[Stephen Davis]

I searched and found an old thread that looked like it got severely sidetracked, so I figured I would start a new thread. Four Mile Ranch Golf Course is a Jim Engh design in Canon City, CO (pronounced Canyon City). It is likely to be a very polarizing golf course, due to the blind shots, pronounced undulations and multiple punchbowls. However, it is a course that I find to be extremely enjoyable to play and one that is a great value. I will say that when friends come to town (I live in Colorado Springs) and want to play golf, this is the place I take them. It is a course that is extremely different than almost anything they have played before.

Hole 1, Par 4, Black 418 yards, Blue 379 yards





Hole 2, Par 5, Black 604 yards, Blue 535 yards







Hole 3, Par 3, Black 203 yards, Blue 162 yards





Hole 4, Par 4, Black 374 yards, Blue 305 yards





Hole 5, Par 4, Black 402 yards, Blue 352 yards






Hole 6, Par 5, Black 563 yards, Blue 529 yards






Hole 7, Par 3, Black 160 yards, Blue 140 yards





Hole 8, Par 4, Black 353 yards, Blue 307 yards


Sorry, I forgot to get other pictures of this hole.

Hole 9, Par 4, Black 430 yards, Blue 395 yards

[Andrew Buck]

Thanks for sharing, those greens look like quite the adventure.  Would certainly value knowing where to leave yourself, and being able to execute on those approaches. 

[Stephen Davis]

Hole 10, Par 4, Black 398 yards, Blue 327 yards





Hole 11, Par 5, Black 544 yards, Blue 524 yards

Sorry, I didn't get a tee shot or FW shot of this hole. It is an uphill, dogleg left, par 5 into a raised green.


Hole 12, Par 3, Black 166 yards, Blue 160 yards




Hole 13, Par 4, Black 482 yards, Blue 413 yards





Hole 14, Par 3, Black 217 yards, Blue 157 yards




Hole 15, Par 5, Black 579 yards, Blue 521 yards






Hole 16, Par 4, Black 402 yards, Blue 364 yards





Hole 17, Par 3, Black 172 yards, Blue 143 yards




Hole 18, Par 5, Black 586 yards, Blue 518 yards

[Matthew Essig]

I LOVE the look from tee to green.

The green contours are, as Andrew said, adventurous; however, I agree with Stephen that punchbowls might be used too often.

[Chris Wagner]

Thank you for the photo tour, I've been meaning to get out there and play this course for a while. I have some friends that always enjoy playing it when their out that way. They have always told me how enjoyable the greens were and now I can see why.

[Brad Tufts]

This was one of my discoveries a few years ago, and I have since gone back once (only spend one week a year in CO).

I thought it was great fun...no bunkers at all, amazing green contours, some of the distances mean little.  There are some great risk-reward shots, like going for the green on #15.  The punchbowl blind greens are large enough to be fun and playable.

My first round there I was actually -6 in my round on the 17th tee, but went bogey-bogey for a 68.

My one usual Engh gripe is that a couple of greens (#5, #17 at 4MR) on each of his courses are so severe that one cannot putt from one part to another and get anywhere near the hole if you end up on the wrong end of the green.  But...your miss must usually be quite huge to end up in that situation.

[Steve_ Shaffer]

Thanks for the tour. Someday I'll get there to continue my Engh tour of CO. Played Lakota Canyon and Pradera before Four Mile Ranch was built.

This course is a Matt Ward favorite.

[BCowan]

Great photo tour.  thanks for taking the time to post

[Mark McKeever]

Thanks for sharing, the course looks really cool.    I could putt all day on those greens!

Mark

[Brad Tufts]

It actually plays plenty wide....and for the big miss, it plays like a desert course...you could be between two bushes with a clear shot, or you could be buried under one.

I thought it was cool that they used the shale-rock mounds in place of bunkers on a number of holes...I found the rock was soft enough that you could hit out of it if forced.

[Stephen Davis]

It actually plays plenty wide....and for the big miss, it plays like a desert course...you could be between two bushes with a clear shot, or you could be buried under one.

