Four Days From Denver

[Wade Whitehead]

I may have four open days, starting in Denver and ending in Denver, this June.  I'll have a car.

Assuming access isn't an issue, where do you go?  Include driving time(s) if possible, please.

Thanks.

WW

[Mike Hendren]

Cue Kavanaugh, then duck.

[Mark Pritchett]

Castle Pines
Cherry Hills
Denver CC
Colorado GC


I'm not much for driving. 

[Kalen Braley]

Assuming a 3 hour drive to Holyoke is out.....

You could also consider Fossil trace, Common Ground, Murphy Creek, or Sanctuary in addition to the ones mentioned...

P.S.  Everything mentioned is no more than a hour from downtown...and I think its true for the courses mentioned in the prior post.

[John Kavanaugh]

There are three places to play when you are in Denver...Sand Hills, Sand Hills, and Sand Hills. Too bad you didn't ask on St. Patricks Day as I hear the leprechaun will be hosting in June.

[Scott Weersing]

Ok, I would recommend Common Ground and Green Valley Ranch. Common Ground for all the usual reasons. Green Valley Ranch is good except for no. 17 which is a strange hole and then you will appreciate other courses because this hole is a stinker. Murphy Creek is also good but I did not get to play it on my visit last September.


As for privates, Denver CC is a great all star course with holes by Coore, Hanse, Ross and others.

[Wade Whitehead]

Love the in-Denver suggestions, and Common Ground seems like a no brainer.

How far to Sand Hills?  Dismal?

Is Ballyneal on the way to either place?

Driving is no problem.

There's always been something about Cherry Hills that's fascinated me (maybe just the stories).

Looking for suggestions for a four-day road trip, really.

WW

[Tom_Doak]

If you're going to Sand Hills or Dismal, that's a three-day trip, or 3 1/2 days if you want to do both.  You might have time for one round in Denver.


Ballyneal is only half as far out of town.  You could combine it with the other two [if you have an ADHD sort of personality], or, do two days at Ballyneal and play a couple of the recommended courses around Denver.

[Ross Harmon]

How far to Sand Hills?  Dismal?

Is Ballyneal on the way to either place?

From Denver International Airport - it's 5 1/2 hours to either Sand Hills or Dismal. Ballyneal is a half hour out of the way, halfway between DIA and the NE courses.


Personally, I'd recommend two days at Ballyneal and then two days in Denver at Cherry Hills, Colorado Golf Club, CommonGround or Castle Pines.

[Aaron Marks]

Drag and drop until you are content:  https://goo.gl/8pJgBm


I would recommend getting the E-470 toll pass with your rental car.

[John Kavanaugh]

Four days is 96 hours. Driving is 14 hours including Ballyneal, Dismal and Sand Hills. Darkness is 36 hours.  That leaves 46 hours to golf at 3 great destinations assuming you don't drive in the dark. I've made the trip in four days many times and it's a no brainier.

[Tom_Doak]

John:


Nothing wrong with your math, but aren't you the guy who used to complain about people doing "hit and run" visits to great courses and not taking time to enjoy them?


That's where I was coming from, anyway.  The courses we are talking about deserve more than a day apiece.

[John Kavanaugh]

I've never turned down an invite to either Ballyneal or Sand Hills. The OP said access was not an issue. I say go for it. On my upcoming trip to Scotland I am playing a different course everyday. Sometimes two. I have succumbed.

[Phil Young]

Never in the history of golfclubatlas has the statement, "I've made the trip in four days many times and it's a no brainier" been more truly stated... 

[Dave Herrick]

You might also consider Riverdale Dunes in nearby Adams County, which Mr. Doak had a hand in in his early days, (although he takes no blame for the unfortunate 15th hole). It is only slightly out of the way if one is travelling between Denver and Holyoke or Nebraska.

[John Cowden]

Day 1:  Three hour drive to Ballyneal, 36 holes.


Day 2:  Ballyneal 18, three hour drive to Dismal (take Soddy Rd.), 18 more, Red or White.


Day 3:  Dismal 36+, Red, White, and more.


Day4:  Dismal, 18 more, Red or White, drive to Bally, 18 more, drive on to Denver. 


Four rounds Ballyneal; four rounds Dismal River.  Sandhills heaven.  Then you sleep.

[Scott Weersing]

Day 1:  Three hour drive to Ballyneal, 36 holes.


