Thanks very much! I had heard the better clubs out there were 6 figure initiation but wasn’t sure. The public options sound great compared to what we pay out here so that’s great news. If we make it out to visit and i get some golf time i’ll give this thread a heads up.
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The 6 figure private ones are invitation only or have years of waiting lists so you aren’t getting in those off the bat. Most are a bargain compared to NY. Some of this will be out of date but it gives you an idea:
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My club (Boulder Country Club) currently has > 50 individuals/families on the waitlist for full golf and are running a two out, one in policy to get the membership numbers back to a level they’d like, which is quasi-insane given they raised the initiation fee to $60k.
In the Denver area, at least, the really good courses are the ones with the six-figure fees, though. Of that list, here’s the extent of my knowledge:
Good Courses
Colorado CG
Denver CC
Cherry Hills CC
Okay Courses
Rolling Hills
Lakewood CC (some may bump it up to the good list; I’m not a huge fan of the course)
Inverness (debatable - might be bad)
Bad Courses
Courses designed by Dick Phelps
Bear Creek CC
Glenmoor CC
Red Rocks CC (supposedly; I haven’t played it)
Unknowns to Me
Pinehurst CC
Valley CC
Meridian
I would put a lot of publics ahead of the okay courses in that list. CommonGround, Riverdale, Walnut Creek, and even Murphy Creek are better than the okay courses on that list.
We’re on a waitlist at The Ranch and our dues are not $495 anymore. cough
tough scene out there! NYC actually has some decent deals because there is just so much private golf, but seems like you guys definitely have us beat public-wise. Lakewood would definitely be interesting if it’s truly a Ross/Hanse track. Do you know if any of these places have deals under 40?
sir this is a Wendy’s
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Many of them did but with the golf boom the last two years and most courses on waiting lists, I wouldn’t be surprised if a lot of them dropped their young adult deals.
Red Rocks is actually an above average layout and I liked it, but I’ve heard the members and ownership are tight and won’t spend the money to keep it in good condition. They are redoing a few of their worst greens pretty much out of necessity due to black layer issues, so I’d say it’s likely they will spend even less money on maintenance after taking this hit.
Valley CC is a good layout and a great club. I think they’re a little overpriced compared to competitors but they get it due to their location.
Fox Hill in Longmont is a good above average course and fairly cheap. I really like Pradera but lots of people complain about Arcis golf that owns and runs it. Harmony way up north is good and also fairly cheap. The TPC course up north is also very good, but it’s not the easiest walking course due to a lot of long transitions between holes.
They used to, but like @dancin said, I would imagine that it’s changed in the past few years.
Hanse redid a few holes, but his work was pretty limited. He holes he redid are great holes, and they really do stand out. It’s too bad they didn’t have him do more. They did take out a bunch of trees, from my understanding, at the same time.
It’s not a true Ross, because I think he only laid out the back 9 or something like that.
It’s a fine course, but it’s not a course I’d want to play everyday. While the land is fairly hilly, it’s not as interesting as some of the other courses nearby (Walnut Creek, Fox Hollow, Fossil Trace). It’s also sort of packed into the property - there’s not a full driving range, for example.
That’s interesting. I know and play with a member from Red Rocks somewhat frequently. He says the rounds on the weekend are 4:30 at best, which really turns me off from it. Plus, I’ve heard from other people that it’s not a wide, driver-friendly course. That’s a huge negative in my mind.
When I played it last month the greens were good but the rest of the course was not up to a private club standard and you could tell they didn’t give the super much to work with. The first hole at Red Rocks is very tight and not an easy starting hole with a driver (although it isn’t that long and you could hit a 5w or long iron to be safer), but after that I didn’t think it was that bad. It’s definitely not wide open, but I wouldn’t call it a tight course. Perry Park and Ravenna are a lot tighter. I could see a lot of long weekend rounds there knowing they probably have close to 450 members. 375 should be the max for an 18 hole private course.
Ok you and I need to have a serious conversation about our friendship.
I know you think Inverness is bad though. Did you think Lakewood was good?
Yes and yes.
And even if your opinion differs, to put them both in the same quality category is just madness.
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Inverness is fine, find a new slant, the Lakewood ranking though should be examined
Exactly this. We can differ on our views on Inverness, but to put it in the same category as Lakewood is criminal. Off with his head.
As someone who thought Lakewood CC was the nicest layout/conditioned course I’ve played in the metro area, granted I’ve played none of the other private courses listed. I’m intrigued by how much better they could be to be in a category above it.
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Count me in as another who thinks Lakewood is good. Would be happy to play it daily.
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A few of us had a group text going at Lakewood for the NLU event and agreed it would be a place we could play daily. It’s very very good, not great, and a few holes hold it back. But as a daily play, it would be enjoyable.
Walking it daily, on the other hand 
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Sorry, Lakewood does not belong with the other group I put there. It’s not even close. I can maybe go along with it being better than just okay, but it’s not a course that touches those other 3.
Lakewood is fine. It’s not great. The Hanse holes are legitimately great. The rest are just okay. The par 3s are boring (10 would be good if it ever played firm, but it hasn’t when I’ve played it). The most interesting feature of the course is the creek running though it, but it’s not in play except on one or two holes. 9 is a bad hole, and I think 1 is bad, too. I’m struggling to remember much else about the course besides that. It’s a lot of the same hole going up and down the hill.
Bottom line, if you were offered 10 rounds at those 3 I mentioned and Lakewood, you’d be crazy to play any rounds at Lakewood.