We had our annual 8 man Colorado Golf Binge starting again at Fossil Trace Sunday, July 26, 2026. This is always a wonderful start to our 5 days of seniors golf. Brunch at the club restaurant, 18 holes here teeing off at noon. Beers and stories apres-golf there. Then head up the mountains to play Keystone River 2xs, then The Raven at Three Peaks, then Golden Valley Ranch before the out-of-staters fly home. Fossil Trace is always the perfect way to start and adjust to the altitude a bit and enjoy the high "fun factor" of this great Jim Engh designed course. We hope to return again next summer with a Sunday tee time around 9am to beat the heat and get an earlier start up the mountains. Kudos to Fossil Trace for their super friendly, helpful staff. Can I post some photos? read more

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Favorite course on the front range. There is a reason it's so difficult to get a tee time. Hole 12 is one of the best ever. Between the fun dinosaur bones you can check out after finish and the beautiful rock formations, it feels like you're in a video game. Course is always in great shape and is so fun to play read more

Super nice guys at the driving range. Just note that's it's cash only at the range. Also, they have mats to hit off on Monday and Tuesday; grass the rest of the week. Haven't played a round there in ages, but the range is nice. read more

One of my favorite courses close to Denver. A little expensive but fun to play once or twice each season. read more

Fossil Trace Golf Club - 12th green - Golf Near Me - Golden, Colorado

Best maintained public course. Professional staff. Great amenities. Pro shop is top notch and merchandise worth buying. Walked it in 4 hrs at an easy pace. It is worth the money. Beverage cart and water on the course. (What a concept...) Keep up the hard work we really appreciate it. read more

My first time there. Front 9. Beautiful course and a bit challenging, a lot of fun. I would not walk this course a cart is a must.

Finally got to cross off Fossil Trace from the CO Golf bingo card and it did not disappoint one bit. The conditions were absolutely immaculate. To my standards, this was ready for the tour. Extremely well kept vibrant fairways and roughs and lightning fast greens. Rolling at an 11.5 when we played. The course layout was extremely fun. A lot of hazards, elevation changes, and epic views. The starter gave us some solid tips and the pace of play was great. Excited to hopefully come back this year. read more

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Great course with a full driving range that lets you hit off the grass. Make sure to keep your shots out of the rough and bunkers and you should be ok. Scenic views throughout the course. Seeing the fossils in person was definitely a plus. read more

Fossil Trace Golf Club - Golf Near Me - Golden, Colorado

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In October 2025, I was a participant along with several other veterans under the PGA Hope program at Fossil Trace. Nick and Mat were our instructors for the 3-week course. The course, the clubhouse, Pro Shop, and instruction were outstanding. I returned in late November for a round of golf with family members. The course is challenging, stunning, and well-maintained. The expertise of both Nick and Mat as PGA-certified instructors made the experience most noteworthy. Fossil Trace Golf Club is an outstanding public golf course, and I will make it my go-to course for golf; I highly recommend the course. To elevate your game skills, talk with Nick and Mat about lessons - you can't go wrong. read more

Amazing course! One of the best in Colorado! A lot of elevation and unique holes. Food is also great and the club house has dinosaur fossils and history in it. Kinda cool. Staff is friendly too! Will be coming back! read more

It's interesting this course doesn't have more reviews? Anyway fantastic course. While I was in this area I played three different courses. This one absolutely was the best! Great staff, facilities were perfect, Course was in great condition. I was also unfortunately only able to play 9 holes so why i reserved full 5 stars until I play the back 9. I look forward to updating this review with i am sure a full 5 stars! read more

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Pace of play was great. Course was beautifully maintained. All employees were very friendly. Nice bathrooms halfway on front and back. Our group of 4 handicaps are 8, 10,14 and 29 and all of us enjoyed the course. Highly recommend. read more

