Tamarack Golf Course

Stayed in Limon, CO. on our way to Salt Lake. Stayed an extra day due to mudslides which enabled us to check out the local course.
It was a truly unique experience to play this hidden golf oasis out in the middle of the high plains! The course was in surprisingly good shape. The fairways were lush and the greens rolled nicely. Staff were friendly and the beer was cold. Definitely worth checking out if you’re in the area.

Staff here were really friendly and helpful; very low key and fun. The 9 hole course is played as an 18 hole course with completely separate tee boxes for the back nine. In some cases, a par 4 becomes a par 3, or a par 4 becomes a par 5. It was fun to play it once, and then be able to play it again in a different way. Being familiar with the greens helped the second time around.

Obviously this is a haul from Denver but with $20 fees on golf now for 18 holes and a cart its hard to beat. I like old school plains courses too, even if they only have 9 holes (many have 2 sets of tees like this one does so there's lots of fun to be had). Go try it.

We found out about this course at the Denver Golf Expo booth. Friendly folks made it sound like one to play when snow might close Denver courses. Sure enough, nothing in the Denver metro, Ft. Collins, Castle Rock areas were open. 2 in Colo Springs and 3 in Pueblo were open. The easier ~90 mile drive & opportunity to play 27 beckoned. The course was playable with a honor system to walk ($15/9, $24/18, $30/27) or you could call Jeff for a cart. The doors were open for water, paying, and the bathroom. Jeff reminded us there's a reason the wind farm was built nearby and offered a special given some winter conditions (frozen cups, temporary water, and leaves/twigs) would be encountered.

Not much was on Golfadvisor.com about the course, and it wasn't clear what to expect, so this review is to help a bit.

Interestingly, googlemaps shows Limon CC at the site. 81yo Dick told us about some history here. ~15-16y ago, the course had been neglected, so he started to care for it, on his own, nurturing it back to good enough shape to once be rated the best cared for course in Eastern Colorado 6 years running. He had to do this with hand watering (since the sprinklers froze) the bent grass greens and hybrid bluegrass fairways.

Note that blue (34.4) and white (34.5) tees are for your 1st vs. 2nd 9, not for differences in difficulty. If you're doing 18, it makes more sense.

There is a driving range with some balls sprinkling the left side of #1's fairway, so watch your ball's rollout if you're left, and beware of the somewhat hidden pond right... tricky if the wind is up. #3's lake and tree left make it the #1 hcp hole. Interestingly, there's a step ladder on a hole or two should you pull or get blown left into the neighboring farm field. #17's 212y length make it challenging with the wind up. The greens are obviously well cared for, but winter may leave pine needles to negotiate. Some of the holes like #3, 7 & 9 play longer due to the uphill approach to the greens.

Oh yeah, if you walk/pull, you won't want to bring your inflatable tire cart... there are tons of goatheads to pop thin walked tires.

Overall, this is an interesting, fun course to play if you want something open, different, less expensive, and of moderate difficulty. Enjoy!