Rio Verde Country Club – Quail Run Course / White Wing Course
It has been around for nearly 40 years, but Rio Verde has re-emerged as a significant player in the Valley of the Sun’s private golf club offerings following the $6 million redesign and renovation of the two courses, located just northeast of Scottsdale.
British Open champion, Ryder Cup captain and Scottsdale resident, Tom Lehman was hired to oversee the makeover, and he envisioned creating two distinctly different courses. Quail Run is Rio Verde’s original course, designed in 1973 by Milt Coggins. It’s a traditional layout, while White Wing, which was completed about 10 years later, is a links-style course.
Both are nestled in the lower Verde River Valley, north of Scottsdale on the fringes of the Tonto National Forest and McDowell Mountain Park. That adds up to some terrific views of the surrounding mountain ranges and serene wilderness on courses defined by rolling fairways, undulating greens and plenty of grass in contrast to desert-style layouts created in later years.
Lehman’s view is that Quail Run, with narrow, meandering fairways, greens surrounded by fringe and rough, and flashed-up sand bunkers has all the elements of a traditional course; he confirmed, “That’s the look we intended from the start.”
The par-72 course has five sets of tees ranging from 4,806 to 6,602-yards and is rated at 70.6 with a slope of 121 from the back tees. Lehman is a fan of strategic design and risk-reward holes and both come into play on Quail Run. The fourth hole is a beautiful par-3 at 199-yards to an elevated green where you must carry a water hazard and place your shot between two towering palm trees.
Another of those risk-reward holes is the par-5 sixth, which plays at just 465-yards and presents some stunning mountain views in the background, but going for the green in two requires a perfectly placed shot among several daunting bunkers.
Right behind it is the par-4 seventh at 394-yards with a sharp dogleg left, where long hitters are tempted to cut the corner leaving a short iron to the green, but must also carry a stand of tall trees to pull it off.
The course finishes with another risk-reward hole, a beautiful 503-yard par-5 guarded by water from 150 yards out, and water and sand bunkers protecting three sides of the green. Pay particular attention to the pin position on this green; stopping your approach below the hole is our recommendation.
White Wing, the second course created at Rio Verde by Milt Coggins, was originally completed by architects Greg Nash and Jeff Hardin in 1983. Lehman’s complete redesign of this course proved to be a little more challenging because the members wanted to create a links-style layout as a contrast to Quail Run’s traditional routing.
Lehman, as has been the case with all of his design work, did an excellent job of creating a layout that complemented its sister course perfectly, while maintaining the stunning views provided by the McDowell Mountain Preserve, Four Peaks and other landmarks in this area north of Scottsdale.
“White Wing was always intended to have very wide chipping areas surrounding the greens,” Lehman said when the project was completed. “The greens themselves were always intended to have more movement. The net result is a golf course that was intended to play like a links course, with the ability to use a variety of clubs around the greens.”
The former British Open champion always has been a big fan of the style of play that provides options in attacking greens, and it shows at White Wing, a par-71 layout with four sets of tees ranging from 4,672 to 6,535 yards, with a rating of 70.2 and slope of 120 from the tips.
Among the most scenic holes is the fifth, a 440-yard par-4 with a right dogleg, back-dropped by the Tonto National Forest and Four Peaks. Right behind it is an excellent par-3 of 198-yards with a green that slopes back to front and bunkers guarding both sides, putting a premium on an accurate tee shot.
There are three memorable risk-reward holes in a four-hole stretch that add a fun challenge to the round. No. 9 is a 327-yard par-4 to a heavily-bunkered green. The 11th is a par-4 of just 276-yards, but a lake wraps around the entire left side of the green and bunkers guard the front and right. No. 12 is a par-5 of 485-yards with a dogleg right that can be reached in two shots, but water also comes into play here, with a lake that skirts the right side of the green.
Rio Verde’s course renovation project was financed by an innovative “patron program” that left the club debt-free. Read the AZGA’s complete story of this unique program by clicking Midwest Ethics & Bold Plan Make Rio Verde Country Club “Home, Sweet Home”.
Rio Verde occupies roughly 735 acres, and has approximately 950 homes, with a total population of about 1,400. The club offers several membership options for residents and non-residents. The elegant 27,000 s.f. clubhouse offers several different dining options and a full range of club services and amenities.
Click Arizona Golf Courses Reviews and read the AZGA player review for all 325 golf courses in Arizona at www.arizonagolfauthority.com/coursedirectory.
It’s “All Things Arizona Golf” from the Arizona Golf Authority.