haven’t seen photos of Chambers Bay be sure to check out my pics as well as the ones on their website. Chambers Bay is an all links golf course, and the first of its kind I have played. With a fantastic coastal setting it is a course that you may thinks was located in the UK if you didn’t know you were only a few miles south of Seattle. The course is carved out of an old sand and gravel pit, and the dunes provide the perfect setting for a great links course. The grass at Chambers Bay is fescue and if you haven’t played on it before, it differs greatly from your everyday golf course. The fairways are cut tight and allow for a large amount of roll and the greens play as fescue should, tough to hold an approach shot and slow on putts.
If you are making your first visit to Chambers Bay be sure to inquire about their caddy services as their inside knowledge about the course will save you at a lest 3-5 strokes. Additionally Chambers Bay is a walking only course, so if you don’t take kindly to carrying your bag or pushing a cart you will be thanking your lucky stars that you shelled out the extra cash for a caddy. My dad got a caddy and I didn’t, but I can tell you that I was able to glean enough knowledge out of his caddy to save me a few strokes. Our caddy happened to be one of their veterans who has caddied at least 300 rounds at the course, mind you the course has only been open since June. His knowledge of the course would make any tour pro happy.
The course itself is a great layout and will challenge players of all caliber. The course can stretch to over 7,800 yards from the tips, but believe me the 6,500 from the sand tees will play as the longest 6,500 yards you have ever seen. The front nine is by far the harder nine with an opening par 4 that will put your game to the test right away and set the pace for your round. The fairways at Chambers Bay are fairly open as long as you play the wind and the slope correctly. However if you miss the fairway you will find that you are punished by the acres and acres of wast bunkers that await you. If you have never played on fescue greens I suggest that you spend some time on the practice green as they are unique. I struggled on the greens all day despite playing great from tee to green.
Chambers Bay is definitely on my replay list, especially before it starts to gain more popularity and the fees move up along with that popularity. I can’t wait to see the pros get out and play the course and see how difficutl the USGA has the course playing. Our caddy informed us that they are going to let the wild grass along the fairways grow so that it should be shin to knee high by the time the open is played. If you are every making your way up to Seattle this course has to be on your list.
Check out all the great photos that we took!
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Trophy Lake Golf and Casting - Course Review
By Chris | March 10, 2008
First, allow me to apologize for taking so long in between blogs. I am starting to get the spring golf bug and look forward to bringing you some reviews of the courses I have played lately!
Located in Port Orchard, WA Trophy Lake Golf and Casting is owned and operated by Oki Golf. As the name states the area offers both golf and fishing, who can complain about that? Designed by John Fought the course stretches just over 7,200 yards from the tips and will challenge any golfer. This is one of my favorite courses in Western Washington, with a great combination of risk-reward shot selection and serene beauty you will enjoy your round at Trophy.
There are over 80 bunkers throughout the course, and many of them are deep and will test your ability to get up and down. My favorite part of the course is the fact that there are really no homes, and the atmosphere is really relaxing. The course offers large greens with lots of ridges so placement on the greens are key. I was greeted by hitting the first two green in regulation and three putting. The one problem that I ran into on the course was that their flags are not colored to indicate pin position and the GPS in the cart was going to the center of the green each time; that made judging distance a challenge.
Some notable holes on the front nine include the par 5 seventh which offer a large fairway split by a gigantic waste bunker. Staying left of the bunker will significantly shorten your approach to the green, allowing the long hitters to go for it in two. Don’t miss left on your approach to this green as a large slope will roll you into the pine needles. The par 4 eighth is a short uphill par 4 offering the long hitters a great birdie opportunity.
The back nine opens with a great par 4 with a straightforward and open tee shot. The approach shot required you to fly a small creek, however with some fairway in front the green the shot is not too intimidating. The par 4 twelfth is a slight dog leg right with a fairway that is significantly elevated above the green. Distance control on the approach shot to this green is key as two deep bunkers are eager to gobble up any poor approach shots. The pare 5 eighteenth is easily the signature hole for this course. With a lake along the left and trees on the right a good tee shot is key to this 3 shot par 5. The pond on the left continues in front of the green and onto the right of the green. A truely beautiful and challengin finishing hole.
One thing to note about this course is that the restaurant makes a killer breakfast burrito, one of the best I have ever had. This burrito is the one reason that I can drag my wife out to golf at this course. If you are willing to take the trip over to Port Orchard from Seattle, Trophy Lake is one of the best courses under Oki Golf ownership.
Click Here to see all the photos.
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Harbour Pointe Golf Club - Course Review
By Chris | February 19, 2008
Oki Golf recently acquired Harbour Pointe Golf club, which to me means that I know get a discount to play this great course. I recently made my way out to Harbour Pointe and it was worth the short trip. Located in Mukilteo, WA Harbour was designed by legendary designer Arthur Hills and was opened in 1991. In 1996 Golf Digest named Harbour Pointe the second best golf facility in the northwest. I am not sure that is still the case, but the course is offers a great and challenging layout.
Harbour Pointe offers two distinctly different nines that will challenge golfers of all skill level. The front nine requires a lot of target play with water on most every hole and a lot of homes lining the holes. The back nine offers more undulation with a lot of elevated greens. The course also offers a full practice facility with a more than adequate range (it was also very busy when I was there).
I happened to play the course on one of the few dry days we have had in the Seattle area this winter. The course was pretty saturated when I played which made it play a lot longer than the yardage on the scorecard.
The front nine makes you choose your shots wisely with lots of water waiting to snag any of your offline shots. Both par 5’s on the front nine can be reached by long hitters, but not without the risk of getting wet. The par 3 seventh is a picturesque hole surrounded by water with a long green. I actually forgot to take a picture of this great hole and had to run back real quick and grab a shot. The 8th holes is a risk reward Par 4 that can be reached by a truly long hitter, however a nice long iron off the tee will leave you in good position. The front nine provides a nice layout with a lot of diversity in the holes.
I started my round on the backside, due to a frost delay the backside was wide open. As mentioned there are a lot of elevated greens on the backside so club selection is key. If you are visiting the course for the first time like me be sure to have your camera ready on hole 11. A downhill par 4 with breath taking viewing of the Puget Sound this is a hole for the memory books. The back nine is full of undulation with a lot of elevated and downhill approach shots. Be sure to choose your clubs wisely on this side or you may not find a green. If you are walking the course, the back nine is definitely the harder nine to walk, but nothing too overwhelming.
I enjoyed my round at Harbour Pointe and look forward to making a return trip once the conditions are a little drier. The course also offers a full restaurant and bar to meet all your after round needs.
Be sure to check out all my photos of this great course, Click Here
Check out my scorecard, Click Here
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