Ventana Canyon Golf Club – Canyon Course

Golfers become famous for their excellent plays. Golf course designers, for their excellent golf designs. Memorable and top caliber golf course designs are characterized mostly by its playability – the challenge it poses to players regardless of handicap, and scenic quality – how the design works through the natural settings of the land to make it picture-perfect. Amazing, so to speak. One example of a golf course of this caliber is the Canyon Course of the Ventana Canyon Golf and Racquet Club in Tucson Arizona. The course completes the golf vacation package with its supreme playability and stunning views of the Sonoran desert.

The Tom Fazio design is known for its layout that meanders through the Esperro Canyons and follows the natural dictates of the desert terrain. The 18-hole, par 72 Canyon Course of the Ventana Canyon Golf Club sits at the foothills of the Catalina mountains giving it one of the most unforgettable views of the surrounding desert. A huge Whaleback rock that guards the 10th hole increases this desert course’s challenge, leaving its own imprint in the golfers’ minds. These qualities make this one of the premiere golf vacation destinations in Arizona.

The Canyon Course of the Ventana Canyon Golf Club is one of the two Tom Fazio designs at the resort facility. The superb conditioning of the Canyon Course makes it ideal for golf vacations. This quality of the course is the perfect example of why this is considered a top of its kind golf course. This is also exactly the reason why Tom Fazio has been escalated to superstar status in the field of golf course design.

El Conquistador – Pusch Ridge Course

Most golfers find short courses exactly just that – short. No lingering memories, no challenge. The Pusch Ridge Course at the EL Conquistador Tennis and Golf Resort in Tucson, Arizona is not. The nine hole course has enough attitude as a golf course to equal the two other 18-hole courses at the same golf vacation destination. It is short but is never short on fun, excitement and challenge.

The Pusch Ridge Course of the El Conquistador make up 9 of the 45 holes on the resort, the other two 18-holes being the Conquistador and the Canada courses. Designers of the Pusch Ridge Course, Greg Nash and Jeff Hardin, made optimum use of Tucson’s naturally rugged terrain and desert vegetation to make this short course a long and lasting memory to every golfer. The course is all 2,788 yards from the longest tees, with three sets of tees to accommodate players of various handicaps. Water protects several holes that puts a golfer’s shotmaking skills to a test – but the spectacular view of the mountains on most holes of this golf trip haven will make up for the heartbreak in case of a high score.

A short game at the Pusch Ridge Course of the El Conquistador will not feel short at all. It will make one look forward to playing the other two courses not because it wasn’t satisfying, but because it was enough to make golfers realize the need to step their games up and renew their love for the sport. Golf vacations at the Hilton El Conquistador are made complete by the superb services at the resort facility. Nothing comes short this side of the golfing planet – it’s all fulfilling, all the best and nothing less than that.

Canoa Hills Golf Course

“More than meets the eye” is perhaps the most apt statement to describe the Canoa Hills Golf Club in Green Valley, AZ. There’s definitely more to this medium length golf course than just the usual beautiful desert views that most Arizona courses offer. The perfect combination of fun, challenge, and beauty all work in the entire course to give each visiting golfer a unique and unforgettable golf trip.

The 18-hole, par-72 course stretches to only 6,610-yards from the longest tees but the golfing adventure at the Canoa Hills Golf Club never comes short. The Dave Bennett layout works through the natural contours of the desert terrain, all the while incorporating strategic contouring of the fairways and placement of the holes to give the course an edge over other golf vacation destinations. That, and the natural desert vegetation and wildlife that are preserved well in the course blends well with the difficulty of the course. The course’s signature #2 hole is considered one of Tucson’s “Top Ten Great Holes” according to Arizona Daily Star Newspaper, a hole that will challenge every golfer’s resolve at how far or big a risk he can take – but the reward is an overwhelming neat score.

Most of the holes in the Canoa Hills Golf Club are pretty – with breathtaking vistas of the surrounding mountains, but have the capacity to break golfers’ hearts into a thousand tiny pieces if he is not careful. It is almost a crime to think that golf vacations at the Canoa Hills are easy and easily forgettable. It’s like saying no to the best golf experience this side of the planet!

Tonto Verde Golf Club – Ranch Course

How do you define beautiful when it’s flanked by equally gorgeous things? This is a question that could not seem to find an answer at the Tonto Verde Golf Club. Each course at this top Arizona golf vacation destination is a beauty in its own, and to define beauty according to the characteristics of one would be injustice to the others. So what makes the Ranch Course at the Tonto Verde Golf Club beautiful? How is it set apart from its sibling courses, the Peak and Vista Verde?

