Arizona Golf Authority AZGA Golf Course Buzz: Located about 40 miles southeast of downtown Phoenix, Seville offers a true country club experience at base of the San Tan Mountains, which provide a serene visual backdrop for the club.
Par-3 17th - Seville Golf and Country Club
Built in 2001, the layout was created by Gary Panks, one of Arizona’s best-known course architects. Mr. Panks has a particular knack for taking a relatively flat piece of property and shaping it into something special, and that’s what he did with this former citrus grove acreage. Many of those trees were transplanted and incorporated into the Seville course along with oaks and jacaranda, which line the fairways and bloom brilliantly in the spring.
Seville plays to level par of 72 and offers five sets of tees with the tips set at 7,060 yards and the front tees at 5,765. From the back, the course is rated at 72.8 with a slope of 128. The layout has a traditional feel although there is mild desert terrain in the transition areas that adds to the challenge when recovering from an errant shot.
Panks allows the player plenty of room in the primary landing areas on most tee shots; you won’t face the visual intimidation of forced carries inherent in desert target golf designs here. You will face several thrilling golf shots as you make your loop.
Highlights of the front nine are a pair of dogleg-right par-5s. No. 2 plays at 555 yards from the back tees and requires a tee shot over right-side fairway bunkers to reach the green in two. The wide, shallow green wraps around a front-bunker that collects most “run one on” attempts.
At the shorter 530-yard 5th, any attempt to reach the green in two must carry the corner of a sizable lake and bunker guarding the right side of the green. Three-shot players can lay-up left and ignore the lake altogether with their approach.
But the most memorable portion of a round at Seville is always the three-hole finishing stretch. The par-4 16th is just 315 yards but a lake defining the dogleg right fairway forces you to decide how much you can bite off and still clear the water. The green complex is elevated and includes a multi-tiered putting surface; great fun here.
In the middle of the lake you just finished playing around sits the par-3 17th. It’s a touch of TPC Sawgrass in Arizona; a 145-yard carry to a true island green that requires a high, soft, precise yardage tee shot. The putting surface is generous from front to back, and plenty wide as well; it just doesn’t look like it when you’re over the shot. Trust it’s big enough, remember to breathe and play away – as many times as it takes.
The 18th is a thrilling, risk-reward 5-par playing at a tempting 520 yards. You must thread an accurate tee shot between fairway bunkers short-right and long-left. For your second shot, your choice is whether to lay-up short of the water, or try to clear a lake that wraps around the left side of the green. Birdies are abundant here, although 7s are carded just as frequently.
Seville Golf and Country Club offers golf and non-golf memberships and has a wide range of amenities available to its members, including tennis, a fitness center, spa and swimming pools. Seville also offers fine dining at Bolero’s Restaurant and lighter fare at Tapa’s Bar, both of which are open to the public. Seville is affiliated with the Club Corp. Network; members receive preferred access and discount pricing at more than 150 private clubs around the country.
Every so often the essence of an epic golf course style from a by-gone era is captured, nurtured and kept fresh so players can turn back the clock and enjoy it all over again.
Orange Tree Golf Resort – No. 1 – 362-Yard Par-4
Orange Tree Golf Club has preserved one of Arizona’s grand parkland-style golf courses and elevated the classic layout by adding today’s modern conveniences. And under the watchful eye of Shelby Futch and his Scottsdale Golf Group, you can be sure Orange Tree will continue to flourish far into the future.
The course is the product of a grand age of golf course design in Phoenix from one of professional golf’s early ambassadors. Designed by Arizona golf legend Johnny Bulla, Orange Tree was originally called Century Country Club and opened in 1957 near the edge of town, on the site of a former orange grove at 56th Street and Shea Boulevard. It’s surrounded by residences now, as the city’s grown a bit since Dwight left the White House.
Bulla traveled and played the tour with his close friend, Sam Snead, and after placing third on the money list in 1941, moved to in Arizona in 1946. Bulla had 16 professional wins and finished, with Lloyd Mangrum, T-2 behind Snead at the ’49 Masters, the first year a green jacket was awarded to the tournament champion at Augusta National.
Bulla still holds the course record, 61, at Phoenix’s local Papago Municipal layout and legend holds he accomplished the feat twice, once playing right-handed and a second time playing from the left side – only the first score made the newspaper.
