Murphy Creek Golf Course

Course is in great shape. Greens, Fairways, and Rough are all in pristine condition. Got through in under 4.5 hours on a Saturday, not bad.

I always enjoy playing this course, but it can be a struggle on the back 9. Then front side has a lot of opportunities to score low and plays pretty forgiving.

The back side requires some good shot making. I love the variety of holes on the course. There are lots of decisions to make from the tee. Murphy Creek has one of the toughest closing 3 holes around. 16 is a tough driving hole with OB right and penalty area left. 17 is a bear of a par 3, very long with little bail out options, 4 is a good score there. 18 is a tough tee shot between the bunkers. Good finishing hole.

Of all of the Aurora courses this is the best layout, and one of the better courses in the metro area. Definitely worth playing.

Super challenging course even on whites. Lots of hills and with wind and thick thick rough, can really lose balls easily with errant shots. I am a 8 handicap but survived the course with 13. If you bring your A game you will have a great time. Friendly staff! Watch out for snakes in the rough

This course has a lot of potential but pace of play is consistently one of the worst in the entire metro region. Would recommend avoiding until they either figure out how to keep people moving or start spacing out tee times a bit more.

If I were to rate this course on the 18 holes we played alone I’d give it 5 stars. Course was tough but fair. Rough was an actual penalty. Made me feel like I was playing in a US Open. This course really is about putting yourself in the right position off the tee. Greens were perfect.

Honestly, other than the cart girl; the entire staff needs to take a class on how to treat guests. Attitude at all touch points. Poor service at check in and on the course. Don’t forget to park your cart behind the green near the wood logs on the ground or someone will yell at you. Gosh we really would have hurt the gravel cart path by parking on it (heavy sarcasm).

I won’t be back and that’s a shame because it’s really a solid challenging course. But there’s so many great courses in the Denver metro that treat you with respect.

Murphy Creek is a challenging links-style course with lots of wind exposure and fast greens. It's a good test.

I found the experience to be enjoyable except for a cranky marshal who told us to speed up play when we weren't out of position. There was nobody in front of or behind us, and we were right on time. I told him we were playing as fast as we could (one of our group members was nursing an injured hip), and that's when he got quite agitated with us. I don't get it -- we weren't holding anyone up. He might just need more training.

When I booked a tee time for only $45, I didn’t expect much. This is a great track. I’ll definitely be back.

This course is always in great shape and a challenge no matter what tee's you play definitely bring a few extra balls and if the pin setter had a bad night good luck 2 putting

My first time playing the course. I played from the white tees (about 6500 yards). I’m currently a 6 handicap at my local club, but found Murphy Creek to be a bit more difficult than my home course, despite similar course ratings (unfamiliarity plays a part). I found the native areas around the bunkers to be extremely difficult - much better to find the sand at the bottom. Great value, friendly staff, and good pace of play. I walked, which is doable, but found it a bit of a hike from some greens to the next tees, no doubt due to the layout through the housing development. I’ll come back for more on another day.

If this course weren't on the opposite side of town from me I'd play it all the time. Really fun course, great layout and in great condition. Such an outstanding value.

Murphy Creek is a municipal golf course owned by the city of Aurora. The tees, fairways and greens were in outstanding condition. Some of the best conditions I’ve ever seen. It has wide fairways but if you hit the ball in the rough, the rough can be difficult. The greens are huge, so play close attention to the pin location number. You are playing in a prairie environment, however, there are houses lining the course on the back side. The back side is some 200-300 yards longer. It has several weather shelters with clean porta-potties as restrooms. Throughout the course, there are numerous old farm implements used as character to the course.

This course should easily get a 5-star rating because of its conditioning. However, the design of the course brings it down to a 4-star rating.

LIKES:

Very friendly staff and starter.

Greens fees: $52.50 for a senior on a Thursday.

Conditioning of the course. Poa annua grass throughout the course, which was perfect.

Usually, poa annua greens can be bumpy, but there’ greens were very smooth and had a nice pace to them.

You do have a view of the front range.

Has a large driving range.

Sand in bunkers was excellent.

DISLIKES:

The course design is what disappointed me the most.

The course is not pleasing to the eye.

I did not take any pictures because no hole stood out. Not a picturesque course.

I felt the par 3, 17th hole was the prettiest hole on the course.

I did not like the design of the bunkering. High grass on the edges and dirt on the top edges.

This course has holes with numerous blind spots. Holes 1, 3, 6, 7.

The par 5, 3rd hole has a split fairway on your 2nd shot. You just can’t see this very well.

Dirt/gravel cart paths.

No GPS on the carts.

Hole 1 is an uphill hole, with a blind split fairway. You stand on the tee and you’re not sure where to hit

your tee shot.

WILDLIFE:

Starting on the 1st tee and numerous signs thereafter, this course has rattlesnakes on it. We saw one in the grassy area of the waste bunker on hole 5. Just be careful when looking for balls in the rough. Also, to the left of the back tees on hole 18, there is a colony of prairie dogs.

IMPROVEMENTS:

The course needs a better yardage marker system. They have a faded white stake, way off the fairway to indicate 150 yards. One bunker on hole 9, did not have a rake.

For a municipal public course (run and maintained by city of Aurora, CO) this seems like an extra special course every time I play it, maybe once or twice a season. The Links layout with the rustic farming theme, top-notch practice area and range, friendly customer service just make for a special golf experience regardless of how well you play. This is the tale of two courses - when the wind blows upward of 15mph it's just survival mode and when calm it's gettable. Good variety of tee selections including some combo tees. Front 9 seems pretty wide open with no houses around, and back 9 has some houses but I think the fairways are wide enough. It's location is a bit remote since it's so far east but worth the drive and close proximity to the airport. Comfortably walkable, not many elevation changes and close between most greens and tee boxes.