Superstition Mountain Golf Club: Countless prospectors spent lifetimes scratching at the earth all over the West hoping to find treasure, but at Superstition Mountain Golf and Country Club the Mother Lode is enjoyed on a daily basis by the gracious membership of this private enclave. And there’s an awful lot to enjoy, too.
Jack Nicklaus, with an assist from sons Gary and Jack Jr., provided the club with two layouts, Prospector and Lost Gold; both have hosted the professionals although the Prospector is the most often televised.
The then Senior PGA Tour (now Champions) played their 2002 Countrywide Tradition event here, won by Jim Thorpe in a playoff with John Jacobs, while the Lost Gold Course hosted the 2002 Senior Slam event, won by Fuzzy Zoeller over Thorpe, Don Pooley and Stewart Ginn.
The Prospector Course also served as the player’s rave-review favorite venue for the LPGA Safeway International from 2004 through 2008. Perhaps you recall the 2005 event when Lorena Ochoa, on the first playoff hole, handed Annika back-to-back Safeway titles on the 18th tee by “over-drawing” her drive into the lake that runs the entire length the par-5 finishing hole.
In those days, the professional tournaments provided local golf fans an opportunity to enjoy a look at these exclusive courses, the professionally manicured playing conditions the pros must navigate and the luxurious Tuscan-style clubhouse facility that ties it all together into a world-class package.
Should you find yourself on the receiving end of a member’s invitation to play, refer to the following checklist for the appropriate response and select the option that best fits your particular situation:
Option 1: Yes, thank you, I would love to join you. What time do you suggest I arrive?
Option 2: Yes, thank you, I would love to join you. Shall I wash and wax your car before or after our round?
Option 3: Refer to Options 1 & 2.
Here’s what you’ll find when you step to the first tee on the big day:
The Lost Gold Course, tipped out at 7,351-yards, is a rewarding combination of desert-style links golf and Nicklaus-style green complexes; it’s a classic second-shot course for sure. The ability to author high, soft-landing irons from perfect fairways will serve you well here. In the event you were not blessed with that skill, don’t challenge the bunkers and be sure to play within your shot-making skill level.
Otherwise, several times during your round you will wish you had missed the green over there, instead of where your ball lies. And if you expect to miss a few targets pin-high right or left, bring all the loft you have in your arsenal of wedges and all the nerve you can muster.
The Prospector Course, at 7,225-yards, is a little more forgiving but no less demanding. Any visual intimidation you perceive from the tee can be dismissed, as the fairways are actually very generous in the landing areas. Most fairway bunkering here is directional, it’s a target in the distance indicating the preferred line of play or a fair warning of impending peril.
The greens are infused with both clear contouring and subtle undulation. Many a putt on these perfect greens will have you looking at the Superstition Mountains, then down to the valley, back to the mountains, then at your third putt.
Several of the Prospector’s greens also offer the option of a ground game run-up shot as an alternative to a lofted carry to the pin. Take the aforementioned 18th for example; this gently uphill 5-par, water on the left, is always reachable with two solidly struck metal woods, but for those who lay-up, the front and right side of the generous green is wide open and appears quite appealing.
Open yes, but devilishly contoured. The farther right and deeper into the green you “stay right,” the more the green slopes away from you due to the front left bunkers and green hugging lake. The pitch shot before you may appear straightforward in nature, but the execution becomes more troublesome the farther “safe-right” you play.
Other favorites are the 418-yard 1st where flying the bunkered mounding that defines the inside corner of the left-to-right dogleg leaves a much shorter approach to start the day with birdie.
The downhill, 369-yard par-4 10th offers those who come off the front-9 down a bet the tantalizing option of launching driver from the elevated tee over 2 fairway bunkers directly in line with the green. The successful carry leaves a gap-wedge second up to a green perched on the hillside above and the chance to quickly make birdie and get one back.
And, at the Redan-inspired 192-yard par-3 17th, club yourself for front of the green yardage, and as expected, the ball will run-out right-to-left down the firm green, back to the pin location.
Rest assured, whatever shots you choose, you will be playing them on some of the finest playing surfaces in Arizona. Superstition Mountain is an exclusive enclave to be savored, and to enjoy how good the golf life can be at the highest level.
Arizona Golf Authority AZGA “Local Hang” for Superstition Mountain is quite simple; their Tuscan-style Clubhouse is one of the finest golf course facilities you may ever see, so find a seat, sit down and savor the Mother Lode treasure at hand.