Home | Central Valley | East Valley | West Valley | Tucson | Cactus League

Going… Gone!

Baseball and golf go together like hot dogs and beer. Both sports revere the long ball and rely heavily on accurate pitches. With a combination of 15 teams, 10 stadiums and more than 200 golf courses, nothing brings together golf-loving baseball fans and baseball-loving golfers better than Spring Training in Arizona.

Home to both of last year’s NL wild-card teams, Scottsdale’s Salt River Fields at Talking Stick will be hopping during Spring Training. The Rockies, of course, lost, 11-8, to the Diamondbacks in that one-game playoff, and both teams look poised to unseat the Dodgers from atop the National League West.

[easyazon_image align=”right” height=”275″ identifier=”B079NQ3HNT” locale=”US” src=”https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/51b7ZncTeAL.jpg” tag=”coloradoavidg-20″ width=”275″]Hope springs eternal in Arizona, but the Rockies do have a legit shot this year. Arenado, Blackmon, LeMahieu, Parra and Story can flat-out play, and the Rockies ranked among the top three Major League teams in batting and fielding percentage. As far as the pitching goes, it’s not a question of giving up the HR, but staying off the IR. Still, the team won 11 more games than it lost at Coors Field, where its pitchers had the highest home ERA in the National League. A strong bullpen got even moreso with the addition of of free-agent closer Wade Davis.

No matter which of the 15 teams you root for, the best part about the Cactus League experience is proximity. The Valley of the Sun’s intimate, family-friendly ballparks allow fans get far closer to the players than they could ever get in big-league stadiums; and none of the ten ballparks is more than a 45-minute drive from the others.

In between those ballparks and throughout the area’s East, West and Central valleys lie some of the finest golf courses in the west. The ones at Talking Stick Resort provide the perfect entry point. Don’t be surprised if you run into a player or coach in the clubhouse. Pitcher Kyle Freeland purports to be the team’s best golfer, but fellow hurlers Jeff Hoffman and Tyler Anderson might have something to say about that. So might Arenado; the guy is a stick.

View the digital version as it appeared in the Spring 2018 issue of Colorado AvidGolfer:

Hit the Stick

Talking Stick Resort – For convenience to Salt River Fields at Talking Stick and the O’odham and Piipaash Courses at Talking Stick Golf Club, you can’t top the exciting 15-story Talking Stick Resort. Comprised of nearly 500 guest rooms, eight restaurants, a 98,000-square-foot casino, expansive pool area with 20-plus cabanas and a 13,000-square-foot spa, the resort also features the spectacular food and romantic sunsets of Orange Sky Restaurant on its top floor and,14 floors below, the art-filled Cultural Center reflecting the heritage of the Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community (SRPMIC). In case you’re wondering, Talking Stick Resort Arena, where the NBA’s Phoenix Suns play, is 20 miles away in Phoenix. The resort bought the naming rights in 2014. The building was previously the U.S. Airways Arena. talkingstickresort.com

Eat, Imbibe and Explore

HEARTH ’61 (pictured below)

Unanimously ranked among Phoenix’s top new restaurants, this swank, indgredient-driven eatery at the recently reopened Mountain Shadows Resort boasts inspired American fare, floor-to-ceiling windows and a sunken living room. hearth61.com

CAFÉ MONARCH

European refinement, exquisite food and romantic ambience make it the perfect spot for a special occasion. cafemonarch.com

FRANCO’S ITALIAN CAFFE

Savor Arizona’s best, most authentic Fiorentine cuisine in a delightfully welcoming atmopshere. francosscottsdale.com

SCOTTSDALE WINE TRAIL

Did you Arizona has three major wine-growing regions and 83 wineries? Four of the best have tasting rooms (and food) within a 1-mile radius in downtown Scottsdale. scottsdalewinetrail.com

ODYSEA AQUARIUM

Marvel at otters, penguins, sea lions and 500 other sea creatures at the Southwest’s largest aquarium odyseaacquarium.com

MUSICAL INSTRUMENT MUSEUM

Hear, see and even play some of the museum’s collection of 6,500 instruments from around the world. MIM.org

Colorado AvidGolfer is the state’s leading resource for golf and the lifestyle that surrounds it, publishing eight issues annually and proudly delivering daily content via coloradoavidgolfer.com. Follow us on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.