Back in those days, Billy Casper was busy winning the 1957 Phoenix Open Invitational. The tournament alternated every other year between two parkland all-turf venues, the Arizona Country Club and the Phoenix Country Club, both private. Other parkland examples from those days still exist: Paradise Valley Country Club opened in 1954 and Moon Valley Country Club in 1958, both are private clubs as well.
But long before designers were saddled with government imposed water-restriction mandates and golf course developers tossed around terms like “signature holes” and built $1 million dollar waterfalls, Phoenix golf courses of this era promised players a wall-to-wall lush, green respite from the surrounding arid desert environment.
The allure of a green all-turf oasis wasn’t a mirage on the horizon, but rather, defined the high-design style of the time and Bulla’s layout followed suit, as did an update by Lawrence Hughes some 20 years later.
A visit to Orange Tree Golf Club is a refreshing walk-in-the-park day playing a traditional all-turf Bermuda grass golf course on wide and shady tree-lined fairways. Camelback and Mummy Mountain backdrops on several holes, together with accents of tropical foliage, water features and swaying palm trees produces an overall desert-oasis ambiance throughout the day.
Orange Tree Golf Club tips out at 6,775 yards, common for courses of this era, and plays to a rating of 70.7, slope 121. Several tee combinations are in play, the most forward are set at 5,704 yards. But be advised, the challenge is not about length at Orange Tree, it’s about controlling your golf ball.
You see, those same stately shade trees which produce the pleasant ambiance at Orange Tree also define the line of play. If you plan to grip it and rip it here, you must be able to shape your tee ball at-will, both to the right and to the left. Launch it on the wrong line and you’ll either catch a tree at lift-off, end up raking one of several strategically placed fairway bunkers, or be stymied by trees when your tee ball comes to rest.
Second shots at Orange Tree must be precise; these are not today’s subdivision-size greens. Orange Tree’s green complexes remain true to their heritage; smallish, well-bunkered and modestly elevated for drainage. The predominate slope in the surface, as expected, is down from back to front so they’re highly receptive to your second shot. However, within their modest confines they provide plenty of opposing-undulation in various tiers which can present you with a 12-footer that asks for a full foot of break. They’re Bermuda too, so pay attention to the grain and make your opponent for the day putt the short ones.
The front-9 plays the shorter of the two and finishes with a traditional 3-hole stretch. No. 7 is pure 3-par golf; 216-yard straight away all-turf carry, bunker front right and back left, elevated green pitched toward you glistening in the sunshine, shady tee box; it’s a great setting to just relax and hit a proper golf shot.
No. 8 defines 4-pars of the era; 414 yards bending right to left around bunkers in the left-hand side of the fairway landing area. The second shot must find a rather narrow green that’s plenty deep but angling away from you, front-right to back-left. The narrow green is protected by a bunker front right and the first water hazard of the day, artfully tucked along the left side of the green; it produces a visually inviting and nerve-testing stage for a well executed second shot.
The par-4 9th is all about strategy, your choices and your execution. It’s only 376 yards and there’s not a fairway bunker in sight, but water shimmers in the distance. It’s reachable from the tee and extends up the right side of the left-to-right sweeping fairway to guard the entire right side of the green. Successfully challenge the water with a driver and you’re left with a gap-wedge approach, the lake is just pretty window-dressing for your enjoyment. Play short of the water off the tee and now your second must carry the lake to reach the green – Your choice.
The back-9 is a bit longer and offers similar strategic choices as water features threaten four holes. At the 408-yard par-4 11th the water protects the front right side of the green. It’s hidden from view if you’re well back in the fairway so before you play your second, take a quick moment to go up and have a look, you’ll be glad you did.
Water lurks short and to the left of the green at the par-3 12th and another lake must be carried with your tee ball at the par-5 13th. On one hand, it takes a fairly significant misfire to find these two hazards, but on the other hand, this is golf and such things do happen from time to time.
The 403-yard par-4 18th at Orange Tree is a strong finisher and one of the best tests of the day. The left-half of the tree-lined fairway ends at a lake approximately 265-yards from the tee, the right-half continues unimpeded to the green, producing a peninsula-style green-complex wrapped by water front, left and rear.
If you choose to play “long ball” off the tee you must fit your drive in the right-half of the fairway and clear of the trees lining that side of the landing area; a short-iron second is your reward. Lay back, to avoid the threat of water on your drive, and you’re left with a much more demanding mid-iron to the modest-sized green surrounded on three sides by a whole lot of water. Many unblemished scorecards are irrevocably scarred right here, so close, yet so far from posting an attractive total.
