Walnut Creek Golf Preserve

It was my first time here and will be my last. I played in a foursome, two walking and two riding. The pace of play was fine, We didn't have to wait on anyone and nobody was waiting on us. We got through nine and a marshall pointed out that we were 15 minutes behind and to hurry up our play.

I pointed out that we had nobody waiting on us and he ignored it, making sure to repeat his point again. I told him, "You really know how to take the fun out of golf" and went to the tenth tee. After hole 12 another marshall stopped and said we needed to speed up our play. He said there were two groups behind us waiting. I told him I didn't see anybody waiting. Then I asked "so what are you going to do, fine us?" He said no, but if we didn't speed up he would make us skip a hole. It made me mad because all four of us were good golfers.

So from then on I started looking back to see where the other groups were. There was threesome behind us that was moving a little faster than we were. They did wait on the 15th tee about 3 minutes. The group behind them was a foursome that was riding and they were a full whole behind the threesome.

So why the breathing down our necks? Seems to me these people need to feel important and justify their jobs by pushing people around where there is no need to. It totally ruined the experience for me. It's bad enough that the course is long and hard and in poor condition. Then you have these guys breathing down our neck. Not coming back ever.

Course is going through a major irrigation project this summer. Hole 4 was closed when we played. General conditions were not great. Several dry/bare spots in fairways and tee boxes really need some love. They had to do the project at some time, so this is the year. This course will be recovered by next year and maybe late season this year and be better than ever.

All that being said, I still love the layout of this course, and it is still worth a play. The greens are the fastest I have played in the area this year. They are incredibly fast and in pretty good condition compared to the rest of the course. Make sure you are putting from below the hole or get ready for some 4 putts.

Walnut Creek is incredibly scenic. The front 9 works through a low lying meadow with native areas everywhere. The final 9 holes offer a large elevation gain from hole 10 up through 14 teebox. Hole 13 is a bear of a par 5 with the green near the top of the property. The climb to 14 tee can be exhausting for walkers after dealing with 13, but the view at the top is worth the trek. The highest point of the property offers stunning view of the mountains and the whole metro area.

The rest of the course plays downhill back to the clubhouse with a challenging stretch of holes. the par 5 18th is really the only easy hole after hole 11.

this is easily one of the best layouts in the area with wide fairways and challenging approaches. I am looking forward to seeing the course post construction when it gates back into great shape.

I will say that Walnut Creek is the better of the two Westminster courses. I’m sure there is plenty of debate amongst the local community on this topic. For anyone that prefers Legacy Ridge, I completely respect your opinion. Both courses are good, and we are lucky to have 2 great tracks so close together in the same city!

Walnut Creek Golf Preserve (WCGP) has no houses near it, the course is wide open (with no shortage of trouble), there are amazing views, and a great variety of holes to play. These are the qualities I enjoy about this course. I also love watching airplanes take off and land at the adjacent airport!

The whole WCGP facility is top notch with a great staff, big driving range and a nice chipping and putting green. Golf course and practice areas are always in good shape out here and the course has some of the fastest greens around town. Even though the greens often have some sand on the (not quite sure why) they still roll smooth and fast, this is not a major deterrent.

The front nine at WCGP works its way down hill from the clubhouse starting with a pretty friendly par 4 where a long iron off the tee is plenty to get to the accessible green across the native area. There are very few holes that are not bordered or crossed directly by the native and play restricted areas that you will definitely want to stay out of to keep your score semi-low.

Holes 2 through 8 head west, then east and west again before heading back uphill and north to the clubhouse. The tough dogleg left 5th requires a big drive to get on top of the hill and get a view of the green, hit your ball short or too far left and you may have a totally blind second to a difficult putting surface that kicks balls hit too far left into the native grass below. The 6th is a reachable par 5 down the hill before getting to what I believe to be the toughest par 3 (7th) on the course. I always feel like I come up a club short on the picturesque tee-shot over a lake to a big green.

After making the turn WCGP really starts to show some teeth as players work their way up the hill north towards the airport. Holes 10 and 11 are inviting par 4s before reaching the tough dogleg right 12th. Another blind second awaits drives that cannot get to the top of the hill in the fairway. Hole 13 is really a brute of a par 5. All uphill, players can choose one of two fairways to hit their second before making a tricky approach. The left fairway offers a severely uphill shot. Go right and you will be closer to the green’s elevation, but you will have to avoid some bunkers while placing your second. Be careful about being short on the green, the 13th green has a false front that can send balls rolling straight down the hill up to 60 yards for a tough, and possibly blind pitch!

Now that your encounter with the treacherous 13th is over, walkers are met with a severe uphill climb to the 14th tee. The par 3 is the highest point on the golf course, is closest to the mountains, and has the best view around! You may hate the hike to make it up there, but the payoff in the view is worth it! You shouldn’t need a long iron to hit the green on 14 (unless the wind is up) just don’t be long or your ball will roll a long way down the slope behind the green.

The 15th is a fun tee shot straight down the hill as you head home. Look out for the lake guarding the green on 16, you cannot see it from the tee, and balls hit to the left side of the green tend not to hold. Hole 17 is a long downhill par 3 with a narrow green, most balls that miss right could easily be in the penalty area. The par 5 18th can be accessible in 2 with a good drive, just look out for the water running down the whole right side.

