Max and I play the #9 rated course in the USA
Thank you so much for reading my review of Beaver Ranch Disc Golf Course located at 11369 S Foxton Rd. Conifer, CO 80433. I am so grateful to be in Denver because a course like this is less than an hours drive! We went up and played last Saturday and it was the busiest I’ve seen, but I have always gone up on a weekday before. The weather was 10 to 15 degrees cooler there and the trees give shade and challenge on most every hole. If your from out of town please be aware that this course plays at 4513 ft. – 7477 ft. so bring water and take your time.
Before I get to the holes I’d like to mention a couple of things. It’s great how easy it is to bring your dog along for a great time. Each hole has a bench because you never know when it’ll be convenient to have a nice sit down, and as you can see there is a dog leash hook right there next to the bench! Also you will find trash cans on many holes throughout the course.
Welcome to hole 1
Hole starts the first of many up hill throws and don’t be surprised by the up hill hike! It’s difficult to see just how much up the hill it is in the pictures. Strangely it sometimes also seems less uphill in person because the hill continues going up through hole 2. It almost appears kind of flat but don’t be fooled!
Next you’ll want to decide which baskets to play because they always have silver playing short on A or B (some holes only have two basket locations) and gold playing on C. Playing silver is fun, playing gold is challenging. I tend to choose silver when it’s wide open because I can play a quick game. When it’s crowded I go for the gold because I’ll be waiting on the next tee if I finish too quickly. Also, longer tees are sometimes higher up the hill. Here hole B is 38′ up the hill while C is 45′ up as well as 361 long.
On to hole 2
Hole 2 continues up the hill that hole 1 started. The gold basket is located right side, therefore a strong forehand or turned-over backhand shapes will with the side hill jutting out from the right side of the fairway. But it’s easy to miss that detail and find your disc on top of that hill on the right after a hyzer failed to make over like my shot did. Fortunately it’s a clear downhill look to the basket for a par from there.
A short walk to hole 3
Hole 3
3 presents us with the first of a number of side hill drives. If your playing to the silver basket make sure to get it up the hill to the right. I like to turn over an under-stable disc, that way I can finish up the hill. Likewise forehand throwers will have fun with this shot finishing up the hill. Gold basket players can be a little more aggressive because if your drive slides down the hill to the left like mine you’ll find a fairly open up shot to the basket. No matter what you face a pretty narrow window to get anywhere near birdy country.
4 and 5
4 gives us another opportunity to sharpen up our uphill throwing skills because it presents us with a fairway that not only climbs sharply up hill but also is bounded on both sides. There are multiple lanes to the basket, however the straight up shot is the largest lane. Silver basket is as straight as you can make it up the hill. Gold basket wants you to finish right at the end because the closer you are to the basket the better. You see the basket up on a little ridge so it’s kind of a death put the further away you are.
After that climb you might feel happy to see hole 5 is flat until you realize that you tee shot looks like your in jail already. However do not despair, there are lanes to the baskets. Both silver locations are pretty short and not too difficult so they are great birdy ops. The gold basket on the other hand is quite a way down there with two sets of trees to navigate therefore I play for 3 because getting it 70% of the way down there feels like a minor victory.
Hole 6
After navigating 5, hole 6 plays quite straight forward. Trees are spaced out nicely and there are lanes for just about any shot shape preference. One of the great things I’ve found is that if you miss the trees close there’s a great chance of getting down to the basket.
Down to 7
Hole 7 is the start of a string of dramatic holes that are as visually beautiful as they are visually daunting. Prepare to throw a long downhill drive that ends in a grove of young aspen trees. Under-stable or turned over back hand with a stable disk flies down the hill to get close to the basket. However, the miss starts pointed straight across the hill instead of down the hill and it gets stable too high and ends up left. If that happens you may find the OB string on the left that separates 7 from hole 15.
To be continued…
That’s the end of this part of my walk through of Beaver Ranch Disc Golf Course in Conifer Colorado. The next section of the course is quite dramatic as the picture of Max getting caught napping on the 8th tee demonstrates. Lots of vertical, gaps, trees, and more. You can find it here. Also, I’d like to give my thanks to Front Range Pet Stop. These guys are local and can help you keep your dog in the yard or the cat off that special couch. The products they sell are made in the USA but the service they provide is out of this world!
