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FEATURES |
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Desert Dreams: Scottsdale / Phoenix
by Karen Misuraca
The Boulders
The Phoenician
Fairmont Scottsdale Princess
Four Seasons Resort Scottsdale at Troon North
Pioneered in Arizona due to water conservation and wildlife issues, "target golf" allows flora and the natural desert landscape to remain largely intact. For golfers, that means forced carries over dry riverbeds and arroyos, and maneuvering around boulders and cacti and across sandy, rocky wastelands to patches of turf. Nonetheless, at the resort courses in Scottsdale and Phoenix, multiple tee boxes give every golfer a chance to enjoy the stunning desert settings.
Monumental Formations
At 2,500 feet in elevation, the climate at The Boulders is ten degrees cooler than in metropolitan Phoenix, thirty miles away, and the air is clean and crystal clear, perfect for exploring the desert by jeep, hot-air balloon and on foot. You can get into the unique ecosystem by taking a rock climbing clinic, a guided hike to ancient cliff dwellings, and nighttime nature tours, where night-vision equipment reveals coyotes, owls, and night-blooming cacti. Like a mirage in the Sonoran Desert foothills, the contemporary Pueblo-style main lodge is a low-rise, russet- and ochre-toned building against a dramatic landscape of giant granite boulders and century-old saguaro cacti. Hand-rubbed woods, massive timbers, Native American-design art and fabrics, terra-cotta floors and stone fireplaces create a calming ambiance. (http://theboulders.com)
Although a five-star resort, The Boulders has a casual feel, in village-like, private clusters, each with a swimming pool. 160 casitas and fifty 1-, 2- and 3-bedroom villas have timber-beamed ceilings, wood-burning fireplaces, private patios or decks in desert settings, and earth-toned tile, fabrics and wood furnishings; villas have indoor and outdoor fireplaces, large outdoor Jacuzzis, equipped kitchens and laundry rooms, living/dining areas and king-bedded suites.
Quintessential target golf layouts, the Jay Morrish-designed North and South courses are world-famous for their startling display of vibrantly colored rock formations and rugged canyons and arroyos. Cooing doves and quail, roadrunners, fat Gila monsters, deer and the occasional bobcat and coyote roam the groves of cacti and rocky streambeds (the "coyote rule" allows you to replay a shot without penalty when a coyote grabs your ball).
 Now 7,007 yards from the tips, the South Course received a million-dollar face-lift, with tees added and bunkers rebuilt, resulting in a bracing 73.3/146 rating and slope. Forced carries and elevated tees show off the desert splendor along narrow fairways lined with six-story-tall boulders and ancient saguaros, dry washes and sandy waste areas. On the signature "Boulder Pile" fifth hole, the green lies below a tremendous bastion of boulders. Fairways and shoulders are mowed short, yet, off the turf in the low brush and cacti, you're dead. The starter hints at some interesting indigenous fauna: "You are welcome to hit out of the rough, but, bring a stick."
A dozen doglegs and generous fairways careen across a rolling desert to super-fast greens on the North Course. Towering cacti and giant boulders are so distinctive and sizable that they are marked in the yardage booklet. On 17, a monster rock stands in the middle of a greenside bunker. On sizzling summer days, a misting system cools the air in and around the golf carts by nearly thirty degrees. Tip: tee off on weekdays; weekends can be quite slow. And, give yourself time for practice on the fabulous driving range and pitching area.
At the Golden Door Spa, a quiet, adults-only swimming pool lies below a massive boulderscape. Above, the indoor/outdoor spa café serves healthy fare and espresso drinks and fresh juices. Both co-ed and male/female lounges have fireplaces. 24 treatment rooms, traditional Japanese ofuro baths, the Watsu experience, and unique Native American-inspired treatments make this an oasis worth a long linger.
The Boulders is a half-hour drive from Sky Harbor International Airport; private planes land at the Carefree Airport, 5 miles away, and a heli-pad is available at the resort. Adjacent to the resort, El Pedregal Festival Marketplace is a pleasant, small shopping center with rather flamboyant, fun shops, the resort's business center, and an annex of the Heard Museum.
