The Buzz: There are several golf courses around Arizona that blend modern golf with a rich history of the Old West, but you won’t find many that do it better than Legacy, and there probably aren’t any that combine those contrasts with all of its metropolitan surroundings. Located near Sky Harbor Airport, Arizona State University and the trappings of Phoenix and Scottsdale, Legacy was built on the site of former cotton fields and designed by Gary Panks, who has a particular knack for turning flat into fullness. This course, managed by In Celebration of Golf, is the centerpiece of an intimate resort that grew up around it, has preserved some important history and was strong enough to serve as host of an LPGA Tour event. Legacy is built on the site of a farm and ranch created by Dwight B. Heard, who was a founding father of the region and developed a high-tech (for its day) cattle operation. He also bought the Arizona Republican (now Arizona Republic) newspaper as a way to help get his good friend Teddy Roosevelt elected president.
Roosevelt often stayed at the Sierra Vista House, which sets to the right of the first fairway. Legend has it that Pancho Villa also stayed at this guesthouse. Other remnants of the farm/ranch have been preserved, such as three buckboards placed around the course and three grain silos along the right side of the 18th fairway, which, at 30 feet high, were the tallest structures in the county when they were built in 1902.
As for the course, it is an enjoyable play with variety and contrasts. Fairways are open and perimeter mounding helps keep shots in play, but fairway bunkers are large and steep, and leave little chance of reaching greens from them. Those greens also are a contrast, ranging from small to large and flat to tiered to sloping to undulating. Elevated tee boxes and greens provide panoramic views of Squaw Peak, Camelback Mountain, Four Peaks and the Phoenix skyline.
There are five par-3 holes on the par-71 layout and they are excellent, especially the three on the back nine. No. 11, at 183 yards, features an elevated tee and green with palm trees and mountain views framing the green, which is wide but shallow, guarded by a large, deep bunker on the left and a putting surface with tricky contours. No. 15 is just 163 yards but a tough shot to an elevated green that plays longer than it looks. The tee shot must carry over a lake and a series of bunkers guarding the front. Long is better, but that still leaves a tricky chip shot to a green that isn’t very deep and slopes toward the water and bunkers. No. 17 can be a beast at 200 yards. The long but narrow green sets on a ridge sloping to the left and an endless, steep-faced bunker, the largest on the course, stretches along the entire left side.
No. 18, a 510-yard par 5, is a nice finishing hole that provides a birdie opportunity if you can avoid the bunkers along the right side of the fairway, but you need an accurate approach shot to an elevated green that is well guarded by bunkers and surrounded by severe banking. This is the hole where Charlotta Sorenstam broke through for her first LPGA Tour victory in 2000, holding off a challenge by her big sister, Annika, among others. Resort owners flipped the two nines because they felt the four-hole finish would be more dramatic, although Panks still thinks what is now the front nine is the stronger of the two. There are four sets of tees, ranging from 5,404 to 6,802 yards and, from the tips, it has a rating of 72.1 and slope of 128.
This facility also is home to a world-renowned golf school run by Lynn Marriott and Pia Nilsson, the former Swedish National Golf Teams coach and Ryder Cup captain. It also is a host site of Blaisdell Performance Systems and has a respected golf school headed by Joel Vandersloot. Practice facilities are first rate and Legacy’s clubhouse is as impressive as most that you will find at public courses around the state, including excellent dining inside or on an expansive patio near the putting green.
The $200 million resort includes 328 guest suites in 12 separate buildings with Spanish mission-style décor and each has a balcony overlooking tropical courtyards, the golf course and mountain vistas. Excellent resort amenities include swimming pools, fitness facilities and dining.