AZ Golf Guides

METROPOLITAN TUCSON

Hilton Tucson El Conquistador Golf & Tennis Resort

TUCSON

Under new, preeminent management of the Hilton Hotels Corporation, a global leader in the hospitality industry and a household name to the rest of us, the 45 golf holes of the illustrious Four-star, Four-diamond Hilton Tucson El Conquistador Golf & Tennis Resort remain just as you remember, but perhaps in their best condition ever, as major renovations from a few years back continue to mature. It’s still the most golf offered by any one resort in Southern Arizona.

The company’s tremendous global presence adds impressive spice to a familiar experience which, for years, has reflected the immediately recognizable Tucson style— golf through rolling chaparral, foothills, and arroyos, with the towering mountain cliffs always in view.

In the Oro Valley area north of Tucson, the venerable 428-room resort sits high on the western slope of the Santa Catalina Mountains, 2,000 feet below a mighty landmark, Pusch Ridge, in what has to be the quintessential setting for a luxurious getaway in the Southwest.

Seven minutes west of the hotel via hotel shuttle, the Cañada and Conquistador Courses anchor the Hilton Tucson El Conquistador Country Club and remain a strong pair to draw to on the Tucson golf scene. Designed and built by Arizona-based golf course architects Jeff Hardin and Greg Nash more than 20 years ago, the two layouts favor a traditional design style, considering their urban desert setting, where the inspiring Sonoran terrain still taunts. A few years ago, Nash returned to revamp the tees and fairways, and redo putting surfaces with superlative Tifdwarf and TifEagle Bermuda that rolls as smooth as bentgrass and requires less maintenance in the desert climate.

Both courses play through varying terrain, where fairways rise and fall through the shallow ravines unique to the area, with only a minimal number of water features on each layout.

The major achievement in the recent overhaul of the two courses was the creation of two distinctive experiences, without sacrificing the feeling that these two layouts belong together. It’s safe to say that Nash pulled this off flawlessly.

Named after Cañada del Oro, the nearby river whose tributaries have cut a number of washes and arroyos through the property, Cañada has a more desert-style design. Hundreds of mesquite trees line the fairways and protect greens on approach. And while the amply turfed fairways are wide and forgiving, arroyos and outcroppings manage to impede from the edges on more than a few holes. Half of Cañada’s 18 holes begin from elevated tees with tactical vantage points and play to elevated greens, which afford spectacular views of the surroundings.

The Conquistador Course clearly lends a more traditional feel but still has picturesque touches of desert flora. Golfers still must contend with rolling terrain and the occasional side hill lie. The gently elevated greens have openings in the front, while the generous mounding to the sides and back put added pressure on pitch shots fired at the pin.

More than 60 fairway sand bunkers that were gradually eliminated over the years were reconstructed and returned to play, and once again they define the Conquistador’s original design, as well as adding more challenge to the overall strategy. In fact, pot bunkers, similar to those demonic craters found on Scottish courses, lie scattered along several fairways and around a number of greens, creating a very noticeable difference between the two layouts.

Nash’s careful handling of bunkering and greenside mounding lends strong visual appeal to the complexes and places greater demand on approach shots. However, for the first time in their history, every green is open in front to some degree, allowing bump and runs and providing a little more forgiving margin of error. New tiers and shelves allow for a greater variety of hole locations. Yet with all the changes, none of the original traditional charm fell away to modern trends.

Meanwhile, back at the resort—the nine-hole Pusch Ridge Course winds, dips, and climbs through a 175-foot vertical drop in the foothills below its craggy namesake and delivers an absolute thrill. This daring 2,788-yard layout, set immediately adjacent to the resort, challenges all takers for a quick nine, and more often than not catches the most skilled players off guard.

Six of the nine holes play steeply either uphill or down, and the ones in between show a little movement as well. The 1st hole is a short par-5 dogleg left that requires little more than a fairway wood to start. Needless to say, given the confines, the tight fairways suggest to the big hitters that the driver and long irons stay in the bag. And then comes the occasional water, such as on Number 5, where a pond nearly encircles the green from the front right.

After a few holes it becomes clear why the course record 32 is a mere 3 under par. There’s been talk of building another nine. But more than a few players in Tucson claim that two turns around the current Pusch Ridge nine make one of their favorite 18-hole tracks in the city.

Further resort amenities include 31 lighted tennis courts, spa facilities, five unique restaurants with menus from Continental to cowboy, four swimming pools, two fitness centers, and an equestrian center with stables on-site.

Resort guests may reserve tee times up to 180 days in advance. Hilton Tucson El Conquistador Golf & Tennis Resort operates on a semiprivate basis, and daily-fee play is available on a limited basis at all three courses.

DAVID HUBBARD