Golf Courses: Fossil Trace

Next time you are in Denver, Colorado with your sticks, stop by and tee it up at Fossil Trace.  This is one of the funnest and most unique golf courses you'll ever experience. [caption id="attachment_405" align="aligncenter" width="550"] 12 Green with muscle bunker. Fossil wall is behind rocks to left.[/caption] Fossils One of Fossil Trace's slogan's is "64 million years in the making."  Triceratops footprints as well as fossils of creatures millions of years old can be found on the course.  There's a large rock wall left of one of the course's signature holes, #12 (pictured above), which golfers stop by to view many of the historic artifacts.  The history lesson can provide a good mental departure from golf for a few minutes. Clay Mine The course was built on an old clay mine which was in operation in the lat 1800's.  Remnants of the mine are all over the course, including old mining machinery, tractors and even an old chimney on the first hole located right in the middle of the fairway! Design Speaking of the signature #12 hole, famous golf course architect Jim Engh is credited with creating this golf gem.  The course is very fun to play, winding through the rock spires and complexly interesting terrain in which the dinosaurs once walked and the old clay mine once operated. The course tests golfers of all abilities and presents many fun and creative opportunities for shot making with drastic elevation changes, highly contoured fairways and greens, as well as natural hazards. The course design presents many playing options on each hole, from conservative to aggressive.  Risk/reward holes like the par-4 #10 tempt you to hit driver to the green, but will heavily penalize aggressive players who do not execute their shots well.  If those shots are executed well, easy birdies or even eagles will be the reward. Bunkers Engh's bunker design, called "muscle bunkering," is very unique.  Trust me, they look cool but they will test your bunker skills if your ball comes to rest in one. Awards "Best Golf Course in Denver, 2008" - Westword "Top 10 new golf courses to play in the country in 2003" - Golf Digest and Golf Magazine. Golf Digest Magazine 4 ½ Stars Best Places to Play from 2006 thru 2009. "One of the top public courses in Colorado" - Golfweek in 2006, 2007 & 2008 "Best Golf Course in Denver" - ESPN.com in 2009. Specs The course has varying sets of tees to accommodate players of all ability levels. The longest tees, Black, rate at 72.5 with a slope of 139.  The shortest Women's tees rate at 66.5 with a slope of 121. Other unique tee sets include the "Trike" and "T-Rex" tees. Contact Fossil Trace Golf Club 3050 Illinois Street Golden, Colorado 80401 (303) 277-8750 http://www.fossiltrace.com