Category: Northern Arizona

Categories
Munds Park Northern Arizona

Pinewood Country Club

Arizona Golf Authority AZGA Golf Course Buzz: Pinewood Country Club is located in Munds Park, a resort community about 20 miles south of Flagstaff; it’s one of several private, member-owned clubs that allows limited public play these days.

Designed by Lawrence Hughes, Pinewood opened in 1958 and underwent a makeover by Arthur “Jack” Snyder in 1965. It’s a traditional, parkland-style layout with lots of Ponderosa Pine trees accenting the holes and is situated in a Valley below the 12,633’ high San Francisco Mountains that dominate the scenery in northern Arizona.

The golf course closes around Nov. 1 and re-opens around Memorial Day; the country club remains open year-round. Pinewood Country Club offers three sets of men’s tees, which play at par 72, the longest of which set at 6,618 yards with a rating of 70.2 and slope of 124. Forward tees, which measure 5,499 and 5,059 yards, play at par 73.

The course has two lakes that bring water into play on four holes. A memorable 3-hole stretch starts at the signature hole, No. 12. It’s a 506-yard par-5, a dogleg right with a hazard running along the right side, trees pinching both sides of the fairways for the last 100 yards, and an earthen dam behind the green that holds back O’Dell Lake.

Next up is the short par-4 13th, a risk-reward temptress at a modest 368 yards. The slight dogleg right requires a tee shot through a chute of pine trees where a slight fade will set up an approach over a hazard to a green with a false front, guarded by a massive bunker on the right side.

Completing this nice three-hole stretch, the 14th is a 414-yard par-4 rated the No. 2 handicap hole on the course; making par here requires two long and accurate shots.

Practice facilities here are excellent, including a large driving range, chipping and putting greens and a bunker. The clubhouse, which also dates to the late ‘50s, is home to two dining/event rooms, a restaurant and bar, and has a patio for outdoor seating.

Pinewood Country Club offers a variety of memberships, and members receive preferred tee times plus a host of amenities that include tennis courts, heated swimming pool, fitness facilities and active centers for adults and kids.

Read the Arizona Golf Course Directory AZGA Golf Course Buzz for every golf course in Arizona at www.arizonagolfauthority.com/coursedirectory/.

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

Categories
Northern Arizona Pinetop

Pinetop Lakes Country Club

The Buzz: It is billed as the little course with a big feel, and that’s what you get at this gem in the high country, where golfers from the Phoenix and Tucson areas head to tee it up during the scorching months served up by desert climate. Milt Coggins, who is a legend in Arizona golf circles, created the par-63 layout that plays at 4,558 yards from the back tees. Coggins, who died in 1994, was a longtime pro at Encanto Golf Course in Phoenix and designed more than 10 courses around the state, including the nearby White Mountain Country Club. He also was an avid hunter and fishermen, which fits perfectly with Pinetop and the surrounding area in the White Mountains.

Many executive courses are limited by size, but Coggins was given plenty of room to work with here and he capitalized on it, creating a course that doesn’t have a single bogus hole. The wooded area has enough variety to provide a good golf challenge across fairways that are mostly hilly, dogleg holes, elevated tees, medium-sized elevated greens and ponds that bring water into play on three holes. There are even a couple par 5s that allow golfers the chance to hit drivers at 480 and 512 yards.The five par-4 holes average 350 yards and par 3s range from 134 to 191.A fun four-hole stretch starts at the back nine with a 319-yard par 4. The par-3 11th plays over water at 202 yards, followed by a 153-yard par 3 and a 354-yard par 4 at 13, which doglegs its way past two huge, intimidating pine trees.

The country club provides a great family getaway because golf isn’t its only game. It also features excellent tennis facilities and a saddle club for horseback riding, and there are condos along with course and cozy cottages nearby to spend a night or a week. The area around Pinetop truly is a sportsman’s paradise offering hunting, fishing, skiing, hiking, boating, snowmobiling, camping, picnicking and vast array of wildlife that are unsurpassed in Arizona. Stunning scenery and diverse cultures mesh to create a unique experience and are celebrated throughout the year with a variety of festivals, parades, historic celebrations and Native American ceremonials. Examples are art festivals, a wild country expo, pioneer days, a sweet corn festival and an ATV outlaw trail jamboree. To Milt Coggins, this was heaven on Earth, and most visitors don’t need to ask why.

Categories
Northern Arizona Pinetop

Pinetop Country Club

Arizona Golf AZGA Buzz: Located in Pinetop, a town in the mountains of eastern Arizona, it might not be the most spectacular or prestigious private club in Arizona, but Pinetop Country Club is without question one of the state’s most delightful plays in the high country.

The property has rich history as a lumber producer that became a golf club in 1965 when eight men came together as partners, including Milt Coggins and Gray Madison, who designed the course.

They purchased 496 acres of land and opened a nine-hole course in ’65, but demand grew so quickly that they added a second nine a short two years later. The result is a layout that winds its way through pine forests with five sets of tees ranging from 5,487 to 6,514 yards. From the tips, the par-71 layout is rated at 68.7 with a slope of 119.

