Tamarack Golf Course: A Henry Hughes Gem on the Plains

If you're driving across the eastern plains on I-70 between Denver and the Kansas border, Tamarack Golf Course is the kind of place you almost miss. It sits a mile south of Limon on Highway 71, surrounded by ranchland and big sky, with a Lincoln County address that lists Hugo on the postal map even as the locals call it a Limon course. Either way, they have a better name for it: the Jewel of the Plains.

A Henry Hughes design from 1967

Tamarack opened in 1967 as one of the oldest nine-hole layouts in Colorado, designed by Henry Hughes. Hughes is a name worth knowing if you play golf in this state. He grew up working for his father, who built the original eighteen at the Broadmoor along with Cherry Hills Country Club and Wellshire. Henry took over as superintendent at Cherry Hills in 1934 and stayed through 1947, helping found what became the Rocky Mountain Golf Course Superintendents Association. After he left Cherry Hills he spent the next two decades designing courses across Colorado, Wyoming, Utah, Nebraska, and Texas. The Colorado Golf Hall of Fame inducted him in 1992.

By the time Hughes laid out Tamarack he had Columbine Country Club, Meadow Hills, Fort Collins Country Club, and roughly forty other courses on his ledger. Tamarack came late in his career, and the routing reflects what a designer with that much experience does when he has open prairie to work with. He keeps it simple, he uses the natural movement of the ground, and he doesn't fight the wind.

How it plays

The course is set up to play eighteen holes through two trips around the nine, with two distinct tee combinations that change the character of the second loop. The Blue/White tees stretch out to 5,973 yards at par 71, rated 67.6 with a slope of 111. The Red/Blue combination plays from 5,590 yards, also par 71, but the rating climbs to 71.1 with a slope of 126. That spread is worth pausing on. A shorter set rated harder than a longer set usually means the Red/Blue routing brings in more carries, tighter angles, or forced layups. Plan accordingly.

Pace is the other thing the numbers don't tell you. On a midweek morning in the shoulder season you can finish eighteen in under three hours. Tee sheets are rarely crowded out here, and the layout walks easily over flat prairie ground. Bring extra balls if there's wind from the north or west, because there's not much to slow it down.

What's on site

Tamarack is a true small-town public course. Walking is allowed, and most people do walk. The pro shop is on the property and stocks the basics if you need to replace a glove or pick up a sleeve. The clubhouse is modest. There's no restaurant, no full driving range, no manicured short-game area, and that's not what this course is selling. What it sells is access to a Henry Hughes design at a price that won't make you flinch, on grounds that still look like the ranchland they were built on.

The season runs roughly from mid-February through mid-October, weather permitting. Eastern Colorado gets sun nearly year-round, and the course bakes off snow faster than the Front Range. Mike Hines runs the operation as PGA Head Professional and General Manager. Call ahead at 719-775-9998 to confirm conditions and book a time, especially if you're making the drive from Denver, which runs about 90 miles east on I-70.

Worth the detour?

Tamarack isn't a course you'd build a vacation around, but it's a course worth knowing about. If you're driving through Limon, if you're playing a stretch of overlooked Colorado layouts, or if you want a Hall of Fame architect's name on your scorecard without paying resort prices, this one earns the stop. Few courses on the eastern plains have lasted nearly sixty years on the same routing. That kind of staying power tells you something about the design.

Check the full scorecard, slope and rating from every set of tees, and current course details on the Tamarack Golf Course page on Stymie before you head out.