Colorado National GC Review

Texas Outside Rating: 8.8

Golf - Semi Private Course · 18 Holes · Par 72
Erie, CO
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Colorado National GC Review

For a golf experience in open spaces with rolling terrain and Colorado Front Range beauty come and play Colorado National Golf Club. It’s located just north of Denver 2-1/2 miles west of I-25 off Highway 7. CNGC offers 5 tee box options with a he-man 7,676 yd Championship option with a 74.6/141 rating/slope on this par 72 course. But drop back to the Black, Gold, Copper, Silver or Jade for more enjoyable play.

Colo Nat'l is similar to a links course except without an ocean and with a normally beautiful, sunny and dry climate. It was either Head Pro, Jason Dumler or one of his employees that told me “it never rains at Vista Ridge”. That’s hard to imagine because the fairways are lush and green. However the roughs are dry and rugged prairie grass so the rain must be sparse in this area. The course conditions were excellent when I played it again August, '09.

This is the home course for U of CO Boulder per my understanding.  The Big 12 decorated golf carts are a neat touch (see photo).  I wonder what they'll do with these when the Buffs join the Pac 10?

I enjoyed the back nine more than the front. Holes 17 and 18 are great risk/reward adventures.

If you enjoy letting out the big gun driver on a open course with rolling terrain, large undulating greens and beautiful views of the Rocky Mountains and foothills this Jay Moorish designed course is for you.

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Course Slope & Ratings

Tee Box Yardage Rating Slope
Black 7,676 75.4 141
Blue 6,897 71.7 132
White 6,230 69.1 122
Gold 7,404 74.1 139
Red 4,790 67.2 111

Course Information

Course Architect:
Jay Morrish
Greens Type:
bent
Greens Condition
9.4
Greens Difficulty
9.2
GPS:
Yes
Walkable:
yes, but some length between holes
Scorecard
Course Map
Beware of water on 9 holes and the 49 sand traps.

Texas Outside Rating

Overall Rating:
8.8 out of 10
Beauty:
8.5
Difficulty:
8.6
Variety:
8.2
Fun to Play:
8.4
Value:
8.9
Condition:
9.0
Front Nine Rating:
8.6
Back Nine Rating:
9.0
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FEES & AMENITIES

Approximate Weekend
Rates: $45.00 to $85.00

Head Pro, Jason Dumler, and his staff seem very popular with the locals I joined for this round. The touch with the golf carts decorated with Big 12 colors and logos is cool.

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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.