Arizona Golf Authority AZGA Golf Course Buzz: Golf has always been a game of honor but Hidden Cove takes that concept to another level. Due to budget cutbacks by the town of Holbrook, Arizona this 9-hole municipal course was forced to adopt an honor system of paying for everything via vending machines, with virtually no staff and half of its facilities closed as of the summer of 2011.
Holbrook is located on I-40, just 70+ miles from Arizona’s eastern border and 30 miles west of the “corner in Winslow, Arizona” made famous by the Eagles song.
Hidden Cove, which opened in 1977, is a fun, relatively flat layout featuring four water hazards, natural rock outcroppings three tempting dogleg-holes with risk-reward thrills.
The signature hole is the fourth, a 545-yard par-5, which is the longest on the course. The dogleg left has out of bounds along the right side and two ponds running along the last half of the fairway on the left which produces a frightening approach shot to the green.
The 3rd and 8th are testers as well; No. 3 is a 170-yard par 3 with a lake surrounding the left, front and right sides of the green, and No.8 is a 355-yard par-4 featuring a dogleg right defined by a rock outcropping at the elbow that blocks the view of the green and tempts big hitters to try and clear it with their tee shots; it’s risky.
The 5-par 9th plays at 495 yards and is a definite birdie hole, with out of bounds on the right but not much else to prevent golfers from finishing on a positive note.
Hidden Cove has three sets of tees at 3,269, 2,907 and 2,678 yards, with a rating of 70.2 and slope of 123 from the back tees for 2 loops, 18 holes. Despite budget cutbacks the course remains open and the good news for players is the greens fee has been reduced to just 5-bucks during the summer months.
As part of the budget moves, the portion of the clubhouse that housed a bar and restaurant were closed, and clubhouse employees were eliminated. Instead, patrons pay for golf, carts, equipment and refreshments from vending machines in a portion of the clubhouse that remains open.
Present day culture being what it is today, it’s regrettable but necessary for course members and an occasional ranger to patrol the grounds, checking receipts to make sure that golfers have not cheated the honor system. We’re happy to report violators are few, and true to form, those who play golf tend to be an honorable group of folks.
Read the Arizona Golf Course Directory AZGA Buzz for every golf course in Arizona at www.arizonagolfauthority.com/coursedirectory/; it’s “All Things Arizona Golf” from the Arizona Golf Authority.