Thinking ahead to Super Bowl Sunday? To heck with paying thousands of dollars to watch the big game in New York City — instead, put half of that cash towards a weekend away in the warm climes of Phoenix, and enjoy the Super Bowl in style … while working on your own game as well.
by Kirk Tourtillotte
Special to Cascade Golfer
As we head into fall and see the end of our warm summer days, I begin to daydream of planning my annual golf buddy Super Bowl weekend trip to Phoenix.
Tradtionally, we fly down to Sky Harbor International Airport on Thursday evening and return home to Seattle late Monday afternoon. In between, we enjoy four days of great golf, watch the most unique PGA Tour event, the Waste Management Phoenix Open, and — of course — settle in on Sunday afternoon in front of a 60-inch flat-screen TV to watch the Super Bowl.
This past February, as we licked our wounds over the Seahawks’ playoff loss at Atlanta and prepared to watch the 49ers and Ravens go toe-to-toe in the Super Bowl, we arrived in Phoenix after our two-hour flight and headed to my buddy Ray’s snowbird home in Chandler, just 15 minutes south of the airport.
We started our golf on Friday morning with a visit to The Duke of Rancho El Dorado, located in the bedroom community of Maricopa, 25 minutes south of Sky Harbor. The Duke is a part of a beautiful master-planned golf course community of the same name developed in 2002. It’s common knowledge that the economic downturn has hit hard in the greater Phoenix area, and Maricopa has taken its share of lumps. Dark clouds for Maricopa, though, have had a silver lining for the Pacific Northwest snowbird looking for a winter golf course home, with prices starting at just $140,000, a surprisingly good value.
The Duke (named for the real Duke, John Wayne, who had a ranch in Maricopa) is a part of the Foothills Golf Group, which also includes Foothills Golf Club, Club West Golf Club and Ahwatukee Country Club. Foothills Golf Group offers special member discounts through the Golf Card program, something well worth having if you are in Phoenix in the winters for an extended period of time.
As we pulled into the parking lot, we couldn’t help but notice the large stallion statue and the western motif adorning the clubhouse as we walked in the front door. The driving range and practice greens were well-maintained; I could see how you could hone your game quickly if you lived in this golf course community and made this your home course.
Named both “Best New Course in Arizona” by Travelgolf and the “#1 Player-Friendly Course in Phoenix/Scottsdale” by Golf Tips magazine, The Duke is a par-72 that plays 7,011 from the back tees. The top-three handicapped holes are par fives, so be sure and have your driver ready to go. In general, the fairways are plenty wide, with large waste areas to recover from, lots of fairway bunkers and deep bunkers around the greens, which themselves were in great shape.
After our round, we enjoyed some great food at the clubhouse restaurant while sitting out on the patio watching other players on the course. Overall, it was a great start to our Super Bowl weekend. For more info on The Duke, visit www.thedukegolf.com or call (480) 844-1100.
We awoke to another warm and sunny day on Saturday, looking forward to playing Papago Golf Course, designed by esteemed golf course architect William Francis (Billy) Bell. Perhaps best known among the nearly 100 courses to Billy’s credit is Torrey Pines in San Diego; he also designed Tucson Country Club and Wickenburg Country Club. Papago is a City of Phoenix municipal course located just five minutes from Sky Harbor Airport and 15 minutes from downtown Phoenix. The close proximity to Phoenix provides some scenic views in a surprisingly (considering its proximity to the airport) peaceful and quiet setting at the base of Papago Butte.
What a pleasant treat this course turned out to be.
After extensive renovations five years ago to tee boxes, fairways and green, Papago is a blast to play. The course hosted the LPGA four years ago, and has served as a Waste Management Phoenix Open qualifying course as well. Like The Duke, it plays long, at over 7,300 yards from the tips. Despite the length, though, we decided to walk the course and enjoyed it even more. We played from the whites (nearly 6,400 yards) and experienced par-3s that ranged from 156 yards to 220 yards in length – wow! We found that we encountered plenty of trees, fairway bunkers, water, wide fairways (that is good for my game) and challenging greens that made this a fun round of golf. For more info on Papago Golf Course, visit www.papagogolfcourse.net or call (602) 275-8428.
On Super Bowl Sunday, we made our way to the Brian Whitcomb/Ken Kavanaugh-designed Club West Golf Club, which boasts four sets of tees ranging from 4,985 yards in length to as much as 7,142 yards from the back tees. The course’s elevation and beauty distinguishes itself from other Phoenix golf courses, and scenic views of the nearby South Mountain range were as abundant as saguaros in the desert. Club West also featured a complete practice range, well-appointed golf shop and full-service Agave Wine Bar & Bistro.
The course is situated in the Club West master-planned community of upscale homes, nestled up against the Estrella Mountain Range. Expect to use all the clubs in your bag as there are plenty of opportunities to use your driver, while good scoring will come from sharp short-iron play. Be prepared for firm fairways and fast greens while you play this scenic course. Being able to keep your drives in the fairways is important, as the homes come into to play on some holes if you aren’t straight.
Club West’s signature Hole is No. 17, with double greens, tees elevated nearly 100 feet above the rest of the course and views of South Mountain to the north and the Estrella Mountain Range to the west. The par-3 17th has a unique feature, offering two greens for golfers to target, ranging from 64 yards to a challenging 215 yards. For tee times at the Club West Golf Club, visit www.clubwestgolf.com or call (480) 460-4400.
We wrapped up our getaway with a stop at ASU Karsten Golf Course, the home course for Phil Mickelson’s Sun Devils, located adjacent to the Arizona State University campus. The clubhouse pays homage to all the golf greats that have played at ASU. There is plenty of ASU-logoed apparel available in the pro shop, should you want to find something to take home with you. My son recently enrolled at ASU, and I plan on picking something up on my next trip.
ASU Karsten is a Pete Dye design in the typical links style, set in the shadow of Sun Devil Stadium. Its received 4.5 stars from the prestigious Golf Digest ratings panel and features Dye’s creative mounding and bunkering style, with tees ranging from 5,671 (Regular), to 6,288 (Champion) or 7,002 (Professional) yards. While the course has a shorter feel from the first two tee positions, it levels the playing field with tough, undulating and fast greens.
The signature holes include the short par-four fourth hole, the tough par-four ninth with water running the length of the hole on the right, the daunting par-three 16th (measuring 248 yards from the tips — that’s right, 248!) or the testy par-four 18th, which is guarded by water down the left side and is considered one of the toughest finishing holes in Arizona.
This is a tough course to play with the water, hilly mounds and desert shrubbery all coming into play to upset your round. However, keep the ball on the fairway and you will be rewarded. Scoring well here gives you a taste of what Phil did in college to make his game so great — that is a nice feeling to come away with. It’s less than 10 minutes to the airport, making it a great place to play before you have to catch your flight home. For more info on ASU Karsten Golf Course, visit www.asukarsten.com or call (480) 921-8070.
One cool aspect of this Super Bowl weekend golf getaway is settling in after a morning round of golf to watch Phoenix’s own Waste Management Phoenix Open in the afternoons. In 2013, we were able to enjoy Phil Mickelson’s resounding victory at 28-under, including a 61 on his opening round. It’s our plan to buy tickets to the tournament for our 2014 trip, and experience this one-of-a-kind PGA Tour event in person.
To me, a Super Bowl Golf Getaway is a great way to get out of Pacific Northwest weather and enjoy golf in warm weather, with lots of great PGA Tour golf, the Super Bowl, food and drink, while hanging with your favorite golf buddies.
