Category: Southern Arizona

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Green Valley Southern Arizona Tucson

Canoa Ranch Golf Course

Arizona Golf Authority AZGA Arizona Golf Course Review: The Santa Rita Mountains, Elephant Head and the Santa Cruz River Valley provide the setting for this course, which Golf Digest named one of its “New Favorites” in 2006. With its dramatic elevation changes, this is both a challenging and scenic course created by design partners Brian Curley and Lee Schmidt of Phoenix, who are known for their innovative designs worldwide.

That becomes apparent early in the round with an imposing rock wall that stands majestically beside the second fairway, producing the first of the “wows” you probably will utter during your round. Several more will be prompted by views of Elephant Head, which has an intriguing history.

This mountain summit, which offers excellent hiking and biking, climbs to 5,607 feet and has had many names, most of which came from Indian tribes.  According to legend, it might have been a site of holy sacrifices or violent death, where Indians killed tribal enemies by throwing them off the peak.  From certain angles, the head of an elephant on the face of the monolith is easy to see, with head held high and the trunk curling downward on the backside of the formation.

“I’ve seen the elephant” was a popular expression by emigrants crossing the plains during the California Gold Rush area and was used as an indication of the progress of their journey in both directions. Now, it is used by golfers who tee it up on this course, which is part of the Wyndham Green Valley Ranch Resort and plays to par 70 at 6,552 yards from the back tees.

As scenic as the front nine is, it gets better after you make the turn. Among the more memorable holes is the 11th, a beast of a par-5 at 577 yards that plays downhill to a green set on a ridge about 40 feet below the fairway. Next up is one of the state’s tougher par-3s that plays at 230 yards with a forced carry across a gully, up a mountainside and often into a prevailing wind. The elevated tees, particularly at 13 and 16, offer stunning scenery. For a touch of the Old West, No. 15 features an aged wind wheel tower in the rough that is clearly visible from another elevated tee on a drivable downhill par-4. This is a course with character and some unconventional design, including its six par-3 holes.

After the round, you can whet your whistle at Grill on the Green. More golf is always a good idea and the resort has a second course called Torres Blancas, designed by golfing legend Lee Trevino, right across the street.

Expert golf instruction and most importantly, custom club fitting, is available at Canoa Ranch from Gary Blaisdell and his Blaisdell Performance Systems teaching staff. Gary has been improving player’s games and customizing their equipment for over 30 years for one very simple reason; his players improve. If your goal is playing more enjoyable golf than you do today, ask Gary to help. He’ll have you authoring those precise golf shots you’ve often seen, but now they’ll be coming off your own clubface.

Along with birding and hiking in the Madera Canyon, attractions in the area include Colossal Cave, Kartchner Caverns, Asarco Mineral Discovery and several historic Spanish missions.

Read the Arizona Golf Course List AZGA Player’s Arizona Golf Course 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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Green Valley Southern Arizona

Canoa Hills Golf Club

The Buzz: Nestled in the shallow ravines and rolling hills of the Santa Cruz River Valley, this course offers a combination of natural beauty and bentgrass greens that typically are among the best in southern Arizona. Canoa Hills, designed by Dave Bennett, plays to par-72 at 6,610 yards along contoured fairways with generous landing areas, which make it very playable for the average golfer.

After a straightaway, par-4 starting hole, Canoa Hills quickly gets interesting with another par-4, considered one of the better golf holes in southern Arizona. The 375-yarder is a risk-reward hole with an elevated tee to an ample lay-up area, which leaves a mid-iron shot into a green that slopes away and is well-guarded by bunkers. Hitting a driver off the tee leaves a much-easier short iron shot to the green but the tee shot is to a much narrower part of the fairway flanked by mesquite trees right and left. The front nine ends with an uphill par-4 at 362 yards, setting up a back nine that requires a variety of shots as it winds through the natural terrain with scenic mountain and valley views. Most memorable is the 15th hole, a 537-yard par-5 with a double dogleg. The course, which opened in 1984, is located about 20 miles south of Tucson near the retirement area of Green Valley, in a picturesque setting with the Santa Cruz River Valley being flanked by the Patagonia and Santa Rita mountains on the east and the Tumacacori and Sierrita mountains on the west. That combination provides an excellent setting for the 19th hole, otherwise known as Quail Grill in the Canoa Hills clubhouse. This area also is known for its birding and historic missions, including the San Xavier Mission, which is considered an excellent example of Spanish Mission architecture.

If you’re planning to spend a night or more in the area, consider The Inn at San Ignacio, which features villa rooms and condo-style luxury villa suites, along with the Coyote Grill, where the food and scenery are both first rate. Also nearby is the new Trivetti’s Piano Bar, which offers Italian and Continental cuisine, two happy hours a day (including one from 9 p.m. to close) and a large patio for outdoor dining. And if you have a taste for the bubbly, it’s well worth a visit to Sonoita Vineyards and Santa Cruz wineries to sample southern Arizona fare.

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Southern Arizona Tucson

Arizona National Golf Club

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Arizona National Golf Club – Arizona Golf Courses
Designer Robert Trent Jones Jr. is known for creating golf courses that make good use of their natural terrain and has shown respect for their historic highlights in the process. That was the case at Arizona National Golf Club, originally known as Raven at Sabino Springs, in north Tucson.

