Tag: arizona golf course list

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Central Arizona Sun City

Willowcreek Golf Course – Sun City

Arizona Golf Authority AZGA Arizona Golf Course Buzz: Willowcreek is one of the most popular layouts among the eight courses, five championship and three executives, that comprise the Recreation Centers of Sun City’s golf stable. Built in 1973 and designed by well-known architects George and Tom Fazio, Willowcreek is known for its great conditioning and undulating fairways that can produce some tricky lies. The layout’s five lakes bring water into play on nine, that’s right, 9 of the 18 holes.

The course is laid out so that most of the holes run parallel to each other, with an out-and-back loop configuration on both nines. So as long as you spray in the proper direction, you’ll have a chance to visit with other groups playing the course.

The relatively flat terrain and traditional design make the course walkable, as is its little sister, Willowbrook, an 18-hole executive course located on the same property.

In 2011, the property underwent a $700,000 improvement project to the bunkers, tees and driving range, which was overseen by Gary Brawley of Tripp Davis and Associates. Three sets of tees are now in play at 6,366, 6,040 and 5,551 yards, with a rating of 69.4 and slope of 119 from the back tees; level par is 72.

Plenty of birdie opportunities are available, but the water hazards and mature trees require careful attention to score well on this seemingly docile layout. The back nine is the most interesting of the two nines and the last six holes providing a fun but tough stretch; standouts are the water-threatened 14th and 15th.

The 14th is a drivable par-4; bunkers and a lake to the right of the fairway create a risk-reward scenario here for those who have a go. The lake must then be carried off the tee at the 15th, a 181-yard par-3 featuring an undulating green that produces a lot of 3-putts.

Willowcreek shares a fine driving range and putting green with little sister Willowbrook. The clubhouse is a full-service facility and provides standard fare. Public play is encouraged, but RCSC members receive preferred rates and tee times.

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.

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Central Arizona Sun City

Willowbrook Golf Course – Sun City

Arizona Golf Authority AZGA Golf Course Review: The Willowbrook executive golf course is part of the Sun City, Arizona complex that also offers the regulation-length Willowcreek golf course. Both courses were designed by the highly regarded father-son duo of George and Tom Fazio and they are two of the more popular layouts in Sun City’s RCSC stable of eight golf courses, three of which are executives.

The facility spent $700,000 in 2011 updating the two courses, their shared driving range and clubhouse. Willowbrook has two sets of tees at 3,800 yards with a rating of 57.8 and slope of 84, and 3,414 yards with a rating of 58.1 and slope of 89.

Willowbrook offers six par-4 holes and three par-3s on each nine. The 10th and 12th holes are the longest at 340 and 339 yards, but the front is longer overall and definitely the more interesting of the two. That’s because of a lake that brings water into play on three holes in a four-hole stretch.

The watery challenge begins at No. 3 with a 184-yard par 3 that has large bunkers guarding both sides of the green. The respite is No. 4, but it stretches 225 yards and is the longest par-3 on the course.

The water reappears at the 5th, a 306-yard par-4 that doglegs right, around the lake. At the sixth hole, a 112-yard par-3, the tee shot must carry the lake hold a putting surface surrounded by three large bunkers.

Willowbrook shares its complete driving range and practice putting green, along with a full-service snack bar that serves breakfast and lunch with its little sister, the Willowcreek course.

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.

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Northern Arizona Pinetop

White Mountain Country Club

Arizona Golf Course List - White Mountain Country Club - Arizona Golf Authority
White Mountain Country Club

Arizona Golf Course List – Arizona Golf Authority Golf Course Guide

Arizona Golf Course List - White Mountain Country Club - Arizona Golf Authority
White Mountain Country Club

This is one of Arizona’s oldest and most treasured private country clubs with a rich history that operates on a seasonal basis from May through October. The golf course is built near the spectacular Mogollon Rim on property once owned by the U.S. Forest Service and leased by members when it opened as a nine-hole layout in 1956.

The second nine opened a year later and by 1967, the 1,800-acre parcel had been traded to the members. In exchange, the Forest Service received 16 acres of land near McNary for every acre it gave up.

The club becomes a second home for many private club members from the Phoenix area during the valley’s hot summer months and remained their No. 1 choice until Forest Highlands opened in Flagstaff in 1987. The original nine, which now is the back nine, was designed by Arizona golf legend Milt Coggins and developer Gray Madison. They, along with Arthur “Jack” Snyder, created the second nine.

