I haven’t played a Nicklaus Design course I haven’t liked, and The Bridges was no exception.

The layout was challenging but fair, with nice landing areas and danger lurking if you strayed too far from the intended path. The greens were superb, fast and hard but playable and extremely true. I had only 28 putts in my round, and not a single one bounced offline. There is water on 14 of the 18 holes, but it only really comes into play on 4 or 5 of the holes (#9 and #17 got me).

The range was in good shape and had well groomed target greens. The practice green next to the #1 tee was very consistent with the speed on the course. The clubhouse is comfortable and the snack shack has excellent food.

The carts were nice, but did not have GPS. The course book is quite good though, and I generally prefer using the course book and my rangefinder to GPS anyway.

The best part? Everything – including range balls, cart, sandwiches and chips – was included for about $60 each. The $75 on their web site would have been a bargain, for $60 I was shocked.

It was an immensely enjoyable round. We’ll definitely be back next time we’re on the Western Slope.