Texas Outside golf course review of Lakota Canyon Ranch in New Castle, CO

Date Played: August 23, 2011
Front Nine Rating: 9.6 Stars
Back Nine Rating: 9.4 Stars
Approximate Weekend Price Range: $75.00 to $95.00
Brief Description:

Here's another Jim Engh designed roller coaster course you need to try. I rank Lakota Canyon Ranch super high on the "fun factor". Some golf purest would criticize the valley fairways and bowl shaped greens as being too forgiving but for the recreational golfer looking for an exciting round with fantastic vistas and lots of elevated tee shots this course is definitely a "must play" for you.

Lakota Canyon Ranch is a mile north of I-70 at exit 105 in New Castle, CO. It's just an hour from Aspen and Vail and about 2.5 hours from Denver.

The course was built in 2004 and has received numerous awards nationally as a top ranked affordable public course. It's normally open from May through October. At 5,500' elevation you'll find warmer summer weather and a longer season than the courses in the Vail and Breckenridge areas also reviewed in www.TexasOutside.com.

The front nine is a beautiful and exciting climb up into the mountains just south of the Flat Tops Wilderness Area. This nine includes three classic par 5s with seriously elevated tee shots, valley fairways and stadium-style partial bowl greens. Pay close attention to the pin positions and the opportunity to use back stops and side wall bounces when hitting your approach shots to all the Lakota Canyon Ranch greens. The three par 3s on the front nine border on being too tricked up with severe slopes (especially the 9th hole) that you may love or hate depending on the kick and roll you receive on your tee shot.

The back nine is a little more traditional while still showing many signs of Jim Engh's design style. The par 5 18th is Lakota Canyon Ranch's signature hole and it's a classic risk/reward beauty. If you hit a big drive near the end of the first fairway go for the green in two but don't let that shot stray to the right or you're dead. The safer shot is to lay up to the second fairway to your right then hit the shallow green with a good backstop with a lofted iron and one putt for a memorable finishing birdie.

Enjoy food and drink out on the sunny deck of the modest clubhouse while you watch other golfers struggle with their decision making and shot execution well below you on that 18th hole. New Castle has a few options on lodging and dining but my recommendation is to go to beautiful and historic Glenwood Springs just a short drive away for some of the best of Colorado. See www.glenwoodchamber.com. Recommended lodging includes Glenwood Hot Springs Lodge and the Spa of The Rockies with its 103F natural hot springs pool. Also Hampton Inn and several nice B&Bs offer friendly and comfortable lodging options for your visit. Glenwood Springs offers a wonderful variety of dining options including, Fin's Grill, Beau Jo's, Florindo's Italian, Chili's and Rosi's Little Bavarian. Glenwood Springs also has some incredible family fun options including cave tours, gondola ride and a very scary and exciting giant Swingshot 1,300' over the Colorado River in Glenwood Canyon for those thrill seekers that have no fear of heights.

You'll long remember your visit to Lakota Canyon Ranch, New Castle and Glenwood Springs. Put it on your list of "Must Do/See/Play".

Sam Sherstad

Writer, Recreation Travel Reviews

Here's How Texas Outside Determines the Scorecard Rating

The Texas Outside rating scale ranges from 1 to 10 – a perfect 10 course would be something like this: links along a cliff overlooking the Pacific ocean and bordered by tall trees; lush fairways on rolling hills with lots of natural hazards; water (which is crystal clear) on most of the holes; immaculate greens (but they are undulating and tough); lots of variety and character (each hole is completely different and includes blind shots, elevation changes, doglegs, and significant challenges); perfectly manicured traps with the whitest and prettiest sand you’ve ever seen; a nice club house with great food and a 19th hole; a GPS; plenty of beverage carts or your own cooler and ice; and it only costs $40 bucks! What this means is that you probably won’t find any 10s in Texas – try Cabo San Lucas, Pebble Beach, or some of the Hawaii courses!
Texas Outside rates courses on the following:

Beauty – tall trees, rolling hills, beautiful houses, waterfalls, and similar stuff would score high; a 1 would be flat, bushes or cactus instead of trees, and some grass but mostly weeds

Difficulty – a straight, 300 yard par 4 with no traps or hazards, no out of bounds or water would probably get a 1; if it is a 460 yard par 4 over two ravines, with water along one side, natural hazards on the other, strategically placed traps or that dreaded tree right in the middle of the fairway, we are talking a 10.

Variety – what would you give a course where all the holes looked and played exactly the same (“I thought we just played that hole!”); were side-by-side, which is good for finding or dodging other people’s balls, but not much fun; and you can see the flag from every tee box? That’s right, it gets a 1.

Fun Scale – a 10 is where you walk off the course and say “now that was fun” and you can’t wait to get back, or you immediately turn around and play another 18 holes

Value – a 5 is $50 to $60, a 10 is $20 to $30, and 1 is $200 or so – of course all of this is dependent upon how you liked the course. For example, if a run down, boring municipal course, with six players on each hole was only $10; it would still get a value rating of 1.

Condition – this one’s pretty easy – what condition are the fairways. A 10 commands very lush perfectly manicured fairways, compared to a 1, which has fire ants, weeds, and more dirt than grass!

Condition of Greens and Difficulty – very hard to read greens with lots of undulation and tough pin placement, rate very high on the difficulty scale. Condition is self-explanatory.

All of the above determines the overall score for the golf course. In other words, we like courses that are pretty, fun, very challenging with a lot of variety, and fairways and greens in excellent condition – all for $40. We also tend to play the courses that are affordable for the masses, which means in the $30 to $80 range. We rate hard and we haven’t found a 10 in Texas yet – don’t worry we haven’t given up and we’re still looking.