RECLAMATION SUCCESS

Carved out of an old clay quarry, Fossil Trace Golf Club is a beautiful new course at the foothills of the Rocky Mountains. Owned and operated by the City of Golden, Colorado, the course has already garnered numerous awards for design.  Fossils of palm leaves, fish, and prehistoric beasts can be seen on the quarry walls. The rock walls, especially on the cart ride between greens number 12 and 13 are replete with fossils. Well-preserved rat-sized mammal tracks were also discovered.

Fossilized palm fronds

Triceratops tracks

Triceratops tracks

 
The crane was used in the mining of clay from between the sandstone layers.

The Parfet Clay Pits, owned and operated by the Parfet family since 1877, turned out clay which was used for bricks in the construction of such notable buildings as the Colorado Governor’s Mansion in Denver and the Hall of Justice in Golden. From anywhere on the course the long-range views of the foothills and the Rockies are spectacular. The reclaimed mine with vertical limestone walls and huge rock outcroppings have been said to make players feel like they were “playing golf around and through Stonehenge.” 

The Hadrosaur Pit

Designer Jim Engh has been credited with turning negatives into positives, using imagination and creativity. By accentuating the high rock bluffs and rock monoliths with lagoons and mature cottonwoods, he has transformed the reclaimed clay quarry into one of the most beautiful courses in the country. 

Photos courtesy of Fossil Trace Golf Club, and Touring Colorado Geology.