Category: Scottsdale

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Central Arizona Scottsdale

Camelback Golf Club – Padre Course

Camelback Golf Club
Camelback Golf Club

The Buzz: This is the site of the original course built in 1966 at Marriott’s first-ever resort and underwent a major overhaul under the direction of renowned architect Arthur Hills as part of a $17 million project in 2000. The result was a course that features towering eucalyptus trees, gently rolling terrain, strategic doglegs, impressive multiple bunkers, challenging water holes and scenic backdrops provided by Camelback and Mummy mountains. Played from the tips, the par-3 holes are long and longer, but Hills’ redesign had the greatest impact on the par-5 holes, which collectively are among the strongest you will find anywhere in the Phoenix metro area. The par-72 layout has five sets of tees, ranging from 5,023 to 6,903 yards, and is rated at 72.3 with a slope of 131 from the tips. Camelback’s other course, called Indian Bend, receives about the same amount of play, but this one is the signature layout and more expensive of the two.

The finishing holes on both nines are the most memorable and both are par 5s. No. 9, at 547 yards, is a slight dogleg right with a generous landing area but bunkers along the left side and if you clear them and catch the power slot, you’ll have a mid or short iron to the green. From the right side, however, it’s all carry over a lake that separates the ninth and 18th greens and the green slopes away toward bunkers on the left. No. 18 is one of the best water holes in the state. The par 5 is just 518 yards from the tips with a generous fairway that makes it a good driving hole, but then comes the challenge. The approach is to a green that has a narrow neck in front and slopes left toward a lake running down that side. An impressive waterfall and Camelback Mountain provide a picturesque backdrop to the hole. The par 3s offer a nice, and challenging, variety at 163, 198, 183 and 220 yards from the tips.

Part of the redesign included a 36,000-square-foot pueblo-styled clubhouse by renowned architect Douglas Fredrikson, which serves both courses. Along with an expansive golf shop, the Grill at Camelback Golf Club and Grill Lounge are great places to unwind after your round with their bronze and gold hues, regional dishes, floor-to-ceiling windows, patio dining and outdoor adobe-style fireplace facing that lake and waterfall area. Public golf accounts for the majority of play on the two courses, which are not located at the Camelback Inn at JW Marriott Resort. They are about three miles away, nestled among multi-million-dollar homes, but if you are lucky enough to stay in one of the resort’s spacious casitas, be prepared for some serious pampering.

It is one of Arizona’s oldest and most charming resorts and its spa is world class. Resort guests have included Clark Gable, Jimmy Stewart, Bette Davis, Oprah Winfrey, Tom Selleck and Cindy Crawford. Built on 125 acres in the mid-1930s, it features latilla-beamed (peeled-log) buildings and grounds graced with stunning cacti and desert flowers. Visit the spa for a “para-joba” body wrap and an adobe-mud purification treatment, or enjoy the resort’s three swimming pools, six tennis courts and fitness center.

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Carefree Central Arizona Scottsdale

Boulders Golf Club – South Course

The beautiful hole #5 among the rocky boulders on the South Course of The Boulders in Scottsdale, Arizona
Hole #5 on Boulders - South Course

Arizona Golf Courses – Boulders Golf Club South Course

If you have to play one but not the other course at The Boulders, then the South better be your No. 1 choice. Spectacular beyond belief with magical million-year-old boulders — and loaded with signature holes – the South Course is full of the Kodak eye-candy you ogle in national golf magazines. There is one catch to playing The Boulders, however: You must stay at the world-class resort on the outskirts of Carefree (15 minute from Scottsdale) to get a tee time in peak season. Not necessarily a bad thing, considering The Boulders has earned a mountain of rewards ever since the first nine holes opened in 1969.

The beautiful hole #5 among the rocky boulders on the South Course of The Boulders in Scottsdale, Arizona
Hole #5 at The Boulders – South Course

Red Lawrence built the original nine and Phoenix architect Jack Snyder completed the first 18 a few years later. In 1984 Jay Morrish added 10 more holes as The Boulders played to three distinct nines up until 1992. That’s when Morrish returned to add the other eight holes, which were ultimately scrambled into the North and the South.

For some reason, the more fantastic offerings like the par-5 fifth hole, that gives you a choice between two fairways that lead to an incredible green setting snuggled into the rocks, as well as the par-3 seventh hole, where a seven-story-high boulder called “Rosie’’ awaits, turned up on the South Course. Even Morrish, a very honest gent who has since retired, was puzzled by the difference.

“As it turned out, I really like the South Course much more than the North,’’ he said. “I did those opening five holes, and the majority of the 18 on the South. Unfortunately, it’s kind of strung out and doesn’t tie together that well. But if you look at each hole individually, they’re pretty darn good.’’

Nobody at the club argues, nor do advertising production companies that seem to film TV commercial after TV commercial on the South. For convenience sake, the club reserves one course for the membership and the other course for resort play daily.