 Tonto Verde Golf Club’s Ranch Course is beautiful for quite a number of reasons. It could be the natural desert terrain that gives the course its elevation changes – fairly easy and forgiving, though with a touch of classy drama, thereby making the game challenging. It could also be the bunker placements, which – like the course’s elevation – are made to give that golfer’s heart skip a beat once in a while. Its length – stretches at 6,988-yards – could also be a reason for its being beautiful, perfect for those who love long shots. The scenery surrounding the Ranch Course is also a huge factor that makes it beautiful and ideal for golf trips, with an unparalleled view of the mountains around the course, including that of the majestic Four Peaks mountains.

So the question remains: what makes the Ranch Course at TontoVerde Golf Club beautiful? Its combined picturesque quality and fun but challenging layout makes it an ideal venue for the most memorable golf vacations – it’s one that everyone can enjoy. So maybe, the course in its totality makes it beautiful, as beautiful as its sibling courses.

Legacy Golf Resort

History- and heritage-rich Legacy Golf Resort in Phoenix,AZ has seen way too many good things in its long lifetime. It has witnessed the glory days, as well as the hey days of Old American West as the ranch of Dwight B. Heard. And today, it stands witness to countless glorious golf vacations spent here – all the while, having Arizona’s majestic South Mountain standing sentinel behind it to perfect the view.

Legacy Golf Resort‘s architects made sure that Dwight B. Heard’s legacy will be retained, even after it has transformed into one of the premiere golf resorts in the State. Some of the original Spanish-style structures remained untouched, adding only some amenities like the sparkling pool and health-spa facilities. Its 18-hole championship course was designed by no less than Gary Panks, and every little element of the course was strategically placed to capture the surrounding mountains’ views as well as each golfer’s heart. Its lush fairways, perfectly manicured greens, slight elevation changes and rough hazards all contribute to make the golf vacation destination a perfect breed of challenge and fun for players of all handicaps.

Because of its picturesque quality and excellent playability, Legacy Golf Resort has earned for its name not only a loyal following of avid golfers but of various golf publications as well. For one, it has been awarded one of the “Top 10 Places to Play in Phoenix” by Golf Digest. It has also proven itself competition worthy when it hosted the LPGA Standard Register Ping Classic in 2000. As it continues to improve itself, in the golf course and off with its world class roster of amenities, Legacy Golf Club will surely continue to be part of many more memorable golf trips in the future.

Vista Verde Golf Club

The Sonoran Desert holds so many wonderful things in its midst, and some of it remain a secret that only a privileged few get to discover and enjoy. Within and around its many red canyons, golden mountains, and huge thousand-years old boulders, the Sonoran Desert nestles Arizona’s best golf vacation destinations. One of those that is yet to be discovered is the Vista Verde Golf Club in Rio Verde, AZ. The newest of the three courses in the Verdes Complex, Vista Verde brings out the best features of the desert and the best experience anyone can have in his game of golf.

The 18-hole, par-72 regulation course stretches out 7,219 yards from the longest tees and has five sets of tees to accommodate players of various handicaps. Its designer, the renowned Ken Kavanaugh of the Pinehurst #2 fame designed the golf course to follow the dictates of the natural desert terrain as its own. The result is a premiere golf course of gently rolling fairways that carries an attitude of making the game challenging for the low handicap player, but very fun for the average one. That and the picturesque quality of Vista Verde Golf Club makes golf trips enjoyable for just about everyone.

Anyone who gets to spend their golf vacations at the Vista Verde Golf Club know why it is a prized discovery. It has all the beautiful elements of desert golf: from the many Mesquite and Palo Verde trees to the giant cacti all over the course, to the breathtaking views of the Sonoran Desert and the Four Peaks and Mazatzal Mountains. Vista Verde might exactly be the best kept secret of Arizona golf, and it’s just waiting to be discovered and enjoyed.

Trilogy Golf Club at Vistancia

Golf Digest is one of the most trusted, most prestigious golf publications, not just in the United States but in the world. So when Golf Digest gives a high ranking and a very good review about a golf course, more likely than not, the golf course is excellent. Golf Digest’s highest ranking given is 5 out of 5 stars and the course must be “Superb. Golf at its absolute best”, where fees are of no issue as long as the course delivers the best game of golf possible. It has only given 24 5-star rankings in North America and only one golf vacation destination in Arizona received this high a ranking: TRILOGY GOLF CLUB AT VISTANCIA.

