The Buzz: Tom Weiskopf and Jay Morrish created a masterpiece in the Monument, which was Golf Digest’s “Best New Public Course’’ when it made its debut in 1989. It was a revolutionary moment in Arizona golf, as the Monument’s dramatic landscape and impeccable conditions raised the bar for public golf for the entire Southwest. Weiskopf still chuckles about what he and former partner Morrish wrought. “What’s funny was that back then there were people who thought a daily fee of $80 or $90 would never fly,’’ he said. “Now they’re charging over $200 and people are standing in line to play the golf course.’’
The Monument’s original 18 holes no longer exist, as its front nine was combined not long ago with the original front nine of Troon North’s Pinnacle Course, another Weiskopf production (without Morrish). Still, the front nine on the Pinnacle was the better of those two nines and when you combine them with the course’s signature hole – the one-of-a-kind, par-5 third hole nicknamed “Monument’’ (what else?) – this course remains a “must play’. FYI, the Monument was the flagship course that launched Troon Golf.
Read “The Buzz” about sister course Troon North — Pinnacle.