All together WCGP is a great track that offers a wide variety of holes and scenery. Players who like to swing the driver will love the wide fairways, but not every hole is easily accessible with a big drive. WCGP requires some thinking off the tee to make sure to get good looks at the greens. This course has been good enough for US Open qualifiers in the past, and it is sure to be a fun test for anyone who loves to play the game!

This is a perfect example of a links course! Keep your shots on the fairway or you'll run out of balls!! The course is in fantastic shape and the care of bunkers, cart paths, and tee boxes gives one a feeling of being in Europe.

The practice areas are well kept and gave plenty of time to warm up before the round. The small airport next to the course provides something to enjoy while waiting for your next shot!

I have played this course a handful of times and thoroughly enjoyed each time I have. The fairways are tight and well kept, the rough plays like true rough (god have mercy if you find yourself in it). The layout of the course is beautiful as it provides views of the flatirons and downtown Denver, and best of all you get the appreciation of golf while making your game better. Love this course and will be back again!

Walnut Creek Golf Preserve is a great course just outside the Denver area but has the ability to make you feel nice a secluded. I love how they built the course into the natural landscape with some nice water features and tall natural grasses. I really enjoyed scenic elevated tee boxes and the challenging bunker placements. The course is right next to the Westminster airport which I loved watching the student pilots fly over head. Great practice facilities and the staff was very helpful. I will for sure be coming back.

First time playing here and the course conditions were fantastic. Weather and wind were cooperative. Def a 2nd shot track. Keep it in the short stuff. Greens were lightening fast! Very good stuff.

Had not played this course in awhile, since it was known as Heritage at Westmoor - I think it´s cool that it is now called a Golf Preserve. Course conditions were great, although some of the fairways had been soaked from watering and our balls plugged. The layout is great, no two holes the same and some good elevation changes. Greens were just right speed, not super fast. Instead of flags, the sticks have wind socks which kind of a cool switch and better shows the wind direction - although today was very still if any breeze at all.

It is a bit of a workout to walk, especially the back nine with #13 long uphill par 5, but nothing overbearing and you won´t slow pace of play on a weekend since it´s crowded anyway. We were lucky to have an airshow going on at the adjacent airfield so they were doing stunts all overhead as we played, so I can blame my crappy holes on the distraction! The staff is very friendly and cart girl made several laps. Practice area is better than most, although it´s separated away from #1 tee box so give yourself extra time to warm up. One handy tidbit for walkers is you can park in the adjacent office building parking lot on weekends and very close to 18th hole when you finish, plus close to practice area as well. $48 to walk on a weekend is very good value!

Walnut Creek is in extremely good shape, from the fairways to the greens to the bunkers. The greens rolled true, though they were tricky and difficult. It's a true links course with almost no trees, plenty of fescue, pot bunkers, etc.

Several holes have picturesque views, especially on the back 9. The nearby office parks/airport take away from the vibe a little bit, but that's the price you pay for a convenient location. It's still beautiful and I highly recommend it.

The only issue was pace of play. It took our foursome about 5 hours, 15 minutes to get through 18 holes -- we had to wait to play on most shots. On a few holes, there were two different groups on the hole while we stood on the tee box. This may have just been bad luck because of one or two slow groups.

This was the perfect course for our annual 8 man Colorado Golf Binge to play as a wrap up from our 5 days and 6 rounds of tough mountain golf. I'd played this course years ago when it was Heritage Golf Course at Westmoor. I enjoyed it then and I feel we all enjoyed it even more this week.

The course is in super condition. Greens are fast and true. Fairways are lush but not mushy. The course was renamed as Walnut Creek Preserve April, 2017 and became Colorado's first golf preserve with lots of special attention to protecting the environment and practicing astute sustainability.

The fairways are generous but the roughs are rough The greens are extra large and quite penal if your approach leaves you above the hole.

Trees are generally not a factor although I managed to crash high into a big Cottonwood on the inside of the dogleg right par 4 8th hole.

The back nine plays relatively close to the Rocky Mountain Metropolitan Airport with lots of air traffic to divert your attention rather than dwelling on your last 3-putt.

The course is generally a Scottish links style track with loads of inviting bunkers....90 total: 38 on the front nine and a whopping 52 on the back. Water is only a real factor with ponds on the par 3 7th hole, the par 4 16th hole and the tough par 5 18th hole.

Rather than having 5 tees of varied colors or names Walnut Creek simply has 5 numbered cut wood limbs with a neat western style WC brand burned into each pc. Our group handicaps are in the 6-17 range and we normally play courses in the 6,200 yd range. We found it a little strange that Walnut Creek doesn't offer tees in this range. Tee #4 measures 5,975 yards while Tee #3 jumps to 6,528 yards. Possibly offering a combo tee option would be a good fit for this gap.

We ended our Binge with pitchers of beer and great food while settling our bets and reliving our stories including one of our players holing out from 60 yards on his last shot of the week on #18. 'Great memories from a great golf perserve!

Haven't played places like Ballyneal yet, but this is the best links style experience I've had in CO. Love the back side near the airport where the wind can pick up and you can play with a little chill in the air. Windsocks on the flag sticks are a cool touch also. Definitely check it out.

Wow! What a special place! Colorado links style golf with beautiful views of the rocky mountains! Greens are something you would see on tv at a tour event, firm and fast! Staff are great at guest service and exceeding expectations!