The Buzz: Designed as the centerpiece of an upscale adult community, the private Corte Bella Golf Club is a player-friendly course that has plenty of bite if you choose to tee it up from the tips and challenge its hazards. Designed by Phoenix architect Greg Nash, the desert-style layout places a premium on drive placement in the wide, but well-bunkered fairways and accurate approach shots to tightly mown Tiffeagle greens. The par-72 course has six sets of tees, ranging from 5,095 to 7,011 yards, and is rated at 72.5 with a slope of 129 from the back tees. There are no forced carries and the course presents attractive landscape with its mixture of ficus, Italian cypress, oleander and other flora.
Each nine features a memorable three-hole stretch. On the front, that starts with No. 5, which is the shortest par 5 at 546 yards, but the dogleg left is no pushover because of bunkers that guard against cutting the corner and a fairway that is bisected by desert transition. A large bunker front and left protects the green on most approach shots. Next up is a 375-yard par 4 with a narrow fairway that has a large bunker setting in the right-center in the primary landing area. The approach is to a green with a mammoth bunker wrapping the left side but room from a bump and run to the pin. No. 7, which is the No. 1 handicap hole, is a 474-yard par 4 with a sharp dogleg left. Again, bunkers guard the corner and even if you clear them off the tee, you might be looking at a long-iron approach shot.
The back-nine trio starts at No. 12, which is the shortest par 3 at 157 yards and is rated the easiest hole on the course, but is trickier than it looks. A large free-form bunker wraps around the right side of a two-tiered green and a lake runs along the entire left side of the hole. The 13th, the No. 2 handicap hole, is a 607-yard monster par 5 with a wide sweeping left dogleg. Bunkers guard the entire left side of the fairway and the left side of the green, with smaller bunkers on the right and behind the putting surface. The par-4 14th is just 367 yards, but it has a tight fairway, three huge steep-faced bunkers around the left side, a fountain-accented lake along the right side of the fairway and green plus a smaller bunker behind.
Corte Bella is a master-planned, gated community with about 1,600 homes with age restrictions. It was developed to provide a country-club lifestyle with Mediterranean-style homes, elaborate fountains, flowering courtyards, mosaics and archways. Developer Pulte Homes turned over control of the homeowners association to residents in 2007. Along with its regular memberships, the course offers seasonal memberships, which are popular with winter visitors.