ARIZONA
Three hundred and fifty miles south of Mesquite, Gary Panks left another impressive footprint in an equally stunning setting. The Sedona Golf Resort (928-284-9355, sedonagolfresort.com) has to be played to be believed. Admittedly, the temperature here at 4,350 feet above sea level, and 115 miles north of Phoenix, isn’t the same as it is down in the Valley of the Sun, but it should remain in the mid-to-high 50s in January, so you’ll survive a day playing a course surrounded by the famous red sandstone rocks and what is surely one of the most spectacular golf courses in the world.
Morning tee times in December and January can be had for a very reasonable $79, while the price goes up to $100 from February-May. Rates start dropping after midday and go as low as $49 at 3:30 p.m. And the post-round pint on the patio of the Juniper Bar and Grille, with the incredible panoramas, might be the most enjoyable of the winter.
Then, of course, there is Scottsdale, the Queen of Desert Golf (not really, I just made that up). Your Scottsdale winter golf event begins five minutes before you land at Sky Harbor in Phoenix as you look out the window of the Alaska Airlines 737 you’re more than likely sitting in and see the staggering amount of green (with patches of light brown and blue) spread out in the valley below. Scottsdale is the high-end of the metro Phoenix area and the golf can be expensive in winter, but the experience is so unlike what you receive elsewhere it’s definitely worth shelling out a few extra bucks. Desert golf with 50-foot tall, hundred-year-old saguaro cacti looking on is a singular experience. The sky’s blue, the courses are in superb shape and the service in the clubhouse is invariably top-notch. The words “what’s,” “not,” “to,” and “like” spring to mind.
Courses where you can treat yourself to the wonders of Scottsdale/Phoenix golf are the OB Sports-managed Longbow, Eagle Mountain, the Raven at South Mountain, and McDowell Mountain, which Phil Mickelson and his manager Steve Loy purchased the operating rights to in spring 2011 before launching into a major renovation. Troon also operates its share of public courses in this part of the world, too — Lookout Mountain, Ocotillo, the Boulders, the Phoenician, the Westin Kierland, Whirlwind, and the quintessential desert classic, Troon North. You will drop plenty of money at every one of these courses, so take advantage of every coupon, discount, loyalty card, and temporary membership program you can find.
The deserts of the Southwest are waiting for the annual invasion of golfers from the Northwest. Be sure to join them.
Tony Dear is an award-winning golf writer, frequent contributor to Cascade Golfer, and publisher of BellinghamGolfer.com. He last appeared in the December 2013 issue of CG, writing about David McLay Kidd and the new Gamble Sands Golf Course.