Tag: arizona golf course reviews

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Carefree Central Arizona Scottsdale

Boulders Golf Club – North Course

Arizona Golf Courses – Boulders Golf Club North Course

Most people love staying at The Boulders as much as playing the two golf courses, which is why Andrew Harper’s Hideaway Report, known as the connoisseur’s guide to “peaceful and unspoiled places,’’ once gave it the No. 1 nod in the world for 12 years running. It’s also why The Boulders was named by the Arts and Entertainment Network as one of the top romantic get-aways in the world.

Cool stuff for a golf course! Or should we say courses. A 36-hole day is always a good idea and we think you’ll find the North quite entertaining, even if it’s a bit more inundated with houses and offers a few fewer Kodak scenery moments than the South.

Low clouds over the #16 hole on The Boulder’s North Course in Carefree, Arizona
Hole #16 on the North Course at The Boulders

Certainly the North is more traditional and tight, with white stakes seemingly everywhere along the residence-lined fairways. The heart of the North starts at No. 10, where it reels off three demanding doglegs in a row. If there is a signature hole, it comes at the end of that run, as the par-3 14th is a dicey long iron over water to a tricky green. The course closes out with another strong, dogleg par 4 at the 18th, where water and sand once again complicate matters.

Surprisingly, and somewhat contrary to what Morrish and most visitors say, the club’s members enjoy both courses somewhat equally, which is why they are switched back and forth on a daily basis. Oh, yes, and one more thing to relish about The Boulders is its world-renown Golden Door Spa. Ahhhh – perfect after 36 holes of golf!

The Arizona Golf Authority AZGA “Local Hang” for the North and South Courses, following a libation on any of several Boulders patios, includes both the simple cowboy cheeseburgers and cold long-necks at Harold’s as well as the finest in fine-Foodie-dining at Binkley’s, both just up the road a piece in the Cave Creek – Carefree locale.

Click Boulders South Course to visit our Arizona Golf Course Directory List and read the AZGA Player’s Review for every golf course in Arizona.

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

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Central Arizona Glendale

Bellair Golf Club

Bellair Golf Club - Arizona Golf Course Reviews from the Arizona Golf Authority

Arizona Golf Courses – Arizona Golf Authority Golf Course Review

Bellair Golf Club offers one of the best executive golf courses in Arizona. The design is definitely head-and-shoulders above the usual pitch-and-putt affair as this Bellair features five par-4 holes, genuine strategic bunkering and several tight, tree-lined fairways.

Bellair Golf Club - Arizona Golf Course Reviews from the Arizona Golf Authority
Bellair Golf Club No. 13 - 160 Yard - Par 3

If you are adept at playing long irons and fairway metals, this course will fit your game nicely. If not, Bellair is the place to hone that part of your game. The course is an enjoyable and thorough test, throughout the bag, that will help fine tune your short game as well.

Bellair’s golf course, which opened in 1973, was sculpted by Red Lawrence, Greg Nash and Jeff Hardin, all of whom are well known for their course design work throughout Arizona, and they created a nice variety of holes with this layout. From the tips, par-4 holes range from 254 to 354 yards and par 3s vary from 121 to 217 yards.

The tips are set 3,493 yards and play to par 59. From here, the course is rated at 56.2 with a slope of 90. If there is a signature hole, it might be the 13th, which plays at 160 yards over water. Most of the greens are well protected challenging bunkers, and two water hazards come into play.

Bellair Golf Club features plenty of variety that appeals to all skill levels, and the affordable rates and friendly atmosphere also add to its good reputation. After your round, relax at the IronWorks Restaurant, which overlooks the first hole of the course and its adjoining lake. It offers good food at reasonable prices and has a full-service restaurant and lounge, open 7 days a week for breakfast, lunch and dinner.

If you prefer something a little spicier, the nearby Sesame Kitchen serves up some of the best Thai food in the Valley of the Sun. For lodging, the Red Roof Inn and Comfort Inn are good budget choices and within three miles of the course.

If you’re a baseball spring training fan, this is a great place to slip in a quick round on a good course before or after a game, and there are several teams that train nearby. Seattle and San Diego are over at Peoria Sports Complex and Texas and Kansas City train at Surprise Recreation Center. Both complexes are within a 15-minute drive.

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

Click Friends Hole Back-to-Back Aces at Bellair Golf Club’s 12th and 13th for a great hole-in-one story.

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

 

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Central Arizona Mesa

Augusta Ranch Golf Club

Augusta Ranch Golf Club - Arizona Golf Course Reviews - Arizona Golf Authority
Augusta Ranch Golf Club

Arizona Golf Courses – Augusta Ranch Golf Club
You won’t drive up Magnolia Lane, but you will enjoy the Magnolia Room at Augusta Ranch Golf Club, which offers a golf experience that’s well above the norm for executive courses. This 18-hole, par-61 layout is well known for its family atmosphere, friendly service, great playing conditions and a traditional design that offers plenty of challenges.

Augusta Ranch Golf Club - Arizona Golf Course Reviews - Arizona Golf Authority
Augusta Ranch Golf Club

For several years, it has been the host course for the Arizona Golf Association’s East Valley Short Course Championship and drew rave reviews from the Arizona Women’s Golf Association after holding its Short Course Championship at the Mesa facility.

Augusta Ranch, which tries to have fun with its name and namesake, has billed itself as “The Augusta that welcomes women,” and the AWGA supported that notion by naming it their “host course of the year.”

