I love muni’s as much as anyone, but aurora hills is OUT
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I think Overland makes the list ahead of Aurora Hills
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Overland is actually not that bad for a flat property. They lengthened the first hole around the corner and made it so you don’t have that overhanging tree in the tee shot and it’s a good starting hole now. It’s still a Denver muni, but it’s not horrible. Although Willis Case is the only Denver muni I’d consider taking someone to play as it actually has both pretty good conditions and some interesting holes.
Also on Walnut - I play there quite a bit and they’ve been watering the hell out of it this year. Greens are not the lightning fast they usually are. By October I’d assume that would change, but right now in Westminster, Legacy Ridge despite the few horrible designed holes is a much better course for playability. The greens are good and what’s really nice is the fairways are firm and running which you rarely see there.
Wellshire would be second of the Denver munis after Willis Case (not including city park since we don’t know what that will be like). Pretty good layout and the greens are usually good, but there’s a lot of rough spots and there’s very little of Ross left there. The water feature they added on 17 is completely out of place. All you need to know is Dick Phelps was the one they hired to renovate Wellshire in the 90s.
Tricky Dick strikes again.
Yep. The genius of the 18th at Perry Park where the best approach angle into the green requires an almost 90 degree duck hook around the trees.
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If you’re looking for someplace most probably haven’t played I’d suggest Spring Valley. It’s a frickin haul to the middle of nowhere, but it’s a pretty good design with the back 9 being up there with any of the other top publics in Denver if it was closer.
You sure that Phelps really did that much to the course? From what I can see he didn’t do much, he doesn’t even mention in on his site for re-designs, or on golf advisor etc. I know he did put in that stupid waterfall, but cmon, hardly a huge knock on the place overall.
Here is a good discussion about the history from 2006. by all accounts it’s still very much Ross OG, quote “the routing has remained intact” besides switching the 9’s (which makes sense cause 7-9 fucks) and removing some bunkering when it went public
Edit: found a summary of the 91 renno, mainly cart paths, modern irrigation, lowering a few fairways (wtf) and the drainage on 17, sounds like the green surrounds remain pretty intact from 1926, and it def shows
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Way in on trying Spring Valley…mega regret my lack of wisdom give GVR another try vs going out to Elizabeth.
This is spot on - the course, clubhouse, people there are exactly what I love about golf.
Yea that was part of my edit, but sounds like they switched the 9s and lowered a few fairways, made some cart paths, hardly a “no Ross left” makeover. Hell, in comparison to some of his other courses that have been renovated, you could make an argument Wellshire is up there with preserved Ross designs.
IMO, putting Willis above shire is grounds for a duel (a respectful duel)
So you’ve never played Willis Case I guess?
I played in Willis case men’s club for a summer, bunch of good guise over there. I love willis, but it’s not Wellshire for these reasons:
History
Difficulty
Green upkeep
Clubhouse
Par 3s
I found some old historical ariels from 1999 and 2004. In 1999, the cart path on 17 was on the left side of the hole and started where the the pond currently is. In 2004, you can see the water feature for the first time.
From what I could find via some old Denver Water documents, up until 2017, the course’s primary source of irrigation was the High Line Canal, and that source was incredibly inefficient. The course wanted to draw more, but Denver Water (which controls the canal’s water and its rights) said no. Now, it was never actually said the pond is a direct result of the course building this as a way to keep more water for irrigation purposes on course, but that would be my guess. Since they had an option to build two water features, I bet the city exercised this right for this reason.
I played ~10 times at Willis last year as it is about 2 miles from home. While no one can argue it has better views than any other Denver muni and some fun, gettable holes (especially on the back), I don’t think it is better than Wellshire. I also think it isn’t fair to compare the two: different styles, eras, and designers. Wellshire is TIGHT and penalizes a lack of strategy. WC is more parkland with good holes and is fun, but lacks the character and history that comes with Ross and Wellshire.
Yes, Wellshire is rough in spots (I just played it yesterday), but I have not played greens like that on a muni [likely] ever; I wouldn’t mind a bit faster, though. It has long, strategic holes that WC lacks.
I stand by my comment: an org like the CGA coming in to manage would make a great course that much better. So, how do we get this group to make that happen?
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Here yee here yee
I haven’t played Wellshire enough to know it all that well, but I would play Willis Case over Wellshire every time. Willis Case is on a fantastic piece of land. There’s a ton of elevation changes that make you think quite a bit. Wellshire really only has the gully that runs through 7, 1, and 10. The greens are pretty wild and can play quick. There’s a good mix of gettable and challenging holes. Willis Case would be one of the best munis in the area if it had a bit more room, because some of the holes on the back 9 are squeezed in there.
There’s a lot more variation, too. You can’t tell me that holes 3-5 (and 11-12 and 15-17) at Wellshire aren’t the same hole.
Hey now. They spent a lot of money on that water feature on 17 so you wouldn’t realize you just played that hole twice.
