Arizona Golf Authority AZGA Golf Course Buzz: When it comes to golf in Duncan, Arizona, Greenlee Country Club is the only game in town. With a population of less than 1,000, Duncan is located in Greenlee County near the southeast corner of Arizona, where the Gila River crosses the Arizona-New Mexico state border. Technically, the town lies on both sides of the river, although it is primarily located south of the Gila. Duncan was founded in the mid 19th century as land added to the United States through the Mexican Cession.
Greenlee Country Club, a public course built in 1950, has few frills and is a nine-hole layout that plays at 3,226 yards with about 25 bunkers. For 18 holes, it is rated at 68.1 with a slope of 110. The par 5s, which are the fifth and seventh, play at 474 and 556 yards and the two par 3s are set at 136 and 167. A lake guards the green on No. 5 and is the only water in play on the course. The first hole, at 454 yards, is the longest par 4, and the finishing par 4 plays at 397.
Amenities include a bar, snack shop, driving range and putting and chipping greens. After your round, it is worth taking some time to explore this region. Duncan lies in a popular outdoor recreation area that is well known for the Native American artifacts left behind by Anasazi and other pre-historic cultures.
The little town has suffered greatly during its history, being destroyed twice by floods and once by fire. Its most famous resident is former U.S. Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O’Connor, who grew up on the Lazy B Ranch and wrote a book about her experiences there.
Read the Arizona Golf Authority AZGA Golf Course Buzz for every golf course in Arizona at www.arizonagolfauthority.com/coursedirectory/; it’s the complete Arizona golf course directory.
Arizona Golf Authority AZGA Golf Course Buzz: To many locals, Paradise Valley Country Club represents the ultimate country club experience in the Scottsdale – Phoenix locale. Located in the affluent Phoenix suburb of Paradise Valley, PV Country Club, as it’s referred to by locals, has long has attracted the state’s rich and famous.
Paradise Valley Country Club
The club’s exacting membership requirements produce a long waiting list of prospective members, a very rare situation these days in the country club world. One former director of golf at the club probably described it best many years ago when he said, “It’s a bit of a contradiction; being so low-key and high-profile, all in the same breath.”
To a large degree, the club tends to its own business, but has hosted several state championship events, including the Arizona Amateur, whose champions include long-time PGA tour pro Tom Purtzer.
The club was formed in 1953 and Lawrence Hughes did the honors as course architect, with input from former tour pro Johnny Bulla, who remains an Arizona golf legend, and Keith Foster, whose specialty was bunkering.
The layout has undergone two renovations over the years under the direction of Geoffrey Cornish and Gary Panks, and course conditions are always immaculate. In the case of Paradise Valley Country Club, immaculate means manicuring the golf course with scissors – that statement is eye-witness testimony. The setting is picturesque with the 180-acre club surrounded by Camelback Mountain, Mummy Mountain and Marshmallow Hill.
Water isn’t a prominent factor on the course, but it isn’t needed on this layout featuring elevated greens, gently rolling fairways and strategic bunkering. The premium is placed on accuracy over length here. Four sets of tees are provided at Paradise Valley CC, stretching to 6,819 yards, with a rating of 72.8 and slope of 133 from the tips. The front tees play at 5,546 yards. The strength of the course is the par-3 holes, highlighted by the 12th, which plays at 191 yards to a postage-stamp size green.
The par-5s serve up enticing birdie opportunities, with the longest playing at 529 yards, but those birds can be quite elusive when it comes to capturing one on your card. The 15th, which plays at just 517 yards and downhill, might be the toughest to bag due to its distracting beauty, resting just below the metro-area’s distinctive landmark Camelback Mountain. The par-4s are difficult and dramatic, particularly at the picturesque three-hole stretch which finishes the front-9.
As you might guess, amenities at this club are elegant and extensive, including formal and casual dining, a cocktail lounge, hair salon, barber, swimming pool, grand ballroom, car wash and detailing service, tennis courts and fitness center. Golf and social memberships are offered and prospective members must be sponsored by existing members.
Paradise Valley rests comfortable atop the ladder of traditional country club experiences, and if you’re fortunate enough to land an invitation, graciously accept – then show up, shut up and keep up. You’ll be glad you did.
Arizona Golf Authority AZGA “Local Hang” for Paradise Valley Country Club includes Z’Tejas, located just north of the club on the northeast corner of Tatum Boulevard and Shea Boulevard, and Ernie’s Inn, located in the retail center on the southeast corner of Scottsdale Road and Shea Boulevard.
Read the Arizona Golf Authority AZGA Golf Course Buzz for every golf course in the State of Arizona at www.arizonagolfauthority.com/coursedirectory/ ; it’s the complete Arizona golf course directory.
