The golf courses at Black Hawk Golf Course offer 36-holes of beautiful, championship golf that provide a fair but challenging test of golf for players of all levels. The courses are designed to be player-friendly while still offering a good challenge to the lower handicap players.

The layout of both courses cover less than 6,300-yards from the tips placing far less of a premium on driving distance than on placement and accuracy. In fact, the longest par four in both courses is a mere 419-yards, so it's safe to say that the long-hitter had better be extremely accurate if he wants to hit the driver at Black hawk.

While the courses are not particularly long, they present respectable 67.7 and 68.6 course ratings, which means that they offer a solid challenge, but it's definitely not length off the tee. The ample and forgiving fairways are lined with stately oak trees and hardwoods which provide a beautiful natural border, but they rarely encroach on the playing areas enough to cause too much concern. And the water hazards are not severe enough to cause you trouble.

So, where does the challenge really come from? It's the greens! While the entire golf course is always in immaculate condition and the grooming and fine details are constantly attended to, it's the greens at Black Hawk Golf Course that deserve the most attention.

Averaging a mere 4,000 square-feet, these thumbnail-sized greens place a huge premium on accuracy with your irons. So, the shorter the iron for your approach, the better off you're going to be. It stands to reason, then, that the greens dictate your decision-making all the way back on the teeing area. How much do you want to bite off to give yourself the shortest iron into these tiny greens?

Not only are the greens small, but there is seldom anything along the lines of defining characteristic to them, setting them apart from the rest of the course. Often, because there is no elevation difference between green and fairway, or there are no bunkers outlining the fronts of these greens, it's difficult to be sure where fairway ends and green begins, offering a huge challenge when it comes to distance control.

Once you reach the green, the fun and true joy of playing Black Hawk reveals itself. The greenskeeping staff pride themselves on keeping these greens in excellent condition year-round. That means they're always consistent. A goal we continually strive for.

In fact, the greens at Black Hawk golf course are consistently ranked at the top among courses in the Tri-State area. Their speed and consistency give those fortunate enough to putt them, a sense of what it's like to putt on the PGA tour!

Combine the small, fast greens with the relatively short length on some of the par fours and fives, and you end up with quite a few risk/reward situations. On the first nine, there are two par fours (four and eight) that measure less than 300-yards from the back tees. There's not a lot to these holes, so why not blast away from the tee to see if you can reach?

Well, that's the risk/reward question you'll face several times on either of these two 18's. The risk, the longer you hit it sideways, the more likely you are to be in the deep rough or end up facing those hardwood trees up close and personal. The reward for a great shot: eagle opportunities on several holes.

Two places where eagle is almost out of the question are the signature holes on the first and second courses. On the first 18, the par-three, number 15 poses some difficult challenges. First of all, the hole can measure up to 210-yards from the back tees. Add to that the line of mature oak trees down the left side of the approach and you're looking at a situation where you have to be able to work the ball right-to-left, or face hitting to the wide side of the green and hoping for a two-putt on this severely back-to-front sloping green.

On the second 18, the signature hole is the par four, number five. Measuring a solid 415-yards from the middle tees, this hole's challenges begin and end on the fairway. The fairway slopes severely from left to right, so if you're a slicer, you're looking at an extreme challenge keeping the ball on the fairway. If you do reach the fairway, you are faced with a completely blind shot to the green where club-choice can determine whether you get a chance to putt this beautiful green for birdie, or if you get another opportunity to challenge your short game.

Whatever hole you're on, you can be sure that it will be perfectly manicured by the Black Hawk Staff who have an intense eye for detail and an extreme sense of pride when it comes to course conditioning. Rest assured that the greens will always run fast and true and the course conditions will rival conditions at the area's finer private courses year-round.