Fossil Trace Golf Club - Golden, CO
Golf Course of the Week - April 30, 2010
Fossil Trace Golf Club - Golden, CO
Fossil Trace Golf Club is located about 15 minutes west of Downtown Denver and is just below Lookout Mountain in Golden. Fossil Trace was built on land that is steeped in history. It was a clay mine for many years prior to becoming a golf course in 2003. The coolest part of Fossil Trace (and the reason for the name) is the Dinosaur footprints located on the course. On the 12th hole golfers can stop and check out the Triceratops footprints and palm fronds that are fossilized in the sandstone next to the green. Jim Engh designed Fossil Trace and incorporated much of the history of the land in making the course one of the finest in all of Colorado.
While the land around Fossil Trace holds prehistoric significance, the technology on the course is cutting edge and state of the art. Our favorite part of this technology is the GPS system that is provided with each golf cart. Want to see a preview of the next hole? Need a tip on which club is best to use off the tee? Want to know the distance to the hole for your next shot? Hungry and want lunch to be ready when you make the turn? If you said yes to any of these questions, the GPS system at Fossil Trace would be perfect for you. We enjoyed the GPS system and used the tips and distance features on every hole to help get the most out of every shot. Another cool technology feature at Fossil Trace is the buzzer system. This system definitely beats having loud speaker announcements when it’s time for the next group to tee off. Instead, golfers are given a buzzer and it buzzes when it’s time to head to the gazebo next to the 1st and 10th tees.
Denver Sports Blog contributors Chad Fleming, Jeremy Fleming and Ian Surkalo played Fossil Trace. For Chad and Jeremy it was the first time on the course, for Ian it was his third time. We were very impressed with our experience at Fossil Trace. We met up with Jim Hajek , the PGA Head Professional, for a quick history lesson and tips on how to avoid trouble on some tough holes. Jim is a very nice guy and he gave us the sense he wants golfers to not just have a good experience at Fossil Trace, he wants them to have a great experience. Jim explained some of the very unique features of Fossil Trace (many of which are listed above) and we could tell Jim and the rest of the staff at Fossil Trace are passionate about providing a top notch playing experience.
The course at Fossil Trace is one of the finest in Colorado and we left very impressed for many reasons. Awesome surroundings, fast greens with lots of movement, sand traps that look like they’re from Pebble Beach and meticulously maintained fairways are included in nearly every hole. We could not believe how fast the greens were, especially for it only being April! The sand traps are all at least 6 feet deep and filled with really white sand that is brought in from Idaho. The fairways are very nice and if you can stay in them, you will undoubtedly have a great surface to hit from. To sum up the quality and attention to detail at Fossil Trace, we could think of only one word…Perfection.
Favorite holes:
#12: While the dinosaur prints make for a cool part of the hole, this par 5 is 545 yards (from the blue tee) and is definitely one of a kind. The fairway incorporates sandstone rock formations that make your club selection and aim very crucial…go over or around the rocks if you want to avoid trouble!
While the land around Fossil Trace holds prehistoric significance, the technology on the course is cutting edge and state of the art. Our favorite part of this technology is the GPS system that is provided with each golf cart. Want to see a preview of the next hole? Need a tip on which club is best to use off the tee? Want to know the distance to the hole for your next shot? Hungry and want lunch to be ready when you make the turn? If you said yes to any of these questions, the GPS system at Fossil Trace would be perfect for you. We enjoyed the GPS system and used the tips and distance features on every hole to help get the most out of every shot. Another cool technology feature at Fossil Trace is the buzzer system. This system definitely beats having loud speaker announcements when it’s time for the next group to tee off. Instead, golfers are given a buzzer and it buzzes when it’s time to head to the gazebo next to the 1st and 10th tees.
Denver Sports Blog contributors Chad Fleming, Jeremy Fleming and Ian Surkalo played Fossil Trace. For Chad and Jeremy it was the first time on the course, for Ian it was his third time. We were very impressed with our experience at Fossil Trace. We met up with Jim Hajek , the PGA Head Professional, for a quick history lesson and tips on how to avoid trouble on some tough holes. Jim is a very nice guy and he gave us the sense he wants golfers to not just have a good experience at Fossil Trace, he wants them to have a great experience. Jim explained some of the very unique features of Fossil Trace (many of which are listed above) and we could tell Jim and the rest of the staff at Fossil Trace are passionate about providing a top notch playing experience.
