Murphy Creek, Aurora, CO - (with pics)

[Kalen Braley]

I recently had the opportunity to play Murphy Creek and seeing how I couldn't find a review of it, decided I would do one.

Its a Ken Kavanaugh course that recently hosted the US AM Pub Links Championship.  I wasn't really sure what to expect going in but it certainly exceeded my expectations.

A few things I liked:
1)  Interesting angles and strategy on several holes.
2)  Bunker placement was well done and usually placed where one wants to hit the ball.
3)  Variety of shot requirements including long and short par 5s, 4s, and 3s.
4)  The front 9 was housing free and played as Prarie'ish type of golf.

A few things I didn't:
1)  Switch the 9's.  While the back had some good holes, the course would be best routed IMO with the front 9 climaxing to the end.
2)  A lot of housing on the back 9, especially the stretch from 14-17 which played behind the houses in tight corridors and was out of character with the rest of the course.
3)  While the low flying jets didn't bother me much, I can see where this would be the case.

Overall, as stated I really like the course and the risk/reward/options of many of the holes.  The fairways and greens were in excellent condition, and the bump and run option was certainly available into many of the greens.  As usual, the pics don't do justice to the undulations and elevation differentials on the site. On that note, please enjoy:


#1 - Par 4 - A decision to be made right out of the gate.  Challenge the bunker on the right for a short wedge in or lay back and hit a longer approach:



The approach from the top of the landing area:




#2 - Par 4 - A long par 4 requiring two good shots to get home in two.  Its actually split fairway with left portion blind off the tee:



The approach in for my 3rd after a poor tee shot.




#3 Par 5 - Reachable with a long drive, otherwise must decide where to layup to



Some old cars not far from the tee.   :



The blind 2nd shot if you don't make it to the top of the hill with the drive:



The layup area.  There is a ton more room to the right than it looks.



The short approach after a successful layup, don't go long, nasty trouble lurks:




#4 - Par 4 - Another decision to be made off the tee.  Clear the bunkers on the right for a clear approach in.....



And if you fail like me, its bunker time...



Or play to safely to the left...but you have a blind approach in:




#5 - Par 3 - A really cool hole with a massive waste bunker in front.  From the tips its long, but from the blues, only a short iron:



Looking back on the expansive nature of the hole:




#6 - Par 5 - More decisions to be made off the tee.  Challenge the bunkers and junk on the left to get home in 2.  Or play out to the right with a longer shot in.



A look in from the fairway:



A closer look at the green complex.  There actually was quite a bit of slope and movement to the greens.




#7 - Par 4 - Another decision off the tee.  Challenge the centerline bunker for a short approach in.



But if you miss, its a blind approach as I just came up short here.



A look in from beyond the bunker:




#8 - Par 3 - A very tough par 3 from the blue tees.  Nearly 200 yards from the blue tees with nowhere to bail out.



A closer look at the bunker placed right where one such as myself would have loved to bail out too!!




#9 - Par 4 - Once again, another decision to be made from the tee.  Its a 230 yard carry to make it over the junk on the line to the green for this short par 4. Just a beautiful hole!



Or take a safer route off the tee, leaving a tougher approach in:



A look at the greenside bunker...its much deeper than it looks.



Looking back down the fairway.  I really loved this short risk/reward hole!


Back 9 to come in a few minutes!!

[Kalen Braley]

Back 9:


#10 - Par 4 - Playing it for the first time its hard to find an aiming point off the tee. The hole doglegs left:



The approach in:



A look at the green complex area from the right side:




#11 - Par 3 - Another longish par 3, but with bailout area this time:



This pic helps to show how undulating some of the greens are, I made a nice 4 jack from the front of the green  :




#12 - Par 4 - Another beautiful tee shot with a "bite of as much as you can chew" component. 



The approach from behind the bunker:



And then from a bit closer in:




#13 - Par 5 - A very reachable par 5.  Challenge the bunkers on the left to shorten the approach.



A look from the fairway over the bunkers:



Another look in from the right side:



And here from just short of the green:




#14 - Par 4 - A very narrow tee shot with water left and OB lurking right.  A tough hole with a teeny target for a green tucked next to the water.



One of the many large bunkers on the course that were labelled "Waste Area":




#15 - Par 5 - A cape hole of sorts that plays around a massive hazard on the right with OB left this time.



The layup is once again a bite off as much as you dare, or even going for it in two for the big hitters.  The sandy beach bunker  near the green was interesting:



The approach in after the layup:




#16 - Par 4 - Decent length par 4 with its main defense at the green:



Another look at the elevation differential found on many of the greens:




#17 - Par 3 - This was a long par 3 that required a precise tee shot.  Needless to say I didn't play this hole very well! 




