Arizona – Golf Courses
Scottsdale in Arizona is a mecca of golf. Here you will find a variety of places in a very small space. A good base and starting point for exploring the region is the Phoenix Hotel in Scottsdale with its two hotel-owned 18-hole golf courses “Phoenician”.
Directly on the grounds of the hotel is the “Phoenician” golf course of the same name with 36 holes, which belongs to the hotel. The grounds of the Phoenician Golf Club are an ideal opportunity to acclimatise and get fit for the other courses in the region. The clubhouse is typically American, pompous and dignified.
Of course, the famous American service can be felt everywhere. In contrast to Europe, America is an absolute service country. If you want to play here during the high season, you should reserve the tee times well in advance, as they are often blocked for weeks in advance. This can be organized by e-mail or fax, for example, right before your departure from Europe.
The green fees of the two 18-hole golf courses are very well maintained. The course is varied and has not only the usual sand bunker but also water hazards. In addition, the golf courses are embedded in a small mountain and rocky landscape, which adds a lot of spice to the joy of playing. The Fairwas are planned broadly and generously and are very much in line with the European style of play.
A course leads directly through the small mountains and some holes are challenging to play. But the course is very varied and you have a new perspective and a new panorama from every tee.
In some places there are warnings about the Rattle Snakes, which are everywhere here in the desert.
In the wider Phoenix catchment area alone, there are well over 100 golf courses. The focus is on the Scottsdale area.
Scottsdale is, so to speak, the Mecka of golf par excellence. A large number of world-class golf courses have been built here, which have an extremely high standard. Every year, well-known tournaments are held here, in which the best professionals in the world participate. We had the pleasure of joining Greg Norman on a final round that came with a $1 million prize for the winner. Some pros have their nerves on edge.
Many courses can only be played by members and are inaccessible to green fee players without an invitation from a member. If you stay in one of the city’s renowned hotels, however, it can sometimes open closed doors. The well-known squares with their big names are multi-million dollar economic projects.
This can also be seen in the membership fees, which make every normal golfer sweat even before the game due to their amount. The green fee fees alone are around 300 dollars per person and game for the renowned golf courses. But you can then enjoy yourself for three to five hours on the well-kept greens. The clubhouses with their lounges and restaurants do not need to shy away from comparison with 5-star hotels.
Due to the unique natural landscape, the courses are almost always perfectly and harmoniously embedded in the desert. There are plenty of bunkers, because sand is not a problem here. A special feast for the eyes on the squares are the often many-armed column or candelabra cacti, the saguaros (pronounced: ssa-wu-a-ros). This species of cactus grows almost exclusively in dry, hot Arizona.
Staying in this desert landscape is an experience of a special kind. The greens are also well-groomed as if they were cut with nail scissors. Most golf courses are quite difficult for Europeans to play. You have to navigate precisely over the often small green fairway islands.
