The Buzz: Located in a rich agricultural area known as the Santa Cruz Basin, Arizona City Golf Club is one that splits the difference between Arizona’s largest cities, lying 56 miles from Phoenix and 54 miles from Tucson. It is part of a master-planned community where the growth rate has been slowed by a sluggish economy but the course, which was built in 1959, is one of its mainstays.
The course was designed by Arthur “Jack” Snyder, a former caddie and superintendent at fabled Oakmont Country Club near Pittsburgh, who designed or re-designed more than 50 courses. The majority of them were built in Arizona, where he made his home, but he also created a couple gems in Hawaii at Kaanapali Golf Resort and Wailea Country Club.
His Arizona City course plays to par 72 at 6,775 yards and is known for its playability and some of the best greens in the state. It has two signature holes and, fittingly, they are the finishing holes on each nine. The ninth, which is a par-4 at 390 yards, is known by regulars as the “Goalpost Hole,” because of two large palm trees that frame the target line off the tee, and plays around a lake. No. 18 is a 530-yard par-5 with an approach to a green that features a water hazard wrapping around the right, back and left of the green. It provides for a memorable finish and many golfers head from there to the course’s popular restaurant, Duffers on the Green, which serves up plenty of fresh, homemade treats. The hand-tossed pizza, steaks and fish sandwich are particularly popular. The club also features good practice facilities, including a driving range and two putting greens.
Arizona City is unincorporated and has limited dining and shopping facilities with the two main stores being Dollar General and the locally owned Tumbleweed Market. But there are other attractions in this area that is known for cattle ranching and farming of cotton, jojoba beans, grains, vegetables and citrus. Included are several large lakes that offer swimming, boating and fishing.
Picacho Peak State Park, about 20 miles east, is the site of Arizona’s only Civil War battle, which took place in 1862, and has plenty of hiking trails, camping, picnicking and other facilities. Rock hounds enjoy the selection of agates found at the Agate Fields just to the south. Casa Grande National Monument lies about 20 miles north, and directly west is the edge of the sprawling Tohono O’odham (Papago) Indian Reservation.