The Buzz: This public course, which opened in 2000, serves as the centerpiece of Rancho del Lago, a master-planned adult community located about 20 miles from downtown Tucson off Interstate 10. The course was designed by Nugent Golf Associates and boasts elevation changes of 120 feet. Del Lago winds its way through the hills and valleys of the high desert, with excellent and unique views of the Rincon and Santa Catalina Mountains. Nine lakes come into play on seven holes, strong bunkering around the undulating tiff-eagle greens adds to the challenge and, from the tips it is a handful at 7,206 yards with a rating of 73.3 and slope of 142. There are five sets of tees on the par-72 layout, with the front tees playing at 5,044 yards.
Southern Arizona golfers appreciate the natural beauty of the course, not to mention its elevation of 3,400 feet, which makes it considerably cooler than Tucson during the summer, and at affordable green fees. The first hole plays at the highest point on the course, which then dips down into a Valley and runs along the Pantano Wash on the back nine. Unlike many desert courses, Del Lago also has a links feel to it, with wide sweeping fairways that drift into surrounding valleys, leading to oversized greens where bump-and-run shots are in order. There is nice variety in this layout, which requires shot-making with many different clubs. Right behind that scenic and intimidating first hole is an excellent par 3 at 203 yards to an elevated green guarded by a pot bunker on the left side and a cluster of bunkers on the right. The back nine builds to a strong finish, starting with the 13th hole, a 198-yard downhill par 3 over water. No. 17 is a risk-reward par 5 at 510 yards from an elevated tee that is reachable in two shots, but only if they are well placed because a wash cuts through the fairway on an angle. No. 18 is a 421-yard par 4 with two lakes. You need to clear the first one off the tee and the second bisects the fairway about 50 yards from the green and wraps around its right side.
The clubhouse has a full-service restaurant, Hacienda del Lago, which serves breakfast, lunch and dinner. An expansive practice facility includes a 12,000-square-foot practice green. Along with scenic mountain views, golfers here are treated to wildlife sightings with rabbits, prairie dogs, ducks and roadrunners among the desert dwellers. Vail is a small community of about 2,500 people in an area named after pioneer rancher Edward Vail, originally served as a water stop for Southern Pacific Railroad and is known for the nearby Colossal Cave, Rincon Mountain District and Saguaro National Park.
If you have the time, Colossal Cave is worth a visit. It is a cave system with 3.5 miles of mapped passageways, where the temperatures stay around 70 degrees year-round and was discovered by hotel owner Soloman Lick in 1879 when he was looking for lost cattle. From 900 to 1450 AD, it was occupied by the Hohokams, Sobaipuri and Apaches, and later became a source of guano, a type of odorless manure used to make fertilizer and gunpowder.