Sports rivalries are the stuff of dreams, legends and despairing gamblers. There’s Ali and Frazier, the Celtics and Lakers, Connors and McEnroe, the Broncos and Raiders, Yankees and Red Sox.
Golf has its own heated rivalries, too: Hogan vs. Snead and Nicklaus vs. Watson are prime examples. Another is Phoenix vs. Scottsdale.
Wait a minute… How can Phoenix, America’s eighth largest city, be a competitive rival to nearby Scottsdale, which is less than a 10th its size? And where else in golf does a major city and a diminutive neighbor get scrappy and go toe-to-toe?
That’s just it. There isn’t another example. Yet here, in the sweat-inducing environs of Arizona’s Sonoran Desert, there’s an ongoing melee that would invite fans of Evander Holyfield/Mike Tyson matchups to take up seats ringside.
This, indeed, is a tale of two cities:
Scottsdale is world-famous for its premier golf properties, ranging from off-the-chart private communities (think Desert Mountain, Estancia, Mirabel, Desert Highlands, Troon Country Club) to top daily-fee courses (like Troon North, Talking Stick, Grayhawk, TPC Scottsdale, Kierland and Legend Trail). And let’s not overlook those redoubtable golf resorts: The Boulders, Four Seasons at Troon North, Westin Kierland, The Phoenician, Fairmont Scottsdale Princess, Marriott’s Camelback Inn and the Hyatt Regency Scottsdale.
No wonder Tom Weiskopf, who crafted several layouts in the region, often quips that Scottsdale is “the Rodeo Drive of Golf.” The town, all 185 square miles of it, exhibits one great course after another, each one commanding memberships or green fees that would make even Donald Trump blink.
On the other hand, big brother Phoenix is celebrated for its “value” golf, offering a plethora of affordable ($35-$100), municipal-style layouts that provide an appealing alternative to Scottsdale’s pricey ($150-$300) playgrounds.
“People are under the impression that it’s too expensive to play golf when they come to Phoenix during the high season,” explains area resident Bill Huffman, author of the book, Arizona’s Greatest Golf Courses. “There are several public courses like Papago, Encanto and Vistal that are priced under $50, and they’re well worth the money.”
Phoenix does sport a few high-end exceptions—the Arizona Biltmore, Pointe Hilton Squaw Peak and The Legacy Golf Resort are redoubtable oases with highly regarded golf, and the Raven at South Mountain is an enticing daily-fee challenge. Although Scottsdale has the show-stopping, price-is-no-object quality and quantity, Phoenix and the rest of the metro area aren’t throwing in the proverbial towel.
“Because of the cost and increasingly short supply of land and water, Scottsdale is pretty much locked in,” suggests Huffman. “Now we’re seeing quality projects going up around Phoenix where land and water are way cheaper and much more plentiful.”
Phoenix’s West Valley is a case in point. New courses gaining critical acclaim include daily-fees Raven at Verrado (designed by John Fought), Trilogy at Vistancia (Gary Panks) and Corte Bella (Greg Nash), plus a smattering of sumptuous new private clubs like Blackstone (Jim Engh) and Quintero (Rees Jones).
Lyle Anderson, celebrated developer of Desert Highlands, Desert Mountain and Superstition Mountain, has announced he has entered the West Valley fray with a 10,000-acre purchase of prime real estate near the White Tank Mountains. The mixed-use development, Festival, has begun construction on a new Del Webb community that will feature golf, parks, recreation, and traditional as well as age-restricted housing.
Plus, venerable Wigwam Resort on Phoenix’s western outskirts has just completed a multimillion-dollar makeover that includes a new 26,000-square-foot Red Door Spa and major upgrades to its 54-hole golf complex.
Still more digging is underway to the northeast in nearby Rio Verde where a promising Ken Kavanaugh-designed daily-fee called Vista Verde has debuted. And in burgeoning Fountain Hills, where Scott Miller’s superb The Golf Club at Eagle Mountain holds sway, a new Bill Coore/Ben Crenshaw collaboration has opened at the highly regarded We-Ko-Pa. The new Saguaro Course is the second upscale daily-fee at this golf-only showcase owned by the Yavapai Nation.