White Mountain isn’t particularly long but demands accuracy to negotiate the thick pine forest lining most fairways. You’ll find five sets of tees, with the tips playing at 6,523 yards and the forward tees at 5,561. From the back tees, it is rated at 68.3 with a slope of 122.

The terrain is defined by rolling hills, rugged outcroppings of lava and malapai rock formations, excellent views of the largest stand of Ponderosa Pine in North America, and you’ll love the smooth bent-grass greens that can be nurtured in this climate. Constant elevation changes add to the character and there is no out of bounds. If you can find it on White Mountain, you can play it.

White Mountain starts off tamely but the fun starts at the fourth hole, a 414-yard par 4 with an uphill dogleg left over a lily pond. Three of the next four holes are excellent par 5s with plenty of variety, playing at 613, 503 and 527 yards.

The back nine, which is a little more open than the front, heats up at the 12th hole, a 178-yard par 3, followed by a short par 4 of 330 yards. Big hitters who dare cut the corner can drive the green, but plenty of trouble awaits those who try and fail.

The signature hole is the 18th, a 440-yard par 4 over water to a severely sloping green, where three-putting is the norm. That provides plenty of chuckles for other golfers relaxing on the spacious clubhouse patio.

White Mountain offers active, junior and social memberships, but all are by invitation only. While that might sound a bit stuffy, much of the club’s charm is its casual, laid-back approach to golf and life far from the trappings of a big city.

Visit our Arizona Golf Course Directory List 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.

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Central Arizona Fountain Hills Scottsdale

We-Ko-Pa Saguaro Course

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We-Ko-Pa Saguaro Course – Arizona Golf Courses

If you were tasked with choosing the best piece of property in Arizona  for a pair of golf courses, the site at We-Ko-Pa Golf Club would be one of your finalists. Both courses, Cholla and Saguaro, provide native-natural terrain and boast spectacular views.

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The team of Bill Coore and Ben Crenshaw laid the Saguaro Course in place with their distinctively delicate hand about  five years after the Cholla Course opened for play. It made WeKoPa Golf Club “the” place to play in Arizona and with the addition of Saguaro, it still is!

One of golf’s red-hot design teams of the past decade, Coore-Crenshaw did not disappoint with their stellar effort at We-Ko-Pa Saguaro, even if a few holes did turn out rather unique, like the super-short uphill par-3 ninth and super-challenging par-4 finish at the eighteenth.

Course conditioning and incredible desert-mountain views don’t get much better than here at We-Ko-Pa and the Saguaro Course offers up an entertaining mix of of short par 4s and long par 4s right in the middle of the surrounding natural splendor.

The golf course plays firm and fast throughout so don’t be frightened by the 469-yard par-4 first hole; your tee ball is going to run forever. Just remember that’s just as true at the 336-yard par-4 second or your tee-ball will run-out and find a fairway bunker you thought you were playing short of.

The signature 14th, a 538-yard uphill par 5,  presents a different dilemma: a tempting split fairway and fantastic mountain views both vie for your attention. Here’s a tip: highly skilled players go right, the rest of us play to the left-side fairway – your choice.

The par-3 fifteenth is another favorite. The elevated tee tempers it’s 255-yard length, reducing your club selection by at least two clubs. The green complex below offers an open door for the baby-draw shot we all see ourselves playing from time to time. Go ahead and author one, the forgiving slope on the right-hand side of the green will collect those shots that stay straight.

One thing to definitely smile about is that We-Ko-Pa’s slightly shorter Saguaro Course (a little over 6,900 yards) allows walking and that’s a good thing. This is no level stroll through your local parkland muni though, you’ll be up and down through the natural arroyos that give this course it’s desert character.

wekopa-ben-crenshaw-bill-cooreTrue to form, Messrs. Coore-Crenshaw left the fairway and green sites completely natural. Or as Crenshaw spun it:

“We just kind of draped the grass over what was already there.’’

It’s the less is more, minimalist philosophy the dynamic-duo adheres to and it’s perfect for property this stunning. Another thing to like is the old-style bunkering, which undoubtedly is a Coore-Crenshaw strength. Not only are there several gaping pot bunkers on the Saguaro, there also are plenty of elongated fairway bunkers known as “furrowed brows’’ with a touch of wispy grass hanging over the edges strictly for effect.

