AZGA Arizona Golf Buzz: La Barrancas Golf Course, which opened in 2007, has quickly become the favorite of public golfers in Yuma because of its setting and the challenges it presents along the edge of the Gila Mountains. Originally planned as part of a residential development that failed financially, it was designed by Paul White, who is its head pro and manager.
“There was a need for a challenging public course and I designed it with that in mind,” White said. “I wanted something that would fit with the landscape, take advantage of elevation changes and challenge golfers.”
Last year, this championship style layout was chosen as one of the courses to host the Yuma County Open, which was restored after 20 years of hibernation. White’s course offers five sets of tees, ranging from 4,932 to 6,888 yards. The 14th and 16th are considered its most memorable.
No. 14 is a par-5 at 600 yards from the tips that plays down a ravine surrounded by rock walls, providing a rugged, wilderness feel, then climbs up a draw to an elevated green with three tiers. No. 16 plays from 100-200 yards depending on which elevated tee you choose to an undulating green. Both holes provide excellent views of the mountain terrain.
Las Barrancas also is known for having the best public practice facilities in the area with a large driving range, a split short-game area where you can practice approaches from 50 yards in and 100 yards in, a standard putting green and a one-acre putting facility. Due to financial constraints, a temporary clubhouse remains in place and has limited food choices.
Along with the main Las Barrancas course, the facility also offers 2 additional courses to play nearby, the excellent Foothills Executive Course and the scenic Foothills Par-3 Course.
The desert-style Foothills Executive is considered the most popular course of its kind in the Yuma area. The nine-hole layout is something of a “tweener” or a power executive course, playing to par 34, and is not to be confused with the Foothills Par-3 Course, which is a true par-3 layout, playing at par 27.
Foothills Executive has four sets of tees at 2,610, 2,350, 2,150 and 1,868 yards. It is rated at 32.0 with a slope of 99. It has one par-5 hole, five par 4s and three par 3s, with few hazards, medium sized greens and some rough desert transition areas; practice facilities are onsite.
The combination of holes provides a stiffer test than most executive layouts offer, but can be played in far less time than a championship course. The No. 1 handicap hole is the seventh, a par 5 that plays at 490 yards from the tips, offering a good birdie opportunity. There are two drivable par 4s with the third playing at 290 yards and the sixth at 280 from the back tees. Par-3 holes range from 120 to 215 yards, and the round ends with a challenging par 4 of 400 yards.
The third course here is the Foothills Par-3 Course, which is true par-3 layout providing plenty of challenge and playing at a level par of 27.
If you’re looking for a nearby place to stay at reasonable rates, Comfort Inn and Microtel Inn are about three miles away and Holiday Inn Express is within nine miles.
Other activities in the area include the historic Yuma Crossing Park, Saihati Camel Farm, Paradise Casino and boating on the Colorado River. La Fonda and Julienna’s Patio Café are among the most popular eating places in the area.