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The Definitive Golfer’s Guide to Arizona Spring Training
The Phoenix area offers an overwhelming variety of great golf, fantastic food and beautiful terrain
By Jim Bebbington
Winter is when Phoenix shines. Every year Major League Baseball’s best – or at least half of them – flock to Arizona in February for spring training, and thousands of us follow. Scottsdale, Goodyear, Tucson and other locales await. This guide to some of the best courses, restaurants, bars and baseball diamonds gives you a taste of what’s possible. Play Ball!
North Valley
ROCKIES CENTRAL
Any journey to Phoenix to catch the Rockies begins in their Scottsdale redoubt – Salt River Fields at Talking Stick. The Rockies share the complex with the Arizona Diamondbacks and the stadium is close to hotels, restaurants and golf courses. Most Rockies spring training home games start at 1:10 p.m., so morning rounds are the way to go; the sun will set before 7 p.m. all winter.
A short drive to the east is Talking Stick Golf Course and its two courses: O’odham Course (formerly the North Course) and the Piipaash Course (formerly South), both creations of Bill Coore and Ben Crenshaw. To the west is the McCormick Ranch Golf Club, another two-course complex that is family-owned and has anchored the neighborhood since the early 1970s.
PRINCESS TREATMENT
Just a tad north of the Rockie’s Phoenix vacation home is one of the premier resorts in the state, the Fairmont Scottsdale Princess. The resort has 750 guest rooms, including 122 Privado luxe suites. The grounds feature palm trees and luxury pools and next door to PGA-quality golf. The resort has relationships with its neighboring TPC Scottsdale complex and the nearby Grayhawk Golf Club.
The TPC Scottsdale becomes the home of the WM Phoenix Open – the People’s Open – in the middle of February. Grayhawk and its two courses, Talon and Raptor, are some of the best courses in the region and have hosted numerous tournaments.
NORTHERN CHIC
The Troon North golf complex and the Four Seasons Resort Scottsdale are a perfect place to base an Arizona golf vacation. Troon North has two Tom Weiskopf and Jay Moorish-designed courses that offer breathtaking desert golf challenges. The Four Seasons Resort at Troon North offers adobe casitas up against a desert landscape, close to the wilds for hiking and biking and nature, as well as the spa, a bi-level pool and delicious eateries.
CRAFTY DINING
Among the many great places to eat in the vicinity of the Rockies park is Cook & Craft, home to the tequila Old Fashioned and its Crafted Grilled Cheese. The locally-owned eatery has a sister operation in Phoenix, and both occasionally feature live music.
South Valley
SOUTHERN DUNES
About 30 minutes south of most of the baseball complexes sits the Ak-Chin Southern Dunes Golf Club. The courses are owned by the Ak-Chin Indian Community and managed by Troon, featuring courses that frequently are named to the “Top 100 Courses You Can Play” lists.
The courses were designed by Brian Curley, Lee Schmidt and Fred Couples and more are in the spirit of the courses in Australia that also nestle within desert terrain. The grasses and layout are unique in the region for that. The course can be played as a daily fee visit or through packages available with the Ak-Chin Casino Resort nearby. The Resort also offers services to get tickets for any MLB spring training complex.
SHORT IS THE NEW LONG
Resorts across the country are building tracts with odd dimensions – short courses, courses with fewer than 18 holes. The South Valley in Phoenix was way ahead of the trend; there are several affordable, shorter courses to enjoy for a quip dip in the golf pool. Sun Bird Golf Club on the south side is a 4,400-yard semi-private bon mot. Iron Oaks Golf Course in Chandler is 5,400 yards and Golf Advisor calls it one of the best short courses in the U.S.
The Bear Creek Golf Complex in Chandler features a ‘Bear’ course – an inland links-style course that tops out around 6,800 yards – as well as its fun Cub course, a 5,400-yard executive course.
OCOTILLO BY MORNING
The Arcis Golf-managed Ocotillo Golf Club in Chandler gives a great golf challenge that will be familiar to anyone who has played other Arcis-managed facilities like Denver-area Arrowhead and Bear Creek.
BREW HOUSE TOUR
Buqui Bichi in downtown Chandler is a taphouse from the Hermosillo Mexico-based Buqui Bichi brew family.
San Tan Brewing in Chandler leans a little harder into the food as well as serving its lineup of ales. The Green Chili Pork Mac Skillet sounds like a light show.
