Keystone River Course Detail
This writeup is from the white tees, which are 6003 yards. The black tees at 6886 may not sound too intimidating, but bear in mind that there are some holes with very gnarly forced carries, and others that will seem pretty tight...
The first hole is a par 5 from an elevated tee with a view of the fairway that takes your breath away. It feels for all the world like you're flying over it in an airplane. On elevated tee shots like this, it's always helpful to have a target to aim at. The fairway bunker on the left side made a good target for me because I tend to hit fades. Those of you who hit draws might want to aim across the way... The green is fronted on the right side by a bunker, but don't overcompensate by hitting too much club in here -- the green is tucked back into the corner by the out-of-bounds stakes.
The second hole is a short par 4, playing 358 yards. The fairway is generously wide, so you have a lot of options on how to play the hole. Be warned, there's a steep drop off into the woods behind the green. (Actually, a ranger told me it's better to be short than long on every green.)
To get to #3, you drive through the woods, and across a bridge over the river (stop for a picture...). This is a long and intimidating par 3. Note that while the roar of the river is fresh in your ears from the right, you don't have to carry any trouble. So hit the longest club you can hit straight, and try to get up and down. This is rated as the hardest hole on the course, so bogey is a decent score.
#4 is a gentle dogleg left. It's 384 yards, so you do want to hit your driver. There's room if you're a little wide. It's heavily defended by a system of bunkers in front of the green. If you get a good enough drive, you can carry them on your approach. If not, you might want to consider laying up...
#5 is a strategy hole. It's a short par 5 with a hazard across the middle of the fairway. So unless you're a big hitter (265 yard carry from the whites), you have to lay up on your tee shot (hybrid or fairway wood). Then on your second shot, you want to get as far to the left side of the fairway as you can (while still being on the fairway, of course), because there's a series of bunkers lining the right hand rough, and you don't want to be thinking about those on your approach shot. The green undulates quite a bit, so pay attention to the pin placement, and select your appoach club accordingly. Like I said, this is a strategy hole, and it's a lot of fun. Pay attention, hit quality shots, and it can be had. (Yes, I duffed one into the hazard and took a double...)
#6 is another another strategy hole, starting with a tee shot over a swamp. You can see from the score card that it's a short hole (323 yards), so keep the driver in the bag here. Once you clear the swamp (there was a sign telling you how far to carry), there's a hard left hand turn to get to the green. Whether you hit a long iron or a hybrid, the important thing is to put a good hit on it so it gets enough altitude to clear the swamp. All worm-burners are wet and lost! Another fun hole.
#7 is the second par 3. It's 163 yards, but it has some forced carry too. There's room to be short, you just can't flub the shot completely. It's very pretty, with the river rushing by...
#8 is a straightaway par 4, with a sunken green -- you can't see the flag from the teebox, but it's there, pretty much straightaway. It plays 381 yards, so driver is a good play if you can hit it mostly straight.
The ninth hole is the third par 3 on the front. You drive past the clubhouse, and up a hill to get to the teebox. It's a long hole, playing 197 yards from the whites. It looks like it has all the room in the world, but don't get distracted. Pick a target (the pin, usually), and hit the longest club that you can hit straight. If you're a little short, no big deal.
The tenth hole is a pretty good drive around the hill from the clubhouse. When you get there, you'll find a straightaway par 4, with the woods jammed in close from both sides. It's only 346 yards, so the focus here should be on hitting it straight, not hitting it long.
#11 is 360 yards. The tee box is elevated a bit, and the rest of the hole is uphill. If you can get to close to the top of the hill on your tee shot, it takes most of the teeth out of this hole. Take an extra club on your approach -- I hit what I thought was a pretty good shot, and wound up 15 yards short.
#12 is a 160 yard par 3. There are traps everywhere, mostly just to get inside your head -- there's no particular reason you should have to deal with any of them. Hit it to the middle of the green, make your two putts, and walk away!
#13 is a short par 5 on paper (473 yards). But (and this is important) it's up a pretty steep hill. So hit your driver, straight (preferably), then hit a long iron (also preferabley straight), and you should be set up with a wedge or short iron into the elevated green. The green is fronted by a huge sandtrap, so be sure to take an extra club to ensure reaching the green (two extra, if there's any wind in your face).
#14 is a long par 4 (384 yards) which bends left around the hill. That's the wrong bend for me, and it tends to throw me off my game. Ideally, you'd like to cut the corner by crowding that bunker on the left as close as you can. But hitting it straight down the middle, even if you back off to a three wood is still a good way to go. I got too cute and went too far left, then I flared a four iron into the weeds from a sidehill lie, and ... well, just hit it straight down the middle!
#15 is an uphill par 3, playing just 133 from the whites. The day I played it, the pin was tucked in the back left corner, and I took two extra clubs. Nailed it! Made the birdie putt. Life is good.
Your first reaction on arriving at the tee box on #16 is "Whoa! This is like hitting off a cliff!". In matter of fact, there's a 192 foot drop in elevation on this hole. You feel like you're about to get a nosebleed from the altitude. The fairway is shaped like a slide at a water park, with two or three humps. To add a little bit of thought to the shot, there's a patch of rough below the second big hump. So, do you "lay up" on one of the flat spots? Or go for broke and see how far you can get it to go? Either way, this hole is a hoot! It's long (448 yards), it's a par 4, but the hill gives you a lot of help. I got home in two with a three wood and a hybrid. A driver might get you within an eight or nine iron, but you might have a pretty steep downhill lie. Whatever!
#17 is a very short par 4, at just 270 yards. You hit from an elevated tee to an elevated green. If you don't carry the whole 270, it will hit the vertical face of the elevated green, and roll to the bottom of the hill. Unless you get buried in one of the cavernous sandtraps on that vertical face. Four iron and a sand wedge will work just fine. You do have to carry 130 yards of junk. Another fun hole.
The home hole is a short par 5 (461 yards) from an elevated tee. The view of Lake Dillon is breathtaking, and that's the hard part of this shot. You're a mile in the air, and somehow you have to land on the fairway. The fairway is plenty wide, but it's so far down there!! Once you land, the rest of the hole is uphill, so distance is good. In any case, you should be able to par it (again, if you can get off the tee!), and it's rated as the easiest hole on the course.
This is a great course. I'd love to play it every day. The air is thin, you can hit it a long ways, there are lots of really fun holes, and while there's plenty of trouble to be had, if you don't try to kill it, and stay steady, you can make some fun shots. |
