The Buzz: In a word, “timeless” might be the one that best describes this classic course that opened in 1928 and was designed by the highly regarded architect William P. Bell. Located in the heart of Phoenix, yet secluded in a valley of craggy hillside and desert landscape, the Adobe Course at the Arizona Biltmore Resort is one of Arizona’s oldest courses and truly one of the state’s golf treasures. It sets in the shadows of Piestewa Peak, which provides distant backdrops for several holes on a course that is relatively flat but offers numerous challenges created by its strategic bunkering, mature citrus and three formidable water hazards.
Bell might be best known for his work on California’s Riviera and Bel-Air Country Clubs and that approach is reflected on several holes of Adobe, which underwent a major renovation project in 2003 under the direction of Phoenix architect Forrest Richardson, who is well-versed in Bell’s design techniques. Due to new construction on the Biltmore resort property, some holes had to be re-routed, but much of Richardson’s focus was on restoring what Bell had created, and the bunkering in particular. “The course is not only being given new life, but to me it’s being given what’s most appropriate and that is something that truly pays homage to its roots,” Richardson said after starting the project. “We’re not trying to do things that golf course architects do in 2003. We’re trying to do things that would be indicative of what was done when this course was first built.”
It is a course defined by wide fairways and classic cross bunkers that force the golfer to take the gamble of hitting over them or negotiating around them. Plenty of birdie opportunities await for golfers who think their way around this course and choose their gambles wisely.
The par-71 layout has three sets of tees at 6,478, 6,075 and 5,417 yards. There is another course at the resort, the Links Course, which opened in 1979 and wraps around the outside of the 39-acre property. A well-adorned clubhouse serves both courses and includes the Adobe Restaurant, which prepares traditional southwest cuisine that is served inside or on a veranda that overlooks an 18-hole putting green designed by David Graham and Gary Panks.
Arizona Biltmore, created by the Wrigley chewing gum family, might be the most famous resort in the state. Known as the “Jewel of the Desert,” it offers uncommon amenities and a stately hotel inspired by Frank Lloyd Wright, who consulted on its masonry, using indigenous materials that led to the creation of the “Biltmore Block,” which has the look of a freshly cut palm tree. The hotel hosted every American president during its existence up to George W. Bush, and it is the venue where Sen. John McCain made his concession speech to Barack Obama in the 2008 presidential race. Celebrities who stayed here include Fred Astaire, Irving Berlin, James Cagney, Bing Crosby, Bob Hope, Marilyn Monroe, Spencer Tracy and Steven Spielberg. Berlin, in fact, penned “White Christmas” and several other songs while sitting at the Biltmore swimming pool.
Not surprisingly, several celebrities are among the owners of the eye-catching mansions around the outer edges of the Adobe Course. Combine those elegant homes and landscape with the classic, parkland-style course design, and you might feel like you’re playing golf where time stood still. Knickers and argyle socks could be in order.