AZGA Arizona Golf Buzz: Here’s the only piece of advice you need before teeing it up at Las Sendas Golf Club: Bring your “A game.”
Many Arizona golf course enthusiasts rate this as the most difficult public golf course in the state, and with a slope of 144 from the tips, it would be hard to argue their point. That figure actually has been scaled down in recent years from a high of 149 on the first golf course designed in Arizona by Robert Trent Jones Jr.
It was an interesting project that began as a private club but ran into financial difficulty and ultimately took five years to be built as a high-end daily-fee course that opened in 1995. It has earned a four-star rating from Golf Digest and is ranked among the top 100 courses in the country by the Zagat Survey.
This demanding desert-style layout winds through the Usery Mountains in east Mesa, offering up spectacular views of Red Mountain, Camelback Mountain and the Phoenix skyline and serves up one challenging hole after another. There are six sets of tees here, ranging from 5,100 to 6,914 yards, and the wise golfer will follow the advice on the scorecard that matches color-coded tee markers with handicaps.
You don’t need to wait long to experience the challenges, because the first hole, a 448-yard par 4 from the back tee, is a handful that doglegs right toward an intimidating water hazard, and is followed by the No. 1 handicap hole, a 564-yard par 5 with a desert wash on the right side and a large fairway bunker on the left.
The back nine is equally challenging and comes with several views suitable for framing. The 14th and 16th holes, at 194 and 120 yards, which cut into Spirit Mountain and are backdropped by Red Mountain, are two of the Valley’s best par 3s.
The round ends with a spectacular par 5 of 576 yards where you can see all the way to the White Tank Mountains, 70 miles away, on a clear day. The double dogleg requires a tee shot and a second shot over water hazards to a tricky green.
The green complexes at Las Sendas, which translates to “the pathway,” are particularly difficult with considerable bunkering, elevated putting surfaces bordered by subtle mounds and fast, sloping greens. Do your best to stay below the hole or they will take a toll, particularly on side-hill putts.
This facility has all the other amenities you expect to find at a high-end course, including a beautiful clubhouse, first-rate practice areas and delightful dining. In fact, there are three dining options here, including Bogie’s Steak and Seafood House. No, not “bogeys,” but Bogies, as in the nickname of actor Humphrey Bogart that features elegant cuisine and free stretch limo service to nearby hotels.
Other options, for lunch and lighter fare, are the Rusty Putter and the Viewpoint Patio.
Combine it all and Las Sendas is about as good as it gets for public golf facilities in Arizona, as long as you don’t try to bite off more than your handicap can consume.