Arrowhead | Bear Dance | Fossil Trace | Walnut Creek | TPC Colorado
Fans of Coors and Coors Light have undoubtedly heard of the brand’s home: Golden, Colorado. What they likely don’t know is that one of the area’s best golf courses sits in the shadow of that original brewery (you can even see it from the 13th tee box).
Fossil Trace Golf Club is more than just a great round of golf, it’s an experience that really cannot be found anywhere else. It’s not just the great service from every single staff member, or the quality and selection of the golf shop, or even the course itself. It’s the trip back in time the course offers that gives it a leg up over many courses.
Let’s back up. First off, the service at Fossil Trace is incredible. It’s nice that the bag drop, golf shop, and driving range are clustered close together so players can get a lay of the land and have plenty of time to pick up anything they need for their round, grab a bite to eat, and get warmed up. The staff, though, makes sure everyone is ready to play and has their course instructions so they can tee off on time.
The golf shop has a great selection of branded apparel and accessories, as well as the top brands for clubs and balls. Inside the clubhouse, first time guests will get a hint at what’s to come with an impressive exhibit displaying the club’s history, all 64 million years of it.
Fossil Trace’s footprint is not a huge one (somewhere in the 200 acre range), but from the very first tee you can see how well every bit of land was used when Jim Engh designed the course. The course opened in 2003, following a protracted battle that made it seem unlikely that a course would ever be built on the land. In the end, though, Engh was able to work with stakeholders to make sure the course design preserved and celebrated the discoveries that had been made on the site.
As you may have guessed, there were fossils. Lots and lots of fossils had been found as early as 1877 on the former clay mining site. Everything from palm leaf to prehistoric trace fossils, to triceratops footprints dotted the landscape. Now, players can take a minute after they finish the 12th hole to explore that history and see what made the area so special.
Even without the namesake fossil’s, the course would be a unique one. Over the course of 18 holes, it feels like playing four different tracks. The opening holes wind through a wetlands area with an abundance of wildlife, with the front nine opening up to prairie lands. The back nine features a series of ponds and streams, but the highlight is the series of holes built around the old clay mine.
There’s not a throw-away hole on the property, but the hole you’ll remember is the par five 12th. On the 12th tee box, players get a glimpse of the old mining equipment left scattered along the bluff running down the hole’s entire left side. In the fairway, though, are a series of sandstone pillars left on the course to force players to make a choice about how they play over or around them. While the pillars might look intimidating, they were left in areas not considered to be landing areas. Closer to the green, the fairway narrows and approach shots must be precise to a long, narrow putting surface protected by a bunker. Walking off with a par will feel great, but you might forget about your score for a moment when you see the history left near the green in the form of fossils and tracings. All in all, one of the coolest holes you’ll ever play.
Like any good Engh-designed golf course, players are presented with generous fairways and undulating greens with bunkers protecting them in all the right places. The course is a mix of short and long holes that offers players the opportunity to make up for mistakes on the tough holes with several interesting birdie holes.
Talk to anyone in the area about golf course recommendations and Fossil Trace is sure to come up. In the 20 years the course has been open for play, it’s received a long list of accolades. It’s been named the Best Golf Course in Denver several times, and the 12th hole was included in Golf Digest’s list of Most Fun Golf Holes in America. The next time you visit Denver, it’s a course you have to see for yourself.