Blog
-
Writers Get To Experience a Taste Of Arizona Golf
Superstition Mountain Golf Club Beginning this Sunday, more than 100 golf writers from around the world will congregate in Scottsdale at the Xona Resort Suites for the Xona Golf Media Classic. Now in its 9th year, the Xona Golf Media Classic showcases exceptional Scottsdale-area golf courses and this year won’t disappoint. For three nights and four days the writers will get to experience great food, drink and exciting entertainment. And most important, they will experience four fabulous golf courses in Desert Forest, Superstition Mountain, We-Ko-Pa and Southern Dunes.
The Media Classic was the brainchild of the AZGA’s own Bill Huffman who felt golf in Arizona was sorely under marketed. “Our area is such a great golf destination, but we didn’t have a national presence,” said Huffman. “So I figured we needed to sell the story to the most credible sources: golf writers. I put one and one together and came up with three.” He was right.
Played December 5-8, the Xona Golf Media Classic has quickly become the largest golf writer/ broadcasters bash in the world.
-
Arizona December Specials
It’s always nice to see December specials roll around just in time for the holidays here in Arizona. And, this year is no different. The Wigwam and Fairmount Scottsdale Princess have some specials you’ll enjoy.
ARIZONA GOLF ESCAPE
The Wigwam Golf Resort & Spa is offering a great Arizona Golf Escape now through Dec. 31, 2010. The package includes room accommodations for two, daily breakfast for two, unlimited golf for two and roundtrip airport transfers. The Wigwam Golf Resort & Spa is the only Arizona resort with access to five golf courses and is home to the Southwest’s only 54 holes of championship golf. For more details visit: www.wigwamresort.comGET GOLF FIT
The Fairmount Scottsdale Princess is partnering with the TPC Scottsdale to create Golf Fit, a luxurious, cutting-edge golf vacation designed to help golf travelers play their best while having fun and relaxing in one of Scottsdale’s most celebrated golf environments. To start, a Willow Stream Spa personal trainer works with the golfer to access his/ her balance, agility and core strength to determine areas for improvement. The package also includes overnight accommodations, 30-minutes of golf instruction with a TPC Scottsdale teaching professional, followed by a round of golf, a special Golf Fit, lunch at The Grill and a 60-minute Golf Performance massage at Willow Stream Spa. The Golf Fit, package is available now through December 31. For more information, check out:
http://www.fairmont.com/scottsdale/HotelPackages/Golf/fairmontgolffitpackage.htm -
Help The Homeless & Save On Golf
Hole #16 TPC Scottsdale Stadium Course Golfers have always been known to be charitable, and TPC Scottsdale will once again reward those who find it in their hearts to be generous this holiday season. Not only will TPC Scottsdale continue the Golf Fore Groceries program this year, they are sweetening the deal. During the month of December 2010, if you bring 5 canned goods or donate $50 to benefit the Foothills Food Bank, you’ll received a reduced green fee: $69 + tax at the Champions course or $175 + tax at the Stadium course.
This will include a Forecaddie for your Stadium course round. The deal is good any day of the week, although not all tee times are valid at these rates. You can book your round up to 7 days in advance. Note: Both courses are cart path only in December. So if you want to do a really good deed and enjoy great golf, book your round at: www.tpc.com/scottsdale
-
We-Ko-Pa Golf Club
If the Cholla and the Saguaro courses at We-Ko-Pa Golf Club were the only two courses you ever play, you will have experienced the finest gifts golf in Arizona has to offer: a spectacular natural setting, manicured course conditions and sensational golf course design.
36-holes have been laid upon the pristine high-desert property across the valley from the Tonto National Forest’s Mazatzal Mountains and their majestic pinnacle called Four Peaks, English for the native American Yavapai word WeKoPa.
Hole #8 Cholla Course at We-Ko-Pa The view of Four Peaks commands your attention all day long and the Fort McDowell Yavapai Nation reservation location outside Fountain Hills ensures development will never encroach upon the natural desert oasis these courses occupy.
Although they play a bit differently, Cholla and Saguaro complement each other perfectly. Scott Miller’s Cholla is played through the air, while Bill Coore and Ben Crenshaw’s Saguaro is most successfully played on the ground. Comparing the first hole of each course demonstrates the distinct, yet complimentary, yin and yang that make these two an enjoyable golf course pairing.
The opening tee shot at Cholla’s 351-yard first asks you to make a simple choice: how much desert do I want to carry? As you stand on the desert-island tee box some 90-feet above the perfect carpet of fairway below, which runs away from you at about a 45-degree angle, you can choose to carry all the desert wash and knock driver on the green. Or, reduce the carry and play a metal hybrid and a gap-wedge second, or adjust your line of play a little more and employ a 5-iron then 9-iron strategy. Choose your target line and execute the shot; what fun. You will face this choice off the tee repeatedly and you will fly the vast majority of your second shots over hazards to tantalizing pins on raised greens in stunning settings all day long.
Hole #2 Saguaro Course at We-Ko-Pa Saguaro is all about golf on the contours and swales crafted upon the natural terrain by Messer’s Coore and Crenshaw. The 469-yard first at Saguaro presents a fairway so wide and appealing only a total misfire can miss it. Yardage is relative here as the fairway plays firm and fast and your tee shot will run forever over and around the subtle bumps and mounds. As you consider your approach, the front and left sides of the green appear wide open, the pin seemingly defenseless. Here’s a tip, it’s not. The complex has been deftly shaped to collect and reward shots of proper trajectory and those along the ground; other types of shots may be summarily rejected.
