Black Bear Golf Club-Denver

[Tim Leahy]

Any one play this course recently? It's near Denver and used to be called Canterberry. Is it worth playing if you have to drive from Boulder? Conditions good? It has a high slope which usually means it is at least challenging.
I have played Bear Dance, Vista Ridge, Buffalo Run, The Omni, Heritage-Westmore and Coal Creek and am looking for something new that is public and within an hour from Boulder for Labor Day week visit. Already planning to play Riverdale Dunes and Fossil Trace.

[Sean Leary]

I played it last year and it is a solid housing track.  It is south of Denver though, so nowhere near Boulder.

I think Jeff Brauer is the architect, if I am not mistaken....

[Tony Petersen]

Tim -

I played it quite a few times when I lived in CO. It's a Jeff Brauer design that has a lot of character and more than a little quirk... The only thing is that it's spread out among the tract housing, and the typical round averages about 5+. Great golf design, shitty golf experience... IMHO

TP

[Tim Pitner]

Tim,

I haven't played it in many years, way before the name change.  Back then, the conditioning was very suspect, but the layout was pretty cool.  It's a good long ways from Boulder.  You might consider Murphy Creek as an alternative.  It might be a little closer (off E-470) and is at least as good.  

[astavrides]

i couldnt see the golf course for the houses.  i recommend fox hollow, murphy creek, mariana butte, estes park, and green valley ranch as alternatives.

[Wyatt Halliday]

Tim,

I played here July 7th. The conditioning is better since the management team at Bear Dance took over in March. The layout is solid, fun, and can be extremely difficult in a stiff breeze. The guys are spot on, the housing lines all but a few holes and if walking is your game forget it. Some holes are so spread out from tee to green, the foursome behind may putt out and beat you to the next tee.

It's a shame because Jeff did a great job, and it has some really strong holes.

FYI:
They recently changed the routing:
#1 is now the old #10 (to cut down on the walk from the new clubhouse), and I believe the current #10 is the old #11.

Someone please verify if the information is accurate.

I'll third the Murphy Creek recommendation, if just for the front nine alone. It has some interesting features..centerline and diagonal hazards, and a pretty darn good set of greens.

happy hunting,

WH