The Buzz: Tom Lehman has achieved a great deal in competition as a major champion, PGA Tour Player of the Year and Ryder Cup hero and captain. He continues to excel on the Champions Tour, but in recent years has also carved out a niche as an excellent course designer. That reputation is due in part to this country club gem. Lehman, who has worked on more than a dozen designs, prefers courses that test the full range of golf skills, and that is what golfers find at Encanterra. Befitting a British Open champion, Lehman says, “How the ball rolls is definitely part of the strategy of how the game is played. Golf is played as much on the ground as in the air.” That is the design approach he has taken and it shows in the courses he has created.
After it opened in 2008, Encanterra was rated as one of the best new private courses in the country by Golf, Golfweek and Links magazines. Making it even more appealing is that, with its membership pricing, it is considered one of the best value private clubs in Arizona. From the Titleist ProV1 range balls to the elegant, 60,000-square-foot clubhouse designed by renowned architect Bing Hu, Encanterra offers luxury that exceeds its buy-in. One reason Lehman’s design presents so much variety is that the course has about 145 acres of turf, compared with the usual 80-90 acres on most newer courses in the Phoenix area. And its positioning between the San Tan and Superstition mountains provides plenty of open air and stunning scenery. From the tips, the par-72 layout plays at 7,172 yards and is stout enough to host the Gateway Tour’s Tour Championship and sectional qualifying for the U.S. Open.
True to his design philosophy, Lehman created green complexes that allow for ground-game access and greenside recovery, and feature hollows and tiers on the putting surfaces. There is a nice variety, evidenced by par-3 holes that require different clubs on each of the four tee shots. The ninth is a handful at 238 yards with a lake running down the right side but with plenty of bailout room on the left. The par-4s offer a pair of shorter, risk-reward holes at 342 and 322 yards with water in play on both and a couple of man-up tests at 504 yards with water on the right and 498 with cross bunkers in the landing areas. Perhaps most memorable are the par-5 holes because they offer second shots with a variety of options both in length and angle to the greens. One touch that experienced golfers will notice is that some bunkers framing the back of greens are shaped into a gentler version of the mountains that backdrop the holes in the distance.
If the course isn’t enough to captivate you, then the La Casa clubhouse probably will. It presents a resort-like atmosphere with three swimming pools, four restaurants, a full-service spa and fitness center, outdoor event space, a business center, courtyards and a full-service concierge. Encanterra, it seems, never runs out of challenges or amenities.