Arizona Golf Authority AZGA Golf Course Buzz: Sun City Country Club is the first private country club Del Webb ever built and it forever changed the way this visionary ran his development business. His wildly successful Sun City active-adult community, located northwest of downtown Phoenix, quickly demonstrated one glaring flaw: too many golfers and not enough tee times.
This was the early 1960’s and many residents of the new community had enjoyed the nuances of a private club at home and wanted one here as well. In 1967, the Sun City Country Club was dedicated. Since then, every new Del Webb Sun City community included at least one private club.
Designed by Milton Coggins, the course has stood the test of time with good conditioning, a player-friendly traditional layout that challenges any player. It’s not particularly long, with the back tees set at 6,275 yards and the front tees at 5,183, but there are some twists and turns and plenty of mature trees to throw a few challenges into the equation. From the tips, the course is rated at 68.8 with a slope of 120 and there are two more sets of tees at 5,885 and 5,334 yards.
Water comes into play on just three holes and the third, a 525-yard par-5, is the longest on the course and also the No. 1 handicap hole. The signature hole is the par-3 seventh, which is the start of an enjoyable three-hole stretch. The tee shot from the back tee is 153 yards with a full carry over the largest lake on the course, which wraps the right side and back of the green. Greenside bunkers threaten as well, leaving virtually no bailout room.
Right behind it are two par 4s that offer good birdie opportunities. The eighth, at 292 yards, is the shortest par-4 on the course with a tee shot that must carry the same lake and a heavily bunkered green threatening those that have a go from the tee. The par-4 ninth plays 377 yards, straightaway, but trees guard both sides of the fairway and bunkers leave a narrow opening to the front of the green.
You won’t find any water on the back nine; you will find parallel fairways and a virtual forest of trees as well as two tough par-3s, the 182-yard 11th and the 153-yard 17th. Mature groves of trees and greenside bunkers demand extreme accuracy from the tee at both.
The club has full practice facilities and a restaurant. It is open to the public at reasonable rates with no age restrictions, but members receive preferred tee times and discount prices. Sun City Country Club offers a variety of memberships tailored to fit each golfer’s preference.
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It’s “All Things Arizona Golf” from the Arizona Golf Authority.