The Buzz: Heron Lakes, an executive course, designed by Phoenix-area architects Greg Nash and Jeff Hardin, opened in 1985 as an alternative to the Coyote Run championship layout at the Leisure World master-planned community for active adults. Located in Mesa, AZ, it’s one of the area’s oldest such communities in the Phoenix-metro area and one of the most affordable, and has undergone extensive renovation and refurbishing in recent years amounting to about $10 million in improvements. Both courses feature traditional designs with lots of grass, mature trees and water hazards.
Leisure World Golf Club
The par-62 Heron Lakes Course is defined by narrow, tree-lined fairways, well-maintained greens, several lakes that bring water into play on seven holes, and some excellent views of the nearby Superstition Mountains. Flower beds and other landscaping make this course pleasing to the eye. It has two sets of tees at 4,024 and 3,604 yards with slope and rating of 59.9 and 101 from the back tees and 59.8 and 100 from the front.
Each 9-hole side has three par-4 holes and the fourth is the only par 5 at 467 yards. The third hole, a 189-yard par 4, is the No. 1 handicap, but the signature holes are the ninth and 16th.
No. 9 is a risk-reward hole with a par 4 of 260 yards that is drivable but has out of bounds stakes lurking down the right side. The 16th is a picturesque par 3 of 155 yards with water wrapping around the front and left side of the green.
Heron Lakes added a new clubhouse in 2006 and has nice practice facilities, including a putting green, chipping area and bunker. Leisure World Country Club is a private club open to members and their guests, and has several memberships available, including annual and one-month memberships.
Other amenities include the “19th Hole” café, which serves up breakfast and lunch, two swimming pools, a Jacuzzi, a 10,000-square-foot fitness center and a general-purpose building that hosts dances, parties and other activities.
