Divide Ranch & Club, Ridgway. Byron Coker, 1993.

I have a deep and abiding love of golf courses that play through tall pine forests, so Divide has a great advantage in my book. This is a beautiful spot and it’s a fun course to play, but there are some odd holes.

The worst of these are the three par 5 holes that play as right-angle doglegs with tall pines guarding the inside corners. It’s an inelegant option for any hole, but to repeat it several times over gets tiring. What’s worse is that if you look at an aerial, it seems this was the result of trying to fit the holes between real estate. Home aren’t obtrusive to this course, and yet it still appears they affected the design.

That said, it’s not trying to be a golf destination. The views of the San Juan range are incredible and the wildlife is abundant. If you’re in the area and choose to play golf at Divide, you certainly aren’t going to regret it.

Colorado 4th Decile [2002]