Like this article?
The Raven Golf Club at Verrado, Buckeye, AZ
Thirty miles west of Phoenix lies Buckeye, a sleepy agricultural outpost. For years, its only link to golf was that it served as the turnoff for overheated Phoenicians taking the shortcut to San Diego. But with the debut of the Raven at Verrado, Buckeye is now a fat red dot on the Arizona golf map.
Crafted by John Fought and Tom Lehman, this layout upholds the strong reputation Intrawest Golf has built at five previous Ravens, including those at South Mountain, Arizona, and Sandestin, Florida. This routing meanders through the foothills of the White Tank Mountains, edging rock-encrusted slopes and leapfrogging natural desert ravines before taking the occasional plunge into a box canyon. A pair of strong par fours, the 397-yard second and the 494-yard finisher, boast striking Phoenix vistas. If you're leaving from Scottsdale, fill your tank before you go. The strategy-infused shot values and stunning scenery make it well worth the drive.
—Joe Passov
Yardage/Par: 7,258/72. Greens Fees: $55-$139. Tee Times: 623-215-3443 or visit ravenatverrado.com.
Shingle Creek Golf Club, Orlando, FL
Shingle Creek is built on one of the last remaining parcels of open land in Orlando's gaudy, traffic-clogged tourist corridor. Drive a few hundred yards in either direction and you'll run across—or over—thousands of conventioneers and theme-park employees. As memorable as a trip through an all-you-can-eat buffet line, it hardly seemed the site for the city's newest resort course.
"The property, to be perfectly frank, wasn't Pebble Beach when we started," said designer David Harman. Added developer Harris Rosen, "It was not my first choice."
It proved, however, a choice decision. Thanks to some deft bulldozing by the ever-thoughtful Harman, who dug an ocean's worth of lakes on the site, Shingle Creek is now a surprisingly subtle routing with water in play on no fewer than sixteen holes. While it lacks some of the traditional Florida staples, such as swampy wetlands and palm trees, its undulating Bermuda-grass fairways and a backdrop of dense oaks and pines lend a seclusion incongruous with its locale. Once the resort's planned 1,500-room hotel opens in 2006, the saplings that now frame the fairways will have matured and this should be one of Orlando's most popular courses. Until then, consider it a secluded oasis in a concrete jungle.
—Steve Elling
Yardage/Par: 7,213/72. Greens Fees: $69-$124. Tee Times: 866-996-9933 or visit shinglecreekgolf.com.
Pronghorn, Jack Nicklaus Signature Course, Bend, OR
Jack Nicklaus has made a healthy living designing stellar Southwestern desert layouts. But you won't find Jack's newest oasis in Palm Springs, Vegas or Scottsdale. You'll find it in Oregon.
Billed as the first desert-style layout in the state, Pronghorn is the anchor of a resort community in central Oregon's high-desert region. At 3,200 feet above sea level, with breathtaking mountain views, Pronghorn winds its way through valleys of lava-rock outcroppings, bunch grasses and sage. Bent-grass greens and fairways are framed by fescue and twisting, gnarly juniper trees. Don't believe there's desert in Oregon?Then feel free to slice your tee shot onto one of the many sandy waste areas. "You've got trees growing out of rocks, and you've got lava rock everywhere," said Nicklaus. "It's beautiful terrain."
For now, it's open only to Pronghorn members. But when an adjacent private Tom Fazio design opens in 2005, Nicklaus's mountain majesty will be playable to guests of the resort.
—Tom Mackin
Yardage/Par: 7,506/72. For information on Pronghorn, call 800-541-9424 or visit pronghornclub.com.
Comments (0)
Open / Close