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Hole 1

Hole Name

From The Tee The opening hole at Fossil Trace has been voted the #1 starting hole in Colorado numerous times since the course opened in 2003. A well placed driver off the tee to “the launch pad” will give you the option to layup with a middle iron to a generous landing area or go for the green in 2.

From The Fairway

On The Green However, the opening near the green is very narrow, protected by a deep “muscle bunker” to the left, and a village of cottonwood trees to the right. In either case your second shot will travel towards Table Mountain, and over the chimney incinerator which remains intact from the 1940s. Hole #1 has proven to be one of the most fun and interesting holes on the entire golf course.

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Hole 2

Hole Name

From The Tee Be ready for a reachable par 4 at 320 yards from the back tees with the blind green,

From The Fairway located well below the fairway. Players may choose driver and try to reach this green or layup off the tee with a mid to long iron, leaving themselves their favorite distance into this long narrow green.

On The Green The giant cottonwood tree just short and left of the green provides an alignment cue for incoming shots – left of the tree is trouble. The length of Hole #2 offers the player a chance to get off to a good start.

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Hole 3

Hole Name

From The Tee The first of five par 3 holes at Fossil Trace, Hole #3 requires an uphill shot to a green where players may only see the top of the flag stick. Be sure to check today’s hole location and yardage as the length of this undulating green offers many different flag positions, and club options.

From The Fairway

On The Green There are four bunkers on the left awaiting your miscue – if you do miss, be sure to keep your shot deep or to the right. The topography right of this green complex will deflect incoming shots towards, and many times, onto the green.

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Hole 4

Hole Name

From The Tee Over the years, this Par 4 has proven to be one of the most demanding tee-to-green holes in all of Colorado.

From The Fairway A drive to the right-to-left sloping fairway will still leave players with a mid to long iron that requires a carry over water & marsh.

On The Green The tiered green is protected by a deep bunker on the right and water left. Make a par here, and you are in rare company. The hole has been called many names – proper decorum does not allow us to share them here.

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Hole 5

Hole Name

From The Tee If you lost a stroke or two to “old man par” on Hole #4, you’re not alone. Hole #5 offers a player the opportunity to get back a shot. Best to fire past the flag as the marshland stares you in the face along with the three pot bunkers. A birdie is a distinct possibility, but know that bogey or worse lurks all too often for a short hole.

From The Fairway

On The Green

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Hole 6

Hole Name

From The Tee Golf course architect Jim Engh would say you are entering Scotland where the holes “play up.”

From The Fairway This hole certainly plays that way. Hole #6 allows players to play up the right side of the fairway, keeping them away from the natural wetlands on the left and pot bunker in the left center of the fairway.

On The Green This hole typically plays 1 to 2 clubs longer on the second shot to an extremely narrow, but very wide green. The flag could be placed on four different tiers from left to right. Hole #6 is another par 4 where par is a fantastic score.

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Hole 7

Hole Name

From The Tee Hole #7 is a “short-looking” hole from the tee, but don’t let the length on this hole deceive you.

From The Fairway Placement of the tee shot is important with a driver or fairway wood. The slopes, sometimes referred to as “waves,” lean back towards the fairway. This design elements provides players the opportunity to miss either right or left, and get a positive result with the ball bouncing into the fairway. Once in the fairway the second shot is where you can make it or break it as a “river of sand” guards t

On The Green This bunker has double-duty as both a fairway bunker and greenside bunker, just over 300 yards from the back tee. Choose 1 club extra on the approach and make sure your short iron second shot is long enough. If it’s short, you may drown in “the river.” Once on the green, you will be met with the smallest green on the golf course.

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Hole 8

Hole Name

From The Tee The penultimate hole on the front 9, hole #8 offers players a fantastic, yet challenging driving opportunity,

From The Fairway where the bunker on the left requires a 257 yard carry from the back tees and a 290-yard drive to reach the second deep fairway bunker on the right.

On The Green A shot to the fairway will leave players with a slightly uphill middle to short iron to a severely undulating green. To give yourself any opportunity at birdie here, the premium is on an accurate approach.

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Hole 9

Hole Name

From The Tee Hole #9 at Fossil Trace is the longest hole on the golf course by a wide margin, stretching to 680 yards from the back tees.

From The Fairway

On The Green If the wind decides to blow out of the west, as it often does, the hole can play even longer if Mother Nature intervenes. A wide open landing area off the tee will require all you have in the tank to reach the only bunker on this hole: a single pot bunker 80 yards short of the putting surface. The green on hole #9 is the largest on the course, measuring in at nearly 60 yards from front to back wit

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Hole 10

Hole Name

From The Tee If you thought the Front 9 was adventurous, get prepared for the Back 9.