Luxury Defined
Up against the rugged southern slope of Camelback Mountain, The Phoenician is a glamorous resort, as showy as an Italian palazzo, adorned with gleaming polished marble and golf leaf. Hundreds of palms are reflected in lagoons and pools draped with blooming vines and flowerbeds. Public spaces are galleries for a zillion-dollar art collection, from Allan Houser's life-sized bronzes to European antiques, Persian and Navajo rugs, and French tapestries and paintings. Music wafts from eleven Steinway grand pianos. One of the several swimming pools is lined with mother-of-pearl, and a tiered series of waterfalls creates a liquid paradise. You can play on 12 tennis courts with 4 surfaces including grass. (http://www.thephoenician.com)
 Three nines comprise the golf complex, the Oasis, the Desert and the Canyon, each lush with flowers, palms and shrubs. The courses have wide vistas from elevated tees of the nearby metropolis and a vast desert panorama. Rolling around the foot of the mountain on the Desert are fountains, lakes and expansive waste areas studded with tall cacti. The 120-yard eighth is a rip-roaring downhill par three demanding accuracy to make the napkin-sized, bentgrass green. Ponds, lakes and waterfalls cool golfers' heels on Oasis, a traditional layout.
The Canyon has the most elevation change, moving between immense sandy tracks, rocks and boulders to small greens, with wide valley views from the side of Camelback. Expect a smashing finish on the eighth--with a carry over water to a sand- and palm-fringed putting surface--and on nine, a severe dogleg menaced by water along the entire 525 yards and fronting the green.
5-star rated, 468 oversized rooms and suites have private balconies or patios, large Italian marble baths and Irish linens. 119 luxury, lakeside casitas have fireplaces, kitchens, butler service and pure privacy. The Canyon Suites complex is a resort-within-a-resort around its own swimming pool.
The fine French restaurant, Mary Elaine's, tops every list of Best Restaurants in Scottsdale; live jazz, an award-winning wine cellar and Arizona's sole Master Sommelier are among the highlights. With two dozen treatment rooms, the Centre for Well-Being is one of the largest and most professionally operated and enjoyable spas in the southwest, offering more than 70 beauty and body treatments, aging and wellness consultation and services, and a salon.
Play Where the Pros Play
The garden courtyards of the Fairmont Scottsdale Princess are shaded by cottonwood and palm trees and cooled by cascades, fountains and pools, creating pleasant retreats among the bustle of this sprawling resort. Spanish antiques, nail-studded chests and large portraits of Spanish royalty in the lobbies recall the Spanish Colonial heritage of the region. (http://www.fairmont.com)
Adjacent to the resort at the Tournament Players Club at Scottsdale (TPC) are the Morrish/Weiskopf-designed Stadium Course, built to host the PGA Tour's Phoenix Open (now the NBR Open), and the Desert Course, a shorter, less demanding and quite pretty resort course. (http://www.tpc.com)
Along the 7,216 yards of the Stadium Course are innumerable, fairway-lining mounds and 72 bunkers, some seven feet deep, which were redefined in a recent upgrade. Add to this a half-dozen water hazards, towering saguaro cacti and mesquite trees, what seems like endless desert scrub, and multi-tiered Bermuda grass greens in amphitheater settings, and you have some of the toughest holes on the tour (74.6/138). End up anywhere but on the landing zones and you're lunchmeat.
 The largest palo verde tree in the state stands on the 15th hole, which has an island green. In 1997 on the 16th, 21-year-old Tiger's eagle hole-in-one set off a banshee yell from the thousands of spectators, who then tossed their beer cans in glee. On the 332-yard 17th, Andrew Magee drove the green during the 2001 Phoenix Open for the only par-four double eagle in the history of the PGA Tour. His tee shot bounced off Tom Byrum's putter, rolling into the hole.
