Had my second visit to Lakota Cayon Ranch (New Castle, CO) this past week. The layout is from Jim Engh and it's certainly one of the very best public courses you can play from The Centennial State.
Here's the skinny ...
7,111 yards from the black tees
72.2 CR
137 Slope
Once again, Engh has done a syperlative job in taking a very demanding site and transposing all the ingredients at hand into a design that joins at the hip not only scenic beauty but shotmaking requirements that will keep you coming back for more.
Info on the course can be accessed thru:
lakotacanyonranch.com
Lakota is not bulletproof though.
The opening holes (578 yards) reminds me of the 15th at Sanctuary in Sedalia -- but unlike that hole which dog-legs aburptly to the right -- this hole featues the same bend but to the left. The issue?
On both holes the opportunity in cutting the corner is fraught with more risk than the reward is worth. The angle of the hole turns so quickly and there is little landing room for any drive that doesn't literally drop from the sky and land softy like a butterfly.
The green complex is well done and the fronting water hazard to the left will keep those looking to go for the green in two in check.
The front side at Lakota works through some of the more unique and breathtaking ponderosa pine area you can imagine. The 2nd is a decent mid-length par-4 of 375 yards but at the 3rd you face a 170-yard downhill tee shot to a geen with more movement than the Atlantic Ocean on a rough day. The front right pin placement is quite entertaining because the approach must be absolutely exact in its execution. In this day and age of power the 3rd at Lakota demonstrates the presence of precision.
The next two holes demonstrate why Jim Engh is a master IMHO in regards to the creation of par-5 holes that really sizzle.
The 4th is 557 yards and plays uphill for the bulk of its distance. The tee short starts from a ledge but the optimum shot is fade to match up well with the nature of the fairway. If a player can gain sufficient distance and the proper position in the fairway a go at the green in two blows is a possibility. The shot, though, must be well struck and reach the green which sits high above the fairway. There are a range of options beyond going for the green in two but the hole will not compromise or give anything away. A real gem of a hole.
The downhill slightly turning left 5th at 620 yards is also a honey. Here the tee shot dictactes everything -- if you play conservatively to the right it becomes a two-shot hole. If you angled closer to the left you must deftly avoid a strand of trees that hug that side. There is a new championship tee being created now and when you stand on the box and gaze below you see all that the hole requires.
The finishing four holes at Lakota on the front side are likely the weakest of the bunch. The 6th and 8th share many qualities -- both have high tee position hitting to a valley below and the shot value for both s fairly similar (395 yds) at the 6th and (398 yds) at the 8th. The 7th is a good par-3 but it doesn't have the natural qualities you encountered at the 3rd. It's longer and a bit uphill but it's not beguiling.
The concluding hole -- the 9th -- plays 205 yards and is well done. Here you hit from a higher position but the green is banked so deliciously that you need to be utterly preisely with the approach.
The back nine at Lakota starts with the 10th -- a 397-yd downhill par-4 that begs for the big tee shot but the smarter play is gaining position. There is a center-located fairway bunker that lies close to the green. The putting surface is also done nicely with a good bit of contour.
At the 11th the whole value of Lakota takes center stage. Again -- Engh interjects in a bold way with the dynamic par-5 11th at 583 yards. The hole plunges downhill as you stand on a tee no bigger than an Olympic diving platform.
There is a solitary bunker on the right and it's meant more to save the player than to punish him. The key here is to decide how far down the hole do you wish to hit the tee shot. The further you go the more narrower and dicey the propositoin.
Even after you hit the tee shot you need to gauge a second shot to a green that runs savagely from left-to-right with a menacing pond to the right.
The 12th is a fine long par-4 of 476 yards with a center-placed fairway bunker -- the lone issue -- Engh embellishes the hole with flaired containment mounding at the green which only serves as overkill IMHO.
The 13th hole is a well done short par-4 and the scenerary of the mountains in the distant foreground is stunning and easy to lose one's concentratin.
The 14th hole is neatly done with a split upper and lower te box. The lower box is the for use at the back tee spot and it provides a different slant on the hole.
The 15th hole is the best par-3 at Lakota -- it plays 217 yards and the shot needs to be playd with the highest level of skill as the green is banked appropriately to repel all but the best of plays.
One of the issues I have had with the Engh courses I have played is the lack of attention he gives to par-4's when compared to what you see with his 3-par's and 5-par's. Such is not the case with the 16th -- one of the best public holesI have played in Colorado as it tops out at 418 yards and is the #1 handicap hole at the course.
The tee shot is slightly uphill on this dog-leg right and the closer you play the tee shot to the canyon that runs parallel to the line of play the better. The approach is also well calculated as the green is diagonally angled and has a split between the front half and the back half. There is a also a bunker that protects anything that comes up short.
The 17th hole is one of those few examples of the drop-shot par-3 that comes off with no hitches. At 198 yards you encounter another of Engh's tactics -- the tongue area where the pin can be located. Here at the 17th the hidden "tongue" is in the rear spot on the green and it adds conservatively 25 yards to the total length -- even though the hole plays downhill.
The final hole is IMHO -- one of the best of its types -- a true risk'n reward hole of 557 yards / par-5. This hole has been mentiond previously here on GCA and the range of options on this slightly uphill on the tee shot hole are too numerous to mention. For the player looking for high risk there's plenty to think about. For those opting for the more conservative route the possibilities for success are not simply guaranteed because you have choosen the lower risk option.
All in all, Lakota Canyon Ranch joins for me the likes of other superb cost-conscious public layouts like Wild Horse. Lakota is not bulletproof to the tune of Black Mesa in NM, but it clearly goes a good distance beyond what Engh created in Grand Junction with Redlands Mesa and that's a course rated #1 among all CO public courses by GolfWeek.
Anyone traveling the i-70 corridor should make a visit and skip the over-priced / over-hyped layouts that dot the Vail / Aspen vicinity.
You will not be disappointed in what you encounter at Lakota Canyon Ranch.