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Nestled in the foothills of the picturesque Santa Catalina Mountains and adjacent to the Coronado National Forest, Jones took full advantage of the natural flow of the terrain and designed the course around nine natural springs, intimidating craggy rock outcroppings, mesquite-lined arroyos and some of the most spectacular scenery in the Southwest.

In the midst of it all, more than 1,000 years of history are represented by an old Hohokam Indian dwelling. The green for the par-3 12th hole was built on top of that dwelling and a pond, which was created by Native Americans for their livestock, was preserved as a water hazard off to the right of the 12th tee.

arizona-national-14-desert-photograph-arizona-golf-authorityAt 6,780 yards, it isn’t exceedingly long for a championship course, but its fangs deliver a nasty bite to those who dare tease its tees. Wayward shots, literally, end up between a rock and a hard place guarded by giant saguaro cacti.

The round concludes with the spectacular, yet scary, par-5 18th hole, which plays at 513 yards with a 200-foot drop from tee to green and was voted by the Arizona Daily Star and Arizona Republic as the best finishing hole in the state.

On a clear day, you can see Mexico from the tee, but don’t let it distract you too much because there is water down the left side waiting to grab your attention. In fact, this is a course where you are well advised to think before you swing on pretty much every shot, and laying up isn’t always the best strategy.

The AZGA “Local Hang” for Arizona National is the on-site patio bar, located lakeside where you can keep watch over both the 5th and 18th holes.

Click Arizona Golf Course Reviews for the player’s review of every golf course in Arizona. It’s just a part of “All Things Arizona Golf” from the Arizona Golf Authority.

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Arizona City Southern Arizona

Arizona City Golf Club

The Buzz: Located in a rich agricultural area known as the Santa Cruz Basin, Arizona City Golf Club is one that splits the difference between Arizona’s largest cities, lying 56 miles from Phoenix and 54 miles from Tucson. It is part of a master-planned community where the growth rate has been slowed by a sluggish economy but the course, which was built in 1959, is one of its mainstays.

The course was designed by Arthur “Jack” Snyder, a former caddie and superintendent at fabled Oakmont Country Club near Pittsburgh, who designed or re-designed more than 50 courses. The majority of them were built in Arizona, where he made his home, but he also created a couple gems in Hawaii at Kaanapali Golf Resort and Wailea Country Club.

His Arizona City course plays to par 72 at 6,775 yards and is known for its playability and some of the best greens in the state. It has two signature holes and, fittingly, they are the finishing holes on each nine. The ninth, which is a par-4 at 390 yards, is known by regulars as the “Goalpost Hole,” because of two large palm trees that frame the target line off the tee, and plays around a lake. No. 18 is a 530-yard par-5 with an approach to a green that features a water hazard wrapping around the right, back and left of the green. It provides for a memorable finish and many golfers head from there to the course’s popular restaurant, Duffers on the Green, which serves up plenty of fresh, homemade treats. The hand-tossed pizza, steaks and fish sandwich are particularly popular. The club also features good practice facilities, including a driving range and two putting greens.

Arizona City is unincorporated and has limited dining and shopping facilities with the two main stores being Dollar General and the locally owned Tumbleweed Market. But there are other attractions in this area that is known for cattle ranching and farming of cotton, jojoba beans, grains, vegetables and citrus. Included are several large lakes that offer swimming, boating and fishing.

Picacho Peak State Park, about 20 miles east, is the site of Arizona’s only Civil War battle, which took place in 1862, and has plenty of hiking trails, camping, picnicking and other facilities. Rock hounds enjoy the selection of agates found at the Agate Fields just to the south. Casa Grande National Monument lies about 20 miles north, and directly west is the edge of the sprawling Tohono O’odham (Papago) Indian Reservation.

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Ajo Southern Arizona

Ajo Country Club

The Buzz: When it comes to golf, this is the only game in the town of Ajo and a true slice of Americana, with a delightful and friendly nine-hole course built on relatively flat terrain with elevated greens. The layout rests among the Ajo Mountains to the south and Childs Mountain to the West, features a natural arroyo cutting through the middle of the course and is home to several species of wildlife, including roadrunners, coyotes and deer. One of the neat features of this place is that it sets across the tarmac from the Eric Marcus Municipal Airport, which was built in 1940 by the U.S. Army.

Ajo Country Club originally served as the Officers Club for the airport and became a public course when Pima County obtained the properties in 1954 with its original members designing and building the course that has aged gracefully. Still today it is common to see pilots land their crafts here, grab their clubs and walk about 600 yards to the first tee. There are two sets of tees with the men’s playing at 3,093 yards to a par of 36, rating of 34.2 and slope of 111. Women’s par is 37 at 2,984 yards with a rating of 36.2 and slope of 117.

The signature hole is the ninth, a par 3 at 123 yards with a tee shot over water that must be placed between two towering palm trees. The longest hole is the par 5 sixth at 562 yards and is followed by another par 5 that plays to 470 from the back tee. The course has complete practice facilities with a driving range, chipping and putting greens, rentals clubs and carts, and a bar-restaurant that is popular with local residents.

Green fees are among the most reasonable in the region, as are rates at the attached RV park. Ajo CC has one other thing you won’t find at any other golf course – an annual fiddling contest each February that lasts for about a week and draws hundreds of fiddlers and spectators from around the country.