Category: Mesa

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Central Arizona Mesa

Sunland Village East Golf Course

Arizona Golf Course List – Arizona Golf Authority Golf Course Guide

Designed by Milton Coggins, Sunland Village East, is a semi-private executive course which opened for play in 1987. The course offers a very basic golf experience with three small ponds in play on the front nine, no water on the back and little bunkering throughout.

The golf course offers two sets of tees, 3,689 and 3,270 yards, and plays at par 62 with a rating of 56.8 and slope of 80. The course is routed in an L shape with homes running along the interior and perimeter. Ten par-3 holes range from 112 to 149 yards and there are eight par 4s, with the longest being the 16th at 337 yards.

Among the better holes are the 285-yard, par-4 fourth and the 109-yard, par-3 fifth, both of which are guarded by ponds. The course is member-owned but open to the public and features some of the area’s lowest green fees. It has a driving range, putting green and the Hens and Chicks Café that is open for breakfast and lunch.

The Sunland Village East course is part of a large Mesa community for active adults with a population of more than 4,000 and some nice views of the Superstition Mountains. The community offers numerous indoor activities and the location puts it in close proximity to plenty of outdoor activities.

Visit our Arizona Golf Course Directory List and read the AZGA Player’s Review for every golf course in Arizona at www.arizonagolfauthority.com/coursedirectory.

It’s “All Things Arizona Golf” from the Arizona Golf Authority.

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Central Arizona Mesa

Sunland Village Golf Course

Arizona Golf Course List – Arizona Golf Authority Golf Course Guide

Built in 1975, this semi-private executive course was designed by Milton Coggins, Greg Nash and Jeff Hardin and is located in the active adult community of Sunland Village in Mesa. Sunland Village is a relatively simple, short layout that has lightly bunkered greens and water hazards that are largely aesthetic. One of the main benefits of that is that golf rounds can be played here in about three hours and the pricing fits most budgets.

Highlights of the front nine, which has no bunkers around the greens, are the fifth hole, a 242-yard par 4 where a lake comes into play, and the sixth, a 111-yard par 3 where the same water hazard provides a challenge.

Two of the strongest holes are the last two with the 17th being a 175-yard par 3 and the par-4 18th being the longest hole on the course at 348 yards. A pair of ponds and a few more bunkers come into play on the back nine.

Sunland Village has two sets of tees at 3,623 and 3,222 yards and plays to par 62 with a rating of 56.5 and slope of 80. The course has a driving range and three putting/chipping greens, and golfers can relax after the round at Michael’s Greenside Grill, which serves up breakfast and lunch.

Visit our Arizona Golf Course Directory List and read the AZGA Player’s Review for every golf course in Arizona at www.arizonagolfauthority.com/coursedirectory.

It’s “All Things Arizona Golf” from the Arizona Golf Authority.

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Central Arizona Mesa

Sunland Springs Village Golf Course

Arizona Golf Course List - Sunland Springs Village Golf Course - Arizona Golf Authority
Sunland Springs Village

Arizona Golf Courses – Arizona Golf Authority Golf Course Guide

Arizona Golf Course List - Sunland Springs Village Golf Course - Arizona Golf Authority
Sunland Springs Village

This 27-hole executive course, which opened in 1998, is the centerpiece of the last of many master-planned active adult communities created by Farnsworth Development in Mesa, Arizona over a period of 50 years.

Designed by Jeff Hardin, who specialized in executive and adult-community courses, it has three distinct nine-hole layouts – Four Peaks, Superstition and San Tan – played in pairs for an 18-hole loop.

San Tan is the longest and probably the most difficult of the three courses, but when played together the 18-hole combinations have similar ratings, and each has two sets of tees. The Four Peaks/Superstition combination plays at par 63 with yardages of 4,434 and 4,070 and is rated at 60.2 with a slope of 91 from the back tees.

Corresponding figures for Four Peaks/San Tan are par 64, 4,628 and 4,318 yards, 61.6 and 95 slope, and Superstition/San Tan figures are par 65, 4,732 and 4,410 yards, 61.5 and 95 slope.

As the course names imply, this layout in Mesa is situated near Four Peaks and the Superstition Mountains, which provide distant backdrops and picturesque views of many holes. This isn’t just a pitch-and-putt, evidenced by the fact that only 14 of the 27 holes are par 3s.

Of the 11 par-4 holes, only two are less than 300 yards (298 and 286). Superstition has the longest hole, a par 5 at 519 yards that has a left dogleg and bunkers along the right side of the fairway.

San Tan’s eighth hole is a 504-yard par 5, followed by its longest par 3, at 191 yards, to finish the round.

Probably the most memorable holes on the course are the back-to-back second and third on Four Peaks. No. 2 is a 317-yard par 4 with lakes guarding both sides of the green, leaving a narrow approach and the Superstition Mountains providing the backdrop. Right behind that is a 144-yard par 3, where the tee shot is over one of those lakes.

The course also has a driving range, chipping and putting greens and a snack bar. Sunland Springs Village is a 900-acre development of homes, townhouses and condominiums built for adults 55 and older, with more than 30,000 square feet of recreational amenities.

