Where E Stands for “Executive” But Not “Easy”
I used to be a snob about golf courses. If par wasn’t at least 70 and I shot a good score, well, that was because it wasn’t a “real” golf course.
But as I came to love and enjoy the game, I found plenty “real” about any golf course and discovered that it was often more fun to play a quirky nine-holer than a legendary 18. Certainly, it doesn’t take so long to play a course where par is 65.
Here in Colorado, we’ve been gifted with some special short courses that play friendlier for shorter hitters and faster for everyone, while presenting plenty of challenge for elite players to card the best score of their lives and still not break par! Here are five of them.
Chipeta Golf Course: This par-59 layout on Orchard Mesa in Grand Junction ranks as the shortest course on this list, with two sets of tees: 3,835 yards and 3,395 yards. Players who gaze upward can take in Rocky Mountain views while enjoying a mostly flat layout created by Wilson Golf Group in 1997. Chipeta has 13 par-3s and five par-4s and promotes fun for all.
Homestead Golf Course: Par is 65 at Lakewood’s pride-and-joy executive layout, designed by Denis Griffith and opened in 2002. In-season, the high rough, fast greens and changes in elevation make Homestead a championship caliber course for golfers of any level, with four sets of tees ranging from 3,875 to 5,048 yards. It has nine par-4s, eight par-3s and the par-5 11th that leads golfers up to spectacular foothills and Denver city views.
The Links Golf Course: The Links and the final two courses on this list are all Dick Phelps designs, but they’re by no means carbon copies. This one opened in 1986 as the social center of a 55-and-up Highlands Ranch community, with four tees ranging from 3,362 to 4,824 yards, leading to 10 par-3s and eight par-4s. It’s a challenging, beautifully maintained and tree-lined par-62.
Littleton Golf and Tennis Club: Littleton opened (as Centennial Downs Golf Course) at about the same time as The Links, with two par-5s, five par-4s and 11 par-3s spread over tees ranging from 3,466 to 4,706 yards. The flat and easy-walking layout meanders on the front nine through townhomes and a 55-plus neighborhood just across Santa Fe from Littleton’s historic downtown district, then crosses to a bucolic back nine along the Platte River, just next door to Columbine Country Club.
Springhill Golf Course: Located on a remote, still-rural patch of Aurora green, this 1972 Phelps design has plenty of mature trees to add interest to a par-64/65 layout devoid of scary water hazards and bunkers. Yardages from the four tees range from 3,504 to 4,949, with a mix of 10 par-3s, six par-4s (one of which flexes to a par-5 for ladies) and two par-5s.
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Veteran journalist Susan Fornoff has written about golf for publications including the San Francisco Chronicle, ColoradoBiz magazine and her own GottaGoGolf.com. She provides the voice of “Molly McMulligan,” the CGA’s on-course consultant on golf for fun. Email her at mollymcmulligan@gmail.com.
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