Cougar Canyon Golf Links

This is a Nicklaus Design, 18-hole golf course. I got a sneak peek, the golf course isn't open officially until mid-August, 2007. In my humble opinion, this is a golf course to write home about.

Cougar Canyon Golf Links will demand all your attention, in spite of the beautiful scenery in all directions. Each hole features 4 tee boxes, generous fairways, large greens and a "minimal" amount of forced carries (wait 'til you see #16 with the imposing island green...) And I haven't mentioned the 40 or so bunkers with the unique black sand.

The front nine is beautiful and open. The course meanders back into a small valley before turning around and re-emerging back in the center of Cougar Canyon by the lake. The back nine follows Gray Creek Wash, a deep arroyo that leads past that famous #16 green and then back around to the lake in the center of the canyon.

Cougar Canyon Golf Links raises the bar in southern Colorado. In putting together the stuff for the golfing section of this website, I've visited quite a few golf courses in the area. None is as gorgeous as this one, nor have I seen any other layouts that come close to this. This course makes the others look easy.

The golf course opened in August, 2007, with a temporary clubhouse. The real clubhouse will be part of the Hawthorne Suites - Convention Center complex, just west of the central lake in the heart of the Cougar Canyon Golf Resort Community. Cougar Canyon is just northeast of downtown Trinidad off of US Highways 350/160.