Troon Country Club - #15 "Troon Mountain" 139-Yard Par 3
Arizona Golf Authority AZGA Golf Course Buzz: Troon Country Club is considered by many to be the finest golf course in Scottsdale’s stable of premiere golf offerings. As you make your way around Troon Country Club and ponder the accolades it has received, it might surprise you to know that it was the first design effort of former PGA Tour pro Tom Weiskopf and only the second for his former partner Jay Morrish, who had left Jack Nicklaus’ design team one year before the Troon project appeared.
Troon Country Club - #15 "Troon Mountain" 139-Yard Par 3
Before they went solo, Morrish and Weiskopf teamed up on 28 course designs, most of which have received rave reviews. That comes as no surprise considering Troon Country Club, their maiden voyage in Scottsdale, was named by Golf Digest as the best new private course in America for 1986.
The duo admittedly had a quality North Scottsdale canvas on which to create their masterpiece with a plot of land at 2,400 feet surrounded by the McDowell Mountains and Sonoran Desert, massive boulder formations, jagged rock outcroppings, and striking views of Pinnacle Peak, Troon Mountain and the Phoenix metro skyline.
Troon Country Club was purchased by its members in 1995 and remains financially sound. In Golf World magazine’s “reader’s choice awards,” it was named one of the top 50 private clubs in the country. It also was named “Best in State” by Golf Digest in 2007-08 and has been named “Best Private Club” in Arizona by Scottsdale Magazine.
Troon has six sets of tees and can be one tough nut if played from the tips, which are set at 7,041 yards with a rating of 73.9 and slope of 146; the Club frequently hosts serious tournament competition, including the Southwest Section of the PGA’s Championship.
Troon is a desert layout with gently rolling fairways that provide ample room, but the transition areas are rugged and can be penalizing for golfers who miss the short grass. Drivable par-4 holes are a Weiskopf trademark and this course has an excellent one with the fourth playing at 296 yards from the tips. What makes it a little different is that there are no bunkers or water in play, but the desert is a prominent hazard lurking for those who choose to gamble.
Troon Country Club - #14 "The Cliff" 440-Yard Par 4
The back nine, overall, is the stronger of the two, highlighted by a three-hole stretch starting at No. 14, a 440-yard par 4, named “The Cliff”. The fairway ends at the edge of a cliff some 275 yards from the tee. The deep and narrow green complex beckons from the valley below and is severely bunkered everywhere but in front of the green, that’s wide open, and due to the elevation change, the second shot plays about 15 yards short of the actual yardage. The dilemma here here is all about the tee ball; the tendency is to lay well back from the edge of the cliff, but for the most comfortable second shot, you need to knock it far enough up the fairway so you can see the green below. But no matter where you hit it at the 14th, the spectacular scenery wins the hole every time.
The 15th is named “Troon Mountain”, a 139-yard par 3 featuring a tee shot over a canyon to a deep and severely sloping green guarded by seven bunkers. The green is contoured into 3 distinct tiers and a shoulder-mound encroaches from the left side. When the pin is back-left, a 2-putt par from the middle of the green is the only sane play.
Troon Country Club - #16 "Gunsight" 347-Yard Par 4
To many, the signature hole is the 16th, a 347-yard downhill par 4. It is called “Gunsight” because the tee shot target line requires you to hit the cross-hairs and thread the tee ball between two natural rock outcropping directly in front of the tee. On your second, a long, narrow bunker guards the left side of the green. The severe swale in front of the green runs off at a sharp angle and has carried many a golf ball into the desert, left of the green complex.
Weiskopf won his British Open title at Royal Troon and was against naming the course Troon, which was the idea of developer Jerry Nelson. Turns out Jerry was right, Troon Country Club has been warmly embraced, is widely recognized and continues to stand the test of time in impressive fashion.
Amenities at Troon Country Club are first-rate elegant, including a 50,000-square-foot clubhouse that features architecture influenced by Frank Lloyd Wright and amenities that reflect attention to every detail. Among other things, members enjoy tennis, swimming, fitness facilities, a massage and wellness service and social clubs. Golf is limited to members and their guests.
(Don’t confuse the exclusive Troon Country Club with the other outfits using the name; this club is not associated with Troon Golf or their Troon North public golf course which is located a few miles north of the club).
Arizona Golf Authority AZGA Golf Course Buzz: Looking over this northeast Arizona landscape, or is it “moonscape,” you might wonder if you’re playing golf on another planet. The answer is “no, it just appears that way” as Lake Powell National is constructed on a high mesa outcropping of red sandstone that contrasts with the lush green fairways to create a surreal scene.
More difficult is figuring out how they convinced that green carpet to grow here. Turns out, it took a few sticks of dynamite and several years of nurturing to accomplish the task and the result truly is one of Arizona’s hidden golf course gems.
Lake Powell National bills itself as the “Crown Jewel” of golf in northern Arizona and that’s not just hype. Having most likely driven to this part of Arizona, one of the first things to strike you is the golf course features the only grass you’ve seen in some time, as this is where the federal government chose to build Glen Canyon Dam on the Colorado River, creating Lake Powell.
