The Buzz: This course accurately has been described as a “value play” with its reasonable green fee, visual appeal and design elements you will find at high-end courses around the Valley of the Sun. Besides that, it has some history, loosely tied to the infamous outlaw gang that included Jesse James.
It is the only golf course in the town of Avondale, west of metro Phoenix, and the centerpiece of a 500-plus-acre master-planned community that once was known as Coldwater, a name it took from the nearby Agua Fria River. The course features elevated tees, deep swales, cascading fairways, mountain vistas, native grasses and natural washes that meander through the property. Forrest Richardson, who is well known around Arizona and a design history buff, created this layout which is a departure from the norm, yet player friendly and considered one of the best Valley courses to play on a budget.
There are just 20 bunkers on the course and that, most assuredly, was by design. Richardson used other techniques to create challenges around the greens. “Our concept at Coldwater was to focus on the ground game,” Richardson said. “Every course can have bunkers; they are the crutch of modern course design. Instead, what we decided to do was use interesting slopes, ridges and ripples at every landing area and green.”
To accomplish that, construction crews moved more than 1.5 million cubic yards of dirt, tying it to residential lots that needed to be raised. That meant fairways had to be lowered, literally carving away the once-flat, agricultural land. The course, which opened in 1999, has four sets of tees ranging from 5,147 to 6,758 yards, with a rating of 71.3 and slope of 121 from the tips.
South Mountain and the Estella Mountain Range provide scenic backdrops on several holes, with water in play on just two holes and they are among the most memorable. The par-3 eighth plays at just 115 yards from the tips, but requires a tee shot over a lake to a three-tiered green that sets 12 feet above the water. The par-5 18th is an excellent risk-reward finishing hole at 495 yards from the back tee. It tempts you to go for the green in two shots, but a lake hugs the front and right of the green and a dry wash and three bunkers guard the left side. Most golfers think it’s worth the gamble.
Afterwards, you can relax in the Sunset Grill, which offers a very good Mexican buffet. This property has evolved from the original Coldwater stage stop, established by one Billy Moore, who was of mixed character and still is remembered annually during “Billy Moore Days” in Avondale. Moore was a member of Quantrill’s Raiders and his cohorts included Jesse James and Cole Younger, who were among the most feared outlaws of the Old West.
Moore established the Coldwater stage stop around 1880 and later became a storekeeper, postmaster, saloon keeper and justice of the peace. When it was discovered that he also was a bootlegger, he was stripped of his postmaster duties and the post office was moved to the nearby Avondale Company Ranch, from which the suburb now gets its name. Straight shooter or not, Billy probably would have enjoyed this golf territory.