The Arizona Golf Authority AZGA “Local Hang” for the North and South Courses, following a libation on any of several Boulders patios, includes both the simple cowboy cheeseburgers and cold long-necks at Harold’s as well as the finest in fine-Foodie-dining at Binkley’s, both just up the road a piece in the Cave Creek – Carefree locale.

Click Boulders North Course to visit our Arizona Golf Course Directory List and read the AZGA Player’s Review for every golf course in Arizona.

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

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Carefree Central Arizona Scottsdale

Boulders Golf Club – North Course

Arizona Golf Courses – Boulders Golf Club North Course

Most people love staying at The Boulders as much as playing the two golf courses, which is why Andrew Harper’s Hideaway Report, known as the connoisseur’s guide to “peaceful and unspoiled places,’’ once gave it the No. 1 nod in the world for 12 years running. It’s also why The Boulders was named by the Arts and Entertainment Network as one of the top romantic get-aways in the world.

Cool stuff for a golf course! Or should we say courses. A 36-hole day is always a good idea and we think you’ll find the North quite entertaining, even if it’s a bit more inundated with houses and offers a few fewer Kodak scenery moments than the South.

Low clouds over the #16 hole on The Boulder’s North Course in Carefree, Arizona
Hole #16 on the North Course at The Boulders

Certainly the North is more traditional and tight, with white stakes seemingly everywhere along the residence-lined fairways. The heart of the North starts at No. 10, where it reels off three demanding doglegs in a row. If there is a signature hole, it comes at the end of that run, as the par-3 14th is a dicey long iron over water to a tricky green. The course closes out with another strong, dogleg par 4 at the 18th, where water and sand once again complicate matters.

Surprisingly, and somewhat contrary to what Morrish and most visitors say, the club’s members enjoy both courses somewhat equally, which is why they are switched back and forth on a daily basis. Oh, yes, and one more thing to relish about The Boulders is its world-renown Golden Door Spa. Ahhhh – perfect after 36 holes of golf!

The Arizona Golf Authority AZGA “Local Hang” for the North and South Courses, following a libation on any of several Boulders patios, includes both the simple cowboy cheeseburgers and cold long-necks at Harold’s as well as the finest in fine-Foodie-dining at Binkley’s, both just up the road a piece in the Cave Creek – Carefree locale.

Click Boulders South Course to visit our Arizona Golf Course Directory List and read the AZGA Player’s Review for every golf course in Arizona.

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

Categories
Central Arizona Scottsdale

Ancala Country Club

The Buzz: Nestled in the rugged foothills of the scenic McDowell Mountains, Ancala Country Club is graced by the natural beauty of the Sonoran Desert and presents a well-conditioned target-style layout with plenty of challenges and amenities befitting an upscale private club. The par-72 layout has five sets of tees, ranging from 4,344 to 6,815 yards and is an excellent test of length, precision, shot-making and strategy with desert ravines that crisscross fairways and a large lake running the full length of two holes.

Over the years, there has been a series of misinformation about the course that has been misleading. For example, depending on which web site you access, the slope from the back tees will range from 152 down to 139. Ancala’s own score card puts it at 145 with a handicap rating of 73.5. One thing to keep in mind here is that when slope climbs above 135, it’s a layout with plenty of teeth and every review agrees on that one.

Various sites also say that it stretches to 7,000 yards (not really) and list the legendary Pete Dye as the designer. It actually was designed by Dye’s son, Perry, who works with his father, and is a well established golf course architect who has probably done his most impressive design work overseas. One more thing that’s a little confusing is that Ancala CC is not part of the master-planned Ancala community, which surrounds the course and is comprised of 542 high-end custom-designed homes. In fact, the community’s web site cautions its homeowners against using the course for jogging, walking pets and other activities and points out that only members are allowed to play golf there. That said, Ancala CC offers a wide variety of equity and non-equity golf and social memberships and excellent amenities, including tennis facilities and a well-stocked wine and spirits shop.

It has several interesting holes, starting with the sixth, an uphill par 4 at 356 yards from the back tees that features dramatic mounding along the right side of the landing area and a long bunker protecting the left side. Another large bunker protects the left side of an undulating green with a false front. The 15th is a drivable par 4 at 304 yards but demands a well-placed tee shot. The green is protected by a bunker on the right side about 30 yards short of the putting surface and a pot bunker on the left. No. 18 is an excellent par 4 and the No. 2 handicap hole at 453 yards. The green is protected by a bunker on the left side and a water hazard and waste bunker on the right, which will help your approach shot from getting wet, but presents a difficult up-and-down. The green is one of the largest and most undulating on the course. Ancala, which opened in 1991, also has received certification in environmental planning from the Audubon Cooperative Sanctuary Program for Golf Courses as a result of its conservation and wildlife enhancement programs.