Add it all up and Saguaro is pure, compelling golf in the desert.  Also featured are a cool, rustic half-way house that looks like it was built in the days of yesteryear, and We-Ko-Pa’s striking clubhouse – it’s first-rate and ultra-chic in a new-age Native American way.

Arizona Golf Authority AZGA “Local Hang” for We-Ko-Pa Golf Club is the club’s panoramic patio, especially if you indulge in the magnificent mahi-mahi sliders with zesty Pico de Gallo and a draught of Drop Top amber ale.  No wonder We-Ko-Pa markets the final moments of a day of golf as “good food with a view.’’

Click We-Ko-Pa Cholla Course to check out Saguaro’s sister course; these two pair for a world-class 36-hole day of Arizona golf.

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

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

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Central Arizona Fountain Hills Scottsdale

We-Ko-Pa Cholla Course

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We-Ko-Pa Cholla – Arizona Golf Courses

Even though it’s often referred to as the “other course’’ at We-Ko-Pa these days, the Cholla Course is the main attraction for many players who visit this 36-hole facility, located about 20 minutes east of Scottsdale.

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Built in 2001 by Scottsdale’s own golf course architect, Scott Miller, the Cholla course tips out at 7,225 yards, but offers several, more entertaining tee boxes between there and the front tees at 5,289. Cholla is rip-roaring fun thanks to its constantly changing terrain and endless variety of risk-reward golf hole designs.

Cholla’s thrilling adventure across the native American reservation of the Fort McDowell Yavapai Nation begins at the first tee. Elevated far above the first fairway below, you can play nearly any mid to long club in your bag. Your task is to determine how much, if any, you want to cut off the nearly 90-degree, downhill, dogleg left par-4, which plays much shorter than its official 351 yards.

That’s followed up by a slight double-dog-leg par-5 that slithers its way gently uphill to a partially hidden green, and then it’s onward to the dramatic, par-3 third which glistens like an emerald green jewel dropped into this natural, arid terrain.

wekopa-cholla-scott-millerWow, whether you’re two-under or four-over after these first three fasten your seat belt because this Scott Miller thrill ride just keeps getting better all day.

Even though it’s a bit controversial,  the difficult par-5 eighth hole offers a signature “Kodak moment’’ shot into a green complex that is drop-dead gorgeous. The tee shot is launched from the highest point on the course and breaks sharply to the right and down the hill. Your second shot is the tricky one here.

The green complex in the distance is artfully tucked into a rocky box canyon, on the opposite side of a natural arroyo that bisects the fairway. A lay-up short of it leaves you a sticky, downhill, side-hill lie for your third that can be troublesome. There’s room to lay on the far side of the arroyo as well, but a solid shot is required to carry the arroyo and find it.

If that’s not enough distraction, just add the awe-inspiring backdrop beyond featuring the namesake Four Peaks mountain, pronounced “we-ko-pah’’ in the native Yavapai language. The eighth is great fun and no matter what you card here, your eye-candy appetite will be satisfied.

The back nine is just as exhilarating, with a non-stop barrage of special par-3s, risk-reward par-5s and elegant green complexes with putting surfaces that are sure to knock your golf socks off.

So how is it that the Cholla is often overlooked in favor of the Saguaro course if it’s really this much nonstop excitement?

Well, call it the Coore-Crenshaw factor, as the design team of Bill and Ben, and their “minimalist” design philosophy are pretty popular these days. But a lot of those who rate golf courses for a living recognize this first offering at We-Ko-Pa has a lot more pizazz.

We agree. If you find yourself in need of an elevator presentation for the two courses at We-Ko-Pa Golf Club use this:

“Cholla, the original course, is played through the air and Saguaro, the one Crenshaw did, is played on the ground. They may be the best onsite, sister course pairing in desert southwest, and that’s why next Saturday, I booked us for a 36-hole day!”

Arizona Golf Authority AZGA “Local Hang” for We-Ko-Pa Golf Club is the club’s panoramic patio, especially if you indulge in the magnificent mahi-mahi sliders with zesty Pico de Gallo and a draught of Drop Top amber ale.  No wonder We-Ko-Pa markets the final moments of a day of golf as “good food with a view.’’

Click We-Ko-Pa Saguaro Course to check out Cholla’s sister course; these two pair for a world-class 36-hole day of golf.

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

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