Fox Hollow GC, Lakewood. Denis Griffiths, 1993.

A 27-hole facility where each nine was meant to have its own identity, which is usually trouble in my experience. It’s hard enough to pull off 27 good holes and even if all the nines are good, you still never have one cohesive course.

The Links and Canyon nines were a bit more cohesive, higher up on a hill with more elevation change and only the last few holes of the Canyon playing along a creek. The most memorable hole on that side is the fifth, a long par 4 that tumbles downhill toward the canyon that gives the nine its name. The second shot plays past over a creek to a green set down in the canyon, but it can be a tough shot from a downhill lie.

The Meadow was my favorite of the nines, in the low part of the property and set among ponds and streams and cottonwoods. The third is a short, sometimes reachable par 4 with no bunkers but plenty of humps and bumps around the green. The fourth again plays to a bunkerless green though a creek will catch shots that come up well short or right.

The fifth hole plays back into the trees and the fairway narrows between a large bunker left and a pond on the right, but the green opens up from the left so shading your tee shot that way is preferred.

The sixth is a sweeping dogleg around Bear Creek where your ability to shape the ball and you willingness to take on one tree at the creek’s edge determines your line. And the ninth is almost a mirror of that. You’re driving back across the creek here, but in this case a fade is the preferred shot that brings the green closer and a better angle into play.

In later years, the city added an executive course (The Homestead at Fox Hollow) as well, but I never had the chance to play that. Overall, a nice bunch of muni golf in a small area.

Colorado 4th Decile [1995]