Category: Goodyear

The Buzz: The Palms is the championship course, which was created by renowned architect Arthur Hills on land that formerly supported cotton fields. Built in 1993, it spreads out in open, traditional fashion, but with desert landscape, over palm tree-lined fairways that vary from hilly to flat and well-bunkered greens. There are minimal carries and the desert transition areas aren’t particularly severe. It plays to par 72 with four sets of tees, ranging from 5,300 to 7,015 yards, and is rated at 73.3 with a slope of 131 from the back tees. If you’ve played the Palms course before, one thing you’ll find different is the two nines were reversed early in 2010. This change means the signature hole, and the only one with water, is the 18th, making it one of the best finishing holes in the Valley of the Sun. The 545-yard par 5 features a large lake that runs along the left side, then wraps around the back of a green that is well-guarded by bunkers. It plays into a prevailing wind with a mountain backdrop in the distance and demands precise approach shots because the fairway narrows as it nears the hole.

Perhaps the most memorable hole on the new front nine is No. 7, a par 3 that plays at 185 yards from the tips to a long, narrow, elevated green, with a wash crossing in front and wrapping down the left side, made even more daunting by a prevailing right-to-left wind. There also is a deep bunker on the right, and if you come up short with your tee shot, it’s a tough up-and-down from below the green. Shockingly, this is the No. 18 handicap hole. Something else returning golfers will notice, and appreciate, is that the course was overseeded wall-to-wall in the fall of 2010, resulting in the best winter-spring conditions the Palms Course has presented in several years.

Palm Valley Golf Club was hosting avid players long before professional sports stadiums dotted the landscape on the western side of the Phoenix metro area. Palm Valley, a master-planned community that began development in 1987, added golf courses in 1993 and ’99. The golf complex offers two complementary courses, playability for all skill levels, affordability and nice facilities, including a recently remodeled clubhouse. That latest project included converting the pro shop to a Callaway Signature Shop and converted the Fairway Grille into a virtual sports bar with wide-screen TVs and patio seating on the Waterfront Pavilion facing the club’s signature hole.

Palm Valley is now right in the thick of things, drawing those who attend Arizona Cardinals NFL games at University of Phoenix Stadium, Phoenix Coyotes NHL games at Jobing.com Arena and MLB spring training games at Goodyear Ballpark and Camelback Ranch. In fact, it’s common to see baseball players from the Reds, Indians, Dodgers and White Sox organizations teeing it up at Palm Valley. The facility also is known for the quality of its junior golf programs, and it offers a loyalty card, called the Palms Card, with substantial discounts on green fees and merchandise.

The Buzz: Hale Irwin designed this “power executive” layout with five lakes, although water only comes into play on four holes and only then if your errant shots are far off line. It plays to par 62 and has eight par-4 holes, with six of them longer than 400 yards, which means you get to hit drivers more often than executive courses typically afford. The idea for this course, which opened in 1999, was to provide a quality alternative to the Palms Course and one that could be played in less time. Irwin delivered on that demand. It has four sets of tees, ranging from 3,199 to 4,745 yards, and is rated at 61.8 with a slope of 95 from the back tees. The length makes it player friendly, but Hale, who is one of the most prominent USGA champions ever, didn’t make it a pushover. He built the challenge into the greens, which can best be described as three-putts waiting to happen. They are tiered, quick, severely undulating and sometimes tough to read, making pin location crucial and placing a premium on approach shots. If you walk off this course without a three-putt, you have reason to celebrate.

Among the best holes are the seventh and ninth. No. 7, a par 4, is the longest hole on the course at 432 yards from the tips and is a slight dogleg left with a horseshoe-shaped bunker surrounding the back of the green, which saves “air-mailed” approach shots from reaching a water hazard. The par-3 ninth, at 182 yards from the back tee, might be the signature hole. It is a scenic spot that features a water hazard running along the left side and bunkers left of, and behind, a very undulating green. If your time is limited, but you still want a challenge instead of a pitch-and-putt, put this one on your short list.

