AZ Golf Guides

SOUTHERN AZ

San Ignacio Golf Club

GREEN VALLEY

At first glance, Green Valley seems like a sleepy little retirement community nestled into the heart of two mountain ranges—the Santa Ritas and the Tumacacoris—with two more ranges rising up in the distance—the Santa Catalinas and the Rincons. Then there’s the realization that 10 golf courses can be found in the surrounding area, and suddenly Green Valley doesn’t seem so sleepy anymore.

Chief among these emerald-green fairways and greens open to the public stands San Ignacio Golf Club, the work of renowned architect Arthur Hills. Like a surgeon, Hills constructed San Ignacio into some very tight confines, backdropping the tees and green settings with breathtaking vision that seems to enhance the tranquility.

It’s pretty hard to beat the golf at San Ignacio, which offers a fantastic stretch from the 12th through 18th holes. Even better, both nines prove consistently strong, as it’s hard to look past the 1st, 8th, and 9th holes when it comes to assigning signature status, even if the 522-yard Number 13 claims the honor thanks to a dizzy, downhill run framed against the Santa Rita Mountains.

How good is San Ignacio? Good enough to merit numerous major events on the Arizona Golf Association’s schedule over the years. If further endorsement is needed, then the thousands of visitors who stream to the golf course and adjacent Inn at San Ignacio give further testament to the concept of “value with a view.”

James Green, who owns and operates the Inn at San Ignacio, points to his many return customers as to why some consider the golf course and town “the best little golf secret in Arizona.’’

“Everywhere you turn, you see these beautiful mountains and vast expanses,” notes Green, whose golf resort features 44 large condos (1,000 square feet each) and 44 rooms (all larger than an average hotel room). “The golf and hospitality doesn’t get much better, especially for the very reasonable prices we charge.”

The Inn at San Ignacio sits on a ridge overlooking much of the golf course. Even on the course—where it seems that each hole has its very own fairway carved through the canyon—you get the sense that privacy is paramount.

Life at San Ignacio reminds one of nearby Mexico, especially the atmosphere—laid-back and very mañana. This is somewhat ironic, since Green Valley once belonged to Mexico before the US purchased the parcel known as San Ignacio de la Canoa in 1854. For more than 120 years it existed as nothing more than wild Sonoran desert. Then one by one these lush layouts began to color the landscape green. Arthur Hills added San Ignacio to the neighborhood in 1989.

He created a playable course thanks to an abundance of movement controlled through mounding and elevation changes. Sculpted mesquite trees also help to define San Ignacio’s fairways in random solo fashion, while multiple tiers provide many distinct pin placements on these relatively goodsized greens.

The fact that much of the terrain (and the wildlife that inhabit the area) remains as it was 150 years ago gives us one more thing to like about San Ignacio. In fact, the course is as much a sanctuary as it is 18 holes of spectacular golf, with dove, quail, rabbits, bobcats, javelina, deer, and, yes, even the occasional mountain lion roaming the grounds at will.

BILL HUFFMAN