#18 - Par 4 - Tee shot pic came out fuzzy.  Here is a shot from the approach:



A little bit closer in:



A good look behind the green that showed the fallaway chipping areas that existed behind many of the greens.

[Andy Troeger]

If I didn't know better I'd swear that course was in Indiana and not Colorado.

[Anthony Fowler]

Kalen,

Great post.  Murphy Creek is a very fun course and is well worth the visit.

I agree on 14-16.  The houses and water don't really fit.  However, I liked 17 quite a bit.  In general back 9 is not nearly as strong as the front, but I don't think that necessarily means they should flip the nines.

I REALLY liked the 3rd hole.  I played it from all the way back, ~640 I think.  I think it is very hard to find a true 3 shot hole that is interesting on every shot and not gimmicky.  This is probably the best one that I have played.  

[Kalen Braley]

Anthony,

I really like the course, the front 9 especially.  And for the green fees being less than $50 I felt it was a great value.  Its too bad about 14-16, but I suspect KK didn't have much to say about the housing corridors and his hands were tied.

Indiana or Colorado notwithstanding, I really mostly loved all the options and various routes to be played on most holes.

Kalen

[Andy Troeger]

Kalen,
In all seriousness there do look to be some interesting holes on the front nine, #9 looks interesting as do the first few holes. Its hard to tell elevation changes from photos, I'm sure the course isn't as flat as it looks. At under $50 I'm sure its a good value too.

[Richard Boult]

Added to our Photo Tour directory at http://delicious.com/golfclubatlas/Colorado.

[Brad Swanson]

I concur with the discussion regarding the front 9 being a better 9 holes.  I personally think the strength of the course is its set of par 3s.  Hard to find a better set in the Denver Metro area IMHO.

Cheers,
Brad   

[Kirk Gill]

Kalen, thanks so much for the photo tour.

I agree that the  housing component on the back nine is regrettable, and the reality is that it may get to the front nine eventually as well.

I actually really like the 14th hole. It's just hard to decide how to play it. The flatter fairway lies are closer to the water, but the best approach to that little green is probably from the right, although that's no picnic either. It's a hole I anticipate every time I play there.

They also have a junior rate, which many courses do NOT. There just aren't a lot of municipal courses I've seen that are better than this, especially ones that have been built fairly recently.

[Kalen Braley]

Kirk,

While I am no fan of the 14th, I liked the 15th the best of that 3 hole corridor stretch. 

And perhaps I'm just a homer for the prarie style, but I really liked the bunkering on the course.

The housing didn't bother me on holes 10-13 because it was all on the right  side and with the holes playing right to left, you were always playing away from the housing.  As I said before though I suspect KK's hand were tied when it came to where he could put 14-17.

Overall, it really is a fantastic muni, and I felt its every bit as good as the top layouts we have here in the SLC area.

[Tim Pitner]

Thanks Kalen--you captured Murphy Creek well and I happen to agree with most of your opinions. 

I too much prefer the front nine to the back, although the back has some solid holes as well.  I particularly like #2 and #3 (which is an extremely good par 5).  Switching the nines might be a good idea--the present #9 would make for an interesting finishing hole. 

It is a shame about the housing on the back nine--it's hard not to be impacted by that.  I feel the same way about another good Denver-area prairie course, Buffalo Run (which, on a hole by hole basis, might well be better than Foster's Haymaker in Steamboat, but now suffers from the suburban sprawl). 

[Kirk Gill]

And perhaps I'm just a homer for the prarie style, but I really liked the bunkering on the course.

Everyone I've taken to play there is impressed by the bunkering. There's just a muscular quality to them that makes them look even nastier then they actually are, and don't get me wrong, some of them are absolute beasts to get out of.

I really like the green at #13 - that big ridge that runs in from the back makes for some great fun in chipping across the green.

[Kalen Braley]

And perhaps I'm just a homer for the prarie style, but I really liked the bunkering on the course.

Everyone I've taken to play there is impressed by the bunkering. There's just a muscular quality to them that makes them look even nastier then they actually are, and don't get me wrong, some of them are absolute beasts to get out of.

I really like the green at #13 - that big ridge that runs in from the back makes for some great fun in chipping across the green.

Kirk,

Agreed on the bunkering and a funny little side story.

I got paired up with a group of 3 locals for my round, and couldn't have had a funner time..they were a hoot to play with.

So we step up to the par 5 6th tee, and say in a very serious manner:  "Damnit, I'm sick of this architect putting all the damn bunkers in the exact spots where I want to hit my ball!!!"

Immediately everyone chimes in with, "I know what is up with that, what the hell was he thinking".  They went on and on about how its not fair, yadda, yadda!