Fossil Trace Golf Club - Beautiful course! - Golf Near Me - Golden, Colorado

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Giving a one star in hopes they see this and make a change. The E Key (fob reader) to the range is kind of a scam. I did the math. Bucket pricing is fixed. And you have to buy either a small, medium or large bucket. Because of this you will never be able to $0 out your Fob balance. And your cost per ball is still 13cents. The cost of the Fob is $5 dollars so you really just get "locked" into coming back here to use your fob. I'm not a victim of this scam because I did all the math and called beforehand and the person that I spoke with confirmed all the facts above. Obviously, the word scam wasn't used. But I said it makes absolutely no sense to do this and they agreed. Things Fossile Trace needs to do to fix this would be would be: 1. If you're only going to be able to buy small, medium or large buckets... The discount per package needs to bring down cost per bucket. 2. Just get rid of the fob key price. I know this is a source of revenue for them. most other companies using similar technology only charges you if you lose the key and it needs to be replaced. As it stands right now for the first package. the five dollar fob key eats into more than 75% of your "savings" 3. Implement way to buy balls per dollar. If you don't change the first two options above. You need to be able to buy balls with the loose change that you have on your fob. For example, if I have $6.22 You don't have enough money to buy a small bucket of balls and you have to spend more money on your fob to be able to afford a small bucket. And you would still have money left over. Meaning you're always gonna have money left over and you will never be able to bring your ballance on your fob to $0 4. This is the real fix. If you choose to opt into any of the package deals, You get a discounted price per bucket. On the website, it says you get a 10% savings for the first package deal. This means you should get 10% off per bucket you buy. Right now, the scam is simply this. You don't get discounted savings. And you lose money on having to pay for the fob, And you lose money on the balance that remains on the fob. No one in the right mind would do this Other than one reason...Psych!!!. there is none. It ls definitely misleading when a package doesn't offer a clear savings, especially if it's presented as a deal. In the case of Package 1 at Fossil Trace Golf Club, since you're essentially paying the same amount as you would if you bought the 6 buckets individually, there's no actual financial benefit. When you do the math, you're not getting any value from the package compared to simply buying the buckets on an as-needed basis. This appears to be more about convenience rather than a true discount. If the package was marketed correctly it wouldn't be an issue. BUT they say they are providing us with savings, when in reality it is deceptive. It's always important to carefully evaluate things like this because they made it very confusing to understand the true VALUE of this deal. read more

Checking out Golden and the surrounding areas. Got the chance to golf this course. Some of the most fun golf I've played in awhile. Well maintained and unique course. Played on a Saturday and pace was great. Great service as well! read more

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I brought my family, party of eight to Easter brunch at the restaurant on Sunday 3/31/24 and everyone left disappointed. No deviled eggs, no carrot cake, no shrimp which are standard brunch buffet items you'd expect for an Easter brunch. The deserts were especially poor tasting, like week old grocery store leftovers. Salad bar was very limited. We've attended brunch here almost every year and will not go back. Poor value. read more

The course is under construction and carts have to stay on the paths. This course is long with lots of hills. There was no refreshment cart until 11:00. Only 2 water stations and neither worked. To get to the green you have to crawl through ropes. Overall it was a disappointing ,expensive, exhausting day. One player rented clubs $72 and there was no price breaks for the poor course conditions. read more

There is nothing quite like this golf course and it's worth every penny. What a beautiful layout among the History of Golden Colorado. Bring your A game if You got it? I played it with a couple of Big Hitters that went for it all day. Eye appealing layout gives you link style shot choices when playing. Fast greens, deep bunkers and rock escarpments with fossilized Dinosaur artifacts to boot. Looking forward to returning to Thoe gem! read more

Great mountain golf course. Wonderful practice facilities. Very helpful lesson and the staff is friendly.

My husband and I got married at Fossil Trace on 10/14 and we were so happy with the venue and staff! We had a great experience working with Liz, Stephanie, and Steven. The food was delicious, the drinks were strong, and everything was very reasonably priced. We didn't take any photos of the interior room but it was decorated beautifully. read more

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We brought seven players for golf from Florida. Our eighth player was a local and was unable to show up on the day of golf for work reasons and we were charged a $30 fee for the no show. Considering we spent $700-$800 in golf, $200-$300 in merchandise, a couple hundred with the cart girls and a $350 lunch tab, this was totally disrespectful. I was told I should be happy that we weren't charged the full price of the reservation. read more

Want to enjoy a lunch with good service? I do not recommend coming to this restaurant. Waitress is rude and sassy! We had to hunt her down to ask for our check so we could leave. Pretty sure she forgot about our table that was located right in front of the patio door - hard to miss! Food is decent. read more

