The Links Golf Course
Highlands Ranch, Colorado · 18 holes · par 62 · Public. Designed by Dick Phelps, opened 1985.
A caddie's yardage book for every hole: plays-like distance from USGS lidar elevation, reach and carry numbers for every bunker and water hazard, green front, middle and back, which way each green falls, and the lay-up zone on par 5s. Distances are from the back tees along the mapped hole; for a shorter tee, take off the scorecard difference.
Course profile
- At about 5,750 ft the ball carries about 7% farther than at sea level, so a 150-yard shot plays like about 140. Golfers visiting from low elevation should expect to club down.
- Biggest climb: hole 10, where the green sits 18 ft above the tee and plays about 6 yards longer.
- Biggest drop: hole 13, where the green sits 32 ft below the tee and plays about 11 yards shorter.
- Driving-zone hazards sit on the right on 4 holes and on the left on 1: a tee shot missed right costs more here.
- 16 greens tilt 2% or more. Each hole below says which side of the hole leaves an uphill putt.
Maps: tee at the bottom, green at the top. The dashed line is the mapped hole; the gold band is the lay-up zone; the arrow on the green points downhill.
Scorecard
| Hole | Par | Hcp | Blue | White | Gold | Red |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 4 | 7 | 326 | 292 | 263 | 226 |
| 2 | 3 | 15 | 158 | 143 | 119 | 106 |
| 3 | 4 | 3 | 385 | 358 | 320 | 290 |
| 4 | 3 | 9 | 190 | 151 | 124 | 112 |
| 5 | 4 | 5 | 377 | 361 | 341 | 263 |
| 6 | 3 | 17 | 154 | 133 | 117 | 112 |
| 7 | 3 | 13 | 168 | 144 | 123 | 106 |
| 8 | 4 | 1 | 430 | 390 | 359 | 325 |
| 9 | 3 | 11 | 167 | 140 | 127 | 113 |
| 10 | 4 | 8 | 391 | 343 | 303 | 290 |
| 11 | 3 | 16 | 165 | 133 | 124 | 106 |
| 12 | 4 | 6 | 394 | 361 | 323 | 267 |
| 13 | 4 | 4 | 412 | 386 | 374 | 316 |
| 14 | 3 | 12 | 192 | 156 | 131 | 106 |
| 15 | 3 | 18 | 154 | 139 | 122 | 99 |
| 16 | 4 | 2 | 362 | 320 | 276 | 264 |
| 17 | 3 | 10 | 213 | 198 | 145 | 138 |
| 18 | 3 | 14 | 186 | 169 | 133 | 123 |
Tees
| Tee | Yards | Rating | Slope | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Blue | Male | 4824 | 61.5 | 113 |
| White | Male | 4317 | 59.9 | 101 |
| Gold | Male | 3824 | 58.8 | 96 |
| Red | Male | 3362 | 58.2 | 96 |
Hole 1 · Par 4
- Plays like
- 321-15 ft
- Green · Blue tee
- 311 · 326 · 337front · middle · back
- Green size
- 25 × 29yards deep × wide
- Fairway
- 29 ydswide at 206
- Green slope
- 2.5%falls to the front
In play
- Bunker right: 199 to reach, 244 to carry
- Bunker right: 263 to reach, 288 to carry
Playing notes
- Plays about 5 yards shorter: the green sits 15 ft below the tee.
- Dogleg right at about 159 yards.
- Fairway bunkers on the right: 199 to reach, 288 to carry. Drives that finish short of 199 stay clear; otherwise the left side is the safer line off the tee.
- The fairway is about 29 yards wide at 206.
- No hazards mapped around the green.
- The green falls from back to front, about 2.5%. Finish on the front side of the hole for an uphill putt.
Hole 2 · Par 3
- Plays like
- 157-2 ft
- Green · Blue tee
- 143 · 158 · 169front · middle · back
- Green size
- 25 × 26yards deep × wide
- Green slope
- 3.5%falls to the front-left
In play
- Bunker front-right of the green
Playing notes
- The green is guarded on the right by bunkers; miss left.
- The green falls from back-right to front-left, about 3.5%. Finish on the front-left side of the hole for an uphill putt.
Hole 3 · Par 4
- Plays like
- 378-20 ft
- Green · Blue tee
- 368 · 385 · 396front · middle · back
- Green size
- 27 × 25yards deep × wide
- Fairway
- 40 ydswide at 232
- Green slope
- 1.5%falls to the front
In play
- Bunker right: 230 to reach, 273 to carry
- Bunker front-right of the green
Playing notes
- Plays about 7 yards shorter: the green sits 20 ft below the tee.
- Dogleg right at about 258 yards.
- Fairway bunkers on the right: 230 to reach, 273 to carry. Drives that finish short of 230 stay clear; otherwise the left side is the safer line off the tee.
- The fairway is about 40 yards wide at 232 and narrows to 31 at 272.
- The green is guarded on the right by bunkers; miss left.
- The green falls from back to front, about 1.5%. Finish on the front side of the hole for an uphill putt.
Holes 4 to 18
4 · Par 35 · Par 46 · Par 37 · Par 38 · Par 49 · Par 310 · Par 411 · Par 312 · Par 413 · Par 414 · Par 315 · Par 316 · Par 417 · Par 318 · Par 3
The rest of this guide has the same caddie detail for every hole:
- 15 plays-like yardages
- 28 hazards with reach and carry
- 15 green slope reads
One-time purchase, no account needed. It unlocks in this browser; lost access? Email [email protected] with your receipt. Or join the free beta and get every course in the app.
Hole maps, hazards and playing notes come from mapped course data and USGS 3DEP elevation (public domain), not a visit. Plays-like numbers use the Skitty caddie's rule of one yard per 3 ft of rise, from the longest tee; altitude uses 1.16% of carry per 1,000 ft. Tees, hazards and conditions change; check with the course before you play. Map data © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL 1.0) via OpenGolfAPI. Scorecard yardages and ratings as published. See a mistake? Email [email protected].