From The Fairway

On The Green It all starts with Hole #10; a risk-reward hole giving the player two options off the tee. The first option is the most exciting, a drive for the green. From the Blue tee, you need to carry 265 yards over water to reach a safe zone. Otherwise, a long iron directed into the fairway would suffice, leaving a short iron to the green. This hole can provide players the opportunity to start the Back 9 wi

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Hole 11

Hole Name

From The Tee The stretch of holes #11 through #15 had enormous potential for golf holes during the original routing conducted by Jim Engh in 1991. Holes #11 through #15 were eventually built on the land donated by the Parfet Mining Company.

From The Fairway

On The Green Old mining relics are displayed throughout the back 9, including here on #11, reminding us of the depth of the past. The first of three par 3’s on the Back 9, Hole #11 can play as short as 160 yards all the way back to a deep right flag placement at 205 yards as this green is over 180 feet long. Of all the holes designed in the old mining site, #11 is the favorite of course designer Jim Engh. Prop

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Hole 12

Hole Name

From The Tee Some thought Jim Engh to be crazy to attempt it, but you will see it was well worth the effort.

From The Fairway The sandstone pillars in the fairway were slated to come down, but Jim Engh said, “Leave them where they lie.” The key for Jim Engh was to incorporate these unique features in a way that was both functional, and playable within the framework of the game of golf. A drive to the center of this fairway will leave players with a choice; play over or around the pillars in the center of the fairway and

On The Green The green features another narrow undulating surface guarded by a long greenside bunker. On the back of the sandstone wall left of the 12th green are trace fossils of palm fronds and triceratops footprints. Reverse that term and you get the name of the course, Fossil Trace. Hole #12 is a hole not soon forgotten.

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Hole 13

Hole Name

From The Tee Although the Par 5 holes on the back 9 garner much of the attention, Hole #13 is a downhill par 4 with one of Golden’s other signature landmarks off in the distance

From The Fairway

On The Green the Coors Brewery. Considered a favorite hole by many, driver is not necessary as a fairway wood will leave most players with less than 150 yards to the putting surface. Distance control is at a premium on this hole as anything over the green is in serious trouble and a shot landing short will spin back due to the slope in front. Once on the green, players will find undulations, and movements that

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Hole 14

Hole Name

From The Tee This hole is a par 3 that will test the ball-striking of even the most experienced of players.

From The Fairway

On The Green The 8-foot tier separating the front and back of the green complex is all that can be seen from the teeing ground. When the flag is back, the play is extra long to allow the ball to roll back off the sloping fringe. When the flag is on the lower tier, a play long will allow the ball to roll back from the tier towards the hole. A score of 3 is more than acceptable on Hole #14.

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Hole 15

Hole Name

From The Tee Completing the quartet of holes on the former mining site is the Par 5, 15th hole.

From The Fairway This par 5 features a tee that is perched high above the fairway. Hole #15 is a similar driving hole to Hole #8, requiring a carry of 260 yards over the left bunker and 300 yards to reach the right-hand bunker.

On The Green Once on the fairway of this reachable par 5, a shot with a fairway wood or hybrid is all that remains to get home to the smallest green on the course, which is completely hidden from view. The fairway splits near the green, separated by sand stones piled from the construction of #12. With a good drive and second shot, a definite birdie opportunity awaits.

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Hole 16

Hole Name

From The Tee The green on the final par 3 is quite wide but not that deep

From The Fairway

On The Green Choose your club carefully and check the breeze as the deep bunker and water hazard front right of the green will get far more use then they deserve. The safer play is past the hole as short shots guarantee big scores.

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Hole 17

Hole Name

From The Tee At only 356 yards, you can bite off as much as you like with the driver,

From The Fairway but favor the left side as the green may not be totally visible to those second shots played from the right side of the fairway. If you need an alignment guide from this tee, notice and aim for the faintly painted letter “G” on the side of Table Mountain. Any flag location near the back and right of

On The Green the green should signal you to play to the front or center as it is yet another green guarded by a deep “muscle bunker” front and right.

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Hole 18

Hole Name

From The Tee Our adventure ends here on the Par 5 18th hole, measuring 542 yards from the tips, but only 486 yards on a direct line from tee to green and reachable for many players.

From The Fairway Your second shot, if you choose to go for it, is the epitome of a risk/reward scenario as a 6-foot deep bunker awaits you left, 10-foot deep bunker grabs you on the right, and it’s all carry over the lake. Laying up doesn’t guarantee you a safe score either – a timid approach will be swallowed by the 6’ rise on the first 1/3 of the green. The key to finishing this hole successfully is placing the

On The Green the green aggressively. If it all comes down to this hole, an eagle is as possible as is a dreaded “other.”

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