Arizona Golf Authority AZGA Golf Course Buzz: Coyote Lakes Golf Club, located northwest of downtown Phoenix, has quite accurately been described as “short, but sweet.” Tipped-out yardage of just over 6,200 yards might lead you to believe it’s a pushover; you would be oh, so wrong.
Designed by Arthur Jack Snyder and Forrest Richardson in 1993, it presents an interesting layout with unusual challenges as it winds along the Agua Fria riverbed around four lakes and rolling sand dunes with sweeping views of the White Tank and Bradshaw Mountains.
It’s quite common to see coyotes roaming the course, hence its name. Coyote Lakes represents a fun experience on a course that in 2009 received four stars from Golf Digest in the magazine’s “Best Places to Play.” And if that’s not enough to draw your attention, the affordable green fees certainly will.
The golf course is built in the river bed, below the level of the surrounding properties and provides some nice elevation changes and generous fairways, placing the emphasis on the accuracy of your approach shots. The par-71 course has four sets of tees ranging from 4,708 to 6,213 yards and is rated at 69.1 with a slope of 120 from the back tees.
The front-9 is predominantly a desert layout with one lake that challenges your tee ball at the par 4 2nd, while the back-9 a lot more turf area and three lakes, bringing water into play on seven holes. The front-9 is the more difficult of the two and is highlighted by the second and sixth holes.
No. 2 is a 376-yard par 4 that requires a tee shot to a fairway sloping steeply toward water on the right side, and an approach to a shallow green guarded by a bunker on the left and trees on the right.
The sixth, a 546-yard par 5, is one of the more unusual holes you will ever see. Called “The Ridge,” it features a retaining wall, made entirely of indigenous river rock, running the full width of the fairway and plays into the prevailing headwind. The wall is 12 feet high, rests about 100 yards short of the green and can be very intimidating to those trying to reach the green in two shots.
The back nine has several memorable holes, including the 12th, which quite literally was an afterthought, according to clubhouse legend, which suggests that Snyder had only 17 holes in his original design so he shoe-horned a par 3 into the only space large enough to do so.
It appears on the card as a nonthreatening 125-yarder, and due to an elevated tee box, tends to play even shorter, which leads to tee shots flying over the green, where one of those three lakes mentioned earlier swallows them up. It’s tough to score well when you’re hitting your third from the tee; live and learn.
That little gem starts a fun three-hole stretch. No. 13 is a short par 5 at 487 yards with water along the left side and behind the green, an extremely narrow approach and a pair of bunkers adding to the challenge. Many consider No. 14 the signature hole. This par 3 at 150 yards features an elevated tee and a green guarded by two bunkers and a lake along the left side.
The course has a strong finish with a 431-yard par 4 that is the No. 2 handicap hole. The challenge is hitting a tee shot over a lake that requires 200 yards of carry to a narrow, uphill fairway with bunkers along the left side of the landing area. The second shot, still uphill, must find the deep, narrow but bunker-free putting surface.
Coyote Lakes doesn’t have a full driving range, but otherwise excellent practice facilities. Other amenities include carts with an upgraded GPS system, free Wifi service in the clubhouse, an outdoor fireplace and barbecue pit, and a free iPhone app that can be downloaded from iTunes.
The restaurant is called the Coyote Grill and serves up some tasty fare, including the Big Bertha Breakfast Burrito and the Fairway Melt, a one-third-pound burger with grilled onions and Swiss cheese on grilled rye.
Coyote Lakes’ location in Surprise makes this course a favorite of baseball spring training fans and players. With all it has to offer, including green fees well below those in other parts of the Valley, this is one of the best value plays you will find in the Phoenix metro area.
Read the Arizona Golf Course Directory AZGA Buzz for every golf course in Arizona at www.arizonagolfauthority.com/coursedirectory/; it’s “All Things Arizona Golf” from the Arizona Golf Authority.