The course at Fossil Trace is one of the finest in Colorado and we left very impressed for many reasons. Awesome surroundings, fast greens with lots of movement, sand traps that look like they’re from Pebble Beach and meticulously maintained fairways are included in nearly every hole. We could not believe how fast the greens were, especially for it only being April! The sand traps are all at least 6 feet deep and filled with really white sand that is brought in from Idaho. The fairways are very nice and if you can stay in them, you will undoubtedly have a great surface to hit from. To sum up the quality and attention to detail at Fossil Trace, we could think of only one word…Perfection.
Favorite holes:
#12: While the dinosaur prints make for a cool part of the hole, this par 5 is 545 yards (from the blue tee) and is definitely one of a kind. The fairway incorporates sandstone rock formations that make your club selection and aim very crucial…go over or around the rocks if you want to avoid trouble!
#3: This par 3 is the first on the course and provides a challenging green with plenty of movement. Club selection is key as the green is sloped, too much and you have a long downhill put. Too little club and you’ll be putting uphill with lots of bend. We were lucky enough to get 2 birdies from our 3 golfers.
While we chose 2 favorite holes, it was difficult to do so. There were about 10 holes we chose between. Our experience at Fossil Trace left us very impressed to say the least. It was a consensus among our group that Fossil Trace is among the top courses in Colorado, if not the premier course. We would suggest playing Fossil Trace for mid to upper level golfers. The course is pretty tough, but provides awesome scenery, unique designs, outstanding service and overall a great golf experience.
Fossil Trace Info and links:
Website
Online Tee Times
Hole By Hole Videos
While we chose 2 favorite holes, it was difficult to do so. There were about 10 holes we chose between. Our experience at Fossil Trace left us very impressed to say the least. It was a consensus among our group that Fossil Trace is among the top courses in Colorado, if not the premier course. We would suggest playing Fossil Trace for mid to upper level golfers. The course is pretty tough, but provides awesome scenery, unique designs, outstanding service and overall a great golf experience.
Fossil Trace Info and links:
Website
Online Tee Times
Hole By Hole Videos
Posted by Jeremy Fleming at Saturday, May 01, 2010 10:31 AM 
Categories: Colorado Golf
Tags: Fossil Trace Golf Course
Categories: Colorado Golf
Tags: Fossil Trace Golf Course
Fossil Trace is one of the best courses in the State. The scenery and the quality of the course are almost unbeatable. Kudos to the grounds crew because the place is impeccable.
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As Jeremy mentioned, Fossil Trace is decidedly one of the finest public courses in Colorado. Fossil trace, is not only a local gem, but also is recognized nationally as one of the “Best Places to Play” as acknowledged by Golf Digest 08/09. A challenging design by Jim Engh, still leaves the inexperienced golfer with options and imagination while offering plenty of scoring chances for the more seasoned player.
Enriched with beautiful landscapes and subtleties only found at the most expensive Country Clubs, Fossil Trace is undoubtedly a fabulous value. Avid golfers have little difficulty paying over $100 per round of golf at well established courses all over the state. At under $65 for 18 holes, I know no golfer that would balk at those modest fees. For those who wish to ride, $17 should be considered a discount rate for the local flora and prehistoric history you will encounter along your journey. A round at Fossil Trace is literally a trip back in time!
Along with the outstanding amenities, immaculately cared for course-the staff is unquestionably outstanding! Offered by head PGA Professional Jim Hajek and fellow professionals are several options for those of you looking to improve your swing. Fossil Trace not only offers Private and Semi-Private golf lessons, but new this season is the Player Performance Program. This is a comprehensive ½ hour a week lesson for 20 weeks, and with limited availability in this program spots are going to go quick. If you are serious about improving your golf game don’t miss out on this beneficial opportunity.
After playing Fossil Trace for my third time I am beginning to better appreciate the not-so innocuously placed bunkers, blue lakes and the most unlikely…a flat putt. Fossil Trace not only challenges you to harness all control while putting, it offers the rare occasion of making you hit every club in your bag. No Par 5 Driver-Wedge for the big hitters, more like Driver- 3 Wood-9 Iron! While presenting wonderful shot making opportunities and unique hole setups, those features alone separate Fossil Trace from any other public course in Colorado.
-Ian Surkalo
Denver Sports Blog
Golf Course of the Week Associate
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This article makes me want to visit Fossil Trace for the beautiful scenery alone! Thank you for highlighting this great local attraction!
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Nice article and scenery wanted to play there.
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