Ironbridge Golf Club — Local services in Colorado

Full disclosure, I am a member here.

This course is one of the best I've played and I have lived and golfed around the world.

The setting is amazing. It's in the Roaring Fork Valley, surrounded by red mountains and every hole has this dramatic back drop. The course is always in great shape, the greens are fast and true. In late summer they get a little hard and the challenge changes, with the harder greens when your drives get plenty of roll to leave shorter approach shots. So it evens out with playing early in softer conditions. Practice facilities are excellent, big putting green, grass practice tees and a chipping area with a bunker.

The pro shop is well stocked, the pros Chad and Nathan are great guys, offer advice and very informative about the course. Chad is the current Colorado PGA champion.

The front 9 holes are parkland style, they have a feel of links golf (I've played in the UK), fairways with long fescue if you go way off line. Fairways are pretty generous though. There is water in play on 5 holes and the river runs alongside the other 4. Bunkers have decent sand levels and well maintained.

The back 9 starts with 10 and 11 being alongside the cliffs. These really do feel links style with rolling fairways and greens that will require well placed tee shots. Then over the road to 12-14. all 3 are great holes but offer you a chance to score well if you can get a decent drive. on 14 take a moment to take in the scenery. The backdrop is of Mount Sopris, which in spring and early summer will have snow on it. It makes for a stunning photo.

Then the world changes. 15-18 are in the canyon. A long cart drive (carts are essential here) takes you up a couple of hundred feet and the golf is different. 15 needs a tee shot over a ravine, then typically you have a long shot to a raised green. 16 is a par 3, anything left is gone, down a 30ft drop. 17 is really fun, a panoramic tee, if you can hit 250 yards then it will fly 280 and you'll have a 60 yard shot over another ravine. If you are shorter then you have to avoid bunkers and have a 160 carry . But the gem is 18. downhill fairway, you get an ego boost of 280-300 yard drives. then the dilemma of going for the green (200 yard carry) or going straight across the ravine, a130 yard carry, which means your third shot is about 60-80 yards. The green is protected by a bunker. It's just such a thinking player's hole.

Once you're done, it's a fun drive back down the canyon to the 19th. The grill and clubhouse has great food and I've enjoyed just sitting at the bar. I recommend the steak sandwich, the chicken burger, the cheeseburger, heck choose anything its good. Most important get the truffle fries which are amazing.

I've seen some comments about slow play. If you play weekend mornings or holidays then it might get backed up. I have seen marshals on many occasions. The carts are tracked, have great GPS and I think that helps monitor everything. You can see where other carts are ahead of you on the same hole.

Don't hesitate to try this place out. save time for a beer and food afterwards too. You really...

Played this course with family on Labor Day 2025. We were paired with a married couple older than us during the course twighlight hours. Our group didn't dilly dally: with a brief stop for water at the turn it took us the full four hours and fifteen minutes to play all 18. Staff really bragged up the final four holes in advance of our round, which are played in a canyon away from the other fourteen holes. The attached photos are of holes 17 and 18. The par fours and threes are a relief from the very long, challenging par 5s. The elevated tee boxes on most holes, when combined with the already increased elevation from being in the Rocky Mountains, provide a boost of confidence when your driver is in use. It was cool to track your shot against the darkened backdrop of the surrounding mountains.

You need to be in excellent physical shape if you plan to walk this course. There is significant distance to travel from the green of one hole to the next tee box. Enjoy your riding cart despite it being without connectable Bluetooth speakers.

I concur with the other reviews: this is a course that will test your skills but...

I’m sure it’s a lovely course… if you can afford it. My 1 Star review is a direct result of the absolute golf snobbery that is oozing from every corner of this golf establishment.

I rode my bike for 7 miles with a few clubs strapped to my back to arrive at Ironbridge so that I could have a beer, watch a bit of the US Open, and hit some balls on the range. A $200 round just isn’t in my tax bracket, but I figured the range would be affordable…WRONG. The teenage kid in the proshop told me it was $25 to hit range balls. I quickly agreed, though not impressed with the price tag. But wait! Before moving forward with the transaction this brainwashed, rule following adolescent slave has to go ask permission from some faceless golf professional who is hiding in his office…And returns back to me with a ‘No’!! The nerve of this elitist golf course to not allow me to PAY $25 to hit their precious range balls is a truly fine example of golf douchebaggery and a great reason to skip Ironbridge and go to another...