First round of CO golf trip. Started here, as I wanted to check off another Engh layout. And, as I already know, from playing many of them, I was not disappointed. I want to first, thank the previous ... Continue »

First round of CO golf trip. Started here, as I wanted to check off another Engh layout. And, as I already know, from playing many of them, I was not disappointed. I want to first, thank the previous reviewer for his great pics. It saved me a lot of time, not having to take them (LOL). Some might find this course "quirkey" given the topography of the land, but Engh, to his credit, really did a great job of leaving in place, much of the rich history of this property (even the fossils). The course is always rated in the top courses in Denver area (not to be missed, OK). Great practice facilities. Great GPS on the carts and it's needed (lucky I was playing with a local). Length is not the optimal word for this course (although it would come in handy on # 9. Par 5 659 from the tips). Accurate and straight, are two words that immediately come to mind. And once again (like always) 3 par 3's and 3 par 5's in the design, this time on the back. Beautiful scenery and one of the best opening holes, I have played. Tee boxes were great. Fairways that gave good roll and lies, all round. Found a few bunkers, but they were very playable (and some are deep and long). Not much rough, but water, rocks, boulders and OB is in abundance, to lighten up the round. Greens were wonderful and chipped and putted terrific all round. If you are in Denver and have the time to play here, by all means do so.

Played 3 times in September 2015. Very enjoyable. Liked it's quirkiness. Old kiln chimney in middle of fairway on number one. Large rock formations in one fairway. Great views. Nice club house. Will d... Continue »

Played 3 times in September 2015. Very enjoyable. Liked it's quirkiness. Old kiln chimney in middle of fairway on number one. Large rock formations in one fairway. Great views. Nice club house. Will definitely play again next time I'm in Denver during the season.

Last round of the trip in early August was at Fossil Trace. Year after year Fossil Trace seems to get ranked as one of the top courses in Colorado and it has received some other awards by the major g... Continue »

Last round of the trip in early August was at Fossil Trace. Year after year Fossil Trace seems to get ranked as one of the top courses in Colorado and it has received some other awards by the major golf magazines. Jim Engh is a seemingly well loved designer so my hopes about the course were high. We had an early morning tee time (6:50am) so we one of the first foursomes out on the course. We were greeted right away on the first hole with an elevated tee box, a fairway that sat down in a valley, and some old ruins in the middle of the fairway. In fact, many of the fairways and greens sit down in the bottom a “bowl” with the sides of the bowl being the mounding and rough. This way many average shots get, or at least have a chance to get, a kick towards the intended spot. Greens of all shapes and sizes add to the fun. There are some large and small greens, some narrow ones, and plenty have separate sections that might only be the size of the average living room. Some steep ridges are thrown in which allow for plenty of pin placements. There are plenty of bunkers and few looked tricky to play from. I was fortunate enough not to have to play from any, but they seemed to frame the rest of the course pretty well. Just in case everything else wasn’t enough, the course’s claim to fame is that it is built in an old mining site. What’s incredible to me is that while one side of the course actually runs through the old mine, other parts are smack dab in the middle of town. I wasn’t expecting that the course would be so close to major roads, a sports complex, and what looked like an industrial area. From the website I would have guessed that the course was up in a more remote area, but I don’t think that should keep anyone away. In some ways the course reminds me of Oak Quarry in Riverside, CA as that type of layout isn’t seen on a regular basis. I played the Black tees which play 6831/72.3/138 and the back nine is the more memorable nine. Also, I’d say that the latter half of the front nine is pretty vanilla when it comes to scenery. I was expecting a pretty easy course, but that isn’t the case at all even with many birdie chances. The slopes around the greens made it extremely tough to get a chip to stop near the flag. It might be best to try to use a slope behind the hole rather than risk trying to land a chip on a downslope just on, or short of, the green. Because of the slopes in the greens I had some putts moving sideways at the hole. There are multiple ways of trying to get a shot close which requires a correct decision followed by proper execution. The fairways were narrower than I thought they would be and the mounding and elevation change created quite a few blind shots. Even on an average day though someone should be able a few birdies or pars which makes the game fun. The course was in very nice shape. Some small sections of the greens were patched from the winter, but it looked only cosmetic. The greens rolled well but weren’t overly fast. They weren’t slow, but I wouldn’t want fast greens here because of all the slopes. The tees are large so that allows the maintenance crew to move the markers around which helps spread around the divots. I didn’t notice many where the markers were at when we played. It is rare that a course lives up to the hype, but I think that Fossil Trace did just that. I found the course memorable and it was a good value for the $55 early bird rate that we got. My only gripe is that I wish one of the five par 5’s was reachable. The course seems to have the bulk of the yardage on the par 5’s and I wouldn’t have minded a few more longer par 4’s. I’d suggest that someone be prepared for a longer round as the course design doesn’t seem conducive to fast play. Even with that, the course goes as my favorite Denver area course out of the seven that I have played so far.

