The Buzz: The late John Wayne was more concerned with dogies than bogeys when he owned ranches in the area, but the legendary actor provided the right theme for this course designed by David Druzisky in Maricopa. A western feel fits nicely with The Duke, an 18-hole public course that opened in 2003 and was acquired in 2010 by Ahwatukee Golf Properties.
The player-friendly layout has four sets of tees, ranging from 5,137 to 7,011 yards, and plays to par 72. It is rated at 72.6 with a slope of 126 from the back tees. Construction crews had to move 3 million yards of dirt to create housing sites around the course, in the process creating contours and subtle shapes to define the layout that began as a flat piece of land. The Santa Rosa Wash, which snakes through the property, accents several holes. This was farming country, which included the Red River Farms owned by Wayne, first as a cotton farm and later as a cattle ranch.
In keeping with the western theme, tee markers are made of sawn-off pieces of train rails and bag tags are in the shape of a boot with a spur on the back that spins around. A 6,000-square-foot ranch-style clubhouse is reminiscent of an Arizona territorial lodge with its rustic steel roof and a stallion sculpture at the front entry. Inside, it is decorated with Western-inspired paintings, horseshoes, branding irons and spurs, and the Silver Spur Grill serves up breakfast, lunch and dinner. No, Wayne never dined here, but he often visited the Table Top Tavern in nearby Stanfield, where he shared many a toast with local farmers. He was a beloved figure in this area southeast of metro Phoenix, and the Duke course runs along a road renamed John Wayne Parkway.
Druzisky was careful not to trick up the course with unnecessary hazards and obstacles that some designers can’t resist. That doesn’t mean it is without challenges, especially for those who try to lasso it from the tips. “The Duke was designed to give the golfer a sense of arrival and discovery,” Druzisky said. “I wanted to accommodate different styles of play by giving golfers conservative and aggressive options.”
The par 3s are particularly strong. No. 5, which is considered the signature hole, plays at 177 yards over water to an island green ringed with palm trees and a mountain backdrop. The par-3 16th, at 225 yards, is tougher with an elevated tee where the target line is a giant bunker that protects the left side of the green and almost completely blocks the view of the green. The par-4 12th and par-3 13th also are memorable holes with their dynamic bunkering, where Druzkisky emulated a Pine Valley look. The finishing hole is a 523-yard par 5 with a left dogleg, plenty of native vegetation and water running down the left side.
Druzisky chose the name “Duke” for the course because of Wayne’s history in the area and its “rough and tumble” sound. But he also presented a very playable course with wide fairways, large greens and mild desert transition areas. Golfers who play here won’t ride off into the sunset feeling beat up.