Ute Creek
Golf Course is Full of Possibilities

By Rob Floyd
Rockiesgolf.com Course Reviewer

June 18, 1999

LONGMONT, Colo. - Ute Creek has absolutely outdone itself. I played the Robert Trent Jones, II course when it first opened about three years ago and just recently played it last week and I couldn't believe the difference.

Perhaps it was the fact that the course had matured so elegantly with the fairways staying thick and rich, the greens maintaining that beautifully manicured feel and the native grasses not being allowed to become ridiculously overgrown. Playing Ute Creek gives one the feeling of playing a Pasetiempo or a Pinehurst for roughly 1/7th the cost.

Ute Creek definitely requires golfers to be accurate shooters. Many of the greens are small, well contoured and heavily guarded by water or sand. Most of the fairways have sand on both sides making it an exciting gamble trying to thread the needle.

Matt Sharpe, a local Boulder golfer, made a good point while playing the course when he said you could come out here all summer long and it could be a different game every time you play because this course has so many different contours, landing zones and possibilities for play.

The course starts off with a 533-yard par 5 heading West with a magnificent view of Longs Peak. The par-4 second hole is beautifully designed with a spectacular sand trap layout directly between you and the green. It looks as though you can hit to the green if you play over the multi-fingered sand traps, but beware, its O.B. is 25 feet left of the sand.

Holes 3,4, and 5 are long 400-yard par 4's that will have you hoping you hit them straight. Hole number 6 is a tricky little par three that is guarded by sand tighter than the security at Fort Knox.

The fantastic 7th hole is the perfect hole to put some money down for longest drive. On this par 5, 550 yard hole you are forced to try and squeeze your way through sand that chokes the middle of the fairway before hitting up to an elevated and well protected green.

Just for kicks, the next hole is a short par three that forces even the straightest hitters to contemplate the huge body of water left and in front of the green. The front nine ends with another long par 4 with a wetlands hazard all the way up the left side of the fairway. Play this hole on the right side and you'll be safe, especially since there are two sand traps immediately left of the green.

To start off the back nine, hole #10 is a long par 4 that fades a bit left. Once again, sand comes into play on both sides of the green. The fantastic, huge, 541 yard, hard left-cutting eleventh hole is a dream come true for hookers and slicers alike. Either way your ball goes, if you just hit it into the fairway, you should be safe.

At the 300-yard mark, the fairway makes a sharp turn left and is about 100 yards wide and receptive to many types of drives. Play it smart from here because approximately 220 yards up towards the green is a hidden creek that will have your ball swimming like Mark Spitz.

This brings us to the 137-yard, par three #12. It is another target golfers paradise due to the incredibly small landing zone provided by water in the front and sand in the rear. After the short 12th hole, #13 brings you back to driving for show.

Careful of the lateral water hazard that parallels the entire left side of the hole and once again, play it smart or get your sand wedge out. Hint: there is plenty of grass over and right of the green for an easy chip onto the dance floor.

The 14th is the second of three par threes on the back nine, and like its counterparts, it requires good placement due to the sand choking the front of the green. This multi-tiered green makes for almost miniature golf-like fun. Don't let the distance fool you.

Unfortunately for me, they were building a house right next to the 15th tee and I am easily distracted. Someone should make it a law that you can only build on a golf course when there is nobody playing. Besides the distractions, the 15th is good fun with, once again you guessed it, sand all around the green.

This brings us to the third par 3 of the back nine, the 180 yard #16. Anybody getting tired of sand and water yet? This could be a very expensive game if you cannot keep them straight. The 16th forces you to play over water and between the water and sand to a huge green.

The third par 5, #17 is a long-ballers dream hole with little to worry about directly down the center of the fairway. Hopefully you'll have a good second shot up to the multi-contoured green. This is a good birdie potential hole.

Finishing the round on the 18th is fabulous. You've got to drive the hell out of the ball and then get onto the green through a very narrow throat with water on one side and sand on the other. It is a fun hole to finish up the day.

Overall, Ute Creek is one of the most impressively designed golf courses that I have had the pleasure to play in Colorado. The placement of the sand traps and their configurations are beautiful. The water is well designed and thought-provoking.

The greens are in spectacular shape and the fairways just make you want to take a divot every time. Ute Creek states that they are "Committed to promoting a high-quality, environmentally-conscious golf course...it is their goal to use the most ecologically sound maintenance practices to ensure a safe haven for both people and wildlife and that is truly refreshing."

The only improvement they could make would be to put more yardage markers throughout the course. Other than that, Ute Creek is well worth the drive to Longmont from just about anywhere in the state. For a tee time call (303) 776-7662.