Arizona Golf Authority AZGA Golf Course Buzz: The founders of Las Colinas, located in Queen Creek southeast of downtown Phoenix, had a plan in mind from the outset and their determination to stick with it has paid off with a loyal following. This is the third iteration of the course, previously named Chuparosa, that’s been revived by a couple families that are well known in Arizona golf circles.
“To me, golf has always been something that should be a fun experience, and that’s what we wanted to create when we started this project,” said Steve Dallas, one of the course revivers, now the general manager and one of the top amateurs in Arizona golf history. “It’s not a golf course that’s going to beat you up or leave you broke. It’s a course that the average golfer can play at a reasonable price, feel good about the experience when they leave and, hopefully, come back and play again.”
Because of its previous lives, Las Colinas started with mature landscaping already in place and architect Mike Asmundson took advantage of it, along with some mountainous surroundings, to create a new layout in 2001 that remains one of the area’s best value courses a decade later. The daily-fee course has become the centerpiece of the Villages at Queen Creek residential development that’s grown up around it, caters to juniors, men and women alike and annually hosts the San Tan Amateur tournament sanctioned by the Arizona Golf Association.
The layout is relatively flat, with two lakes bringing water into play on three holes and four dogleg-fairways are scattered about. Las Colinas has three sets of tees at 6,655, 6,032 and 5,014 yards, plays to par 71 and is rated at 69.5 with a slope of 120 from the tips. That adds up to a user-friendly course that offers up several birdie opportunities but puts the emphasis on accuracy, rather than length, and your ability to read some multi-tiered, undulating greens.
The few obstacles on the course are strategically located and offer up challenges in several places. That’s certainly the case on holes 4 – 6, one of the most enjoyable stretches on this layout, where about 2,500 trees were planted in the re-design.
No. 4 is the longest par-4 on the course at 444 yards and the No. 1 handicap hole, with a sharp dogleg left and a lake guarding the right side of the green. The fifth, a 532-yard par-5, is the No. 3 handicap hole where greenside bunkers are prominent obstacles, and several more bunkers protect the putting surface at the sixth hole, a 157-yard par-3.
Las Colinas Golf Club provides complete practice facilities and their 8,500-square-foot clubhouse includes a pro shop, teaching center, restaurant, banquet area and fitness rooms.
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.