Highland Hills is a completely different animal than the other Greeley municipal, Boomerang GC. We got open spaces at Boomerang, but Highland Hills (H.H.) offers a park setting featuring an abundance... Continue »

Highland Hills is a completely different animal than the other Greeley municipal, Boomerang GC. We got open spaces at Boomerang, but Highland Hills (H.H.) offers a park setting featuring an abundance of mature Cottonwoods. The holes run pretty straight for the most part, with a few doglegs sprinkled in. I thought the course was in really good condition when we played on OCT 17th. We did have a frost delay that set us back about 30min, but once it was gone, we were able to play a really nice course.
The tees were in pretty good shape - very lush like those at Boomerang. It seemed like there were a few more damaged areas, but most everything had been sand/seeded to aid recovery. Like I said in the Boomerang review, check yardage plates in the boxes of par 3s...it could affect the club if the tees have been moved around.
Fairways were also in nice shape. We were sent off the back nine first, and I noticed that fairways were pretty flat compared to those on the front. Fairways on #1-9 were rarely even close to being flat. Some holes had either constant ascension or were fully decending, some rolled, and some dropped severely and came right back up - very interesting, but nothing difficult to handle. I suppose that fairways on H.H. were a bit more narrow than other fairways I've seen, but I never felt like I had to be dead straight to stay alive. I DID however feel like a slice or a hook into the rough would be bad news...and it was!
The rough combined with fallen leaves to make finding balls nearly impossible! (Thanks to our playing partner Norm who, with a sharp eye and a golf cart, kept me loss-free that day). The rough is thick but playable - what makes it difficult is the trees. Huge cottonwoods and other species line every hole on both sides, making scrambling difficult. Be prepared to swallow your pride and punch back to the fairway if you get in the trees.
Other hazards at H.H. include sand and water. The water is really a non-factor on this course. I think there were less than 3 holes where water was even close to affecting play, and only one where you actually had to cross it. Unlike water, there is a standard dose of both fairway and green-side traps here. I think fairway traps were used primarily to keep balls out of the open back yards on the dog legs, but deep green-side bunkers were thoughtfully placed to make approaches a challenge. I was lucky enough to avoid them, but it looked like the sand was quite fine and clean.
The greens have to be the most challenging piece of turf at H.H. They definitely have breaks - I don't think I saw a straight roll all day. Many have grades big enough to where you'd like to place approaches below the hole. A miss from above could carry a ball well away on several holes. We saw a few scars and a bare spot on the highest parts of one or two greens, but they're still in great shape overall.
One aspect of the experience that I often forget to mention is the people of the course. Ninety-nine percent of the golfers and staff at H.H. were very nice. Pro shop staff, starters, bartenders, our playing partner Norm, the guy we chatted with for 30min during the delay - all great people. However, a note for the roid-rager who played behind us: stop yelling at your wife and how about a "fore" before you drive a ball to our heels, eh?

Overall, I had a great experience.