The 438-yard 18th is dramatic, with a large lake all along the left and a Sahara of sand on the right. Tip: in the weeks preceding the February Open, the rough is high and the greens super-fast. During tournament week, more than 500,000 fans show up, making this the best attended golf event in the world.
You will get a break on the kinder, gentler Desert Course. The course is closed through November, 2007, for a complete, much-needed renovation to include the addition of trees and the redesign of some holes to up the degree of difficulty and create a championship level par 71. Do not underestimate prevailing winds and contiguous natural rough, especially if it's rattling . . .
Après golf, the clubhouse is a place to hang out, in the steak house, at the lively bar or by the outdoor fireplace. Good news: now, you can walk or ride with a Pinehurst-trained caddie during the high season, November through April. Full caddies carry bags, give club selection advice, rake bunkers, find and clean lost balls, read greens and figure yardage. The forecaddie program for cart riders is complimentary, providing the same services except the bag carry.
At the Fairmont, kids love their Sonoran Splash water play area, set well apart from the main resort. Little kids like the graduated deck entry into the swimming pool, while teens are into water basketball and volleyball. Those hoping for seclusion can head for the roof-top, adults-only, rooftop swimming pool at the new Willow Stream spa, a three-level complex with 25 treatment rooms, plus fireplaces, shady garden courtyards, a waterfall grotto pool, and a fitness center and salon.
5-diamond rated, 650 oversized rooms and suites each have a private terrace or balcony. Tennis and golf villas have living rooms, fireplaces and huge, luxurious bathrooms. Strolling mariachis and a blazing patio fireplace are picturesque in the 19th century ranch house setting at La Hacienda, the only 4-diamond Mexican restaurant in North America. Mediterranean cuisine is on the menu in the elegant, 5-star Marquesa.
 Big Saguaro, Little Turf
In the highlands of northern Scottsdale at an elevation of 2,200 feet, within an amphitheater of spectacular granite boulders and tall saguaro cacti, the Four Seasons Resort Scottsdale at Troon North is an intimate hideaway of 200 or so Pueblo-style casitas, each luxuriously appointed and with mountain and city views from private terraces or balconies. Rooms and suites have kiva fireplaces, deep soaking tubs, walk-in closets and comfy sitting areas with armchairs and ottomans; some suites have private plunge pools and garden showers. (http://www.fourseasons.com/scottsdale)
Browsing the public areas turns up an exceptional collection of paintings, weavings, statuary and other artworks. Waterfalls connect bi-level swimming pools, and there is a separate kid's pool with kid's-sized chaises. The entire resort is a veritable botanical garden of indigenous cacti and other desert flora, romantically lit at night. After dark, telescopes on the lobby terrace scan a dome of sparkling stars over the pitch-black desert, high above the metropolitan area a few miles away.
By the end of 2007, about 40 new guest accommodations and a larger spa will be complete. The owners of villas at the Four Seasons Residence Club Troon North enjoy all resort facilities.
Buy, borrow or steal a camera before teeing off on the two courses at Troon North Golf Club, in a dazzling desert setting at the foot of Pinnacle Peak. With an ominous rating of 73.3 and a 147 slope, the Tom Weiskopf's Pinnacle is true target golf with landing zones between massive boulders and granite outcroppings, mesquite and ironwood trees, with carries over yawning arroyos and canyons to multi-tiered, sometimes blind, greens. From mountainside to low desert, the track leaps up cliffs and down valleys, providing dazzling landscape and mountain views. Fortunately for mere mortals, the 7,044-yard course has five sets of tees. (http://www.troonnorthgolf.com)
Scattered with piles of gigantic boulders and seventy-nine bunkers, the Morrish and Weiskopf-designed Monument is no slouch at 7,028-yards. Tight fairways and carries over and around dry washes, saguaros, mesquite and palo verde trees, plus pot bunkers in alarming places and serious doglegs make this a memorable golfing experience. These two are often named the top two daily fee courses in the state. The clubhouse offers every amenity, from a luxurious locker room with showers and an attendant to clean and respike your shoes, to a very nice restaurant and an award-winning pro shop.
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