AZ Golf Guides

GREATER PHOENIX/SCOTTSDALE & CENTRAL AZ

Wigwam Golf Resort & Spa

LITCHFIELD PARK

The Wigwam Golf Club is an Arizona tradition. Designed in 1929, the resort's original course has become an institution for golfers from around the world.

But the old is now the new, with more than $15 million spent on recent renovations. Improvements include updates to the Blue, Red, and Gold Courses, as well as to the rooms, and the addition of a 26,000- square-foot Red Door Spa.

Practicing golfers will enjoy the state-of-the-art, 320-yard-long driving range— installed with target greens and bunkers for an authentic experience. And those looking for improvement can find it at Wigwam University, a facility featuring three hitting areas and instruction from PGA professionals and the Jim McLean Golf School.

The Wigwam's long-established courses immediately set it apart from many other Phoenix-area desert-themed courses. With its Gold and Blue Courses dating back to 1962 and the Red Course to 1972, golfers find three layouts with a wide variety of mature, swaying pines and palms, and acres of wide-open green grasses.

Even though the courses' green fairways appear wide, looks can be deceiving. All three courses feature smallish, elevated greens and long-yardage holes. And those mature trees? They can block both sunlight and second shots.

Wigwam's Gold Course, the gem of the resort, poses the greatest threat of the three. Playing at 7,400 yards from the tips, the course can prove a real bogey-maker if the approach shot goes astray.

Gold's signature hole—the par-5 Number 10—plays at 633 yards. Off the tee, golfers need to position on the right side of the fairway. Pine trees and a canal on the right come into play, while bunkers await those going too far left. Golfers need to lay up before going to the medium-sized, contoured green; a lake in front of it extends about 120 yards out to the left.

"The Gold's 450-yard, par-4 Number 8 is our hardest hole," says Craig Allen, Wigwam's head pro. "Your second shot is everything here. You have to be very precise with this shot to hold the green, because everything slopes off of it." The long par 4 features ball-grabbing bunkers on the left and canals on the right. A canal swings in front of the small, elevated green fronted by a retaining wall. Average golfers might leave this hole happier if they approach it as a par-5.

The Red Course remains the favorite with club members, probably due to its player-friendly nature. But don't be fooled. Golfers popping buttons in confidence may find their scores ballooning on the final three holes, including the Red's signature hole—the par-5, 591-yard Number 18. Here, some hit a 3-iron off the tee because positioning is crucial. A dogleg lies to the left, with trees on both the left and right. Watch out for the biting fairway bunker at the end of the dogleg. Confident golfers able to cut the dogleg are rewarded with a favorable approach shot. "I've seen good players take 10s there," says Allen of the 18th hole.

The Blue Course features six par 3s and four par 5s. The par-3 Number 15 features a true island green with a bridge. Playing at 130 yards, the scenic hole features a flagstone retaining wall.

Renovations on Number 17, a 160-yard par-3, make this hole a mirror to Augusta National's picturesque Number 16. "Every golfer will have a fantastic experience here," Allen adds. "They're in for a great round of golf."

GLENN SWAIN