Eagle Ranch Golf Club Review

Texas Outside Rating: 9.4

Golf - Public Course · 18 Holes · Par 72
Eagle, CO
Website
Online Specials

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Eagle Ranch Golf Club Review

Eagle Ranch Golf Course is a Arnold Palmer Signature Course that sits in a pretty valley on the south edge of quaint Eagle, Colorado.  This 18 hole beauty is quite simply a friendly, "feel good" course and atmosphere.  It is surrounded by lots of very high end Rocky Mountain resort courses that cater heavily to wealthy tourists and the conventioneers. 

Eagle Ranch compares favorably with those resort courses in terms of the conditions of their greens and fairways.  But Eagle Ranch actually has an advantage over the mountain resort courses with its warmer, drier "Banana Belt" climate yielding more reliable golf weather and a considerably longer golf season.  Plus Eagle Ranch was recently named as the Best Mountain Course in Colorado for under a $100- green fee by Colorado Avid Golfer Magazine.

Eagle Ranch offers five tee boxes on each hole stretching from a friendly 5,497 yds from the Red tees to a whopping 7,530 yds and a 74.4/138 rating/slope from the Black tees. 

The front nine is much like a Scottish/Irish links course complete with batches of that super gnarly, ankle deep, club grabbing grass in the rough.  Hole #5 is a 162 yd (Blue tee) par 3 from a nicely elevated tee to a diagonal green protected by a pond on the front left and a large trap on the back right  (see first photo).   Without the Rocky Mountains and some Colorado mining town style homes in the background you'd think you were standing on a dunes tee box in old Ireland as you guess at your club selection for this adventure.

After the turn you'll run into three exciting and very challenging holes in numbers 11, 12 and 13.  #11 is a short par 3 that the locals (including "Mitch" I played with today) joke as being the toughest par 5 on the course due to an uphill tee shot to a smallish green protected by slopes, traps and a nasty marshland.  #12 is a valley par 5.  Hit a good straight drive followed by a well played shot over a stream then flop a shot to an elevated green for your par or birdie.  #13 is a double drop hole.  Hit your drive from an elevated tee to the landing area short of the next drop.  Then hit two clubs less than you'd normally play to hit the large green sitting below you on this 442 yd (Blue tee) par 4 hole you'll probably wish you could replay.

Eagle Ranch does a very nice job in maintaining their greens, tee boxes and fairways in a climate that seems to be quite challenging for most neighboring courses.

Eagle Ranch Golf Club features a collection of old ranch equipment as well as some evidence of the land's mining history.   See photos.

Another big plus in visiting this part of Colorado is its proximity to the Eagle Regional Airport.  Non-stop flights from DFW and many major airports are available to this very convenient and hassle-free airport about 10 miles from Eagle Ranch Golf Club.  If you've driven from Denver International Airport to Vail or other Rockies resorts in traffic in the past you'll really appreciate the ease of flying in and out of Eagle.

You'll enjoy the scenery, the playing conditions, the friendly staff and atmosphere here and chances are you'll enjoy their relatively reliable weather, too.

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Course Slope & Ratings

Tee Box Yardage Rating Slope
Black 7,530 74.4 138
Blue 6,718 70.1 131
White 6,171 68.4 117
Gold 7,151 72.7 135
Red 5,497 71.3 137

Course Information

Course Architect:
Arnold Palmer Signature Course
Greens Type:
bent
Greens Condition
9.4
Greens Difficulty
9.3
Fairway Condition
9.3
Bunker Condition
9.3
GPS:
Yes
Walkable:
yes
Scorecard
Beware of water on 7 holes and the 46 sand traps.

Texas Outside Rating

Overall Rating:
9.4 out of 10
Beauty:
9.2
Difficulty:
9.2
Variety:
9.1
Fun to Play:
9.1
Value:
9.2
Condition:
9.4
Front Nine Rating:
9.2
Back Nine Rating:
9.4
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FEES & AMENITIES

Approximate Weekend
Rates: $99.00 to $55.00

Jeff Boyer, Director of Golf, and his staff do a fine job of mixing their local member players with a good number of traveling tourist players. They are always running league events, special dinners, youth programs and tournaments throughout their longer than average season. Yet they are very good about welcoming visitors to enjoy their course. A player friendly staff including jovial John Carlson set the mood right for your day of golf the way Arnold Palmer intended the game to be enjoyed.

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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.