Island Golf Course – Lake Havasu
The Island Club executive golf course, which is part of The Nautical Beachfront Resort, has long been known as a fun course with a neat little design. It’s convenient location in the heart of Lake Havasu City has made it a very popular play.
Created by Red Lawrence, whose work is well known around Arizona, the Island Course opened in 1974 and is virtually surrounded by water with excellent views and a nice variety of holes. But in recent years, water issues have been a challenge for the course conditioning staff.
The cost of treated effluent, which is used to irrigate many Arizona golf courses, has tripled in the Lake Havasu City area and the salinity levels of that water have climbed significantly, which can be deadly to normal turf grasses. The resort and city officials have been working to resolve the problems, but players may wish to check on seasonal course conditions prior to teeing it up.
Under “normal” conditions, the Island Course is a fun golf experience in a lovely setting, where you can complete a round in about three hours and have plenty of time left over to enjoy everything the lakeside resort and the city have to offer.
The Island course offers two sets of tees – 4,211 and 3,594 yards – and both play to par 62, with a rating of 60.8 and slope 98 from the back tees. The key to scoring well here is “staying dry,” because lakes and ponds bring water into play on 7 holes and the namesake Lake Havasu is in play on three others. Thick shrubbery and other vegetation line several holes, adding to the challenge.
The front-9 is the tougher test of the two because it has five of the seven par-4 holes on the course; you won’t be bothered with any par 5s here. In fact, the front starts with two par-4 holes, of 351 and 339 yards, and ends with two more, at 342 and 309.
The No. 1 handicap hole is the par-3 seventh and demands an accurate 183-yard tee shot, surprise, over water.
Playing the final three holes in level par is a particular challenge because all are par-3s; 200, 193 and 191 yards respectively. Practice facilities include a driving range and putting green.
After the round, golfers relax at Bogey’s Sports Bar and Grill with full food and beverage service and the patio offers nice views of Lake Havasu and surrounding mountains. Lodging and other amenities are available at the resort proper.
Read the Arizona Golf Course Review for every golf course in Arizona at www.arizonagolfauthority.com/coursedirectory.
It’s “All Things Arizona Golf” from the Arizona Golf Authority.