AZGA Arizona Golf Buzz: If you don’t mind a free air show with your golf, then Falcon Golf Club is one course to consider, located just west of downtown Phoenix. The course, not to be confused with the nearby US military course, Falcon Dunes Golf Course, is nestled near the Estrella and White Tank mountains and just south of Luke Air Force Base.That’s where the F-16 Fighting Falcons perform daily maneuvers high above the Arizona desert with formations that might leave you singing “Highway to the Danger Zone” while you grip and rip it.
Falcon Golf Club
Falcon Golf Club is an enjoyable layout that plays to par 71 at 6,733 yards from the back tees. It opened in 1997 and struggled in early years with logjams because of the opening hole configuration, but that was corrected in 2007 when the course swapped the front and back nines and rearranged the order of some individual holes.
“I’ve been here for eight years and I can tell you that those changes made a big difference in how the course flows,” course manager Chuck Dixon said. “I think our golfers enjoy the fact that it’s a very fair test, it’s walkable, it’s not tricked up, but it’s still a pretty good test for mid- to high-handicappers.”
The course was one of the early designs by Brian Curley when he was with Landmark Designs. He later joined with Lee Schmidt in a design firm that is considered one of the most innovative in the world and has partnered with the likes of Pete Dye, Jack Nicklaus and Fred Couples in creating courses in the U.S. and Asia.
With its new configuration, Falcon presents a more traditional, parkland style on the front nine and a target-desert feel on the back, with mountain backdrops adding visual appeal to several holes. It offers a nice variety with some “reachable” par-5 holes and others that require three shots to reach the greens, and par-4s that range from 362-464 yards.
There are just three par-3 holes, but two of them might be the most memorable holes on the course and they happen to be Nos. 9 and 18. The ninth, which formerly played as the sixth, is 218 yards with water running along the right side, requiring a partial carry, and bunkers guarding the green.
The 18th, formerly the 15th, is considered to be the signature hole and plays at 225 yards from the tips with a water hazard running down the right side and two bunkers each on the front right and left of the green. The same water hazard also is on play on the 17th, a 537-yard par-5 with a demanding approach shot to the green.
The clubhouse is small with a basic snack bar, but Falcon offers a full practice facility with an expansive range, putting and chipping areas. It’s not a country club or resort golf experience, but open fairways, medium-sized greens, good conditioning and pricing make this a popular course and one of the better values in the Phoenix area.
AZGA Arizona Golf Authority “Local Hang” for Falcon Golf Club includes Max’s Sports Bar, just south of Glendale Avenue on 47th Ave.
