San Ignacio Golf Club: Review from Arizona Golf Guides
Those looking to enjoy the riches of the Green Valley golf scene can’t afford to miss San Ignacio Golf Club. This always-green course features great design and incorporates local nature smartly.
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520-648-3468 (golf shop) or
520-393-5700 (condo rates and reservations)
4201 S. Camino del Sol
Green Valley, AZ 85622
www.sanignaciogolfclub.com
www.innatsanignacio.com
public
holes: 18
course par: 71
rating/slope:
- gold 72/135
- blue 69.8/130
- white 67.5/121
- red 64.5/113
range of yardages: 5,200–6,704
general manager: Tim Bishop
membership: Dual course memberships available. Phone for information.
cart & green fees: summer $39, winter $77
course designer: Arthur Hills
shoe policy: alternative cleats required
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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. 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 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.
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 dizzying, 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 and 44 rooms. “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 the golf course. Even on the course—where it seems each hole has its very own fairway carved through the canyon—you get the sense that privacy is paramount.
For more than 120 years the area 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 good-sized greens.
The fact that much of the terrain and wildlife 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
Find Out More about Green Valley Golf Courses
Southern Arizona is a golf haven, and Green Valley is a particularly attractive destination for golf fans. Find out more about the many top-notch courses in the area, including San Ignacio Golf Club, by requesting free brochures through our site.
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