Fossil Trace Golf Club - Review

July 14th, 2007 by mulligan

Overview

Fossil Trace Golf Club, situated in Golden Colorado is a Jim Engh designed championship level playing facility. It is positioned next to the foothills of the Rocky Mountains offering perhaps one of the most unique playing experiences in the state. The experience isn’t simply unique for the views as plenty of courses in Colorado offer breathtaking scenery, but the combination of the course layout and deep history that surrounds the player make for a truly one of a kind round. An example of this experience would be the 64 million year old trace fossils of palm fronds and triceratops footprints located adjacent to #12 green.

There are sandstone pillars and relics of old mining equipment that you will also encounter along your way. Elevated tee boxes and elevated greens are mixed with stadium type bowl greens and traditional hole layouts as well. It’s hard not to say that each hole is truly different than the next and what you may realize is that there are a lot of tee boxes that will make you want to slow your pace of play just to take it all in.

Playability

Having played this course for a few years now, the first thing on the list about playability has to be the greens. They are typically spectacular almost year round. Of course year round for native Coloradoans should mean April to early October. They announce on their website when they will be punching the greens. They also tend to sand their greens but it doesn’t seem to affect the roll or the read as is the case with many courses in Colorado. The greens are probably some of the truest rolling in the area as well. If you find your line it just becomes a matter of getting the speed. The looks you get from the tee boxes are very consistent. It will take a couple of rounds to find your landing areas that offer the best approach to some greens. There aren’t too many boxes that feel awkward (unless the sandstone pillars and walls strike fear into your approach shots!) and for the most part this is a “driving” course. The fairways have always been in great shape which makes a perfect match for the greens. One thing you need to be cautious of is not flying your ball to the hole unless you produce a LOT of spin. The greens will tend to release a ball rather than stop it, and the reason it’s mentioned here is that they seem to release a bit more than traditional Colorado greens. All in all this is a very “fair” course to play and typically offers a very fun round. One last thing that stands out is the bunker play. Fossil Trace offers some of the finest sand in the state to play out of, and it’s actually white! You will NOT hit these bunker shots like you do at your typical municipal course. Be sure and take a few practice shots prior to the round as you’ll find bunkers placed in areas perfect for collection!

Conclusion

This isn’t one of your cheaper facilities to play, but the price alone shouldn’t stop you from playing here at least once a year. Proof of this fact can be found in the realization that you should call ahead early for the tee time because spots go extremely quickly all season long. It’s a perfect course for showing off some of the beauty that the Colorado front range has to offer as well as how it is actually possible to provide SOFT sand in bunkers here in the state! If you’ve got a friend coming in to visit, be sure that this place is on your “short list” of courses to be played.

How others rate this course:
1 Star 2 Stars 3 Stars 4 Stars 5 Stars 6 Stars (6 votes, average: 4.83 out of 6)
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