I am from Ohio, but played this course with a friend on vacation... We absolutely LOVED the course.. It was in perfect condition. Everything was very well kept. The views on this course are truly one of a kind. It is such a peaceful course to play. The bunkers and water are in great condition and the fairways were cut to perfection. Highly recommend playing this course if you get the chance!! read more

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Absolutely amazing staff. My parents flight was delayed causing us to be late to our tee time. Told them the situation and every single staff member was happy to go out of their way to help us get on the course still. Couldn't thank them enough. And....the course rocks. read more

Beautiful, expertly kept golf course with an incredibly motivated staff, focused on the absolute best, customer service on the green, in the restaurant, kitchen, and bar. Fossil Trace Golf Club was hosted the surprise proposal and engagement lunch celebration. The ambiance, and food was phenomenal, and Shannon, Annie, and the Manager Liz, made sure every service detail (including the surprise entrance) was perfection. Thank you Fossil Trace Golf Club! read more

Wow...what a course. Tee boxes were clean and fairways in great shape. Tons of uncertainty though as the elevation changes and rock formations challenge even the most confident golfers. The wind was whipping a bit days prior to my round which made the already quick greens rather slippery. There are a few trademark holes that make the course relatively breathe taking (i.e. every hole!) They even have a 659 yard par 5. Yup! 659...Peep the picture attached. Crazy! A decent drive...pretty good 3 wood later and if I recall correctly I was still a full PW out...pretty insane. I only played from the Tips on this hole though. You just gotta do it. Pace was great, people were great...couldn't ask for a better place to play. It's pricey but look what you get in return. read more

Fossil Trace Golf Club - Check out hole 9... - Golf Near Me - Golden, Colorado

Website does not tell you, but course is under construction. Two of the par fours have been converted to par 3's with makeshift fairway greens. One par 3 you are not allowed to play at all. If I had known this I would have chosen another course to play. All this for $92. It would have been $100 but they give you an entire $8 discount for your troubles. To the management, you need to let people know via your website about the construction your course is undergoing. Waiting until they have paid and checked in to let them know is a bad business practice. I think the word is hoodwinking your customers. read more

This track is beautiful. The best you're going to get on the front range, next to arrowhead. However!, the people in the club house and the rangers are complete asshats. Was out for a round and we had a marshal come up to us, by the name of Richard, and tell us we were 8 minutes behind. Now let me tell you... I have played golf since I was 8 years old and understand what slow play is and holding people back. WE WERE ABSOLUTELY not holding any group behind us back. After finishing, I calmly and collectively, walked into the club house to (not complain) express my discontent about being hassled by the marshals and was met by smiles and well greetings by the golf staff. Okay... great, they said they would take care if it and address the issue. At this point I was very satisfied... however!, the gentleman behind me, whom was actually the group behind us said as I walked out of the the pro shop that the staff just thought it was a joke and laughed about it. That is just sad. From a golfer perspective, the greens keeper clearly puts a lot of work and effort into the course and it shows. It's unfortunate that the course hires horrible employees. Sad sad sad sad. I just wish I could of written a better review because the track is amazing, unfortunately, I would recommended another track for someone visiting the the area that is willing to pay the same price. read more

Top notch course with fantastic greens. Course was well maintained with lush fairways and rough. Layout works for low/high handicaps. read more

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Fantastic golf experience at Fossil Trace. We booked a tee time well over a month in advance for a small group and the clubhouse was great at handling a last minute addition. We received a small pouch and ball mark repair tool at check in and given closest to the pin and long drive markers. Printing our group name on them in advance was a nice touch. The course was in fantastic condition and a very good test of golf. Modern GPS took the guesswork out of navigating some of the hazards. I would not hesitate to play this course again on my next visit. read more

Fossil Trace Golf Club - Fossil Trace is the kind of course that gets better the more you play it. - Golf Near Me - Golden, Colorado

Easily the most overrated golf course in CO. Pace of play sucks. Power lines obscure all the best views, but the upside is you get views of two prisons on multiple holes. Staff isn't terribly helpful either. There are many better options in the area. read more

