.: Course Reviews :.
GREATER PHOENIX/SCOTTSDALE & CENTRAL AZ
Crowne Plaza San Marcos Golf Resort
CHANDLER
- 480-812-0900 (resort), 480-963-3358 (golf)
1 San Marcos Pl.
Chandler, AZ 85225
www.sanmarcosresort.com 
- semi-private
holes: 18
course par: 72
rating/slope: 70.7/122
range of yardages: 5,431-6,626
head pro: Scott Wright
membership: seasonal, $39-$120
course designers: Harry Collins Robinson
shoe policy: alternative cleats required
Great golf is created by legendary golfers…and legendary golf courses. The San Marcos Golf Course is where it all started for Arizona. This 18-hole, 6,626-yard course opened in 1913 and was seeded with Bermuda shortly thereafter, making it the first grass greens in Arizona. Over the decades, presidents, dignitaries, and celebrities have enjoyed the tree-lined landscape and challenging play offered at this traditional course.
Not your typical desert, target-golf course, this lush, green setting offers desert dwellers an enjoyable reprieve from some of the harsher desert layouts. The course is fair and straightforward in design, but don’t approach it with complacency—plenty of trouble awaits as each hole provides an average of three bunkers. The toughest holes on the course happen to be the two longest par 4s—Number 4, at 482 yards, and Number 10, at 454 yards. Trouble also abounds with water lurking on several holes, including ponds that come into play on Number 8 and on signature hole Number 13. Historical canals that cross the 1st, 9th, 10th, 11th, 12th, and 18th holes can also jump up and bite a good round.
All in all, players will find an enjoyable course nestled in the midst of an impressive property that’s listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The resort is also enjoying a renaissance including an affiliation with Crowne Plaza Hotels & Resorts and a multimillion-dollar renovation. In addition to golf, the resort features 295 luxurious guest rooms and suites, the award-winning AJ’s Café, 1912 Lounge, Mulligan’s Restaurant, more than 35,000 square feet of flexible meeting space, two heated swimming pools, an in-ground therapy spa, and cabana bar.
The resort lies in the heart of historic Old Town Chandler, Arizona, and is within minutes of area shopping, dining, and entertainment venues. Dr. A. J. Chandler, the resort’s designer and builder, finished construction on the resort in 1912, the same year Arizona traded in its Territorial status to become the nation’s 48th state, and opened the golf course a year later.
BRIAN BUJDOS
