Tucson Puts on the Ritz

Ken Van Vechten

Championship courses, a PGA tournament and sumptuous resorts propel Tucson into the firmament of stellar golf destinations. Who cares if the Rockies no longer train there?

Aside from Tiger’s provoked blowout of Stephen Ames in 2006, the WGC-Accenture Match Play Championship (February 21-27) has been the venue for some of golf’s most nail-biting and thrilling mano a mano matchups. A favorite of players and fans alike, the highly volatile and entertaining tournament, which has been played in Tucson since 2007, provides welcome relief from the sometimes-monotonous stroke-play events that dominate the PGA Tour’s schedule.

After a two-year shift at nearby Gallery Golf Club, the tournament is entering its third year at The Ritz-Carlton Golf Club, Dove Mountain, where Jack Nicklaus has crafted a stout test for the world’s greatest players. But when they clear out, the club’s three bounding nines, which tumble through a foreboding landscape of iconic saguaro cactus and feature rambunctious peak-perched greens, offers amateurs of all levels a fair and diverse golf experience. The course is a stellar match play venue and an absolute blast.

Take Tortolita’s No. 6, which stands as No. 15 during the Accenture and is sure to be the deciding hole in many matches. An easily reachable par-four for Dustin Johnson and others of his ilk, the uphill 300-plus yarder has a false front and a kicker of a landing area that boots everything to the right, leaving a challenging chip or flop to a wildly turning green. A Tim Clark-ish layup might be a better strategy, assuming a wedge shot finds the right couple square yards of green.

With just short of 250 rooms and casitas, the latter running up into Wild Burro Canyon above the resort, the property has an intimate feel that goes lacking at other mega-bed golf properties throughout the West. Expect the usual Ritz-Carlton touches, like a flutist serenading guests from a rock outcropping, elegant accommodations, luxurious Southwestern décor and an exceptionally attentive staff. Pair that with world-class amenities including a spa, four tennis courts, sprawling three-pool complex and five dining options and you’ve found an unbeatable desert destination. The 850-acre resort sits softly in the desert, blending into its harsh surroundings, where more adventurous guests can tackle 20 miles of hiking and mountain biking trails that radiate out through the saguaro-and-critter-thick Tortolita Mountains.

The Gallery and Ritz-Carlton aren’t the only Tucson courses to have hosted a PGA Tour event.  Omni Tucson National Resort has been the site of multiple PGA Tour events dating back to 1965 when it first hosted the Chrysler Classic of Tucson and features two outstanding 18-hole layouts–Catalina and Sonoran. Designed by Robert Van Hagge and Bruce Devlin, the Catalina Course is a more traditional parkland-style layout, while the newer Tom Lehman-designed Sonoran is a modern target golf course. The resort offers just as much variety. Guests can choose from a collection of chic guest rooms and rustic Southwestern haciendas, which offer a quiet retreat after an active day of adventure on the Omni Tucson’s 650 acres.

Tucson is relatively compact, so it’s an easy task to turn a Tucson Twosome and back up a Ritz-Carlton or Omni Tucson visit with another of the Old Pueblo’s select cadre of golf resorts. One of the top choices is The Westin La Paloma. An expansive resort situated on the far north side of town, La Paloma has tons of activities and amenities. With a massive pool complex right in the middle, tennis club, Elizabeth Arden Red Door Spa, kid’s club and several fine dining options–especially Janos, which specializes in fine Southwestern cuisine–there’s enough here to keep an entire family occupied for days.

And that’s not mentioning the golf courses. Like The Ritz-Carlton, La Paloma boasts 27 Jack Nicklaus signature holes, where any combination of the Hill, Ridge and Canyon nines teeters just over 7,000 yards. Nearly every hole boasts at least one of the topographic features from which each course received its name, with deep canyons separating tee boxes from fairways, holes that run along sharp ridges and tee boxes perches atop hills.

Loews Ventana Canyon is another top-tier resort with an easy, comfortable manner set within a perfect desert-mountain setting that would please Frank Lloyd Wright–the decorative block façade looks straight from his design template and he’d applaud how it exists with the desert and mountains, not lording over it.  Golf comes courtesy of two Tom Fazio tracks, Canyon and Mountain, played on alternate days since they are private courses.  Expect typical Fazio course traits, like broad shoulders, huge but subtly contoured greens and a whole lot of eye candy.

For a completely different desert experience, head due south to Tubac Golf Resort and Spa. Located smack dab between Tucson and Nogales, less than an hour from Tucson International Airport, Tubac’s Hacienda-style architecture and laidback feel reflects the area’s Spanish heritage. Each of the resort’s 98 Posadas and Casitas are adorned with an earthy décor that meshes with the red-tile roofs, wood-beamed ceilings and beehive fireplaces. Three full-service restaurants, spa, well-equipped fitness center and heated pool round out Tubac’s many amenities.

While the resort exudes Spanish class, Tubac’s golf courses are pure Arizona. Kevin Costner fans will likely recognize the original 18 holes designed by Robert “Red” Lawrence, where the actor played a down-on-his-luck driving range pro in Tin Cup. The course crisscrosses the Santa Cruz River through verdant stands of cottonwoods. In 2006, local designer Ken Kavanaugh (who designed Aurora’s Murphy Creek) added another nine holes, solidifying Tubac as one of southern Arizona’s top golf resorts.

No trip to Tucson is complete without a spin through the local food scene, which at its core means Mexican. Mexican food is something upon which Tucsonians justly pride themselves. All the usual suspects are on display, but the local flavor plays heavily on chile sauces, as in New Mexico, and dried, reconstituted beef that the world calls machaca and Tucson tabs carne seca.

At the risk of goring a sacred ox or three, some local favorite are Mi Nidito in the South Tucson barrio, and Casa Molina on the east side. On the cuisine side of the ledger, if you’ve ever wondered what Mexican food would be like had Wolfgang Puck gone that direction on his fusion map, the result is Café Poca Cosa downtown.  Don’t even bother looking up the menu online.  Poca’s is written on mobile chalkboards and it changes twice each and every day.

For a complete listing of resorts, golf courses, restaurants and events go to visittucson.org.

Loews Ventana Canyon Resort
loewshotels.com
800-234-5117

Omni Tucson National Resort
omnihotels.com
520-297-2271

The Ritz-Carlton, Dove Mountain
ritz-carlton.com
520-572-3000

Tubac Golf Resort and Spa
tubacgolfresort.com
800-848-7893

The Westin La Paloma
westinlapalomaresort.com
520-742-6000