Day 2:  Ballyneal 18, three hour drive to Dismal (take Soddy Rd.), 18 more, Red or White.


Day 3:  Dismal 36+, Red, White, and more.


Day4:  Dismal, 18 more, Red or White, drive to Bally, 18 more, drive on to Denver. 


Four rounds Ballyneal; four rounds Dismal River.  Sandhills heaven.  Then you sleep.

This plan sounds like a good one to me!

[Jim Nugent]

Day 1:  Three hour drive to Ballyneal, 36 holes.


Day 2:  Ballyneal 18, three hour drive to Dismal (take Soddy Rd.), 18 more, Red or White.


Day 3:  Dismal 36+, Red, White, and more.


Day4:  Dismal, 18 more, Red or White, drive to Bally, 18 more, drive on to Denver. 


Four rounds Ballyneal; four rounds Dismal River.  Sandhills heaven.  Then you sleep.

If access is no problem... and you're already at Dismal... why would you skip Sand Hills? 

[Jerry Kluger]

Just remember when planning a trip to Ballyneal that is it strictly walking only and you really have to take your time around the course to appreciate all of the options on the holes and the great greens. 

[John Cowden]

Two points:  Sandhills, access is indeed a problem.  And, my itinerary allows for four rounds at Bally, plenty of time to appreciate many of the courses many nuances.


PS:  if Sandhills access is no problem fo anybody reading here, I suggest we add a long weekend and throw in a couple Sandhills days.  Better yet, let's add a week and four rounds at the Prairie Club, too.


The Sandhills rock!  Links courses created eons ago!


Cheers.

[Tommy Williamsen]

Wade, there are a lot of directions you can travel. Obviously, the sand hills offer some of the best golf. But, good grief, you are in the Rockies. It is hard to be in Denver and travel east or north-east. The mountains are just to stunning to ignore and there is plenty of golf out there to keep you occupied.

[Kalen Braley]

Wade, there are a lot of directions you can travel. Obviously, the sand hills offer some of the best golf. But, good grief, you are in the Rockies. It is hard to be in Denver and travel east or north-east. The mountains are just to stunning to ignore and there is plenty of golf out there to keep you occupied.

Tommy, I live right next to the mountains in Salt Lake City...and the mountains are overrated from a golfing point of view. You're either playing on flat land and looking at em, or playing some wild cartball golf on the side of em; 

However when it comes to other non-golf activities, I would have to completely agree, its pretty awesome, especially here in Utah where you can get to Park City Or Big Cottonwood canyon in less than 1/2 hour from downtown.

[Tim Pitner]

Getting to the NE sand hills and hitting Ballyneal en route would entail a breakneck speed. To me, that misses the point of the West. Slow down. Play some golf in and around Denver, possibly overnight at Ballyneal, enjoy a day hike, catch a show at Red Rocks, savor the dry air and blue skies, hit the sand hills another time.

[Tommy Williamsen]

Wade, there are a lot of directions you can travel. Obviously, the sand hills offer some of the best golf. But, good grief, you are in the Rockies. It is hard to be in Denver and travel east or north-east. The mountains are just to stunning to ignore and there is plenty of golf out there to keep you occupied.

Tommy, I live right next to the mountains in Salt Lake City...and the mountains are overrated from a golfing point of view. You're either playing on flat land and looking at em, or playing some wild cartball golf on the side of em; 

However when it comes to other non-golf activities, I would have to completely agree, its pretty awesome, especially here in Utah where you can get to Park City Or Big Cottonwood canyon in less than 1/2 hour from downtown.

I've played most everything in the Co mts. There are some stunning sites and excellent courses. Catamount Ranch and Haymaker in Streamboat are both worth the trip. Breckenridge has 27 holes of fun. Keystone has 36 of reasonably good golf. Red Sky Ranch has two courses, of which the Norman Course is both stunning and good.  The CC of the Rockies is good as is Eagle Springs. Further west is Lakota Canyon, Roaring Fork, and Maroon Creek. None of them measure up to Ballyneal or the sand hills courses but they are certainly worth the trip and the mountains are a plus.

[Mark Chaplin]

I don't like what happened to friends at Ballyneal however it's very close to playing links golf unlike Sand Hills and Dismal River.

I'd spend two days at Sand Hills and two at Ballyneal.