Long referred to as the gateway of the West, Denver hosts some spectacular golf opportunities. You can play an incredible game of golf even with a few minutes drive from downtown Denver. With that in mind, what are some of the best golf courses in Denver? Where should you visit while here?
These are the best golf courses in Denver:
- The Ridge at Castle Pines North — Most Scenic Golf Course
- Willis Case Golf Course – Best Mountain Views
- Fox Hollow Golf Course — Best Municipal Golf Course
- Green Valley Ranch Golf Club — Best Choice for All Skill Levels
- Arrowhead Golf Course — Best Public Golf Course
- Fossil Trace Golf Club — Most Historic Golf Course
- Harvard Gulch Golf Course — Best Budget Golf Course
- Wellshire Golf Course—Oldest Golf Course
- Kennedy Golf Course—Best Course for All Ages
- Todd Creek Golf Course
Let’s take a look at the Denver golf courses worth checking out. It’s easy to see why golf enthusiasts flock to Colorado – the golf courses here are absolutely breathtaking.
10 Best Golf Courses in Denver
1. The Ridge at Castle Pines North — Most Scenic Golf Course
- Site Link
- Location: 1414 Castle Pines Pkwy, Castle Pines
- Par: 71
- Length: 7,103 yards
- Green Fees: $55 – $125
- Rating: 4.4
- Days Open: Every Day (8 am – 4 pm)
An 18-hole golf course, the Ridge at Castle Pines North is one of the premier Denver public golf courses. They also happen to be one of the most scenic golf courses in Denver. The fairways were set up in the foothills of the Front Range. They opened the course in 1997 and playing it, you will see that it belongs to the more upscale golf clubs. They keep it well-maintained to the highest standards. It’s one of the best public golf courses in Denver.
Set out in the beautiful Rocky Mountain wilderness, they ranked The Ridge as one of the top 100 courses in America. This is also a championship golf located to the south of Denver. Tom Weiskopf gave it a fun and well-proportioned layout. It’s one of the great golf courses in Denver.
2. Willis Case Golf Course – Best Mountain Views
- Site Link
- Location: 4999 Vrain St
- Par: 72
- Length: 6,318 yards
- Green Fees: $30 – $55
- Rating: 4.3
- Days Open: Every Day (6:30 am – 7 pm)
Located several minutes to the northwest of downtown Denver, Willis Case Golf Course gives you panoramic views of the Rocky Mountains. The layout takes you through a full-grown stand of trees and sloping fairways. It has small, subtle greens. This golf course gives you some of the best views of the mountains in Denver out of all the public golf courses.
They first opened this golf course in 1928, which makes it one of the older courses in Denver. This is one of the underrated golf courses in the city worth checking out.
Also Read: Most Expensive Golf Courses in the World by Green Fees
3. Fox Hollow Golf Course — Best Municipal Golf Course
- Site Link
- Location: 13410 W Morrison Rd, Lakewood
- Par: 71
- Length: 7,030 yards
- Green Fees: $65 – $120
- Rating: 4.5
- Days Open: Every Day (7 am – 5 pm)
In Lakewood, they actually have two outstanding municipal golf courses—Fox Hollow Golf Course is one of them. It’s one of the golf courses near Denver and has three nine-hole configurations. Each one of them offers its own unique character with 27 championship holes full of surprises.
The course sets itself in the majestic foothills between Morrison and Lakewood. This setup has an award-winning restaurant and a clubhouse worth checking out. In 1993, Fox Hollow Golf Course opened its doors for business. While you play here, you can quickly forget about the hustle and bustle of Denver even if it only sits a few miles away.
The varied difficulty of this course makes it difficult to get bored. Especially for a municipal golf course, they maintain the fairways well here.
4. Green Valley Ranch Golf Club — Best Choice for All Skill Levels
- Site Link
- Location: 4900 Himalaya Rd
- Par: 72
- Length: 7,241 yards
- Green Fees: $36 – $60
- Rating: 4.1
- Days Open: Every Day (7 am – 6 pm)
An 18-hole public golf course, Green Valley Ranch Golf Club sits to the south of the Denver airport. You might choose to play at this one in the evening if you fly out later. This is a friendly golf club where you can get in an easy nine holes, which is a popular choice due to the proximity to the airport. Like many of the golf courses in Denver, Colorado, it offers some spectacular views of the surrounding mountains.
The course at Green Valley Ranch offers something that will challenge golfers from all skill levels. This course is very open with few trees on it, but don’t let that fool you. You will see some incredible views here. They keep the fairways well-maintained and the greens are good as well. It celebrated its 40th year opening in 2021 since they built it in 1981.
5. Arrowhead Golf Course — Best Public Golf Course
- Site Link
- Location: 10850 Sundown Trail, Littleton
- Par: 70
- Length: 6,636 yards
- Green Fees: $79 – $160
- Rating: 4.6
- Days Open: Every Day (7 am – 9 pm)
The Arrowhead Golf Course is one of the best golf courses near Denver. This golf course sits nestled into the foothills of the majestic Rocky Mountains. At the same time, it’s an 18-hole championship golf course with some of the best scenery in the state. All of the golf courses in Denver tend to have good scenery, but this one is another one that stands out. Here you will see towering red sandstone rock formations.
This is one of the best public golf courses in Denver. Golf Digest even rated it as being in the top 75 public courses in America. The unique and beautiful atmosphere will leave you enchanted as you play through the round. Natural wildlife can be seen on this course from time to time, and water hazards and bunkers come into play on this course.
The signature hole at the Arrowhead Golf Course is the 13th hole. It’s a par-3 that has a steep downhill walk that will provide you with some of the most amazing views.
