Roll Call: Colorado -- @PJM v Colorado Golfers, @PJM only half guilty

Played the course in Cedaredge the other week. Back 9 is on a ridge and is pretty fun.

I would also say that Redlands Mesa is not a “must play” at the rates they charge. I have no experience with the other courses, but Redlands Mesa did not wow me for what they charged.

Hope you’re getting out to Fruita to ride too! There is almost an unlimited amount of amazing riding on the west side of the state. Jealous you’ll be there during the late fall when weather should be perfect.

Good to know about Redlands Mesa and the other area courses. That course in Delta looks super cool, definitely putting that one on the list to play at some point if not this year.

And yes would definitely be biking in Fruita, hopefully the weather will hold and then it should indeed be a gorgeous time of year to be out on the west slope. I had one year I was hoping to get out that way biking in late October when it snowed a foot so I had to bail.

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Hey Coloradan nesticles! I’m trying to plan my bachelor party in June roughly of 2023, and one idea is Denver. I’ve always wanted to go see Commonground, and would love to take in other courses, some hiking/nature, and the craft beer scene. I’m wondering where a good place to make home base in an Airbnb would be, other courses to play, etc.
I’m open to any and all advice!

Look at the rankings lists and decide which courses you want to play. Pick your stay based on nightlife because none of the courses are anywhere near where you want to party at night. It’s not the best destination for a golf bachelor party unless you have designated drivers. Same goes for hiking/nature walks. You’re driving somewhere for that too. Boulder has the bars and relatively close good hiking but it’s far from the best courses. Denver closer to the best courses (still quite a drive though) but far from good mountain hiking. You need to decide what is most important for the trip.

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I would say it’s likely golf. This isn’t a huge party crowd, would be good to some good tap houses/breweries, and maybe back to the Airbnb after that

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The ranking lists are pretty good other than Arrowhead does not belong high in the list. It’s an average and fairly boring course located in really good scenery. Only play there if your group really wants to play amongst the red rocks but it really is not that great of a course

Looking for help with my pencil collection.
Ballyneal, Broadmoor, Red Sky Ranch, Redlands Mesa. I have a handful of extras from around the country and scotland/ireland to return the favor.

I think Ballyneal just has unmarked pencils, so no fun there…

I think you are correct. Thats all they had when I was there. On another note any reviews on RainDance course and conditioning?

correct. no branded ballyneal pencils but they have ballyneal and mulligan logo tees in the pro shop.

I’ve talked to a few people who have played Raindance. Mixed reviews. Some really liked it. Others not so much especially when factoring in the price. Comments: Beautiful views. Greens are extremely firm and fast. Apparently they have already changed at least one hole to widen the fairway as the slope was too much and almost all drives were running into the arroyo. Routing is weird and it feels like 18 holes designed by different people instead of flowing. Brutal pace of play (5-5.5 hours). Easy to lose balls.

Here is an early review from a friend. He’s better than scratch, just to understand where it’s coming from.

“Oh! It was fine. Ended up being comped which was nice. Course isn’t anything special in my opinion. Definitely not worth the $275 full price round. I’d say TPC is way better for the money.

Lot of construction going on makes it not too great to look at in a lot of places. Can’t really see the mountains from most of the course. Course style is a little all over the place. Touches of parkland, desert, links, and resort all in one that never really meshes into a cohesive design in my opinion.

Routing is a little questionable in some places, for example 17s tee shot (par 3) goes slightly over the left part of 16s green - shouldn’t be a problem if you’re playing the back or one up tees but still… why do that? The driving range is a 4-5 minute cart ride from the club house in the opposite direction of hole 1 which is also where the putting green is so you can’t do green-range-green if that’s your warm up style. I hit the same club on 4/5 par 3s and no short par 3 :-1:t4:

A lot of blind tee shots and approach shots.

Greens were FANTASTIC, course was overall fun/difficult but I think I’d rather play walnut 3-4x for the money (if I’d paid).

I’d give it a 7.1/10 with a fair amount of room to improve as they build out an actual clubhouse and get rid of some of the eyesores on the course.”

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I’ll be up in the area next weekend. Planning on playing golf I think with a buddy of mine who never plays (has maybe played twice in the last five years). He lives down in Castle Rock but doesn’t know much about the courses. From what I can tell they all seem expensive and overpriced for what the course actually is (although they look pretty). I’ve only played CommonGround, which is great obviously, and City Park. That’s about the extent of my golf knowledge. Any recs between Denver and CR? Not trying to make a friend of mine who doesn’t really play golf or care much too far out of the way. Not sure he’d “get” CommonGround so views and aesthetics may trump GCA, which in that case maybe the CR courses would fit the bill?

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I think Red Hawk Ridge would be an excellent option for you both. The views are there and it’s a little shorter than most courses. Very fun for those who don’t play golf often or golf a lot. It’s 70 bucks during the week, Cart included.

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Thanks! He just mentioned wanting to check out Bear Dance so I think we’re going to do that one. Any input on that one?

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Bear dance is great. If your buddy doesn’t play often he’s going to need over a dozen balls.

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Yeah that’s what I was guessing from the few photos I found. Looks like there are a ton of trees. Heck, I play regularly and made a note to pick up a extra box of balls before heading up after seeing the photos.

Bear Dance is awesome! Definitely visit your local PGA Tour Superstore Employee at the Greenwood Village Location first! lol

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Bear Dance is a lot of fun. There are a lot of corners you can cut, but it being your first time out there, my suggestion is to just play to where you can see. If you start trying to cut corners you could be looking for balls for a while.

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Thanks for the tip! I’m sure I’ll try to play it straight where I can see it and then unintentionally end up failing to cut corners.