Then I got a big smile on my face and said, "I was just kidding guys".  And it goes silent for a few seconds.... You can hear the crickets chirping...they were just staring at with me with this blank look on thier face... dare say it almost got a bit awkward.  Then I simply said, "I love bunker positioning like this because it makes you think on the course, and make real decisions instead of just bombing away, which utlimately leads to more fun"

We went back to the normal chit-chat after that, but I'd like to think I at least got them thinking about it! 

[Joey Smith]

Kalen - Very nice job...

I was privileged to play Murphy Creek the day it was closed for the Public Links Championship in July.  It was in perfect condition!  John Magnuson, the course superintendent should be applauded for how good the course was.

A few notes on the Championship at MC:

 - The large bunker in front of #5 was walked across after tee shot - shorter distance than walking around.

 - Pretty much every player attempted to drive #9.  There were only four eagles in the 312 stroke play rounds.

 - They did indeed bite off a lot on #12.

 - #13 was played as a 528 yard par 4.  It averaged 4.3
The longest par 4 in USGA history until the Sr. Open at the Broadmoor two weeks later.  (535)

 - I agree with you about the houses

 - The 17th is a great hole.  Played about 250 during the PL.  It was,     statistically, hardest hole during stroke play.

Very good golf course - the most angle oriented course I've played. 

If in Denver and can't get on Cherry Hills or Colorado Golf - I would recommend Murphy Creek.

Joey

[Scott Sander]

Please forgive the bump of a fine-but-fading thread, but I wanted to throw in a few more thoughts about Murphy Creek. 

As I mentioned to Mr. Morrissett in an e-mail asking permission to post - Murphy Creek changed this golfer in a profound way.  I'd played golf for a quarter century, but MC was the first course to throttle me into the mindset that seems to come naturally, even fundamentally, to most at this site:  That there need be no single "correct" way to play a hole. 
Until I stood on the third tee on my second round at Murphy Creek in 2000, I truly believed that holes had a single best option for play and that every bunker, rough line, fairway tuck, etc. was meant to in one way or another punish or accomodate a weaker effort.

But the 3rd at MC can truly be well-played at least a half dozen ways.  Every shot challenges the mind and the heart.  The wide-right layup zone so shocked me the first time I saw it that I did not know what to do with it for several more rounds.  Once I finally foozled one out there, I immediately saw that it was the garden spot all along for layups... but I still never felt comfortable sending a shot out there.  Truly a terrific hole.

The course sent me searching for courses with a bit more joire de vivre, which, in turn, eventually led me here.

Mr. Braley-
Excellent tour.  I wish I'd posted it myself, but then it would have suffered for such breadth and depth.  I wholeheartedly agree with the vast majority of your observations and those of others and will add a few more.


-The course had horrible watering problems in the middle of summer during a drought period a few years ago.  It did not lose -every- blade of grass, but few survivors were certainly under seige.  Hopefully the city has secured more favorable watering rights.   That said, the course as a dirt field played remarkably similar to what it does in full dress green.   It always offered a way to run the ball, rain or shine.

-As to the idea of switching the nines:  #9 cetainly screams for it.  It would be fantastic as a finishing hole.  7 & 8 would be great momentum-builders toward the climax, too.

Unfortunately, I just feel that 10, 11, & 12 would be too-stern a tee ball test to open the round.  10 is awkward, 11 is extremely penal, and 12 demands immediate understanding of exactly how far your ball will fly - no easy task in Denver.

-14 is, as noted, tough - but it also feels somewhat out of character for the rest of the course.  It's the only hole (out of 17! ) that dictates and demands rather than inquires and invites.  It would be a fine hole on a course of a different "feeling", but it seems out of place there.

-17 is brutal but fair.  There's ample fairway for good sense to prevail.  On a gusty day the correct play may be 6i, wedge - if one can chew his pride down to a swallowable size.

I'll close with this:  Murphy Creek (and many others, I'm sure) would be an extraordinary teaching tool for any friend or golf partner whom you'd like to see play the game with more sense of wonder.  You -cannot- play "hit-it-down-the-middle".  You must... think.     Which is cool.   


Thanks again for the tour - and the praise for a course that succeeds like few other truly inexpensive munis do.

[Kalen Braley]

Scott,

That was a hellavu first post, light years ahead of something dumb I likely said for my 1st post.  I'm glad to see you saw similar things during your rounds out there and if it eventually led you to GCA. com, all the better. 

Murphy Creek really is a fun little course, and I was more than pleasantly surprised by what I found out there just dropping in a single. As for the 3rd hole, I would completely agree with your assessment. Its so much better than I could capture in pics, and its a shame because it really is a great hole.

Welcome to the site and don't be a stranger.  The onus is now on you to tour the best Denver has to offer and post reviews on GCA.com.   

[Scott Sander]

Welcome to the site and don't be a stranger.  The onus is now on you to tour the best Denver has to offer and post reviews on GCA.com.   

Thanks for the kind welcome.