The Living Room Wine Cafe and Lounge has been open in Chandler since 2009 under the motto “Wine a Little; You’ll Feel Better.” Who is to question the experts? The weekend brunch service is popular.
Hop Central Brewing Company and Taproom offers a rotating selection of house brews as well as imported offerings.
hopcentralbrewery.com
West Valley
STILL A NEW KID IN TOWN
When the Sterling Grove Golf and Country Club opened in 2016 it was hailed for being the first public course to open in the region in five years. The club bills itself as a “Modern Country Club,” Troon-managed with memberships but also open to daily fee visitors. The Nicklaus Design course has tree-lined fairways that twist through local farms.
Like many Nicklaus designs it opens with a warm welcome – a short and straightforward par 4, setting players up for a good start. The challenges later separate the wheat from the chaff, with No. 18 finishing on a par 5 to a contoured green protected by a pond and traps. The course offers a great test.
TRIED AND TRUE
The Wigwam Golf complex in Litchfield Park is one of the region’s original courses and has been entertaining golfers since 1929 and features three 18-hole tests. The Gold Course can stretch to more than 7,300 yards and has been the site of U.S. Open and U.S. Amateur qualifiers.
The Red Course is a 6,800-yard test designed by Arizona Golf Hall of Fame member Robert “Red” Lawrence, who also designed the Tubac Golf Club.
The Blue Course is just shy of 6,400 yards and perfect for a group of mixed skills or a player looking for a relaxed twilight round.
27 AND COUNTING
Palm Valley Golf Club is an Arcis-managed daily fee club in Goodyear – near the spring training sites of the Cleveland Guardians and Cincinnati Reds and not far from the Dodgers and White Sox complex in Glendale. The complex offers 27 holes and can be played in any configuration, providing plenty of variety.
BIRRIA TACOS
If you’re a fan of either the Royals or Rangers and find yourself near Surprise Stadium, you could do far worse for dinner than the tasty Mexican fare at Rio Mirage Cafe. Lines form early but the food is worth waiting for. The slow-roasted carnitas are never a bad choice.
Long before people’s love of birria tacos took over TikTok, Analilia’s Riquezas near Sun City was busy serving some of the best ones in Phoenix. Carry them out by the box if you wish, or else pull up a stool for the birria pizzadilla and quesabirria tacos. They have two locations – one near Peoria and one that roams. Look them up on Facebook.
Ta’ Carbon, with three locations in the West Valley, throws down the gauntlet with the opening words of their website: “Our philosophy is simple – to deliver the finest carne asada in the United States.” The execution looks simple, but the taste is amazing. All three are close to U.S. 60 between downtown and Peoria.
Tucson
Down the highway, a few hours from Phoenix, Tucson does not offer minor league baseball in the winter. But there are plenty of reasons to visit and still have all your days set aside for awesome golf.
You can also enjoy music in a venue as lively and beautiful as the artist for which it is named: The Linda Rondstadt Music Hall.
LEAVE WINTER FAR BEHIND
A little further south still along Interstate 19 lies the ultimate winter refuge – Tubac Golf Resort and Spa. Snow has no place here. The course is very well executed – enough of a challenge to give all levels of players a test, but not overwhelming.
At The Ritz-Carlton Golf Club at Dove Mountain, The Jack Nicklaus-designed courses feature 27 holes and can be a different challenge each time. The Wild Burro nine offers breathtaking views of the Tortolita Mountains nearby. The resort offers spa and dining that will make you forget winter even exists.
FINE GOLFING FARE
On Tucson’s west side, The Club at Starr Pass has 27 holes available, enticingly named after cartoon animals who can run you over or bite you: Roadrunner, Rattler and Coyote. The first 18 were designed by Robert Cupp and Colorado Golf Hall of Fame member Craig Stadler; Arnold Palmer’s team added the final nine holes in 2003. The Troon-managed course hosted the PGA Tour’s Tucson Open for many years and is worth your attention.
The Arizona National Golf Club is one of the favorite public courses in the region. Designed by Robert Trent Jones Jr., the course is nestled against the beautiful Santa Catalina Mountains northeast of downtown. Reminiscent of many Colorado front-range courses, the holes gently climb up the foothills and then bring you back down.
Shot selection is crucial. The course is deep in the Woodland Estates neighborhood, but a post-round bite can easily be had at the course grill or a short drive away.
Colorado AvidGolfer Magazine is the state’s leading resource for golf and the lifestyle that surrounds it, publishing eight issues annually and proudly delivering daily content via coloradoavidgolfer.com.
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