Fox Hollow Golf Course - Lakewood, CO
Golf Course of the Week May 21, 2010
Fox Hollow Golf Course - Lakewood, CO
Fox Hollow Golf Course is 15 minutes away from Downtown Denver and sits near the edge of the Rocky Mountains. Fox Hollow was designed by Denis Griffiths and opened for play in 1993 by the City of Lakewood. Fox Hollow includes 27 holes of championship golf, with three distinct 9-hole designs (Canyon, Meadow, Links). The course includes a great deal of elevation change, along with rolling meadows and awesome scenery. Just west from the Canyon portion of Fox Hollow, sits the world renowned Red Rocks Ampitheater (which can be seen from hole #2 or #4 and on image below). Fox Hollow offers golfers a challenging course - yet incorporates a natural wildlife habitat that makes for a memorable round of golf.
The Canyon
The Canyon portion of Fox Hollow offers 9 challenging holes of golf. Uphills, downhills, native grass and awesome mountain views make the Canyon difficult and fun at the same time. If walking 18 holes is in your plans, make sure you're in good shape before playing the Canyon at Fox Hollow. Starting with an uphill par 4 on #1, the Canyon will test your fitness level, club selection and ability to hit your tee shot straight. The greens on the Canyon portion are in excellent shape, especially as many of them are high up on hills and exposed to weather. The fairways are also in excellent shape and it is a good idea to stay in them (the native prairie grass is long and uninviting). The pin placements were very difficult and really got our attention. While our group struggled with a few of the holes on the Canyon, we really enjoyed the challenges and scenery.
Favorite holes: (Distances from the blue tee)
#5: A 422 yard par 4, this hole is truly one of a kind. #5 requires a nicely placed tee shot about 220-250 yards out and away from the bunkers and native area. If you try to hit your tee shot too far, you'll be in the native area. If you're tee shot is too short, it will be nearly impossible to land your ball on the green with shot #2. The green is a great distance downhill and has a creek running through about 40-50 yards in front of it. Play this hole wisely and it can be a very rewarding one...try to do to much and you'll wish you took our advice!
#8: A 216 yard par 3, this hole requires an excellent tee shot and club selection is crucial. While most golfers will use an iron on the tee, some will need to use a fairway wood or hybrid to reach the green. Depending on the pin placement, getting close to the pin may be nearly impossible. This may be on of the most difficult par 3 holes you'll ever play.
Surrounded with towering Cottonwoods, menacing bunkers and lakes filled with the water of Bear Creek River, lies the Meadows 9 hole design. If you can avoid the penalizing obstacles, Meadows leaves experienced and novice golfers with more than their share of scoring opportunities. The scoring starts on the first hole, which after a well struck drive through the Cottonwood chute leaves a mid iron to fairway wood approach into a well protected green that pitches subtly from back to front. This is a great birdie hole and with
a couple good shots and the most important a solid put, it is a great way to start the nine. After the first hole it evolves into a shot making nine where any wayward shots will be penalized. As the Meadows presents the golfer with multiple challenges it also grants a certain sense of calm being amongst nature. Along the lakes and in the trees you will see as diverse of an ecosystem a golf course could sustain. It is a testament to Fox Hollow and their desire to incorporate as much of the natural conditions into the design.
Favorite holes: (Distances from blue tee)
#1: A 485 yard par 5, this hole provides an opportunity for birdie and a great start to the Meadows 9. The tee shot must be straight and out of reach of the cottonwoods on both sides of the fairway. If you can avoid these obstacles, getting to the green in 2 shots is definitely possible.
#9: A 392 yard par 4, this hole is challenging as it is a dog leg right, but for our group was very rewarding. The tee shot is key, hit it too far or left and you're in the native grass, too far right and you're in the trees, short and you're in Bear Creek. If you can sneak in a nice tee shot, getting to the green on the second shot can be done quit easily. As our group found out, the tee shot can make this hole very rewarding.
Denver Sports Blog Contributors, Chad Fleming, Jeremy Fleming and Ian Surkalo played and reviewed Fox Hollow Golf Course. We had a great experience at Fox Hollow and we recommend playing this gem of a course for many reasons. Challenging play, awesome scenery and a great staff make Fox Hollow a truly great golf experience. We want to personally thank Craig Parzybok, PGA Head Professional at Fox Hollow. Craig offered us some great insight on the course and was very passionate about making Fox Hollow a great Colorado golf course.
To book a tee time or for more info on Fox Hollow, click here: Fox Hollow
Favorite holes: (Distances from the blue tee)
#5: A 422 yard par 4, this hole is truly one of a kind. #5 requires a nicely placed tee shot about 220-250 yards out and away from the bunkers and native area. If you try to hit your tee shot too far, you'll be in the native area. If you're tee shot is too short, it will be nearly impossible to land your ball on the green with shot #2. The green is a great distance downhill and has a creek running through about 40-50 yards in front of it. Play this hole wisely and it can be a very rewarding one...try to do to much and you'll wish you took our advice!
#8: A 216 yard par 3, this hole requires an excellent tee shot and club selection is crucial. While most golfers will use an iron on the tee, some will need to use a fairway wood or hybrid to reach the green. Depending on the pin placement, getting close to the pin may be nearly impossible. This may be on of the most difficult par 3 holes you'll ever play.
