Residential courses tend to be like the golf communities they inhabit relaxed conventional and uncontroversial 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 which demands a short iron dart over a yawning swath of Gray Creek to an island green that rests atop a 7,800 square foot mesa