Arizona Golf Authority AZGA Golf Course Buzz: Snowflake, Arizona, located an hour or so east of Flagstaff in the White Mountains, is home to the only golf course in the U.S.A. that features a Mormon Temple sitting smack-dab in the middle of the golf course.
The Temple, one of 51 in the continental United States, dominates the local landscape and serves nearly 35,000 Latter Day Saints living in these parts of Arizona and neighboring New Mexico.
Like the Temple, the Snowflake Community Golf Course, owned and operated by the town of Snowflake, has plenty of dedicated disciples. The facility’s admirers boast about its combination of good conditioning, peaceful surroundings on the edge of the Sitgreaves National Forest, affordable green fees and extensive community programs.
The original 18 holes, designed by Ed Hunt and Lynn Ellsworth, opened in 1980. Concurrent with the dedication of the Temple in 2002, a new nine holes were built to serve as the back nine for the 18-hole course; the original back nine remains intact and now serves as a separate nine-hole course.
Three holes of the new back nine wrap around the Temple, resting high above the fairways and providing a more heavenly viewing experience than the norm for golfers. The ornate facility is highlighted by a water feature cascading outside the entrance over a natural-rock ledge into a pool, antique art-glass panels and an exterior skin of imported, highly polished granite.
Each course offers three sets of tees; on the 18-hole layout, they play at 6,172, 5,717 and 4,995 yards with a rating of 68.1 and slope of 112 from the back tees. The golf course rests nearly 5,000-feet above sea level, so adjust your normal yardages by about 10%. You’ll find the front nine is fairly open and reasonably flat; the new back nine though has plenty of undulation and water hazards are in play on four holes.
The signature hole is No. 7, a 525-yard par-5 dogleg left, with a rugged wash running along the left side of the fairway and a large cottonwood tree guarding the front of the green. Highlighting the back nine is the 12th hole, a 157-yard par-3 with an elevated tee, a full carry over a small lake and railroad-tie landscaping at the front of the green.
Tees on the nine-hole course are set at 3,185, 2,995 and 2,550 yards, with the ninth hole providing the toughest test here. It’s a par-5 playing 570 yards; a sharp dogleg left at the end of the fairway requires a 3rd shot approach over a lake.
Snowflake Community Golf Course offers a driving range, two putting greens and chipping and bunker practice areas; the clubhouse has a full-service restaurant. Junior programs are especially strong at Snowflake and some of the Arizona’s best young players have honed their games here under the direction of longtime head pro Steve Schneider, including former state amateur champion John R. Davis.
Read the Arizona Golf Course List AZGA Player’s Arizona Golf Course Review for every golf course in Arizona at www.arizonagolfauthority.com/coursedirectory.
It’s “All Things Arizona Golf” from the Arizona Golf Authority.