The Buzz: Winding gracefully through the high desert, just north of Prescott, this was one of the early design efforts of Hale Irwin, but it doesn’t look and play like the work of some rookie. The three-time U.S. Open champion took full advantage of a pristine piece of property, creating holes that offer strategic challenge and, at more than a mile high in elevation, incorporate remarkable vistas that include San Francisco Peaks, Granite Dells, Mingus Mountain, Thumb Butte and Watson Lake Park. Antelope are plentiful in this region and it’s not unusual to see them grazing near fairways.
The private course is a centerpiece of the Prescott Lakes master-planned development, managed by Arnold Palmer Golf Management and has a temporary clubhouse. From the waterfall that greet you at the course entrance to the series of waterfalls alongside the finishing hole, this course provides a delightful golf experience with its variety of holes and special touches, like the covered bridges over waterways and its many petroglyphs.
These rock engravings, left behind by ancient cultures, were unearthed during construction and preserved, with some now serving as tee markers and others scattered around the property. There are six sets of tees, all named after wildlife such as Black Bear and Coyote, that range from 4,724 to 7,216 yards, with a rating of 73.4 and slope of 140 from the back tees.
Due to elevation, this layout tends to play a little shorter than the yardage suggests. Ask six guys to pick their favorite hole and you might get six answers because there are so many good ones. Among them is No. 2, a classic risk-reward par 4 at 330 yards with a lake running along the left side, an arroyo along the right and a strategic bunker near the center of the fairway that messes with your layup-club selection.
The par-5 eighth, the longest hole on the course at 601 yards from the tips, essentially has two island fairways and an island green. It starts with an elevated tee offering excellent views of Granite Dells and Vista Park. A rugged arroyo crosses the fairway twice, dividing it into two sections and separating it from the green, and the first section of fairway narrows as it goes, putting a greater premium on accuracy if you hit a driver. The hole doglegs slightly toward the green on the right, where a long ribbon-like bunker spreads along the right side and wraps around the back. Three more bunkers guard the left side. Tee to green, this is one of Arizona’s best strategic golf holes.
Strategy also comes into play on No. 14, a 402-yard par 4 with a dogleg right that offers a wide-open fairway along the left side. A tee shot along the right side will cut off significant yardage, but there is only a sliver of fairway available and a water hazard cuts in along the right edge of a hole built on a massive hill that slopes right its entire length.
No. 18, a 537-yard par 5, is the signature hole, called “Snake,” and it is another beauty. The dogleg left features a series of small lakes that empty into one another via waterfalls and run along the entire right side, then wrap around the back of the green. A series of bunkers also guard the right of a green that is elevated, adding to the risk-reward element on the approach.
After the round, plenty of fun awaits a few miles to the south in downtown Prescott at its famed “Whiskey Row,” a full block of Old West-style saloons and honkytonks, where cowboys gathered many decades ago to wet their whistles. If you prefer to whet your appetite, The Rose Restaurant on Cortez Street, which was built as a Victorian cottage in 1899, is as good as any dining establishment you will find in this historic town.