Orange Tree is a complete test for the highly skilled, supremely playable for all and a genuine chance to savor the grand style of golf course design in Phoenix from days gone by. These are artful golf holes that appear harmless at first look. Upon closer inspection you’ll find that precise lines of play and carefully controlled yardages are required to score well, proving once again that, the more things change, the more they stay the same.
The Arizona Golf Authority “Local Hang” for Orange Tree includes the expansive patio at the club’s Grove Grille and Lounge, as well as Z-Tejas, at the northeast corner of Shea Boulevard and 32nd Street, and Ernie’s Inn, located in the retail complex on the southeast corner of Shea Boulevard and Scottsdale Road.
Read the 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.
Arizona Golf Authority AZGA Arizona Golf Course Buzz: Sun City North is one of the oldest golf courses of the 8 golf facilities managed by Recreation Centers of Sun City, Inc. The RCSC is the private, non-profit corporation that owns and operates approximately $80 million of recreational facilities in the Sun City retirement community northwest of Phoenix.
Designed by Del Webb Corp., the course opened in 1960 and is known as a player-friendly design with relatively flat terrain, large trees and numerous dogleg holes, with two lakes bringing water into play on four holes. There are three sets of tees at 6,451, 6,154 and 5,625 yards, with a rating of 69.5 and slope of 117 from the back tees, which means there are plenty of birdies to be taken on the par-72 layout.
The challenge starts early because the second hole, a 422-yard par-4, is the No. 1 handicap hole. The course also ends strong with a par-5 at 573 yards that is the longest hole on the course and features a sweeping dogleg-left and a green heavily guarded by bunkers on three sides.
Among the highlights in between is the 12th hole, a testy little par-3 that some consider the signature hole. It plays at 170 yards and requires a tee shot over a small lake with a large bunker guarding the left side of the green.
That same lake comes into play on the 13th hole, a 523-yard par-5, rated the No. 2 handicap hole on the golf course.
Another lake comes into play on the eighth, a 406-yard par-4 with bunkers squeezing both sides of the green, and the ninth, a 368-yard par-4 dogleg-right.
Par-3 holes offer a nice variety, ranging from 143 to 210 yards. The course has a driving range, putting green and chipping area and a snack shop that serves breakfast and lunch items.
Sun City celebrated its 50th birthday in 2010 and continues going strong as one of the country’s foremost retirement communities. A large part of that success is RCSC, which operates seven recreational centers, eight golf courses with five snack shops, two bowling centers, two full-service restaurants and one amphitheater (Sun Bowl).
The five regulation and three executive golf courses span 1,100 acres and are within six miles of each other. North is a semi-private course that is open to public play but Sun City residents receive preferred tee times and rates, which are among the lowest in the metro Phoenix area.
Visit the complete Arizona Golf Authority Golf Course Directory to read the Arizona Golf Authority AZGA Golf Course Buzz about every golf course in the State of Arizona at http://s167282.gridserver.com/coursedirectory/
Here are the direct links to each of Sun City’s 8 golf courses, enjoy:
Arizona Golf Authority AZGA Buzz: There’s a good reason national magazines rank Forest Highlands’ Canyon Course as one of the best courses in Arizona every year. When it comes to top quality golf, it simply doesn’t get any better than the Canyon Course – and the club’s other course, Meadow, is northern Arizona ponderosa pine forest perfection as well.
The Canyon Course, designed by then-partners Tom Weiskopf and Jay Morrish, was created in 1988 as part of a 1,100-acre enclave in the midst of majestic pine trees and groves of matures oaks and aspens in the cool forests of northern Arizona at 7,200-feet of elevation. As beautiful and serene as the Canyon’s setting is, it presented something of a design challenge, with Morrish fearing that the topography lent itself to too many driver-and-wedge par-4 holes, so he and Weiskopf folded, spindled and mutilated the lineup card and produced a revolutionary new batting order.
Far from the norm, they created a unique combination of six par-3 holes, five par-5s and seven par-4s; the back nine has three of each. The routing works so well that many golfers don’t notice that every other hole between the fourth and 14th is a par-3.
That all translates to a par-71 challenge, with four sets of tees at 7,007, 6,647, 6,225 and 5,004 yards. From the tips, it is rated at an over-par 72.6 with a stern slope of 139.