Saguaro plays firm and fast, and will ask you to reconsider golf through the air several times during your day. You’ll probably hit every fairway and stand over your second, viewing an immaculate green complex, choosing a club for what appears to be a generous target. Consider bouncing the ball to the hold rather than carrying it to the flag. Around the greens, you may find a low running shot a bit more rewarding than a lofted one. On the greens, consider their author and pay strict attention to your position relative to WeKoPa. Don’t be surprised when you watch your straight uphill 4-footer break 6-inches and come to rest 7-feet below the hole.
Cholla and Saguaro, together with the elegant We-Ko-Pa clubhouse, enormous double-tee practice ground and stellar staff, provide an 18 or 36-hole day that is the epitome of world-class golf in the one-of-a-kind setting we call Arizona Golf.
-
Veteran Golf Journalist Bill Huffman Becomes The Voice Of The Arizona Golf Authority
Scottsdale, AZ – Award-winning Arizona golf journalist Bill Huffman, along with partners Linda Dillenbeck and Allan Landolt, have launched the Arizona Golf Authority website, the first professional and independent resource of comprehensive information about Arizona golf.
The Arizona Golf Authority was borne from the desire to have a reliable source for current golf news, which disappeared when the State’s major newspapers opted to eliminate their golf writers. “I know the world is moving to digital, but I’m still an avid print reader,” said partner Linda Dillenbeck. “I was so disappointed with local coverage in the newspapers and told Bill so one night at dinner. We talked about how to feature his knowledge, insights and coverage of the Arizona golf scene for his large local audience and package it for out-of-state golfers to make planning their trips here easier. That’s how the Arizona Golf Authority was created and I’m really excited about the plans we have to promote our great golf destination locally and nationally.”
Bill Huffman, whose career has included covering local, national and international golf for more than 30 years, will bring his own brand of wit and wisdom to the Arizona Golf Authority site. Huff Daddy’s first task is to provide insight about what to expect at each of the over 350 golf courses in Arizona. It’s a pretty big task, so veteran Arizona golf writer John Davis will be a major contributor to the task. In addition to their course insights, Huffman and Davis will provide updates of breaking news, profiles of key players in the industry, full-length course reviews and inside information about what’s really going on in Arizona Golf.
The Arizona Golf Authority website is focused on providing service-oriented information. The site will feature information about all the elements for a great golf experience, including recommendations for golf friendly hotels, upcoming tournament listings and local spots to hang for fabulous food and drink. The team has also partnered with individual cities to provide easy “one click” access to information about other things to do while in Arizona. Plus, it will provide a user-friendly “Ask Us” button to help golfers make the right choices for upcoming trips.
“Our State has the most incredible offering of accessible, high-quality golf courses in the country and it’s very confusing for someone not familiar with our State to know where to play and stay,” commented partner Landolt. “I get calls all the time asking me to connect the dots for courses to play and places to stay, so the opportunity to work with Bill and Linda to publish a service-oriented website providing insider-information about every aspect of Arizona golf was very appealing to me.”
“It’s no secret that consumers are moving to the digital world for information,” said Huffman. “The advantage of the digital model is that we can keep our nationwide community of avid golfers ‘in the know’ about Arizona golf news as it happens. To produce a compelling design package for the site, the AZGA team turned to Lucky Dog Creative’s Tom Howard to create the logo, which has received rave reviews. Communication Links, a Scottsdale-based golf marketing company, was tapped to develop the site to provide the ultimate user experience.
Companies involved in the Arizona golf industry as well as charitable organizations are invited to submit news, updates and tournament schedules, which will be posted free of charge on the site. Information should be submitted to allan@azgolfauthority.com.
-
SunRidge Canyon Under New Ownership
Fountain Hills, Ariz. – Don and Cindy Misheff, part-time Fountain Hills residents, announced today the acquisition of SunRidge Canyon Golf Club in Fountain Hills, Arizona. The Misheffs along with key management purchased the club from Sunbelt Holdings.
Jeff Lessig (left), Cindy and Don Misheff (right) “This is a dream-come-true for us,” said Don Misheff. “As avid golfers who are passionate about the game and all that comes with it, Cindy and I visualized this for many years, especially during our visits to Fountain Hills. The pieces just started to fall into place, and we’re now happy to report our long-term commitment to the Fountain Hills community to preserve and even improve the golf experience at SunRidge Canyon. To reach this goal, we already chose a local golf-savvy management team to make that happen.”
Jeff Lessig was hired as the general manager, and Derek Crawford assumes the position of director of operations. Lessig’s new position at SunRidge Canyon Golf Club marks a homecoming; he was the club’s original general manager for six years after it opened for public play in 1995, prior to taking on the general manager position at We-Ko-Pa Golf Club. And during his time at We-Ko-Pa, Lessig worked with Crawford, who recently accepted a position at SunRidge Canyon to once again work alongside Lessig as the golf club’s new director of operations. In addition to his nine-year stint at We-Ko-Pa, Crawford joins the SunRidge Canyon team after decades of experience at other clubs in the local Phoenix/Scottsdale golf scene. And the management team will also include two people who have worked at the club from its inception. Ron Ruppert will continue as the golf course superintendant, and Brian Gillmore will carry on as the food and beverage manager.
“I am eager to get started at SunRidge Canyon,” said Lessig. “The Misheffs bring with them the right combination of professionalism wrapped up in their down-to-earth personality that is well suited for the golf business. We intend to make the best of this opportunity to usher SunRidge Canyon into a new era of prosperity with an exceptional golf experience and attentive customer service leading the way.”
