Murphy Creek Golf Course

Murphy Creek is Aurora's flagship muni, a 2000 Ken Kavanaugh design that plays 7,456 yards from the championship tees with a 74.7 rating and a brawny 140 slope, legitimately the toughest public course in Denver on its day. Kavanaugh worked the high-plains terrain into a links-influenced routing that exposes the wind and eliminates the easy bailouts; mature native grasses flank the corridors and the green complexes reward committed approach shots rather than the flop-shot short-game crowd. The signature stretch runs through two par-3s: the 3rd plays demanding over water, and the 14th is the postcard hole, a serene pond-carry to a tucked green. Murphy Creek was ranked among Golf Digest's America's Top 10 Best New Courses for 2002, voted #3 Best Public Course in Colorado Golfer, and crowned #1 Toughest Public Course in that same publication. For the Denver trip visitor who wants real Colorado wind-exposed golf at muni pricing, Murphy Creek is the anchor round.