Beaver Creek Golf Club Review

Texas Outside Rating: 9.8

Golf - Public Course · 18 Holes · Par 70
Avon, CO
Website

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Beaver Creek Golf Club Review

Review & Rating of Beaver Creek Golf Club in Avon, CO

Robert Trent Jones, Jr. carved a fantastic 18 hole golf course in a canyon leading up to Beaver Creek Ski Resort.  Some of what makes this course a must-play includes:

  • it's challenging from each of the tee boxes
  • the conditions from the tee box to the cup are near perfect
  • the scenery is stunning
  • the course is very well maintained and well landscaped
  • the bent grass greens are true and run at a good speed
  • the layout is unique with each hole being a little different from the others
  • beautiful well landscaped huge mountain homes
  • the service is excellent

Beaver Creek Golf Club is characterized by narrow challenging fairways,  awe-inspiring mountain scenery, colorful landscaping, cascading creeks that cross several fairways, majestic towering pines, and huge sweeping bunkers.  In addition, you're likely to spot moose, friendly foxes, marment, and deer as well as enjoy the freshly baked cookies delivered by the marshal at 1:00 every day,  the eucalyptus-scented towels served on a silver platter at the end of your round,  and the excellent and friendly service. 

The course is short at 4527 yards to 6642 yards but most of the fairways are tight, the dramatic elevation changes are challenging, the bunkers are steep faced and large, the creeks crossing the fairways can cause problems, and the approach shots are challenging - a true shot-maker's course.  The good news is that there are four sets of tee boxes plus two combo tee boxes - make sure you don't bite off more than you can chew. 

The front nine at Beaver Creek Golf Club was our favorite thanks to the first four holes which have significantly elevated tee boxes, tight towering tree-lined fairways, cascading creeks, and beautiful scenery.   The Pro said that if you're only 3 or 4 over on the first four holes you're doing great!  Some of our favorite holes on this par 36 nine include:

  • #1 is a 548 par 5 with an elevated tee box, a wide landing zone that ends with a shot that needs to thread a tree-lined slot and carry a dense natural area and creek, then a slight downhill right to a green with a left and right bunkers - and that was only the #3 handicap hole
  • #3 is a 559-yard par 5 (number 1 handicap hole) with an elevated tee box, a tight tree-lined landing zone, a carry over a cascading creek, and then uphill to a green guarded by a big left and right bunker

The back nine at Beaver Creek Golf Club is a par 34 with three beautiful par 3s, one par 5, and five par 4s.  This nine is characterized by wider and flatter fairways, huge multi-fingered steep faced bunkers, some beautiful mountain homes, and view of the ski runs and lodging at Beaver Creek.  Our favorite holes on this nine included:

  • #14 is a 426-yard par 4 with a tight slightly uphill shot and a creek to cross at 90 yards in front of the green which is guarded by a huge tractor-trailer sized steep faced bunker on the right front and another one in back of the green
  • #17 is a fun 361-yard par 4 with a great risk-reward shot to carry a creek to shorten this slight dogleg left which also has another creek that cascades down from the right and crosses in front of the green
  • #18 is an excellent finishing hole that you'll want to play again - a slightly elevated tee box, a big pond with a fountain, a wide-open landing zone with a big bunker, a creek crossing in front of a green with a left and right side bunker, and a stunning backdrop of some of the ski runs and resort lodging
The Beaver Creek Golf Club bent grass greens were in perfect condition, soft and held the ball well, and ran true and at a good speed of around 9.  They range in size and shape with most being large but very well guarded and with little room for error.  This course puts a premium on the approach shots.
 
The fairways range from tight to wide open but creeks along the side and crossing several fairways can cause problems.  There are several huge bunkers strategically placed waiting for your tee shots.  Several fairways have some slope and contour and they seem to give you some extra roll.  The rough was thick but very playable.   Miss the rough and you'll be in a creek, lost in tall native grass, or under some trees.
 
The bunkers are huge and multi-fingered.  The sand is soft and deep but the faces are steep and challenging.  They are well maintained.
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Course Slope & Ratings

Tee Box Yardage Rating Slope
Black 6,642 72.0 144
Blue 5,669 67.2 126
White 5,014 68.1 138
Gold 6,060 69.0 137

Course Information

Course Architect:
Robert Trent Jones
Greens Type:
Bent
Greens Condition
10.0
Greens Difficulty
8.0
Fairway Condition
10.0
Bunker Condition
10.0
GPS:
No
Walkable:
No
Beware of water on 10 holes and the 57 sand traps.

Texas Outside Rating

Overall Rating:
9.8 out of 10
Beauty:
10.0
Difficulty:
10.0
Variety:
10.0
Fun to Play:
10.0
Value:
9.0
Condition:
10.0
Front Nine Rating:
10.0
Back Nine Rating:
9.6
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FEES & AMENITIES

Approximate Weekend
Rates: $80.00 to $210.00

Service is first class and friendly, the pro shop is well stocked with everything you need, the carts are excellent, and the practice facilities are perfect. The Rendezvous Restaurant menu features contemporary American cuisine crafted with fresh Colorado produce, all-natural meats and sustainable seafood options. And the creekside patio is considered by many to be one of the hidden gems in Beaver Creek.

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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.