Nestled in the foothills of the Front Range, the course at Fossil Trace Golf Club is laid out within an old clay mine and several huge items of mining equipment are positioned around the layout.
Overall rating
3.5
Nestled in the foothills of the Front Range, the course at Fossil Trace Golf Club is laid out within an old clay mine and several huge items of mining equipment are positioned around the layout.
The idea of a tree in the middle of the fairway is a controversial one among passionate golf course architecture enthusiasts, and many designers fight property owners tooth-and-nail to trim back the obstacles. Consider then that Engh prevented ownership from removing the tall opponents from his fairway at No. 12...and that it wasn’t actually a tree, but a pillar of sandstone.
The architect believed it and the other rocks jutting out around the green at Fossil Trace lent to the history of the property, both in its role in the mining industry and as a former stomping ground for dinosaurs (literally...there are triceratops footprints preserved within the rock wall behind the green at No. 12).
Consider also the gap between the longest and shortest holes on the course: 563 yards. The No. 8 hole stretches for more than 659 from the back tees and the shortest plays to just 96...even cubs can play from the tiger tees on that one.
In short, Fossil Trace is both flavorful and edgy. Like the history that owners sought to preserve in their golf course, Jim Engh would not let his personality be forgotten at Fossil Trace.
The latest ranking of the Top 100 Golf Courses in the World serves as the ultimate global golf bucket list. Most members of our World Top 100 Panel are seasoned golfers, each playing 20-30 of these courses annually while travelling extensively over decades to form their opinions on others. We recognise that opinions vary—even among our panel members. Rankings are subjective, and there are undoubtedly 50 or more courses in the UK and USA alone that could easily fit onto this list. Links Golf Pilgrimages The rankings
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