Life took me away from Denver a few years ago. 

I'm now in the middle of Indiana, where the public golf offerings are surprisingly rich.  (Occasionally weird, mind you... but rich!).  I doubt I have much to offer over our more prolific Hoosier posters when it comes to original thought on our local tracks, but I'll happily pile on when something good, bad, or indifferent comes up for discussion.  A clear step ahead of the rest in the geewhizzitude feeling I covet is Tim Liddy's Trophy Club, which has 3 par 5's that invoke the same thrilling sense of "what the heck do i do here!?!" that I first had at MC.

[Adam Clayman]

Finally made it out here yesterday. From the moment I was about to turn left into the complex, it was thrilling. I was about the sixth car turning in, which I thought were all golfers. Turns out only half were. Which is still pretty bustling considering how far out in the plains this course resides.
The moment I got onto the practice putting green the juices started flowing. The undulations and speeds were married perfectly. I was about 50 minutes early and the 2some I was paired with were also already on prop when I arrived.

I loved the low flying fighters. When I sunk my very 1st long putt on the practice green, the first two of the day flew over, in celebration. It was a cool feeling, knowing these guys burning up thousands of dollars are fuel, were doing so to protect my liberties.

The course has been pretty much covered above and the course is a solid municipal. Which sadly, implies a bureaucratic mindset. After putting and having an enlightening conversation with an ex-rocker about regional golf, for 45 minutes, it was close to my time. As I arrived within earshot of the starter he said something about the group that would be ahead of us, was in the parking lot. I suggested to the starter, perhaps to ease their harry, we'd be happy to go early, since we were just waiting for the clock to tick near the first tee, and besides we were just a threesome. It just seemed like a no-brainer to me, with the fist tee open, to allow the group that had arrived an hour early, were ready to go, some air, over the group that had just barely made it to the facility in time. Naturally, being of sound municipal structure, the council would have to meet to decide if this action could occur. It took these guys 8 holes to find a rhythm, as we waited on every single shot.


I tend to disagree with the notion of switching the nines because the greens on the front are much bigger. Also, I loved that the first par 3 wasn't until 5. It gives the golfer a chance to get into their golf, slowly, before being asked to play the accurate shots need on one shotters. Since the 11th (or is it the 12th?) is a par 3, this gentle easing would be lost and the test questions would seem to get easier, rather than more exacting, as the current route has it.

We played in a gale, and it was fun fun fun.

[Kalen Braley]

Adam,

Glad you had a good experience out there.  What are your thoughts in general as to how it compares to other munis in the Denver area?  Its the only muni I've played in Denver, and I sure thought it was a very nice treat!

[Adam Clayman]

Kalen, I'm not up on the Denver Muni scene. But, of the few I've played, it and Common Ground can be discussed in the same sentence if it relates to the regions best.

The course had more core principals than most moderns, built in the same era. A solid place for golf, no mater who your favorite architect is.

Does it ever have to be more than that?

[Kalen Braley]

Kalen, I'm not up on the Denver Muni scene. But, of the few I've played, it and Common Ground can be discussed in the same sentence if it relates to the regions best.

The course had more core principals than most moderns, built in the same era. A solid place for golf, no mater who your favorite architect is.

Does it ever have to be more than that?

Adam,

Thanks for your comments.  And to answer your question, absolutly not.  I just have heard about all the high quality publics in the denver area and was curious where it fit in for the pecking order. 

What did you think of the "moonscape" par 3 5th?  I thought it was a really neat hole.

[Adam Clayman]

The entire front was great, I thought.

[michael damico]

just got back from my first round there (and the 19th hole...) and was taken back  by the front nine. There were several instances where I turned to my buddy and said, "hey, this ain't too bad", but at the same time I said, "well, hell, why not... etc..." equally the same.

The two nines are almost complete opposites, of which scanning over the thread quickly, is the general consensus to switch the nines, would be a great idea. Playing from the whites with 2 looooong hitters and an average length hitter/average bogey golfer, all of which don't play enough to get better, the 2 long hitters hit the 9th green and both birdied. The green, in my opinion, is the weakest of the front nine. With all those interesting complexes, why place an average sized, two tiered green pitched that much on a reachable par 4? Didn't do it for me as a home hole, and the only thing that would not help with my favoring switching the nines.

What's up with the par 3's? No. 5 was situated where the two back tees were offered a bail out option, but the other 3 more forward tees all required a carry into the PIN! 17 was a 210 par 3 from the middle tee? I put it on, but still had an inkling that well, maybe this may be alittle too much, even for the sake of variety from a design standpoint AND for the sake of length from 'above altitude'.

Thoroughly enjoyed the par 5's, especially the first on the back (I believe 13) which offered options galore and a straight forward strategic approach off the tee. Great hole.

All comments before sleeping on it...