This course has hosted the U.S. Mid-Amateur and Junior Amateur, Canon Cup and numerous other USGA and Arizona Golf Association events.
Forest Highlands Golf Club - No. 4
Gorgeous canyon vistas, free-flowing streams and upwardly sweeping walls of Ponderosa pines frame the layout that is loaded with memorable holes, including the par-3 fourth, considered the signature hole, which plays across a lake at 182 yards with a second smaller pond, up at green level, guarding the front-left side of the green; the waterfall tells you it’s there. Two pine trees pinch access from the front-right of the green so the baby-draw the hole sets up for must be precisely flighted.
Our vote is cast for the ninth, though. The par-4 plays at 466 yards, starting on a wildflower-covered hillside, with a tee shot that hangs in the air for several seconds before landing in a low-lying meadow defined by a mountainside brook, which bisects the fairway near the landing area and spills into a pond along the right side of the green, part of a large green complex shared with the eighteenth. Your approach shot must carry the pond to the elevated green; bunkers right and left look appealing when compared to “short, in the pond”. Tricky green, stunning setting; fun golf hole.
Another standout par-3 is the 165-yard 14th, which offers no option except an accurate, full-carry over a lake protecting the front and complete right side of a deep, but quite narrow, green. Once on the dance floor, you will find an undulating putting surface that mimics the surface of an angry body of water, captured and reproduced in bent grass; you won’t find a flat putt here.
When it opened for play in 1988, the Canyon Course was ranked in second position by Golf Digest on their list of the best new golf courses in the country, just behind Shadow Glen in Kansas City, which also was also designed by Weiskopf and Morrish. That layout has faded from the rankings while Forest Highlands’ Canyon Course has stood the test of time.
Snagging a tee time is the tough part because this is an exclusive, equity club. Membership to both courses comes with property ownership, although in recent years, Forest Highlands has sold a limited number of “special memberships.” Each course has its own clubhouse and championship caliber practice facilities. The Canyon clubhouse presents an elegant, traditional look and serves as the gated community’s social center with fine dining, a lounge, locker rooms and administrative offices.
Read the Arizona Golf Authority AZGA Buzz for Forest Highlands’ Meadow Course.
Arizona Golf Authority AZGA Golf Course Buzz: Founded in 1950 with 246 charter members, Yuma Country Club remains the only member-owned private golf and country club in Yuma County. It’s a walkable, park-style course designed by the father-son team of William P. and William F. Bell, the “first family of golf course design” in California whose portfolio includes U.S. Open site Torrey Pines in San Diego, Riviera Country Club and L.A. Country Club’s North Course as well.
The younger Bell was known for his trademark laced-edged bunkers which he located with shot strategy and player temptation in mind. His artful hand is evident here, where he’s combined them with the elevated, undulating greens he preferred.
The fairways are a bit on the narrow side and lined with plenty of mature trees; four lakes bring water into play on six holes. Yuma Country Club offers four sets of tees at 6,810, 6,525, 6,254 and 5,902 yards, with a rating of 72.2 and slope of 124 from the tips.
The par-4 10th is the signature hole and it’s a textbook example of the understated Bell Sr. design style. Although it plays at just 385 yards from the back tee and there’s not a fairway bunker in sight, it rates on the card as the No. 2 handicap hole. Accuracy and yardage control are the keys to unlocking the Bell family style and they’re your only hope here.
The gentle dogleg left requires accurate placement of the tee ball in the right side of the fairway. Water threatens the last 140 yards of the fairway over there, and a tributary crosses the fairway, about 40 yards short of the green. You’ll also match wits with a large willow tree standing guard at the water’s edge that always seems to be in the way of your approach shot. The modest green is bunkered in front, left and right, and subtle undulations run throughout the putting surface.
The 18th presents a strong par-4 finishing test playing 405 yards. This sweeping dogleg left has out of bounds left and water right of the fairway. A lone bunker threatens the right side of the landing area and gets a lot more activity than it seems it should. You’ll find a very narrow opening between front bunkers to the small undulating green beyond. Solidly struck, precise yardage shots are rewarded here, once again.
Several memberships, both golf and non-golf, are offered, including seasonal memberships; prospective applicants require three sponsoring members. Practice facilities and instruction are first rate. The club also offers tennis, swimming and fitness facilities and several dining options, including the casual Saguaro and Ocotillo rooms and the upscale Agave Grill.
