=20

Summer Specials

Microdermabrasion=20 & Oxygen Facial
Suddenly Slimmer Day Spa & Wellness=20 Center
Fu= ll Deals=20 List >>=20

05/08/2008 - = 05/11/2008

73rd Annual Quarter Horse Show

More Info >>

05/08/2008 - = 05/11/2008

Scottsdale Arabian Horse =E2=80=9CAmateur to Ride=E2=80=9D = Competition

More Info >>

05/08/2008 - = 05/09/2008

Gershwin and Mathieu

More Info >>

05/08/2008

3rd Annual Swing Fore Kids Golf Classic

More Info >>

05/09/2008 - = 07/31/2008

=E2=80=9CGardians of the Camargue: The French Buckaroo = Tradition=E2=80=9D

More Info >>

Fu= ll Event=20 Calendar >>=20

Golf in Arizona

Highlights:

Golf courses you say, well you have 400 plus course to = choose=20 from=20
Step back in history at Devil=E2=80=99s Claw and Cattail = courses at=20 Whirlwind Golf Club=20
Tee at =C3=BCber-lux courses in Tucson and Southern = Arizona=20
Take a golf course trip around Arizona and see what = makes each=20 one special

By Dina Mishev

Golf in Arizona can be pretty hard to describe in a general = sense.=20 There are so many different courses (400-some and counting) with = so many=20 different layouts (desert, traditional, links) scattered = throughout such=20 diverse topography, few adjectives are broad enough to cover it = all.

There is one aspect of golf in Arizona that can be generally = described=20 however: the weather. Arizona enjoys more than 300 days of = sunshine=20 annually and an average temperature of 72 degrees. The Grand = Canyon State=20 is not only the birthplace of desert-style golf =E2=80=93 target = golf through=20 natural obstacles such as cacti and arroyos =E2=80=93 but is also = home to more=20 traditional courses ranked highly by various golf = publications.

Topography and geography play a significant role in the style = of=20 course, so here=E2=80=99s a survey of the state=E2=80=99s golf by = region.

Phoenix and Southern Arizona

Everyone=E2=80=99s talking about Reservations here. Note that = capital =E2=80=9CR.=E2=80=9D=20 While the Phoenix area has no shortage of beautiful, storied = courses, it=20 is the newer courses developed on Native American lands that have = some of=20 the fasting-filling tee sheets. We-Ko-Pa=20 on the Ft. McDowell Yavapai Reservation and = Devil=E2=80=99s Claw=20 and Cattail courses at Whirlwind=20 Golf Club on the Gila River Indian Reservation are = among the=20 reservation standouts, not only because of their layouts and = surroundings,=20 but also because of the history of the land they sit on.

At Devil=E2=80=99s Claw, tee boxes look towards sacred = mountains. As with all=20 courses in this area, you=E2=80=99re going to want to be off them = well before the=20 sun hits its zenith in the summer."

Reservation golf=E2=80=9D isn=E2=80=99t the only highlight = here, though.

Scottsdale, just northeast of Phoenix, is the = birthplace of=20 desert golf. Developed to be sensitive to the = environment, desert=20 golf courses work with the local topography: the amount of land = that can=20 be used is limited, and local habitat must be used as a target = area for=20 golfers to play into. In Arizona, that means hitting through sandy = washes,=20 around bulbous barrel cacti, soaring saguaros and massive boulders = and=20 down narrower-than-usual fairways. Desert golf is target golf at = its best.=20 Sample desert golf at The=20 Boulders.

Tucson and Southern Arizona

While Tucson has =C3=BCber-lux courses that would fit right in = around=20 Phoenix (try Starr=20 Pass or Arizona=20 National), it also has plenty of affordable courses = where a=20 weekend tee time in peak season will set you back between $35 and = $50=20 (Quail=20 Canyon Golf Course or any of the five municipal = courses,=20 Dell Urich, Randolph North, El Rio, Silverbell = and=20 Fred Enke).

If you=E2=80=99re looking for a course that won=E2=80=99t feel = like playing at home but=20 aren=E2=80=99t quite ready to commit to a desert course, try = del=20 Lago Golf Club; it plays more like a desert/links = hybrid with=20 broad fairways melting into the surrounding desert scrub.