A Gary Panks creation, the 18-hole par-72 Trilogy Golf Club at Vistancia has five different sets of tees and stretches from 5,573-yards to 7,258 yards. There is not much water to battle at the Trilogy, characteristic of desert layouts, but the bunkers are anything but easy. 70 prominent bunkers dot the course and they could make or break any game. Experts advice golfers to take it slow in here and not to get all too excited – it requires careful planning and an even better execution to come out of here unscathed. Golf trips here are even made more beautiful by the pristine views of the Sonoran desert surrounding it and its signature saguaro cacti.

The course of rolling terrains and stunning native grasses give the Trilogy Golf Club at Vistancia an edgy attitude – makes for variety in game, not to mention the different sets of tees that players of all handicaps can get to enjoy. Golf vacations here are easy and pleasant, with its many wonderful amenities and accessibility, being only 25 minutes from downtown Phoenix. This not only proves Golf Digest’s judgment. Experiencing it firsthand proves the credibility of Golf Digest as well – it knows beauty right at the first glance.

Desert Canyon Golf Club

A golf course that has a great view is great. One that has an excellent playability is even greater. But if a golf course offers the best views of Nature and offers an unequaled quality of game – the kind that combines fun and challenge altogether – then it must be the best. This is what the Desert Canyon Golf Club in Arizona is. And for the last 30 years, it has been proving itself as the best choice for golf vacations in Fountain Hills. AZ.

The Desert Canyon Golf Club is known for its majestic views of the Red Mountain, the Four Peaks, the Sonoran desert, and the canyons and mountains of Fountain Hills. The view doesn’t end there. Being at the Desert Canyon affords its guests a view of the highest fountain in the world – the 550-feet fountain in the middle of the desert, northeast of Phoenix. The 18-hole golf vacation destination may be short, playing only at 6,550 yards from the back tees, but it doesn’t come short of challenging. It plays uphill for most of the holes, causing a battle against the desert wind, and has open but tight oak-lined fairways. Golfers also have to try their best shots at the strategically set doglegs and the dramatic elevation changes innate in desert golf courses.

The qualities that make the Desert Canyon Golf Club the best have not remained unrecognized. Apart from its countless golf trip patrons, Golf Digest has awarded it as one of its ‘Best Places to Stay’ and the ‘Best Public Golf Course’ from 2005-2008 by Market Surveys of America. For it to last 30 years without being overshadowed by its younger and larger neighboring courses, it leaves no question that the Desert Canyon is indeed the best.

TPC Champions Course

A golf course owner never would spend some millions of dollars on a golf course for nothing. A lot of work, money, and results are expected to come out of a major course renovation – expecting the old one to come out better than anything it has ever been. The $12million overhaul on the TPC Champions Course delivered. The golf vacation destination that used to quietly stand behind the shadow of its more famous sibling course Stadium (home of the FBR Phoenix Open) as the Desert Course, now stands as its equal in both beauty and playability.

The former Tom Weiskopf and Jay Moorish design was revamped by Randy Heckenkemper, keeping the original beauty of the golf trip haven, only adding a little more edge to the play. It meanders through the desert following its natural edgy contours giving a little more than an upbeat of the heart on the closing four holes. The TPC Champions Course was made in such a way that golfers cannot trust a single type of play but approach each shot in so many different ways. This makes it a versatile course that can accommodate players of various handicaps.

Not a single cent has gone to waste in the renovation of the TPC Champions Course. The former easy Desert Course has elevated its status into one of the most exciting sites for golf vacations in all of Arizona. The now challenging layout coupled with the naturally breathtaking scenery of the Arizona desert have created a championship layout worth more than a single visit.

Club West Golf Course

There’s no better place to hold golf trips with friends than a golf course that can accommodate everyone’s playing level. The Club West Golf Course in Arizona is exactly this: a versatile golf course with 4 different sets of tees that can stretch the game from 4,985 yards to as much as 7,142 yards in length and is a welcome haven for golfers regardless of playing level. Golfers can play according to their own handicap and desired difficulty in a championship golf course with stunning views of Arizona’s Sonoran desert and the mountains surrounding it.

The 18-hole championship course designed by Ken Cavanaugh and Brian Whitcomb, apart from being so versatile, has some very dramatic elevation changes on each hole. It has all the classic elements of desert golf – of playing over desert foothills and vegetation, as well as some really stunning rock formations – and a lake and a pond to add to the already challenging and exciting layout. Club West Golf Course is the perfect golf vacation destination for golfers who want to add more spunk into their game but enjoy a picture-perfect environment.

Because of its versatility and unique brand of challenge, Club West Golf Course is a consistent member in the top 20 list of Arizona’s Best Golf Courses. Its versatility as well as scenic quality are like open arms that welcome every golfer that comes their way. No wonder it is the site of countless golf vacations, and the subject of many positive reviews from golfers of all levels.