Cougar Canyon Golf Links CLOSED 2012

Cougar Canyon Golf Links is a Semi-Private, Resort, Open to the Public 18-hole course located in Trinidad, Colorado, just northeast of downtown Trinidad off of US Highways 350/160.

The golf course opened in August 2007. The course was designed by Chris Cochran of Nicklaus Design Group.

Cougar Canyon, located in the old mining town of Trinidad, halfway between Denver and Albuquerque, breaks that mold. Chris Cochran of Nicklaus Design has crafted a peril-filled track with the Sangre de Christo Mountains as a backdrop. The formidable length from the tips is mitigated by the 6,000-foot elevation, but there's plenty of trouble here, starting with the 42 deep, black sand bunkers (a nod to the town's mining heritage). The flattish front nine yields to jacked up excitement on the back, notably at the stunning 163-yard 16th, "island green" that that sits on a 7,800-square-foot mesa.

The front nine is an open links like design that winds into a small valley before turning around and re-emerging back in the center of Cougar Canyon by the lake. The back nine follows Gray Creek Wash, a deep arroyo that leads past that famous #16 green and then back around to the lake in the center of the canyon.

The par 72, 7,669-yard course winds through valleys, mesas, and arroyos of Cougar Canyon. Four sets of tees and the high elevation (increased ball flight) allows one to pick the degree of challenge. The course has great views of the Sangre de Cristo mountains, the Spanish Peaks and Fisher's Peak. The front nine, in a true links style, the back nine follows a deep wash that creates amazing shot values.

Cougar Canyon has fewer than 40 sand bunkers. To make the course even more distinct (as if it needs it), the bunkers are filled with a lightweight, black-lava sand or silicate, which originates from Capulin, an ancient volcano about 60 miles south in New Mexico.

The course closed in 2012.