Being a kid from the Midwest, I was really really excited when I moved out to Denver and saw some of the scenery right in the midst of the city. I started seeing photos of a couple of golf courses that had phenomenal features and were as unique as anything I'd seen on TV. A lot of people have seen the magnificent shots of Arrowhead, down south of the city with its Red Rocks and its stunning signature hole. Also interesting, if not a bit more subtle, is Fossil Trace in Golden, Colorado. Nestled in the valley heading towards downtown Golden and Clear Creek, Fossil Trace is right up against the foothills. The geologic features are such that you get some dramatic rock outcroppings, particularly on the West edge of the course. Overall, there are a lot of good holes on the course, although there is a bit of a down-stretch on the last half of the front-nine. The back-nine is stronger, and features the signature hole, three interesting Par-3's, a fun #10 with a risk-reward factor, and a super-strong finishing Par-5, which is reachable in two, but again, a lot of risk-reward. There's three things that I think are worth mentioning about this course: 1. It is not easy. Standing on the first tee, you may have one of the more challenging shots to begin a round with a blind dog-leg downhill. It continues to challenge. You'll find a lot of trouble of you don't hit the ball where you want to - and there are many instances of water coming into play. Bunker complexes around the greens are steep (actually, pretty tough to just get in and out of) and the sand is HEAVY. 2. On the note of green complexes... These are some TRICKY greens. Lots of multi-tiered greens, and some hole-locations that you will literally curse when you see. You better be on it if you really want to score. Oddly though, there are a few spots where greens are incredibly accommodating - one Par-3 on the back-nine allows for some pretty cool backstop shots if the pin is back. 3. If the wind is blowing, expect it to have a DRAMITIC impact on you game, particularly when you are playing into the wind. On one Par-5 I hit Driver, 3-Wood, 3-Wood and still had some work left. If you've got a wind coming at you on the #10 tee, don't even fool around with the lake on the right, cuz the wind is gonna take it, son. You'll also notice that you'll be getting a cross-wind for most of the back-nine. This is a cool track, but it's not easy. If you're a hack-and-slash looking for a nice course to play, go to Arrowhead. This course will test you. The conditioning is good, and the scenery is beautiful - it definitely has a Golden/Western feel with Table Mountain, the rocky-outcroppings, and the old excavation machinery left around the course. If you are not all over it, don't get too uptight about scoring, because you'll probably be disappointed. But, there are a lot of good shots to hit here. It helps to know your way around. BTW - Just a side-note gripe, but the ads on the cart-GPS are obnoxious. read more

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I had eagerly awaited my time to play this course. The course is highly rated in various golf magazines and the course architect, Jim Engh is also highly rated in the State of Colorado. Well, today was the day....and I have never been so disappointed. I played well but the course layout and the course condition are not to my liking, are overrated and have significant flaws. If you want to play a course that is NOT walking friendly; is NOT disability friendly; only appears to rake bunkers rarely; has sandy, bumpy greens; requires you to walk down steep mounds at almost every green; has blind landing areas on almost every hole; is "tricked up" rather than well layed out..........then this course may be for you. I have always respected golf course architects who can take a small footprint for a course and make it into a challanging, player friendly track. J. Engh fails at this in my book. Years ago J. Nicklaus began to use mounding to create character on his courses, Fossil Trace looks like a Nicklaus course that has massive tumors rather than mounds, so many, all over that it becomes boring. The fossils on one hole are interesting but so is a museum. The course has no real character, it is just a series of one trick here, one trick there, walk down a hill, walk up a hill....and on and on. The greens, I was told, were punched two weeks ago. It appeared that since then, the green had not been watered. Also, the amount of unrepaired and old ball makes was excessive. The greens were also sanded, bumpy and were so tricked up as to make them basically no fun. A couple of the holes only needed a clown and a windmill to make them seem like a giant minature golf layout. They could NEVER have a real golf tournament at this course as no caddie would carry a bag over the layout and very few players would want to walk the course and play on a course that is basically a paraody of a golf course. The final straw was the pace of play, we started on the back nine and by the time we walked of the 9th hole we had been on the course for just over 5 and a half hours. About an hour and a half more than a round should take. All in all, one of the most disappointing rounds of golf I have had in Colorado. I will NOT go back to this course, one experience was more than enough. And I will never again rely on recommendations from Golf Magazine. The personnel at Fossil Trace were great, all professional, friendly and personalble. read more

