The weather for Sunday was looking sketchy – a good chance of thunderstorms all throughout the day. I had a tee time booked at a course in the mountains, but I cancelled that one at the last minute. I didn’t want to drive a long way just to get rained out. So, I found a cheap tee time at Thorncreek Golf Course instead.
As I mentioned in yesterday’s post, the pickings are slim when it comes to weekend tee times in the Denver area. Thorncreek was close to where I was staying and it was only $40 to walk. Sweet. With the bad weather nearby I teed off at 1:40 PM and made it about five holes before a downpour. Everything got soaked, but thankfully the sun came out a few holes later. That made for a pleasant back nine.
Thorncreek (a Finger Dye Spann design) turned out to be a good course for the price. It is refreshing to pay a green fee less than $50 with the COVID golf boom. I believe Thorncreek is a municipal course and overall, the course was in very good shape. The tees, fairways, and greens were lush. The greens rolled smooth – at a medium pace. The rough was thick and long in spots. The only blemish were some sanded spots in fairways. Nothing that I couldn’t overlook for the price.
Much like my round yesterday at Highland Meadows, the defining feature about Thorncreek is probably the tricky green complexes. Many greens are elevated and there are steep banks that feed into chipping areas. There is a lot of undulation. Even though some greens are large, there are small shelfs and ledges where pins can be tucked. Tough to get iron shots close.
Most of the front nine plays near Big Dry Creek, although a couple holes are up on top of a hill. Accuracy is important on the front nine. The back nine is on the other side of a road and features more rolling terrain. The front was okay, but I enjoyed the back nine. Each hole on the back felt like it belonged on the course and there was more separation between the golf holes and surrounding homes. The sunlight made the holes pop too.
The 12th is probably the signature hole. From the “two” tees is 342 yards. It doglegs slightly right and has a three-tiered green that sits at an awkward angle from the fairway. Water lurks long and left. The 13th is a long par-3 with more water in play.
The two tees are 70.5/126/6739. From there I thought Thorncreek was fair. As I mentioned the greens are tough. Some holes on the front nine are tight with lost ball trouble nearby. If you can navigate those difficulties without disaster then you’ll probably shoot fine. The fairways are generous and you can recover from a wayward shot. There are enough shorter holes that allow for some scoring clubs.
At the end of the day, Thorncreek won’t blow you away and it isn’t a destination course. However, if you are looking for a quality place to play on a budget then it fits the bill. And, it was a nice course to walk. Thorncreek seems popular with the locals and I can see why.
Course Pictures (click any picture to scroll through the gallery):