Northern Arizona

If it=E2=80=99s a traditional course in a very untraditional = setting you=E2=80=99re=20 looking for, northern Arizona is the place to go. = =E2=80=9CTraditional=E2=80=9D in layout=20 at least. There=E2=80=99s nothing traditional about teeing off = under red rock=20 towers in Sedona= =20 or challenging yourself with substantial elevation=20 changes when you=E2=80=99re already more than a mile = above sea level.

Sedona=20 Golf Resort is consistently ranked as one of the top = five=20 courses in the state. Its layout is often considered among the = finest, and=20 most fun, in the Southwest.

You=E2=80=99ll find rates at many northern courses are stable = (not likely to be=20 reduced in summer, like those in the south), but that=E2=80=99s = because summer=20 temperatures are routinely 10 to 15 degrees lower in the north (15 = to 20=20 degrees lower in Flagstaff) because of the elevation.

Arizona=E2=80=99s West Coast

Western Arizona definitely has its priorities straight: courses = just=20 might outnumber towns here. Which means that courses definitely = are not=20 crowded. Golfers here are generally not on a full golf vacation, = but are=20 rather vacationers to Lake=20 Havasu or Lake Mead who want to = break up=20 their boating, fishing and swimming with a day or two of golf. But = don=E2=80=99t=20 expect to totally escape the water. London=20 Bridge Golf Course and Bridgewater=20 Links have views out over Lake Havasu. At Emerald=20 Canyon Golf Course enjoy a great golf bargain, as = well as=20 overlooks onto the Colorado=20 River.

North Central

Did you know Arizona is more mountainous than Switzerland and = more=20 forested than Minnesota? When the weather=E2=80=99s too warm = elsewhere, head for=20 Pineto= p-Lakeside,=20 Alpin= e=20 or Sprin= gerville=20 and courses where water, sand and desert scrub aren=E2=80=99t the = only hazards. In=20 this area, you=E2=80=99ll have to watch out for elk and deer as = well. The added=20 challenges are worth it though: a shot off the tee will soar 10 = percent=20 further at these elevations. (The Alpine=20 Country Club is one of the highest in the country at = 8,220=20 feet above sea level.) To the east, there are 90 holes of golf = around=20 Prescott, including 36 belonging to one of the best affordable = courses in=20 the state (Antelope=20 Hills Golf Course).

Going?

Alpine Country Club
Phone: 928-339-4944, = (phone=20 number and course in operation generally April 15 =E2=80=93 Oct. = 15)

Antelope Hills Golf Course
Phone:=20 800-972-6818
Website: http://www.antelopehillsgolf.com/

Arizona National
Phone: = 520-749-3636
Website: http://www.arizonanationalgolfclub.com/

The Boulders
Phone: = 480-488-9028
Website: http://www.bouldersclub.com/

Bridgewater Links
Phone: = 928-855-4777
Website:=20 www.londonbridgeresort.com/recreation/golf_course.html

del Lago Golf Club
Phone: = 520-647-1100
Website:=20 http://www.dellagogolf.com/

Emerald Canyon Golf Course
Phone:=20 928-667-3366
Website: http://www.emeraldcanyongolf.com/

London Bridge Golf Course
Phone:=20 928-855-2719
Website: londonbridge.americangolf.com

Quail Canyon Golf Course
Phone:=20 520-887-6161
Website: http://www.quailcanyongolf.com/

Sedona Golf Resort
Phone: = 928-284-2093
Website:=20 http://www.sedonagolfresort.com/

Starr Pass
Phone: 800-503-2898
Website: = http://www.starrpass.com/

Tucson Municipal Courses (Dell Urich, Randolph = North,=20 El Rio, Silverbell, Fred Enke)
Website: http://www.tucsoncitygolf.com/

We-Ko-Pa
Phone: 480-836-9000
Website: http://www.wekopa.com/

Whirlwind Golf Club
Phone: = 480-940-1500
Website:=20 http://www.whirlwindgolf.com/

=20 =20

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