Ducked in for a corporate golf tourney employee benefit fundraiser effort and it was a fine time, here's why: * There is a chimney and mine entrance on one fairway, did this used to be Coors? * Hills everywhere * Water-features aplenty * Bacon valley adjacent to the women's detention center * Dinosaurs and such Good stuff, too bad I am not a golfer. Cabeza OUT! read more

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This is a great course! I wouldn't bring a high handicapper here, they would just be frustrated. Love the way the golf course flows and the variety of teeing options. Plenty of hazards to avoid but not so many that it's becomes obnoxious. The outside area of the bar gives a beautiful view of one of the signature holes and the food is the restaurant is well above average. We even go over from time to time just to eat lunch. I like that the let you hit off the grass on the driving range. The staff is extremely helpful. In fact, I was given a gift card to FTGC and lost it. I found it like 3 years later and they still honored it. read more

What a challenge combined with first class views! first time playing golf in Denver and what a treat that it happened to be at fossil trace! (Played on June 1,2015) course conditions were excellent. Fairways and tee boxes were manicured and cut precisely . Very much as if playing at a country club! On a few holes workers were replacing divots in the fairway so the $70+ green fees Is not just for the incredible views. Greens: Greens are very complex and undulating ! Not a flat spot on any greens so pick you tee box wisely . I had a 7:30 am tee time and the greens were a solid 10-10.5 Staff was very accommodating , I didnt have clubs but was pleasantly surprised that the rentals were a titelist set that were in fair shape and the driver even had a Diamanna shaft . Green fees include a *small* bucket of range balls and cart. Plenty of water stations on the course . The views speak for themselves here! Nothing more to add so I would highly recommend Tip: the morning I played had no wind to speak of! I've heard afternoons can get bad. Tip 2; Bring a few extra sleeves , if you miss the fairways you most likely won't find your ball. read more

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The course is in excellent shape and one of the most beautiful in the country. The people in the golf shop and outside the clubhouse are lazy and weird. I have played here many times and this trend keeps continuing. read more

Had a great time! Fun design and the course was in pretty good shape. Staff was exceptional. Very friendly.

Are you a golfer? If so, you need to play this track. It is just fun. Sure, there are a few boring holes, but there are so many great golf holes that you will remember them for years. There are at least 10 holes that are worthy of the best golf course architects of all time. I have played Oakmont, Oakland Hills, and Pine Valley, among others. This course is better and more fun. The par five with the Buttes on it is awesome. The hole with the brick wall is a blast. Have fun on the short par 4 you think you can drive. Try it for fun. Go play, and enjoy the view and great food when you are done. Randy B. read more

If you are a shitty golfer and want to continue to be a shitty golfer, this is the place to go. Of course, that's not necassarily a bad thing. This was a really challenging course. I was here for a industry event which involved food / training in the morning and golf in the afternoon. The service was top notch. The golf pros even laughed at my "boy am I a shitty golfer" jokes. The course itself is very scenic. I'd like to think the reason I golfed so badly was because I was distracted by the scenery (golf cart girls included, I know I'm a creep), but we all know that's not the case. I would recommend this course to anyone who wants to golf their little hearts out and enjoy Golden's views all at the same time. Just don't hit your ball into the detention facility like I did. read more

Fossil Trace is one of the most scenic courses in the Denver area. Located just outside Golden, this track has it all - from the quirky short par 4 hole 2 where you have to look thru a closed caption TV monitor to see if the green is clear to breathtaking number 12 where you encounter large rock formations reminiscence of the volcano hole on a mini-golf course. The price is around $75 per round depending on the season. Look for early and late season deals where you pay the price of the high temperature of the day. The Three Tomatoes bar and view of the mountains makes for a perfect apre golf experience. If your game suffers, try dinking bloody mary's from the cart service to smooth out the rough edges of your game. The course can be easy if you are good. I am not. Hole number 4 will drive you to drink; which I did last time I played. After a few drinks from the cart service, I scored one over on the back after a wretched front 9. Overall, a nice mix of scenic beauty and challenge that makes for a great day of golf. PS - You can and should go for the green on Number 10. read more

Fossil Trace Golf Club - My shot is "Errant" - Golf Near Me - Golden, Colorado