Categories
Northern Arizona Prescott

Antelope Hills Golf Course

Arizona Golf Courses – Arizona Golf Authority Golf Course Reviews

Located on the eastern outskirts of Arizona’s “Mile High City’’ – Prescott (5,300 feet above sea level) – Antelope Hills is where the locals play. And they’ve been playing here for quite some time.

Antelope Hills Golf Course - Arizona Golf Course Reviews from the Arizona Golf Authority
Antelope Hills - North Golf Course

The North Course was built in 1956 by one of Arizona’s architectural pioneers, Lawrence Hughes, and embodies traditional values like tight, tree-lined fairways, strategic bunkering and roller-coaster, bent-grass greens.

Avid club players consider the North Course to be an Arizona golf treasure and routinely make the 90-minute drive north from the Scottdale – Phoenix metro area to savor its long-protected and preserved aura from a time gone by.

If stately elms and old school golf is not your thing, tee it up on the Gary Panks-designed South Course, where the links-style fairways and greens are wide open and expose awe-inspiring views of the surrounding Chino Valley and surreal Granite Dells rock formations.

Before and after your round, the on-site Manzanita Grille will handle any food and beverage needs you may have. The patio overlooks the South Course and the Bradshaw Mountains beyond. It’s a full service bar and restaurant affair that’s so good, it serves just as much local traffic that’s not playing golf that day, as golfers who are.

Arizona Golf Authority AZGA “Local Hang” – If you plan to stay in town a few days, just make sure you “camp out’’ downtown at the 100-year-old Hassayampa Inn, just a pitching wedge away from Prescott’s infamous saloons on Whiskey Row.

Who knows? A couple of shots at the Palace Bar or Cadillac Saloon and perhaps you’ll see the Hassayampa Inn’s notorious ghost, fondly named “Faith,’’ who keeps an eye on things around the hotel. You wouldn’t be the first to say you did!

Categories
Central Arizona Mesa

Alta Mesa Golf Club

Arizona Golf Courses – Alta Mesa Golf Club
Built in 1985 in the shadows of scenic Red Mountain, this is an equity-owned private club for true golf lovers. Yes, it has an impressive clubhouse befitting its membership, but you won’t find tennis courts and other facilities common at many country clubs.

Alta Mesa GC was built for golfers, it’s operated and maintained by golfers, and it shows.

Along with equity, it offers non-equity, junior and senior memberships and one-time-only seasonal memberships, giving prospective members a chance to take the club for a one-year test run.

Alta Mesa features a traditional design created by architect Dick Phelps with tree-lined fairways and six lakes that bring water into play on eight holes. The par-72 layout has five sets of tees ranging from 5,498 to 7,093 yards with a rating of 73.9 and slope of 132 from the tips.

While it presents an open feel, water hazards, trees and strategic bunkers add up to a formidable challenge, and then there are the well-kept mini-verde greens, which roll smooth but are extremely fast. If you’re going to play it from the tips, take ample time to loosen up because Alta Mesa hits you right out of the gate with a 556-yard par 5, 424-yard par 4, 204-yard par 3 and a 442-yard par 4.

The par-4 ninth is among the most memorable holes at 425 yards with water running down both sides and bunkers along the right edge. Phelps also created an impressive finishing stretch, starting at the par-4 15th hole. It is 405 yards from the back tees with an open fairway but bunkers come into play on both sides of a green with three tiers, and with the speed of these greens, three-putts most definitely are lurking.

No. 16 is a 247-yard par 3 from the back tees that plays into a prevailing wind with little margin for error because desert hugs the left side of the green and trees and shrubs guard the right.

After the par-4 17th (428 yards) comes a daunting finish; the 18th is the longest par 5 on the course at 564 yards. Your tee shot toward the clubhouse needs to avoid a lake along the right side that runs all the way to the green, with bunkers guarding the left side and a narrow neck to the undulating surface, which slopes toward the water.

Many of the holes feature picturesque backdrops provided by Red Mountain and Superstition Mountains in the distance. The overall quality is evidenced by the fact that Alta Mesa has hosted several U.S. Golf Association and mini-tour events, as well as tournaments sanctioned by the Arizona Golf Association and Southwest Section of the PGA.

The 160-acre property also has expansive practice facilities, which cover 10 acres and include two driving ranges, two putting greens, chipping green and practice bunkers. The clubhouse grill and restaurant render fine dining in a scenic setting overlooking two lakes, and the club offers dining memberships for non-golfers.

Visit our Arizona Golf Course Reviews and read the AZGA Player’s Review for every golf course in Arizona at www.arizonagolfauthority.com/coursedirectory.

It’s “All Things Arizona Golf” from the Arizona Golf Authority.

Categories
Southern Arizona Tubac

Tubac Golf Resort

Arizona Golf Authority Golf Course Buzz: The legendary Red Lawrence – the “Desert Fox’’ — built the first 18 holes at rustic Tubac Golf Resort back in the 1960s and architect Ken Kavanaugh added nine more not long ago.

Tubac Golf Resort - Arizona Golf Course Reviews from the Arizona Golf Authority
Tubac Golf Resort

Then they mixed them all together to form the Anza, Otero and Rancho nines. Together those 27 holes make for one of the most kick-back golf experiences this side of the US/Mexico border.

The elegant par 3s defined by massive eucalyptus trees and water, together with the infamous par 4s and 5s used for shooting the popular golf flick ‘’Tin Cup’’ provide a great test of golf skill in this laid-back southern outpost just a few miles north of Nogales.

As the locals will tell you, the original 18 hole configuration at Tubac was pretty hard to beat with the classic doglegs, elevated greens and ancient mesquite groves. The new nine that is mixed throughout is a little more wide open even if it does bob and weave along the Santa Cruz River running through it.

Along the way, you’ll recognize the holes where Kevin Costner’s infamous character “Roy McIvoy’’ broke his clubs all the way down to the 7-iron, and where McIvoy was fired as Don Johnson’s caddie.

Overall, the place is steeped in history and closely tied to Arizona’s early days with Mexico. Time seems to slow down a bit around these parts, providing a refreshing respite and the chance to enjoy the peace and quiet of the majestic landscape in this part of southern Arizona.

The Arizona Golf Authority AZGA “Local Hang” for Tubac Golf Resort is no drive at all. The onsite Stables bar is the place to to enjoy an authentic margarita after your round, where the bar stools come complete with leather saddles!

Visit the Arizona Golf Authority, it’s “All Things Arizona Golf.”

Our Arizona Golf Courses Reviews and Guide List Directory has an AZGA Player’s course review for every golf course in Arizona, click www.arizonagolfauthority.com/coursedirectory.