On Phoenix’s south side, new or updated golf construction is following the proactive lead of its metro brethren. For example:
-The private, three-year-old Southern Dunes Golf Club is proving that an innovative Australian sand-hills motif crafted by Fred Couples and Brian Curley can work wonders in the desert southwest.
-Superstition Mountain Golf & Country Club’s exclusive 36-hole facility—designed by Jack Nicklaus and sons Jackie and Gary—has scored big, especially with LPGA stars who compete here annually during the Safeway International.
-The David Druzisky-designed Duke at Rancho El Dorado has transformed a blanched desert parcel into an immaculately conditioned, public-friendly oasis.
-Whirlwind Golf Club at the Sheraton Wildhorse Pass Resort offers a pair of daily-fee courses penned by Gary Panks, 36 spike-tightening holes underscored by Polaroid-prompting views of the Sierra Estrella Mountains.
-Twenty-seven-hole Ocotillo Golf Resort continues to impress with a distinguished, water-rife routing orchestrated by Ted Robinson.
-Troon Golf-managed Estrella Mountain Ranch, one of America’s better public-access facilities, has reopened with new greens and a reclaimed water irrigation system to further complement an inspired Jackie Nicklaus design.
-New Poston Butte Golf Club at Merrill Ranch unveiled a daily-fee Panks design illustrated with island greens, tee-to-green bunkering and views of an ancient Apache fire temple resurrected in the 1800s by namesake Charles Poston.
-Longbow Golf Club’s recent renovation has proven a resounding success to daily-fee players at the creative Ken Kavanaugh layout.
Like a seasoned champion, Scottsdale has responded with some fancy countermoves of its own, although the news is primarily about—what else—über-exclusive memberships:
-Members of Silverleaf Golf Club are riding high since the completion of a 50,000-square-foot, Tuscan-inspired clubhouse. Tucked into a cliff with breathtaking views of the Tom Weiskopf-designed golf course, Silverleaf’s clubhouse is fully detailed with a full-service spa, lap pools, fine and casual dining, and men’s and women’s locker rooms that seemingly were appointed expressly for royalty.
-Whisper Rock Golf Club has a sensational new Tom Fazio layout that side-winds among towering rock piles similar to those found at nearby The Boulders Resort. The effect is astonishing, a breathtaking follow-up to the club’s first course, an equally resplendent Phil Mickelson creation.
-The Golf Club Scottsdale’s no-home panoramas and new Jay Morrish/Dick Bailey course are earning well-deserved accolades. Bordered on three sides by thousands of acres of mountainous terrain and sweeping desert panoramas, the club offers its privileged members a truly rare and remarkable pure-golf experience.
Scottsdale also has stepped up with amazing après-golf nightlife. Clubbing has taken Scottsdale by heart-pumping storm, with Barcelona topping the power cocktail register, followed by just-opened Baroque, Kazimierz, E4, the tequila-fueled Tortilla Factory and the newly renovated Radius, sister to Scottsdale’s popular Axis nightclub.
Also worth noting: Next spring the TPC Scottsdale will begin a $10 million renovation of the Desert Course, sister to the PGA Tour’s FBR Open-hosting Stadium layout. And starting this winter, the TPC will package forecaddies with green fees (personal caddies are extra), mandating walking of the Weiskopf/Morrish-designed Stadium during high season. The $350 ticket ($250 in green fees and an optional $100 caddie charge) sets an eye-popping standard for Scottsdale’s affluent golfers.
Which only underscores the old saying: If you need to know how much it costs, you probably can’t afford it. Still, even despairing gamblers have their limits—when their pockets run short of cash—so it never hurts to ask.
For more information, go online at scottsdalecvb.com or phoenixcvb.com.
Contributing editor Chris Duthie recently moved from Scottsdale to Durango.
LOCAL KNOWLEDGE
PHOENIX METRO (including Chandler, Mesa, Peoria and Tempe):
Resorts
SCOTTSDALE AREA (including Cave Creek, Fort McDowell, Fountain Hills and Paradise Valley):
Golf Club at Eagle Mountain (The):
eaglemtn.com; 866-863-1234