The AWGA praised the course’s facilities, condition and hospitality as a tournament host. Augusta Ranch has endeared itself to its golfers and community through its various programs, such as night golf, free movie nights, enrollment in the Audubon Cooperative Sanctuary Program and charity events, which have raised more than $230,000.

Most important to golfers, of course, is the layout that was completed in 1999, takes pride in its condition and requires the type of strategy and shot-making they might face on longer, championship courses.

Augusta Ranch bookends the challenge with the first hole, a 379-yard, par-4 being the No. 1 handicap hole and the 18th, a 316-yard, par-4, being the No. 2 handicap hole. Designed by Bill Phillips, who also designed Lake Powell National in Page, the front nine features four of the six par-4 holes on the course. Between the 1st and the 18th plan on using every club in your bag, because all the shots are here.

When your round is finished, sample the fare at the Magnolia Room, where you will find prints of magnolia blossoms and Amen Corner on the walls, then relax at the outdoor pavilion, which provides splendid views of the picturesque surroundings. It’s always great golf, great service and great fun at Augusta Ranch Golf Club.

Click Arizona Golf Courses Guide List Directory and read the AZGA player Arizona golf course reviews for all 350 golf courses in Arizona at www.arizonagolfauthority.com/coursedirectory.

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

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Central Arizona Glendale

Arrowhead Country Club

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Arizona Golf Courses – Arrowhead Country Club
Conceived from acres of orange groves in 1986, Arrowhead Country Club has attracted members from many corners of the United States. Created by golf legend Arnold Palmer and his right-hand man Ed Seay, who also designed the nearby Legend at Arrowhead, the private Arrowhead Country Club is a traditional design with lots of grass, 63 strategic (and often large) bunkers and 12 scenic lakes bringing water into play on nine holes.

arrowhead-country-club-18-photo The course offers generous, rolling fairways and large undulating greens that place a premium on accuracy and claim their fair share of three-putts. Leave your approach shot on the wrong tier, and these greens will take a toll. Palmer likes to say that he hopes his course designs are distinctly different but they have one common characteristic that is true in this case – you can see what you’re facing when you stand on a tee without having to guess about what might lay in wait. There are five sets of tees ranging from 5,282 to 7,001 yards, with a rating of 73.2 and slope of 124 from the tips.

Arrowhead offers another option, called “The Players Course,” which combines three holes from the back tees, six from the middle, seven from the front and two from the ladies tees. This popular rotation plays at 6,474 yards with a rating of 70.5 and slope of 122. The course starts strong with a 396-yard par 4, where your tee shot must contend with a lake on the right and fairway bunkers on the left. The second shot requires good distance control with bunkers guarding the front and back of the green.

Three of the par-3s play longer than 200 yards from the back tees, including the testy third hole at 202 with its undulating green protected by a lake in front and bunkers to the left and rear. No. 8, also at 396 yards, is an excellent risk-reward hole because the further you hit your tee shot, the more the lake on the right comes into play. With its undulations, this is one of the toughest green surfaces to read.

Arrowhead has a great finishing hole with more risk-reward characteristics. At 477 yards, the green is reachable in two shots but they better be well placed because a large lake comes into play all along the left side and a deep bunker guards the right side of the fairway. The approach shot must carry over a lake and bunker and avoid the water that wraps around both sides of the green. Eagles and triple bogeys are both common here.

Arrowhead is a non-equity private club with a complete country club experience in which full members receive access to golf, a sports club, fitness center, swimming and tennis facilities and fine dining. There are other memberships available, including junior executive for those under age 35, tennis, fitness and social. Members also can join the Eagle Elite program that offers reciprocal privileges at 40 private and 150 public courses across the country.

Categories
Southern Arizona Tucson

Arizona National Golf Club

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Arizona National Golf Club – Arizona Golf Courses
Designer Robert Trent Jones Jr. is known for creating golf courses that make good use of their natural terrain and has shown respect for their historic highlights in the process. That was the case at Arizona National Golf Club, originally known as Raven at Sabino Springs, in north Tucson.

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Nestled in the foothills of the picturesque Santa Catalina Mountains and adjacent to the Coronado National Forest, Jones took full advantage of the natural flow of the terrain and designed the course around nine natural springs, intimidating craggy rock outcroppings, mesquite-lined arroyos and some of the most spectacular scenery in the Southwest.

In the midst of it all, more than 1,000 years of history are represented by an old Hohokam Indian dwelling. The green for the par-3 12th hole was built on top of that dwelling and a pond, which was created by Native Americans for their livestock, was preserved as a water hazard off to the right of the 12th tee.

arizona-national-14-desert-photograph-arizona-golf-authorityAt 6,780 yards, it isn’t exceedingly long for a championship course, but its fangs deliver a nasty bite to those who dare tease its tees. Wayward shots, literally, end up between a rock and a hard place guarded by giant saguaro cacti.

The round concludes with the spectacular, yet scary, par-5 18th hole, which plays at 513 yards with a 200-foot drop from tee to green and was voted by the Arizona Daily Star and Arizona Republic as the best finishing hole in the state.

On a clear day, you can see Mexico from the tee, but don’t let it distract you too much because there is water down the left side waiting to grab your attention. In fact, this is a course where you are well advised to think before you swing on pretty much every shot, and laying up isn’t always the best strategy.

The AZGA “Local Hang” for Arizona National is the on-site patio bar, located lakeside where you can keep watch over both the 5th and 18th holes.

Click Arizona Golf Course Reviews for the player’s review of every golf course in Arizona. It’s just a part of “All Things Arizona Golf” from the Arizona Golf Authority.