I had the chance to play here on my recent trip that took me through the Denver area. Got there in the late afternoon and it was pretty crowded, but I was able to walk on. There was some confusion as ... Continue »

I had the chance to play here on my recent trip that took me through the Denver area. Got there in the late afternoon and it was pretty crowded, but I was able to walk on. There was some confusion as I didn't properly get added to the starter's tee sheet and they forgot to page me when it was time to go out (they give you a little pager/buzzer like they do at crowded restaurants). So I ended up having to catch up to my group on the second tee and then going back and playing the first hole at the end. Minor hiccup.

Otherwise, this is a fun course. The front side is a little underwhelming. Nice design, but not much scenery around the neighborhood those holes are surrounded by. The first couple of holes are fun and the 7th is great with a big, nasty, deep, zig-zagging bunker that leads up to the green.

The back nine is where this course becomes something special--one of the best nines you'll find anywhere with some great elevation changes, more interesting views and some truly memorable holes. The 12th is their signature hole here and it's something to behold with the rock wall lining the left side of the fairway and the big rock mounds in the middle of the fairway creating some great risk/reward decisions on the second shot of this par-5. This used to be a quarry/mine, but turned into a fossil dig site and there are some preserved fossils on a rock wall next to the 12th green. Very interesting place, so I am glad I visited. Definitely worth a stop if you are in the Denver area.

The course was in nice shape from tee to green. Fairways and rough were lush for the most part and the greens were running at a great speed. A lot of holes (both fairways and greens) are shaped to funnel to the middle, so it can be forgiving at times. Just stay out of the bunkers, because those are nasty. Cool looking, but nasty!

Fossil Trace Golf Club Review
Denver Colorado Golf Course Reviews

Played this course 8/7/2010 on a recent trip to the Denver area. It is easily my favorite of the 4 courses I played on the trip. This course is based in the foothills and has a lot of elevation chan... Continue »

Played this course 8/7/2010 on a recent trip to the Denver area. It is easily my favorite of the 4 courses I played on the trip. This course is based in the foothills and has a lot of elevation changes. I like elevation changes. There were numerous elevated tee boxes, elevated greens, and sunken greens throughout the course. From tee to green everything was in great condition. The greens were a little bit funky. In addition to being very fast, there was a lot of undulation, I'm not sure I had a flat putt all day long . . but they were also very "thin". That's the only word I can come up with to describe them. They were not "lush" like most greens, but appeared to be a very light growth on top of hardened clay. They putted true . . very fast . . but true! The bunkers had the best sand I have seen in years! Comparable to Spyglass and Edgewood bunker sand . .it was fluffy and fantastic to hit out of. There were several driveable par 4's, but there was always a risk involved so that made them a lot of fun. The pace moved along very well, the carts were equipped with GPS which helped since none of our 4-some had played the course before. The staff was very helpful from the clubhouse to the ranger to the cartgirl. I will definately play this course again when I next travel to the Denver area. It was a fun, challenging, (did I say fun) round.

This was my first time playing here this season. The main thing I noticed is that the greens were absolutely horrible. The grass was very thin and you could see a bit of dirt. In addition, most holes ... Continue »

This was my first time playing here this season. The main thing I noticed is that the greens were absolutely horrible. The grass was very thin and you could see a bit of dirt. In addition, most holes had SEVERE ball mark damage. Like absolutely terrible. My putts were bouncing everywhere. My other gripe is that this is not a good course to walk. There are very few if any paths and you have to follow the windy cart paths up very steep hills. And there is not very many water jugs to get drinks from. But the staff was incredibly friendly and helpful. They really did make it more enjoyable. Other than the greens the course was in great shape. I will probably return.