The Meadow
Surrounded with towering Cottonwoods, menacing bunkers and lakes filled with the water of Bear Creek River, lies the Meadows 9 hole design. If you can avoid the penalizing obstacles, Meadows leaves experienced and novice golfers with more than their share of scoring opportunities. The scoring starts on the first hole, which after a well struck drive through the Cottonwood chute leaves a mid iron to fairway wood approach into a well protected green that pitches subtly from back to front. This is a great birdie hole and with
a couple good shots and the most important a solid put, it is a great way to start the nine. After the first hole it evolves into a shot making nine where any wayward shots will be penalized. As the Meadows presents the golfer with multiple challenges it also grants a certain sense of calm being amongst nature. Along the lakes and in the trees you will see as diverse of an ecosystem a golf course could sustain. It is a testament to Fox Hollow and their desire to incorporate as much of the natural conditions into the design.
Favorite holes: (Distances from blue tee)
#1: A 485 yard par 5, this hole provides an opportunity for birdie and a great start to the Meadows 9. The tee shot must be straight and out of reach of the cottonwoods on both sides of the fairway. If you can avoid these obstacles, getting to the green in 2 shots is definitely possible.
#9: A 392 yard par 4, this hole is challenging as it is a dog leg right, but for our group was very rewarding. The tee shot is key, hit it too far or left and you're in the native grass, too far right and you're in the trees, short and you're in Bear Creek. If you can sneak in a nice tee shot, getting to the green on the second shot can be done quit easily. As our group found out, the tee shot can make this hole very rewarding.
The Links
The Links portion of Fox Hollow is kind of a mix of the Meadow and Canyon portions. The Links has elevation changes similar to the Canyon, but also has flatter holes similar to the Meadows. Perhaps the best way to describe this part of Fox Hollow is that the Links gives you an old Scottish course feel. There's not an abundance of trees or water. There's plenty of green grass and instead of sand, some of the holes have grassy collection areas. We noted a couple times that it appeared our balls would be nestled on the green from a distance. Once we got closer to the greens we realized there were some tricky areas of rough where your ball would simply stop just shy of the green. We really enjoyed playing the Links and it was a great compliment to the Meadows and the Canyon. I think a good summary would be that golfers should expect playing conditions to be somewhere in the middle of the Meadows and Canyon.
Favorite Holes: (Distance from blue tees)
#2: A 180 yard par 3, this hole requires good club selection and an even better tee shot. If you go with too much club, the ball will not stay on the green. Too little and you'll either be in the pond or in the sand directly in front of the green. The green is not huge so getting close to the pin can be a challenge. On the other hand, if you can forget about the obstacles on this course, it can be a good one to score on.
#4: A 515 yard par 5, this hole is a long, straight hole. The fairway is not real wide and there's not much rough to work with either. If you don't hit a pretty straight tee shot, you'll have to contend with long native grass (I had to and believe me it's tough!). If you can hit a straight tee shot, getting to the green on your second is possible, however there is a grassy collection area in front of the green. This hole will challenge your ability to hit the ball straight and can be a good scoring opportunity if you do stay in the fairway.
Favorite Holes: (Distance from blue tees)
#2: A 180 yard par 3, this hole requires good club selection and an even better tee shot. If you go with too much club, the ball will not stay on the green. Too little and you'll either be in the pond or in the sand directly in front of the green. The green is not huge so getting close to the pin can be a challenge. On the other hand, if you can forget about the obstacles on this course, it can be a good one to score on.
#4: A 515 yard par 5, this hole is a long, straight hole. The fairway is not real wide and there's not much rough to work with either. If you don't hit a pretty straight tee shot, you'll have to contend with long native grass (I had to and believe me it's tough!). If you can hit a straight tee shot, getting to the green on your second is possible, however there is a grassy collection area in front of the green. This hole will challenge your ability to hit the ball straight and can be a good scoring opportunity if you do stay in the fairway.
Denver Sports Blog Contributors, Chad Fleming, Jeremy Fleming and Ian Surkalo played and reviewed Fox Hollow Golf Course. We had a great experience at Fox Hollow and we recommend playing this gem of a course for many reasons. Challenging play, awesome scenery and a great staff make Fox Hollow a truly great golf experience. We want to personally thank Craig Parzybok, PGA Head Professional at Fox Hollow. Craig offered us some great insight on the course and was very passionate about making Fox Hollow a great Colorado golf course.
To book a tee time or for more info on Fox Hollow, click here: Fox Hollow
***Check back next week as we'll be reviewing the Links portion of Fox Hollow!***
Posted by Jeremy Fleming at Saturday, May 22, 2010 7:54 AM 
Categories: Colorado Golf
Tags: Canyon Fox Hollow Golf Club Meadows
Categories: Colorado Golf
Tags: Canyon Fox Hollow Golf Club Meadows
This time of year the surroundings are very green and the native grass is quite a challenge. The view of Red Rocks is a nice touch to the number 4. I really enjoyed playing at Fox Hollow with the greenbelt interwoven with the course and the local wildlife, including the baby owl on the 18th hole.
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Beautiful pictures! Thank you for highlighting this beautiful course!
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Played Fox Hollow on the day it opened in 1993. Was a VERY hot summer day and I walked the course too. Back then there was a real shortage of courses in the metro area and lots of us looked forward to getting this new, great course. It really is a beautiful and challenging course. We are lucky to have it here.
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