Lake Powell provides water storage for drought-plagued Arizona, but a major side benefit was creating a recreation paradise featuring 186-miles of boating waterways, with 96 major canyons and 1,960 miles of shoreline.
The golf course, designed by Tempe architect William Phillips, takes full advantage of what nature and man created here, with a golf course that opened in 1995 and has received as many as four stars from Golf Digest.
Here’s more good news: Lake Powell National is officially deemed a municipal course owned by the town of Page, which translates to reasonable green fees. The permanent population is rather sparse in these parts so you can often tee it up without even scheduling a tee time in advance.
Lake Powell National overlooks the dam, Lake Powell and Vermillion Cliffs; the course is loaded with stunning vistas and excellent, challenging golf holes. From the tips, which stretch to 7,030 yards, Lake Powell National is rated at 73.4 with a slope of 145, which means you need to pay attention to something besides the surroundings. There are four sets of tees, with the shortest playing at 3,850 yards.
The two nines are known as the Upper and Lower Mesas, with a 300-foot elevation change between them. The back-9 is the most memorable but the course starts pretty strong with a 524-yard par-5 that has a lake in play on the tee shot. The par-3 2nd demands a 203-yard tee ball that must carry water.
The views on the back-9 are captivating and the four-hole stretch starting at No. 11 is the highlight of the round. This workout begins with a 510-yard par-5, the 12th is a 394-yard par-4, then a 207-yard carry at the par-3 13th, to a green that appears to be suspended in mid-air, and finishes with the (gulp) 508-yard par-4 fourteenth.
For many players, the par-3 15th is considered the signature hole. Called “Cliffhanger,” the par-3 plays to 191 yards with a 175-foot drop to the green below and has an official looking sign warning golfers: “Caution! Cliff Edge.”
It should read “Go to your golf bag, grab all your old balls and use them here.”
Next up is the par-4 458-yard 16th called “Widowmaker” that’s framed by the Mesa of the Dead. The 17th wins the thrill-ride award; it’s a monster par-5 that rambles 641 yards down the hill and over a creek, twice!
The finishing stretch may wear you out, but that just makes the 19th hole even more inviting; the Veranda Bar & Grille offers up great fare and some incredible views, particularly at sunset.
Lake Powell National also has excellent practice facilities, including two putting greens, and offers stay-and-play packages with several nearby hotels. If you have extra time to spend in the area before or after your round, time on and around Lake Powell is worth every minute you can spare.
Arizona Golf Authority AZGA “Local Hang” for Lake Powell National is right where you are; the Veranda has you front and center for one of the finest sunset shows Mother Nature and man have produced anywhere in the world.
Arizona Golf Authority AZGA Arizona Golf Course Buzz: Sun City North is one of the oldest golf courses of the 8 golf facilities managed by Recreation Centers of Sun City, Inc. The RCSC is the private, non-profit corporation that owns and operates approximately $80 million of recreational facilities in the Sun City retirement community northwest of Phoenix.
Designed by Del Webb Corp., the course opened in 1960 and is known as a player-friendly design with relatively flat terrain, large trees and numerous dogleg holes, with two lakes bringing water into play on four holes. There are three sets of tees at 6,451, 6,154 and 5,625 yards, with a rating of 69.5 and slope of 117 from the back tees, which means there are plenty of birdies to be taken on the par-72 layout.
The challenge starts early because the second hole, a 422-yard par-4, is the No. 1 handicap hole. The course also ends strong with a par-5 at 573 yards that is the longest hole on the course and features a sweeping dogleg-left and a green heavily guarded by bunkers on three sides.
Among the highlights in between is the 12th hole, a testy little par-3 that some consider the signature hole. It plays at 170 yards and requires a tee shot over a small lake with a large bunker guarding the left side of the green.
That same lake comes into play on the 13th hole, a 523-yard par-5, rated the No. 2 handicap hole on the golf course.
Another lake comes into play on the eighth, a 406-yard par-4 with bunkers squeezing both sides of the green, and the ninth, a 368-yard par-4 dogleg-right.
Par-3 holes offer a nice variety, ranging from 143 to 210 yards. The course has a driving range, putting green and chipping area and a snack shop that serves breakfast and lunch items.
Sun City celebrated its 50th birthday in 2010 and continues going strong as one of the country’s foremost retirement communities. A large part of that success is RCSC, which operates seven recreational centers, eight golf courses with five snack shops, two bowling centers, two full-service restaurants and one amphitheater (Sun Bowl).
The five regulation and three executive golf courses span 1,100 acres and are within six miles of each other. North is a semi-private course that is open to public play but Sun City residents receive preferred tee times and rates, which are among the lowest in the metro Phoenix area.
Visit the complete Arizona Golf Authority Golf Course Directory to read the Arizona Golf Authority AZGA Golf Course Buzz about every golf course in the State of Arizona at http://s167282.gridserver.com/coursedirectory/
Here are the direct links to each of Sun City’s 8 golf courses, enjoy:
