¶ Notes
The July 2023 HAF League outing was held on 16 July at the University of Denver Golf Club in Highlands Ranch, CO. Click the logo if you'd like to visit their Web site.
The weather was perfect. Most of the day had light cloud cover and a very slight breeze. The League members that attended enjoyed the Hale Irwin design. The hole designs were challenging and interesting. The holes are well protected. Greens were in good shape. Given the hot, dry conditions surrounding the day we played, the greens were still receptive and not fast. There are plenty of places to lose a ball if one gets out of position but course is fairly open. The only negative was the price. For what the League members paid ($117 with a cart), most felt the course was overpriced compared to nearby courses (like Lone Tree) that are as much fun to play, in similar condition and not as expensive. It's also hard to get tee times on this course, since booking is only possible a week ahead. Accordingly, we ended up playing very late - we were the last groups off the course. For those reasons, it's unlikely we'll play this course again as a group.
For those considering playing the course in the future, keep in mind that there are some substantial elevation changes and long distances between some greens and the subsequent tees. It's every bit of a quarter of a mile between 8 green and 9 tee and 17 green and 18 tee and 9 and 18 are par 5s uphill all the way. A couple members of the group walked and wouldn't do it again. Riding is very strongly recommended even with the exorbitant cart fees. Also, play a colored ball on 1 and 10 - they run right next to the range and finding your ball if you're left on 1 or right on 10 will be very challenging.
Because we ended up playing late on Sunday, the restaurant and lounge were closed by the time we finished. Accordingly, while they looked nice, we didn't get to experience them. Other clubhouse facilities were good. Pro shop selection was limited. Bathrooms were large and clean. Staff was very friendly, offering directions and other help and asking about our experience. The range and putting green were on the small side - about 15 range stations - and the range is short. The carts were clean and comfortable although a little slow. Beverage service was almost non-existent. One group saw the beverage cart once on the 7th hole. Restroom facilities on the course are limited but modern.
The compeition for this outing was a 6-6-6 better ball. It's a better ball/four-ball competition where the teams switch every six holes. The first six holes were cart versus cart, the second six holes drivers versus riders and the third six holes matched drivers with the riders on the opposite side. Handicap strokes were awarded at 85% of each player's course handicap (not index) for the competition and tees were assigned. Score cards were provided to make this somewhat easier to track. Buy-in was $20. The winning side in each foursome took the $10 from their opponents ($5 from each player) on each six holes. Ties were pushed (no winner). The remaining $5 from each player was awarded to the player with the best record from their 3 six hole four-ball matches. Ties would have been broken by greatest winning margin from the tied teams' four-ball matches. Had there been a tie after that, the pot would have been split.
Because the competition concluded so late, results were calculated the following day. Scott O'Hare won the overall prize by virtue of having the best record in his four-ball matches of 2-0-1 (2 wins, one tie). Results may be found below in Excel or PDF format. The "Return" column indicates how much of each player's $15 for their 3 four-ball matches they got back.
Results - Excel format
Results - PDF format
¶ Tee Times and Pairings
2:50
Curt Balcerzak
Scott O'Hare
Ken Moon
Patrick Shin
3:10
John Allen
Marcus Fast
Pete Friesen
Travis Hubbard