AZGA Arizona Golf Buzz: Formerly known as Arthur Pack Golf Course, this is the only course owned by Pima County and might be the best value play in north Tucson. Designed by golf hall-of-famer Lee Trevino and David Bennett, the course sets among saguaro cacti, ironwood and mesquite trees in a wide-open area of the Sonoran Desert that is devoid of homes and other structures. It has been ranked among the “best places to play” several times by Golf Digest magazine.
The course opened in 1977 and hosted a PGA Tour qualifying event for several years as well as the Southern Arizona Open and is the home of the annual Pima County Amateur Championship. It is desert golf, but with a more traditional design and green fees well below most of its golf neighbors in this area known for upscale resort and private courses.
Crooked Tree is a user-friendly course with generous fairways and relatively flat terrain, which makes it a walkable layout. There are six sets of tees, ranging from 4,965 to 6,919 yards, and the par-72 course is rated at 72.2 with a slope of 132 from the back tees.
The first hole, a 370-yard par 4 also is one of the best on the course. It’s a dogleg right over desert with a fairway bunker on the elbow, but you can carry them with a 260-yard drive. The approach shot is over water and it plays a little longer than the yardage due to a prevailing wind. The green is protected by one bunker on the left and two on the right. Water also comes into play on the sixth, a long par 4 with a lake on the left side of a tiered green and a steep-faced bunker on the right.
Next up is a 135-yard par 3 over that same lake, followed by a snaking 550-yard par 5 with desert along both sides of the fairway and a shallow, horizontal green guarded by three steep bunkers. The ninth hole, a 400-yard par 4 concludes this memorable four-hole stretch with a mirror image of the first hole as it also has a dogleg and lake coming into play.
Among the best holes on the back nine are the par-3 13th, which plays at 175 yards over water and has a severely sloping green, and the par-4 18th at 443 yards with cross bunkers to an elevated green that is well-guarded by bunkers.
Crooked Tree has full practice facilities, including a 13,000-square-foot putting green and pitching green. The clubhouse includes the Crooked Tree Bar and Grill, full-service restaurant with beer and wine bar and free wi-fi service, and there is a comfortable flagstone patio overlooking the course.
The golf facility is located within Arthur Pack Regional Park, which spans 513 acres and includes baseball, softball and soccer fields, armadas with tables and grills, comfort facilities, a snack bar and other amenities.
The course is close to St. Philip’s Plaza, which offers dining, galleries, fashion boutiques and the Windmill Inn & Suites, a clean, comfortable hotel with reasonable rates; the colorful Tucson Botanical Gardens are also nearby.
AZGA Arizona Golf “Local Hang” for Crooked Tree includes Acacia Restaurant, The Marketplace and Pizzeria Vivace, all nearby.