Bear Dance Golf Club

Larkspur, CO

website: BearDanceGolf.com

• Playability: ⛳️⛳️⛳️
• Difficulty: ⛳️⛳️⛳️⛳️
• Views: ⛳️⛳️⛳️⛳️
• Course Conditions: ⛳️⛳️⛳️⛳️
• Value: ⛳️⛳️
• Facility: ⛳️⛳️⛳️

Located roughly an hour south of downtown Denver sits the Colorado PGA’s crown jewel, Bear Dance Golf Club. Since opening in April 2002, it’s earned it’s reputation as one of the most popular destination courses in the area. Today we will take a deeper dive into why Bear Dance was voted “The Best Daily Fee Golf Course In Denver” and also give you our personal opinions on the track.

When it comes to the playability of Bear Dance, the beauty is definitely in the eye of the beholder. Some love it, some don’t, fairly cut and dry. It really comes down to what you’re looking to get out of your round. If you go out with the intention of playing hard and trying to put down a low score on the card, this may not be the place for you. If you go out with the intention of enjoying the views and taking in the diverse layout Bear Dance provides, you will walk off the 18th green with a smile on your face. One the most iconic pieces of this course is the famous “bear claw” series of bunkers on the par 4 6th hole, which is aesthetically pleasing, but can be a bear to deal with from a player perspective (pun intended). There is no shortage of doglegs or elevation change involved, either. There is a few holes that have such large doglegs it leaves you wondering where you need to hit it. This can be adventurous for some, frustrating for others. We decided to give it a modest 3 flag rating, but it could easily be a 4 or 5 flag for some people.

No matter if you’re a scratch golfer or a 30-handicap, Bear Dance will provide you with all the challenges you could ask for. You can play it from over 7,700 yards all the way down to 5,200 yards, so it really provides a little something for everyone in the length aspect. Having said that, some tee shots are still tight and some approaches are still very difficult no matter how far away you are. If you take what the course gives you on every hole, you will end up hitting less than driver quite a few times. If you are going full send mode, be sure you have plenty of balls in your bag because there’s a good chance you’ll be reloading off the tee a number of times (just ask Spencer). We decided to give the difficulty 4 flags, but like the playability rating, it could also go up to 5 flags.

Tell us if you’ve heard this one before- you are playing golf in Colorado, and the course has amazing views. If this looks familiar, it’s probably because you’ve read one or two of our course reviews before. There’s no shortage of great views here in our great state, and Bear Dance is no exception. Even with it being located right off of busy I-25, it manages to have a very secluded feel which is always nice. The front nine mostly faces towards the east so the views are nothing spectacular but the west facing back nine is where you will want to get the camera ready. If you happen to be playing the back nine as the sun goes down you will have amazing sunset views over the foothills and mountains. The views out here get a 4 flag rating from us.

Given that Bear Dance is the headquarters for the Colorado PGA, there is not a shortage of resources at this facility. The course is always in immaculate shape and the greens are always in solid shape. One of the downsides to this location is it gets so much play that often times the green will be left full of pitch marks, which can be frustrating at time, but not much of a surprise given it’s popularity. All in all, the course is well maintained and receives a modest 4 star rating.

The facilities out at Bear Dance not too large but fairly nice. The clubhouse has a nice mountainous feel to it. The driving range and putting green are both well maintained and provide some decent views looking out to the east. Given the cost of a round here, it does leave a little to be desired (we will get into value shortly). We gave the facilities out here a solid 3 flags.

The value out at Bear Dance receives a 2 flag rating from us. During peak season, you can spend up to $155 a person for a round and we feel that is a bit steep. Even during the week you can spend $100+ per person and it definitely puts it out of the majority of people’s comfortable price range when paying for a round. Having said that, the course is packed day in and day out so take that for what you will. It’s a great place to bring buddies from out of town for a round or two, but in terms of value for the high volume golfer, it leans towards the top end of most people’s budgets.

Overall, Bear Dance provides the quintessential mountain feel in a convenient location. If you can afford to fork over $150+, it’s definitely worth a try.