This is one of the greatest courses in Colorado. Amazing mountain course. It is a well thought out and well-funded 20 hole course that will leave the average, fit individual tired at the end of the day. Expect to do a lot of hiking, a good amount of elevation change, tons of throwing, and every once in a while a bit of cursing.
The course requires a great amount of skill and accuracy as every type of throw imaginable is required throughout the 20 holes. You will be throwing long bombs, hyzer, anhyzer, tomahawk, short finesse, perfect S-curves, and a few perfectly straight shots. There are short holes and long holes, but a majority of the holes are around 300 feet, and you will certainly need you biggest driver on some holes. There are various pin placements, and wonderful plaques at every hole indicating where each pin is, and the distance of each pin. While some courses have signs that don't help much, these signs make the course simple and easy to understand. Be careful about rolls! There is a bunch of steep terrain here, so very bad downhill rolls can occur if you do not take disc orientation into consideration.
The course does a great job of mixing up technical and long throws. I know many courses have a technical front nine and open back nine (or vise-versa), however Conifer flows wonderfully. You will switch between technical, long, and a mixture of both all day. There is really no true transition between the front and back nine, just to show how enjoyable all of the holes truly are. While not all tee boxes are the best, they are some of the nicest natural tees I have seen on a mountain course. There is a bathroom located around holes 13-16, as well as bag hangers and very nice wooden benches at every hole!
-The first 2 holes start by going about 35 degrees uphill and are tightly woven through trees. After that the course levels off, and will take you winding back into the hills of Conifer, gaining and losing elevation as you go.
-Hole 3 is reminiscent of a flat hole 2
-Hole 4 is a fairly open shot which is open to many throws.
-Hole 5 is a long downhill bomb with multiple tee boxes. The longer tee box adds a tight gap as well as almost 100 feet.
-Hole 6 is a tight straight shot.
-Hole 7 is a very short finesse shot with the basket on a hillside. A quality shot without a roll will leave you with an easy birdie.
-Hole 8 requires a mini-hike to get to, and is one of my favorite shots on the course. It is a very technical hole where the tee box is crowded with trees, yet a perfect s-curve line, as well as anhyzer line are visible. The line is extremely tight, and the basket is out in the open on a hillside.
-Hole 9 is a slight uphill with a fairly open fairway, as long as your disc stays low.
-Hole 10 is another medium length straight shot through a large stand of tight trees. There is a long dropoff after the hole!
- Hole 11 is a challenging hole, and is the most susceptible to rolls on the course. It is fairly straight shot which allows for almost any type of throw. The basket is a bit downhill, and the entire fairway is on a very steep slant which points away from the basket. There are minimal trees, however they all seem to be right where you want to throw your disc.
-Hole 12 is a straight shot, requiring accuracy through a stand of trees
-Hoe 13 is a classic straight-to-right dog leg. The hole is fairly long, has a mandatory tree, and is a fairway cut out of a stand of trees. Your line is easily visible... hitting it is the hard part. There are 2 pin placements, one of which resides on top of a very steep, large, "ant-hill", making almost any roll around the pin bad.
-Hole 14 is a short and straight hole with a slight bit of anhyzer. This is a fun hole, requiring precision through the stand of trees.
-Hole 15 is one of the more open holes on the course. While there are a few trees - a low straight shot will get you there.
-Hole 16 is a long hole with a double mando gap through some trees. The pin resides in a tight stand of aspens 300-350 feet out.
- My favorite hole is number 17 in which there are always two pin placements. 17 requires a monster shot across a gigantic valley which loses and gains around 100 feet in elevation. The first pin is moved between 4 spots, while the second pin is always in the longest position.
-Hole 18 is an uphill shot with minimal obstacles, but large consequences for a shot that dives right.
-Hole 19 is a shot which allows all throws. There are many obstacles, yet also many lines to choose.
-Hole 20 is a hole where you lose large amounts of elevation. It is a hole which goes about 300 feet, and drops 50-70 feet. Be careful of rolls here!! It's easy to get near the pin, but hard to keep your disc there. The fairway is fairly open, but the pin is stashed in some trees.