Don’t confuse Sunland Springs Village Golf Course with a few other golf courses in the area sporting similar names, specifically Sunland Village and Sunland Village East. Each is a separate and distinct Farnsworth community development also located in Mesa – they’ve been busy building in these parts for each of those 50 years.

Visit our Arizona Golf Course Directory List and read the AZGA Player’s Review for every golf course in Arizona at www.arizonagolfauthority.com/coursedirectory.

It’s “All Things Arizona Golf” from the Arizona Golf Authority.

Categories
Central Arizona Mesa

Red Mountain Ranch Country Club

Red Mountain Ranch #11 - 201-yard Par-3

Red Mountain Ranch #11 - 201-yard Par-3

The Buzz: Red Mountain Ranch is one of several private clubs in Arizona that began allowing limited public play during the recent economic recession, which came as great news to golf enthusiasts who appreciate excellent course design. Pete Dye, who only created a couple Arizona courses, is the architect of Red Mountain Ranch and it measures up to the designs for which he is highly acclaimed. Quite simply, this is a classic golf experience featuring Dye’s signature mounding and bunkers, reinforced with railroad ties and contoured greens. It sits below scenic Red Mountain and features dazzling rock formations amid Saguaros, mesquite trees and native desert landscape.

Make sure you check all the numbers on the scorecard because if you go strictly by yardage, you will be fooled. Take some advice and don’t reach for the driver on every par 4 and 5. This course has seven tee combinations and plays at just 6,653 yards from the tips, but is rated at 73 with a slope of 146. Move up one set and play it at 6,389 yards and the slope is still 144. The shortest tees are set at 4,796 yards with a rating of 66.8 and slope of 124.

The “Dye-abolical One” left ample room in the fairways but put a premium on play around the greens with difficult up-and-downs. Raised green complexes and fast, sloping putting surfaces place an emphasis on accuracy and high wedge shots that land soft. Water comes into play on six holes and there are 58 bunkers strategically placed around the greens and in primary landing areas.

While there are many excellent holes, the par 3s are truly special and memorable. No. 6 plays at 164 yards from the back tee to a peninsula green with the only opening on the right-front corner and a massive bunker wrapping around the back-left. If you take aim at a left pin, you better be on target. No. 11, at 201 yards, is visually stunning with its mountain backdrop but the tee shot is over a lake that wraps to the front, right and back of the green and large bunkers rest between the green and water. Stay left on this one. The par-3 15th also plays at 201 minus the water, but has mounding, bunkers and undulations creating a challenge typical of Dye’s designs.

The 18th is a beautiful finishing hole. The par 4 is just 354 yards, but features a dogleg right with a lake that starts about 70 yards shy of the green and wraps around the right side of a well-bunkered putting surface that is fronted by a wood-walled pond. The temptation to hit driver is great, and if you do, you better keep it left and place it in a narrow strip of fairway.

Members still receive preference here, but public golfers with flexible schedules are able to snag tee times on Internet sites at rates that are a bargain for a course of this quality. Red Mountain is home to a John Jacobs Golf School, practice facilities are excellent and country club amenities are first rate, including a fitness center, Olympic swimming pool and quality dining.

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Central Arizona Mesa

Painted Mountain Golf Resort

The Buzz: The first thing that grabs you about Painted Mountain is Red Mountain, which provides a stunning backdrop to the course and offers its own sort of light show during sunrise and sunset with colors dancing across its face. The second thing is the opening hole, a 605-yard monster with a dogleg that wraps around a large lake. But don’t fret; it gets easier. In fact, at 6,021 yards and par-70, it isn’t exactly a backbreaker. Yes, there are challenges, but length isn’t among the most prominent. There also are less than 20 bunkers, but water hazards are significant, coming into play on 10 holes, including some forced carries. Play it smart, avoid the water and plenty of birdie opportunities await. The most memorable holes on the front are the first and the eighth, a classic risk-reward par 4. It’s just 266 yards, but there is out of bounds along both sides and the green is guarded on the right by a bunker and water hazard. No. 12, a 168-yard par 3 is surrounded by water on the right and back, and features a large green that slopes toward the hazard. The par-4 14th is a gem at 375 yards with a hidden water hazard in front of the green, requiring either a mammoth tee shot or a strategic layup. Painted Mountain also offers a strong finishing hole with a 395-yard par 4 that has a water hazard running down the full right side of the green and a steep wall about 10 feet above the water’s edge. One feature that appeals to many amateur golfers is the black-and-white poles in the middle of fairways, which serve as 150-yard markers and target lines. Painted Mountain lacks a driving range but has a good short-game practice area and is home to the world-famous John Jacobs’ Golf School. The accompanying Westgate resort offers plenty of other amenities, including lodging, the Trends golf shop and fashion boutique and dining at the GrandView Steak House restaurant and lounge, which features a relaxed atmosphere and excellent views of the course and Red Mountain. A new patio tenders daily specials and happy hours, and the lounge’s “Karaoke with Bill and Twyla” is rated as one of the best karaoke experiences in the Valley of the Sun.