Red Hawk Ridge - Colorado - USA

Piggybacking on what Ethan said in his review -- I played Red Hawk Ridge not long after it opened. At that time the course was free of all the invasive clutter. There are homesites and the golf experience is a good bit less than its glory beginning days.

The Engh touch is done well in spots -- especially the range of par-5 holes where risk/reward is present.

The main issue for Red Hawk Ridge is how the floor level for daily fee play has risen with a range of other courses in the Centennial State.

The hole diversity is good but when you size up Red Hawk Ridge against the likes of other Colorado daily fee efforts from Engh with the likes of Lakota Canyon, Four Mile Ranch, Redlands Mesa and Fossil Trace you see the magic come alive with a much more spellbinding array of holes and design details.

M. James Ward

I think before the real estate boom that took place in Castle Rock, this would have been one of the most scenic courses in Colorado. That's not the reality now, however, as many of the scenic overlooks here are now framed by houses, buildings, or I-25. The one thing about Red Hawk along that same line of thought that's unfortunate is the course's routing through a residential community. The natural ambiance gets diminished as a result, and unlike other great public courses nearby like Bear Dance, Arrowhead, and The Ridge at Castle Pines (Back 9), you never feel like it's just you and the golf course. Now that the negatives are out of the way, the biggest positive I have to say about RHR is the skillful routing. Great use of terrain in that you go each and every different way. Uphill and to the left, downhill and to the right, etc. Nice variety of hazards too between heather, water, bunkers, and some desert bushes. A fun golf course all-around that'll test each part of your game.