We played Pine Creek Sunday afternoon and the only regret I have.... is that I only had time to play the front nine. What we found was a really scenic, challenging, and fun course. Pine Creek is locat... Continue »

We played Pine Creek Sunday afternoon and the only regret I have.... is that I only had time to play the front nine. What we found was a really scenic, challenging, and fun course. Pine Creek is located just to the North of Colorado Springs and across I25 from The Air Force Acadamy. This course plays in and around a housing track so you must be careful with errant shots.From the clubhouse you are able to get a very good look at the front nine as these holes sit below it. There are four sets of tees here ranging in length from 5,300yds to over 7,000yds playing from the Gold or Championship tees. I recommend playing the White tees for the average golfer with a higher handicap. The Blue and Gold tees will have you hitting many shots from difficult postions if you are not consistent. During our play on Sunday we had a steady wind of 10-15mph so this made it much easier to insist on the White tee's. Hole 1 will have you hitting it downhill with a dog leg right. There is a pond on the left and deep rough with trees to the right. Once over the ditch land in a wide area as close to center as possible. Your second shot to the green could be blocked by trees. This second shot also is down hill to a large soft green that is rolling in contour. Hole 2 is another par 4 that has you teeing off a little downhill to a wide approach zone. There are two BIG bunkers to the right that will catch a slice and deep rough and houses to the left. Your approach shot is a short iron to a green sloping left to right and two large bunkers on the sides. Hole 3 is your first par 5 dog leg left from the tee and then a little up hill to the green. You will be teeing off over heavy rough to the fairway with more deep grass to the right and left. Your second shot is a long iron to a big green sloping up front to back, be careful of long downhill puts here the green was a little fast. Know where the pin placement is. Hole 4 is the first par 3 on the front and if the wind is up could play a little tough. Two big bunkers guard the right side and the ditch in front is very close to the green. Hole 5 is another one where you need to play smart from the tee and lay up. This hole is a up hill sharp dog leg left.Try for the green and you will start counting penalty strokes. The trees, deep rough, and gorge will eat them up and spit them back. A 3 iron to the center will get you up for birdie with a short iron to the green. This green was one of the harder to read with speeds very fast and curving slopes. Hole 6 is a par five and was told there signature hole. You have a slight uphill shot into a slight dogleg right fairway. Tee it high here and rip it past the bunkers. Your second shot must be to the bend right of the two deep fairway bunkers, this is where it turns hard right down hill to the green. There are many traps around this green so make your shot count. Along side the right of this hole is just plain ugliness so stay away, and to the right is a hillside protecting more homes. When you walk up the fairway take a second to stop and look back to the west at a fantastic view of the Rocky Range and Pikes Peak. Hole 7 is your final par 3 that has you hitting maybe a soft pitching wedge or sand wedge. Water is to the left and right and the greenside bunkers are huge. the green slopes down from the back. Now you will cross under the road again to the final two holes. Hole 8 is a straight par 4 that if you nail your drive have only a wedge to chip onto the green, a green that was one of the easiest to play. No real danger on this hole just keep it clean. Hole 9 the finish hole for the front nine is another downhill tee shot through a narrow opening to the fairway. This is the second hole in a row that if hit hard and true you come close to the green.Another wedge will set you up for birdie here. The starter was very friendly and informative when told that this was the first time we were playing Pine Creek.She informed us of several places on the course where you should leave the driver in the bag and of other hidden areas. There were not any long strolls between green and tee's so this helped to keep the pace of play up and allow us to finish our round in just over 2 hours. Overall this course was in fantastic condition considering the time of season. The tee boxes were clean, fairways lush and greens free of ball marks. You are able to see the staff here at Pine Creek take pride in the work and of there course. When playing out on the course all personnel would stop the carts and sit still while you hit your shot. I really liked this as at so many other places that would just blast right past you caring less. I need to get down there again and finish this course. Good Luck!