Those numbers suggest that there are plenty of birdie opportunities, but there also are plenty of trees and strategic hazards to turn tame-looking shots into difficult challenges. Members take great pride in maintaining and improving this course that has plenty of charm with its topography, wildlife and cool summer temperatures that make it a haven for residents of the Phoenix and Tucson areas.

Signs of its beginnings are visible around the course such as a water tank behind the fifth green and sixth tee box that was used to water cattle transported along the only access road through the area. To the keen eye, there also are remnants of the old railroad bed that used to transport lumber from the White Mountains.

Tall pines frame the first four holes on this course, which starts slowly but grabs your attention at No. 5, a 187-yard downhill par 3 that is backed by the Jackson Tank Reservoir. The reservoir, which acquires water from natural underground springs, is one of the area’s most prominent landmarks and once was the site of a large cattle operation.

The middle of the course presents its own sort of “Amen Corner” at holes 9 – 11, each sporting a water hazard materially in play. That, largely, was the work of Tucson architect Dave Dubinski, who oversaw a renovation project that expanded two lakes and added a cove at the 11th green.

The lake at No. 9, which also serves as a water hazard at 18, was enlarged and framed by a rustic, red-rock wall, adding aesthetics to the strategic value. Dubinski also upgraded the bunkering, which can clearly be seen at the 15th hole, a 175-yard par 3 with a green that is virtually surrounded by bunkers.

Pinetop Country Club finishes strong with a pair of par 4s at 411 and 430 yards that are ranked as the Nos. 4 and 2 handicap holes. Pinetop has active men’s and women’s clubs and a quaint chalet-style clubhouse, where lunch and dinner are served daily and breakfast on weekends. The private club has 400 members and offers several programs, including regular, clubhouse, intermediate and corporate memberships. Golf guests must be accompanied by members so get social and make a member a friend.

Categories
Cottonwood Northern Arizona

Pine Shadows Golf Course

AZGA Arizona Golf Buzz: This nine-hole executive is a fun little course defined by tree-lined fairways, traditional layout, nice views of the surrounding area and some pretty good bent-grass greens at the base of the Mingus Mountains near red rock country.

The course is located in Cottonwood, about 18 miles southwest of Sedona, one of Arizona’s most popular tourist areas with the main attraction being its stunning array of red sandstone formations.

Winding through the Mescal Gulch portion of the Verde Valley, it is connected to the “On The Greens” gated senior community and offers public rates among the lowest in the area. The course has three sets of tees, which play at 4,458, 4,028 and 3,432 yards for 18 holes with a rating of 33 and slope of 107 from the back tees.

The layout offers one par-5 hole, four par-4’s and four par-3’s for a nine-hole par of 33. That par-5 provides a great birdie opportunity as it plays at just 367 yards. The tee shot, however, is over the only pond on the course. Many golfers like to change tees on the two nines, which offers a different look on many holes.

And keep an eye on recent weather in the area; several streams that wind through the property add to the challenge when there has been enough precipitation to make them flow.

Pine Shadows has a driving range, putting green, short-game practice area and a snack bar attached to the clubhouse. “On The Greens” amenities include a swimming pool, exercise room, billiard room, library, tennis court and jogging path.

Categories
Northern Arizona Overgaard

Pine Meadows Country Club

Arizona Golf Authority AZGA Golf Course Buzz: Nestled in the heart of Sitgreaves National Forest atop the Mogollon Rim, Pine Meadows’ nine-hole course offers up a splendid setting and some wonderful views of the mountain terrain and Ponderosa Pine forests surrounding the Heber and Overgaard communities, a couple hours drive northeast of the Phoenix-metro area.

Designed by Arthur “Jack” Snyder, who was one of Arizona’s most prominent early course architects, it rests at an elevation of 6,000 feet and is defined by tree-lined fairways, with water in play on three holes. The course plays to par 34 with just one par-5 hole and three par 3s, and has three sets of tees at 2,639, 2,493 and 2,292 yards, with a rating of 64.3 and slope of 110 for an 18 hole-loop from the back tees.

Pine Meadows Country Club starts with one of the better holes on the course, a dogleg-left 353-yard par-4. A lake threatens the right side of the green and wraps around the front, with a large bunker guarding the left-front.

The seventh, a 298-yard par 4 is a risk-reward hole that big hitters can drive, but a tributary that serves as overflow for the lake on No. 1 wraps around the front of the green, making that shot a huge gamble, especially when water levels are up.

The eighth hole is the best of the par-3 holes at 189 yards with a tee shot that must carry over a large lake, with a large bunker guarding the right-front of the green.

Pine Meadows, which opened in 1986, has a driving range and practice green and a rustic bar, lounge and golf shop. A full-service restaurant is open for dinner on weekends.

Read the Arizona Golf Course Directory AZGA Golf Course Buzz for every golf course in Arizona at www.arizonagolfauthority.com/coursedirectory/.

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