I thought it was cool that they used the shale-rock mounds in place of bunkers on a number of holes...I found the rock was soft enough that you could hit out of it if forced.

This is absolutley true. Shale rock is definitely playable and the course is plenty wide for the most part. The greens are very neat and are indeed a treat to play into and putt on. The same slopes that might funnel your ball close to a pin, will also make the 6 foot putt fairly tricky. Many of the par 3s give you the feeling that a hole in one is coming at any time.

[Morgan Clawson]

Those green sites look like great fun.

I went to their website.  They have simulated fly-overs of the holes.

They show a number of  small round bunkers scattered about on a few holes. Pot bunkers maybe.

I wonder if those were ever built?

I would think that this course would serve as a model for sustainability. Lots of native areas + no bunkers = low maintenance costs.

[RJ_Daley]

Perhaps the absence of bunkers, particularly greenside, is well balanced by the extreme green contours.  It looks like a blast to me.

Would a player be advised to add an old W or 9iron to the bag for a 14th club for extracating from this shale, soft as you may advise?

[BCowan]

I have heard that courses in higher elevation can't have bent fairways.  Do the rye grass fairways allow for a ground game?  My guess is yes due to lower humidity. 

[Stephen Davis]

Perhaps the absence of bunkers, particularly greenside, is well balanced by the extreme green contours.  It looks like a blast to me.

Would a player be advised to add an old W or 9iron to the bag for a 14th club for extracating from this shale, soft as you may advise?

It is definitely a good idea to carry a "rock" club if you are worried about singing up your irons.

[Stephen Davis]

I have heard that courses in higher elevation can't have bent fairways.  Do the rye grass fairways allow for a ground game?  My guess is yes due to lower humidity. 

I don't actually know what the fairway grass is, but it definitely allows for run up shots.

[Norbert P]

This was one of my discoveries a few years ago, . . . .

I thought it was great fun...no bunkers at all, amazing green contours, . . .

   Sounds and looks like another Colorado hidden gem.  The list is getting big for CO.

[Mike Schott]

Hi Stephen.

I can't see your pics. Photobucket says you are out of bandwidth.

[Stephen Davis]

Hi Stephen.

I can't see your pics. Photobucket says you are out of bandwidth.

Thanks for letting me know. You should be able to see them now.

This was one of my discoveries a few years ago, . . . .

I thought it was great fun...no bunkers at all, amazing green contours, . . .

   Sounds and looks like another Colorado hidden gem.  The list is getting big for CO.

It is a hidden gem and you are correct that Colorado has several of them. Most of them are hidden pretty good tough, since they are able to be spread out quite a bit.

[Carl Nichols]

Stephen--
What time of year were these pictures taken?  Thanks for posting them.
Carl

[Mike Schott]

Thanks Stephen. Nice tour and very cool course.

[Stephen Davis]

Stephen--
What time of year were these pictures taken?  Thanks for posting them.
Carl

Just checked the Metadata and we played on Oct 19th, 2013.

[Bill Vogeney]

Thanks Stephen. Engh's designs tend to be polarizing. I personally think Four Mile is pretty fun to play: I typically play it in the winter since it is in the Banana Belt of Colorado.

[Thomas Dai]

Not sure how I missed this terrific photo tour when it was first posted but what a different looking US course. Appears to be pretty much inland-links type terrain. And some of the green contours, wow, I'd love to putt some of those greens.

Thanks Stephen for sharing with us.

For someone who hasn't played a lot of golf in the US this course throws a very different light on the kinda courses that do actually exist, not just the super green and lush fairways and greens we in other parts of the world are sometimes led to believe only exist by the golf media/publications etc, but something really rather different.

More photo tours of 'different' kinda courses would be great to see.

atb

[Chris Wagner]

I played here over the weekend and the course was in great shape firm and fast and the green fees were $35 with a cart. This course was very interesting and the first time around is a learning experience! I would recommend it to anyone in the area wanting a fun affordable round. 

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