Homestead Golf Course – Lakewood, CO

They way I played the 9, wine, and dine event at Homestead Golf Course it should be named the 9, wine before, wine during, wine after, and dine event. We started our round at #17 on the Mountain back nine. The day started with another senior moment, but I’m going to blame my young co-pilot, Greg, for my error. The young guys need to take care of us old fogeys! Here is what happened.

Hole #17 is a par 3 of 173 yards. We all tee’d it up from the blue (the italics will make sense shortly) tees at Death Valley. I think one of us hit the green that sits on a plateau and we were able to par this 1st hole. We all cleared the valley but most of us were scattered all around it.

Another par 3 awaited our shots at Trails End. Hole #18 measures 177 yards from the blue tees and a couple of our team members recorded pars. Don’t be left here as two large bunkers guard the left side of the putting surface.

Okay, so finally, here is what happened. We all hit our tee shots from the blue tees at Hole #10 (named Trail Head) and as we are driving down the fairway, Greg says, “isn’t this a scramble”? We all had been so busy catching up (we all worked together in the ’90’s) that we (I) had forgotten to look at the rules. Senior Moment! So now that we have figured it out, we proceed to bogey this par 4. Sorry guys, I’m playing like crap! Rich’s swing thought (verbalized) was “don’t hit it in the hay to the right”. So, of course, that is exactly where it landed. The green is large but tricky – stay below the hole.

Hole #11 is the most difficult hole on the back nine, so of course we birdie this par 5. Westward Ho is 521 yards for Greg but only 491 yards for Bob, Rich and me. Now we are in scramble mode. Since the three of us are senior golfers, we are now hitting from the silver tees. What a bunch of goobers! Do we have enough holes to right our (should read “my”) wrong? Bunkers dot the right side of this hole and as the name suggests, there is a great mountain view. At Lost Creek (Hole #12), we carded a four and probably lost our chance for glory. You need to carry the creek and avoid all the bunkers around the green. I lost a ball and probably lost face with my playing partners.

At the par 3 thirteenth, the wind started to blow at this hole that sits at the top of the hill. Lookout Point has a great view of downtown Denver. That’s the most positive comment I can make about this hole as the wind took our tee shots to points unknown (and towards downtown). Prospector’s Gulch (Hole #14) has water down the entire left side of the fairway. A nice team birdie at what feels like the top of the world. Is it too late to make a charge?

Take a guess why Hole #15 is named the Watering Hole? The flag placement today was evil. Greg took the most direct route at this par 3 – over the water. However, his tee shot cleared the water but also flew over the green. The route the three geezers took was to bail to the right. Nobody in the water, but our fate was sealed with a bogey four. We finished strong with a birdie at Hole #16 (Boulders). This can be a fun risk/reward hole. This par 4 has a large landing area but does get squeezed in front of the green. You also have to watch out for the creek that fronts the green. It is a great “scramble” hole. I was able to land in the middle just short of the green. That allowed Greg to wail away and see if he could drive the green. He had the distance but found the rocks to the left. another good team birdie concluded our round, but we finished “out of the money”.

Ace: And a fun time was had by all! The Homestead Golf Course is the perfect venue for a fun event. The 18-hole Executive Course (par 65) is fun to play; has outstanding views of downtown Denver and the mountains; is a Certified Audubon Cooperative Sanctuary; and Craig and his staff are awesome. If an executive course is not your “cup of tea”, be sure to visit their sister course, Fox Hollow Golf Course, an excellent 27-hole facility.

11500 West Hampden Ave., Lakewood, CO 80227;  720-963-5181;  www.lakewoodgolf.org