Courses, Travel & Tee Times

Go where the action is: Colorado's outdoor mecca of Boulder and Flatirons Golf Course

As the only golf course within the Boulder city limits, Flatirons is an overachieving muni with a country club-style layout but a welcoming atmosphere for casual and serious golfers. Walking or riding 18 holes here -- or just taking advantage of the practice facilities -- is a great way to enjoy a day outdoors in Boulder if you're not up for a higher rpm activity like cycling or hiking.

Soak in the sandstone scenery at Arrowhead Golf Club near Denver

The one-of-a-kind scenery is spectacular enough you might think you're in some remote, national park. But don't adjust your GPS, Arrowhead Golf Club is in Denver's backyard and makes for one of Colorado's most dramatic plays. Set in the Rockies foothills of Roxborough State Park just south of Denver, the course continues to attract a worldwide audience of tourists visiting Colorado's great outdoors.

Splurge on the best public golf courses in Denver and the Rocky Mountains

The Denver area is known for its prestigious private clubs, but golfers without a membership can still find a great experience. The metro area's public golf scene offers tremendous diversity, from scenic plays to tournament-worthy layouts. Brandon Tucker offers up some of the best, including The Ridge at Castle Pines North, Plum Creek Golf Club and Red Hawk Ridge.

Into the great wide open: Colorado National Golf Club offers true prairie golf

Colorado National Golf Club, just 10 miles north of Denver, may be situated in a wide-open, front-range prairie, but the views to the west is a genuine Rocky Mountain panorama. Spacious and designed in two loops, the layout of Colorado National is big and wide, even with houses along the way. This is a championship winner with length, huge attractive bunkers and prairie grasses, because it is 30 percent larger than typical golf courses.

Denver's Thorncreek Golf Club keeps getting better and better

If you've ever played a Finger Dye Spann golf course like Thorncreek Golf Club, you know the challenge is in the multi-tiered greens, treacherous perched approaches, and cavernous bunkers greenside and in the fairways. You also know that on some holes going over the green is a one-stroke penalty, because the recovery is from a steep bank and all downhill to the pin. David R. Holland has more from Thornton, Colo.

Nature galore: There's plenty to see at Deer Creek Golf Club near Denver

Deer Creek Golf Club, located in the far southwestern fringes of Metro Denver, has a wealth of scenery and geography to keep one busy on an 18-hole journey that traverses protected wetlands, creek beds, rolling terrain, impressive conditioning and some tiered greens.