AZGA Arizona Golf Buzz: If you’re looking for a Pete Dye- or Tom Fazio-designed course where you can prepare for the U.S. Open qualifier, you’ve come to the wrong place. Fortuna Del Rey is located at the Fortuna De Oro RV Resort and, like most, RV Park courses, is basic golf intended as recreation for resort guests, although this one receives a good deal of public play.
Created by Jesse Gomez, who owns and operates it, Fortuna Del Rey (Spanish for “King’s Fortune”) is a nine-hole layout that is relatively flat with tree-lined fairways in the foothills about 13 miles east of Yuma. It opened in 1992 and has three sets of tees, which (if you play each nine twice) are at 6,580, 6,138 and 5,694 yards, with a rating of 69.6 and slope of 108.
The No. 1 handicap hole is the ninth, a par 5 that plays at 551 yards with a sharp dogleg about 220 yards out. Several holes have views of the surrounding mountains and it’s common to see wildlife around the course. Green fees are among the lowest in the area and resort guests get an additional discount. If you’re not staying at the RV resort, budget hotels in close proximity include two Microtel Inns, Comfort Inn & Suites and Homewood Suites. Restaurants within five miles include Mi Fajita, Mr. Fish & Chips and Kountry Kitchen Café.
Other nearby attractions include Mittry Lake and the Yuma Crossing State Historic Park that commemorates five centuries of history. It is situated on nine acres along the Colorado River and has a museum along its winding pathways past six restored and six replicated buildings. The park is an interesting salute to historic modes of transportation and is recognized as a key location in the cultural and educational development of western history by the National Endowment for the Arts. It sets on the trade route used by the Paytans, a prehistoric people living in the Western portion of Arizona. It wasn’t until the Spanish arrived in the area and tried to claim this important river crossing that the ongoing battle began for its control.
During the 1770s, Juan Bautista de Anza and Padre Francisco Garces made several expeditions crossing the Colorado with the help of local Indians. In 1781, the Quechans rebelled against the Spanish intruders, killing many and then ultimately controlling the Crossing for nearly 70 years. This also is where Fort Yuma was established by the U.S. Army in 1850 and was used to distribute supplies to all military posts in the southwest.