The Buzz: We can, and will, tell you plenty more, but here is all you really need to know about Trilogy at Vistancia: In 2009, it was the only public golf course in Arizona to receive a 5-star rating from Golf Digest, which is considered the utmost authority in that regard. The designation is determined by combining the opinions of official Golf Digest raters with those of the golfing public. How does the magazine define 5-star? “Superb. Golf at its absolute best. Pay any price to play at least once in your life.” Just 23 courses received that ranking in 2010, including the likes of Pebble Beach, Bethpage Black, Bandon Dunes and TPC Sawgrass. Need we say more? Probably not, but with this course there is plenty to discuss.
The par-72 layout, which plays at 7,259 yards from the tips, is among about 20 designed in Arizona by Gary Panks but the only one to be inspired by a hunting trip. During that trip to southeastern Arizona, near the Chiracahua Mountains, Panks found a blend of blue gramma, weeping love and sand-drop grasses he had planted at Vistancia to perfectly accentuate the rolling terrain and sprawling White Tank Mountains in the distance. “Our philosophy was to create a marriage of 18 holes with their desert surroundings,” Panks said. “Here, I think golfers find the game is highly visual as well as satisfying.” The long, wispy grasses in the rough and transition areas bring a Scottish look and feel to the course that is obviously one of Panks’ finest efforts because it combines quality design – one that offers playability and tournament toughness — with picturesque surroundings and in a way that preserves the natural values of the property.
Vistancia, the centerpiece of a 7,100-acre master-planned community, features more than 70 bunkers, an unusually high number for a Panks design, but they are strategic rather than the type of endless bunkering that can turn a golf round into a nightmare. Adding to its appeal is a classic finishing stretch with four of the last five holes offering potential birdies. That includes two par-5s that are reachable in 2 shots, a drivable par-4 and a picturesque par-3 protected by a small lake on the right front. Typical of the added touches is the fifth hole, the longest on the course at 597 yards, where a sculpted mound near the front of the green perfectly mimics the mountain that serves as the backdrop. “We didn’t try to do anything tricky with the design,” Panks said. “I don’t like making people guess — just present a target and let them go after it whatever way they feel is best.
If you play the proper tees, anyone can have a good time on this course.” Trust Panks and Golf Digest on this one. They both made the right calls.