AZ Golf Guides

SOUTHERN AZ

Canoa Hills Golf Club

GREEN VALLEY

A 30-minute bolt down Interstate 19 from Tucson puts you in Green Valley, the thriving retirement community developed by Fairfield Properties and easily Southern Arizona’s golf capital.

One of I. R. I.’s two courses in Green Valley, and one of four Wildcat courses, Canoa Hills Golf Club epitomizes the special rural flavor of the game in this beautifully refreshing area of the state. Built in 1984, this favorite layout winds through the shallow ravines and rolling hills of the Santa Cruz River Valley. The traditional design offers an inviting setting with captivating views of the Santa Rita Mountains to the east, where Mt. Wrightson rises majestically to nearly 9,500 feet above sea level.

Playing to 6,610 yards at the longest of three sets of tees (regular 6,088 yards, forward 5,158 yards), the course’s chief obstacles are the stands of indigenous mesquite trees that guard and sometimes tighten the gently contoured fairways eased into the natural terrain. While accuracy always produces the best results, Canoa Hills is relatively forgiving and playable for all skill levels.

Recently Canoa Hills’ second hole was named one of the Top Ten Great Holes in the Tucson and surrounding areas by the Arizona Daily Star. It is a prime example of the ultimate risk and reward hole, with an elevated tee and ample lay up area.

Where holes play downhill toward the river valley, and uphill from the river in a prevailing breeze, correct club selection for the deceptive distances easily makes for one of the subtler challenges at Canoa Hills.

However, once you are on the generous Pennlinks bentgrass greens, the perfectly manicured putting surfaces promise fast, true rolling reads to the cup.

Running snugly with the lay of the land, with residences on the ridges above the fairways, the secluded high-desert golf experience is secure at Canoa Hills.

DAVID HUBBARD