Palm Valley Golf Club was hosting avid players long before professional sports stadiums dotted the landscape on the western side of the Phoenix metro area. Palm Valley, a master-planned community that began development in 1987, added golf courses in 1993 and ’99. The golf complex offers two complementary courses, playability for all skill levels, affordability and nice facilities, including a recently remodeled clubhouse. That latest project included converting the pro shop to a Callaway Signature Shop and converted the Fairway Grille into a virtual sports bar with wide-screen TVs and patio seating on the Waterfront Pavilion facing the club’s signature hole.

Palm Valley is now right in the thick of things, drawing those who attend Arizona Cardinals NFL games at University of Phoenix Stadium, Phoenix Coyotes NHL games at Jobing.com Arena and MLB spring training games at Goodyear Ballpark and Camelback Ranch. In fact, it’s common to see baseball players from the Reds, Indians, Dodgers and White Sox organizations teeing it up at Palm Valley. The facility also is known for the quality of its junior golf programs, and it offers a loyalty card, called the Palms Card, with substantial discounts on green fees and merchandise.

The Buzz: Formerly called Estrella Mountain Ranch Golf Club, this is the first solo design effort of Jack Nicklaus II in Arizona and it’s safe to say that he put his best Footjoy forward. The younger Nicklaus started with the idea of creating the first course in the West Valley that rivaled north Scottsdale’s high-end layouts.

This is a true desert course with generous fairways, many target-style greens and elevated tees that provide stunning views of the area’s natural beauty. This land, once used for cotton farming and later owned by Goodyear Rubber, is a natural and diverse wonder with mountains, giant saguaros and 220 acres of gulches, arroyos and native vegetation. Fairways roll across natural contours, blending perfectly with their environs amidst the picturesque Sierra Estrella Mountains. The public, daily-fee course opened in 1999 and immediately began receiving awards and accolades, including 4 ½ stars from Golf Digest’s “Best Places to Play.” It also has received “best” awards from Golf, Golfweek and Golf & Travel magazines.

Estrella has five sets of tees, ranging from 5,124 to 7,139 yards. It plays to par 72, and from the back tees is rated at 73 with a slope of 137. There are 80 bunkers and rugged desert transition areas that help place a premium on accuracy. Memorable holes on the front nine include the par-4 fifth, which plays at 386 yards from the tips, has a lake wrapping along the left side of the fairway and green and three bunkers along the right side, leaving a narrow approach. The ninth is a formidable par 4 at 435 yards that is nicknamed “The Island” because the main landing area is completely surrounded by rocky desert and there is a bunker/desert complex in the center of the fairway. You need to clear desert to reach the green and surrounding fairway. Estrella also has a terrific three-hole finishing stretch. No. 16, which is the No. 1 handicap hole, is a 605-yard par 5 with a left dogleg and a desert protrusion that comes into play if you try to cut the corner. Again, you need to clear desert with your approach shot to the green.

The 17th is Estrella’s signature hole, a 194-yard par 3 with postcard beauty where you need a 160-yard carry to reach grass, and there are two large bunkers guarding the left side of the green and another on the right. The finishing hole is a 437-yard par 4 with an elevated tee to a split fairway and is one of the most beautiful holes on the course. Placement down the right side will leave a shorter approach, but will bring bunkers into play. The left side offers a better angle, but more danger of your tee shot sliding off into the desert. Practice facilities include a two-tiered driving range, sweeping mountain views, all-grass tees, two putting greens and all are complimentary, creating a country club-like experience.

Estrella offers two other things that appeal to many golfers: The scorecard folds out into a yardage book with detailed diagrams of each hole and yardages clearly marked; Instead of assuming it is doing things right, Estrella asks golfers to complete a quick survey form and uses those replies to try and improve the golf experience. That’s why it continues to draw repeat customers despite being 30 miles west of downtown Phoenix.