Also Read: Which State Has the Most Golf Courses?
6. Fossil Trace Golf Club — Most Historic Golf Course
- Site Link
- Location: 3050 Illinois St, Golden
- Par: 72
- Length: 6.831 yards
- Green Fees: $65 – $85
- Rating: 4.6
- Days Open: Every Day (8 am – 5 pm)
Sitting adjacent to the foothills of the Rocky Mountain Front Range, the Fossil Trace Golf Club opened for business in 2003. This golf course gives you the experience of the mountains in an urban setting. Jim Engh designed the course, and it has become one of the top golf courses in Denver. They keep this course well-maintained, and it can be a lot of fun to play here.
The signature hole is the 12th, which is one of the most fun and unique par-5 holes that you will play. This hole contains trace fossils of triceratops footprints and palm fronds over 60 million years old. You will encounter the remnants of old clay mining equipment. Golf Magazine praised it as one of the awesome public courses worth checking out.
7. Harvard Gulch Golf Course — Best Budget Golf Course
- Site Link
- Location: 660 E Iliff Ave
- Par: 27
- Length: 886 yards
- Green Fees: $9
- Rating: 4.5
- Days Open: Every Day (8 am – 6 pm)
A fun and affordable golf course located in South Denver, this 9-hole 3-par course takes about an hour to play through, so it makes sense for someone who wants to get in a quick game. This is one of the eight municipal courses in Denver, and it plays well with a good layout. It would especially make sense for a beginner golfer who doesn’t have a lot of money to spend, and they don’t want to spend too much to get started playing.
The overall course has a laidback vibe to it and no one rushes you as you play. The low price makes this a definite gem in the city, but it’s a much smaller course compared to some of the other ones mentioned. This course has tons of short holes, which makes it perfect for new golfers who can’t get the distance as well. You might work your way up to a bigger course later.
One of the only downsides here is that it can be hard to get a tee time because of the price and many people come to play here depending on the day you show up. This is a fun course where they keep everything well-maintained, which is what makes it one of the best golf courses in Denver.
Also Read: How Many Golf Courses are There in the US?
8. Wellshire Golf Course—Oldest Golf Course
- Site Link
- Location: 3333 S Colorado Blvd
- Par: 71
- Length: 6,498 yards
- Green Fees: $30 – $55
- Rating: 4.3
- Days Open: Every Day (Sunrise – Sunset)
Opened for business in 1926, the Wellshire Golf Course has always been a part of Denver’s history for as long as most of us can remember. This 18-hole golf course remains one of the best golf courses in Denver because of its well-maintained fairways and affordable prices. The Wellshire Golf Course has a classic tree-lined parkland layout. When you play here, you play on a Donald Ross design, which, by the way, is one of the few west of the Mississippi.
Many praise it as one of the best public golf facilities in the United States. The 12th and 14th holes on this course are particularly known as being challenging, and the greens and fairways are blue grass, which golf courses often choose as a low-maintenance option.
The signature hole on this course is the 7th hole, a par-4, 409-yard hole. On the first six holes, you deal with a lot of water hazards like a creek and a pond.
9. Kennedy Golf Course—Best Course for All Ages
- Site Link
- Location: 10500 E Hampden Ave
- Par: 72
- Length: 6,884 yards
- Green Fees: $15 – $30
- Rating: 4.2
- Days Open: Every Day (5 am – 8 pm)
Located to the southeast of Denver, this golf course has something for everyone of all ages and skill levels. Families can especially benefit from golfing on this course. Henry Hughes helped to design this course in 1963. This is one of the hidden gems in Denver. They have a very dramatic 173-yard hole, which will give you some of the best views in the state of Colorado.
Several of the holes at Kennedy Golf Course are well-guarded by Cherry Creek. This course especially makes sense if you’d like to play a quick round. You can have a lot of fun here, and it never gets so hard that it loses that element of fun.
10. Todd Creek Golf Course
- Site Link
- Location: 8455 Heritage Dr, Thornton
- Par: 72
- Length: 7,435 yards
- Green Fees: $40 – $70
- Rating: 4.2
- Days Open: Every Day (7 am – 7 pm)
Opened in 2007, this golf course sits nestled into the Rocky Mountains with the hills used as a natural landscape. They sculpted this golf course to carefully mesh with the native contours of the landscape. The course is only located a few minutes drive to the north of Denver. You will see panoramic mountain views from nearly every hole here.
For those who want to play at a classic golf and country club, the Todd Creek Golf Course offers you a chance at it. The golf course here is fun overall, and the staff are also hospitable. You can also use this course to perfect your skills at the short game.
FAQs
Is Denver a Good Golf City?
Denver offers you a wealth of publicly accessible courses at lower prices than in other cities like Las Vegas, Miami, or Austin. The city itself is an outdoor playground, which makes golf a popular hobby for golfers here. On top of that, you will enjoy some of the most spectacular golf scenery in the whole country.
What is the Golf Season in Denver?
March to November is considered the open season for golf in Denver. Most of the golf courses in Denver stay open all year, but they do have a peak season and more of an off-season. December is the hardest month to golf here because of the short days.
Final Thoughts
Denver isn’t a year-round golf city in the same way as Las Vegas, Hilton Head or Miami, but because the Denver area golf courses stay open even in the winter months, you could still hit the golf courses throughout the year. The weather is different, however. Hopefully, this list of the best golf courses in Denver will help you to pick out a course that works great for you.
- Favorite club: Cobra Fly XL Set
- Favorite ball: Callaway Warbird Ball
- Favorite food at the turn: Nachos
