Fossil Trace Golf Club in Golden, Colorado is a premier public golf course designed by renowned golf course architect Jim Engh. It is nestled adjacent to the foothills of the Rocky Mountain Front Range, only fifteen minutes from downtown Denver. From the day Fossil Trace Golf Club opened, it has continually received local and national golf course awards and accolades, making it a highly distinguished golf course in the United States.
Fossil Trace is proud of its rich history, immaculate conditions, and tremendous views from the golf course and restaurant. Beginners enjoy the demanding course, while even the most accomplished golfer is tested by the undulation of the greens combined with the treachery of ten foot deep fairway and greenside bunkers. From the simplicity of a 100 yard Par 3 to the cruelty and challenge of a 659 Yard Par 5, Fossil Trace offers every level of golfer a unique and satisfying challenge.
A rich history surrounds Golden, Colorado, and Fossil Trace Golf Club is no exception. The golf course opened in July of 2003, but its history goes back sixty-four million years! Originally, the land was covered by an enormous lake, followed by dinosaurs, and eventually the rise of the Rocky Mountains. Today, holes 11 through 15 sit where the first dinosaurs walked. Triceratops footprints and other prehistoric creatures’ fossils can be viewed adjacent to #12 green. The Fossil Trace clubhouse includes a detailed exhibit of the property’s rich history and provides information about the dinosaur tracks and other important fossils uncovered on the site. Various historic buildings from the late-1800s to mid-1990s still exist. Located directly east of #1 fairway sits the original location for the Colorado School of Mines. The building was established in 1881 and now serves as the Lookout Mountain Youth Services Center. The buildings located just to the right of upper #1 fairway served as horse barns and a dairy from the early 1900s. In the mid-1900s, the land housed a “Boy’s School.” The school taught the boys useful trades such as blacksmithing, laundry and tailoring, and plumbing services, which were offered to the local townspeople. The entire area was a working farm with cows, hay fields and fruit orchards. On the lower fairway, there sits an incinerator that the school used to burn trash.
As you travel to the back 9, you encounter the remains of the Rockwell Mine. George W. Parfet began mining here in 1877. His heirs continued to mine clay, used for brick making, until 2001. After removing the clay, all that remained was a sandstone column. That column now houses the palm frond wall, exposes Triceratops footprints (both on #12 green), and displays Hadrosaurs footprints just west along the walking path. The path and split rail fence were built as part of a Boy Scout Eagle Badge project, allowing bikers and pedestrians from 6th Avenue to access the area in a “walking tour” format without stepping onto the golf course.
Several pieces of clay mining equipment still exist on the property. Just right of #11 fairway, above #15 green, sits an Army Surplus Bay City half-ton yard shovel purchased in 1954. The two pieces of machinery on #12 and #14 greens are Caterpillar powered, consecutive serial numbered machines purchased in 1956. The machine on #12 green is an American three-quarter ton dragline bucket, and on the #14 green sits a shovel boom.
The property on which Fossil Trace Golf Club sits was obtained through collaboration with various agencies as well as individual contributors. One portion of the property was purchased from the State of Colorado, and another by Jefferson County Open Space. Chip Parfet, whose family mined clay from the Rockwell Mine, donated the 52 acres where holes 11-15 sit. He retains the area just east of #15 green, which is the only space on the entire course where homes have been built.
The prehistoric landmarks, historic buildings, and pieces of old machinery serve as a reminder of the rich history of the property and add to the award winning golf course experience. Golf at Fossil Trace is open to the public for daily fee play as well as open for limited private and corporate golf outings and events. Combined with pristine course conditions and Jim Engh’s unique & challenging layout, Fossil Trace continues to be a must-play golf course in Colorado.
