Cottonwood Links Golf Club

Fowler sits in the wide-open high plains of eastern Colorado, where the Arkansas River valley cuts through shortgrass prairie and the horizon seems to stretch without limit. This is ranch country, far removed from the mountain resort courses that dominate Colorado's golf identity — and a round here carries the unhurried, straightforward character of the region itself.

Cottonwood Links Golf Club takes its name from the cottonwood trees that line the waterways of the plains, one of the few native trees that actually take hold in this semi-arid landscape. An 18-hole, par-72 layout in a town this size serves as a genuine community anchor — the kind of course where local farmers and ranchers have been teeing it up for decades, where the pace is relaxed and the welcome is easy.

Eastern Colorado golf tends to reward patience and course management over raw power. Wind is a constant factor across the open plains, turning a straightforward layout into something that demands real shot-making. If you're driving through on US-50, it's worth pulling over and playing a round.