A Break from the Norm - a trip to Scottsdale

A single entry blog about the Gurus' 2010 trip to Scottsdale, Arizona that broke the rules when it comes to traditional golf trips for the Gurus.

January 27th - February 1st, 2010

It has been said that there is an exception to every rule. Even the Gurus occasionally have to break their own long-established standards. Our January 2010 trip to Scottsdale, Arizona really “broke the mold.” Here are a few of the major deviations from the norm: We did the whole trip on one tank of gas, we stayed in one location for all 5 nights, and we averaged less than 36 holes per day. After the trip, we had to do some serious soul searching. Were we getting lazy? Had we lost our extremist natures? Were we getting old? Finally, we consoled ourselves by the realization that we were in Scottsdale, Arizona - one of America’s golf meccas – for the first time – with over 200 golfing options within a 20 mile radius . . . and we were severely limited by January’s available daylight.

We started the trip with a Southwest flight from SLC to PHX, and with a realization that Southwest Air may become the unofficial ‘Official Airlines of the Gurus’ due to their “Bags Fly Free” policy. (It is very difficult to get golf clubs into a carry-on). We flew out as early as possible, but still arrived at about 9 a.m., quickly picked up our Enterprise rental car, and found ourselves with a few hours to kill before our 1:30 p.m. opening round at Desert Forest. So, we decided to swing past TPC of Scottsdale, hoping to accomplish a couple of things. 1) We still needed to set up a round for our final day in the Valley of the Sun, which would be Monday, February 1st, and 2) we thought there may be some slim chance that they were not busy and that we could sneak in a full 18 holes prior to heading to Desert Forest. If we were baseball players we would have been ecstatic with our average, since we ended up batting .500. We got the Monday round set, but weren’t as fortunate with the immediate bonus holes.

When the Gurus can’t play golf, they drive, sleep, or eat . . . so, we took time to grab a $5 Footlong at Subway. (Unlike Idaho, Scottsdale-area Subways apparently do not have barbecue sauce available. What?! Had we known this ahead of time, neither of us would have ordered the Oven Roasted Chicken Breat sandwich. Just a little bonus tip from the Gurus). We then headed to the famous Desert Forest Golf Club, still having a couple of hours to kill.

We were actually looking forward to having some extra time, figuring that we would effectively use it at the driving range, since we had not swung the clubs since early November. We were fully aware that we had plenty of kinks to work out, and rust to knock off. However, when we arrived rain was threatening, and by the time we checked in, it was dumping on us. We made one failed attempt at getting some swings in during a small break in the downpour, but ultimately ended up wandering briefly around the cart shed, and then for an extended period through the low-key, original clubhouse. Finally, the rain slowed to a drizzle, and gave us some hope that we could play as scheduled. While we were unable to get in any practice time, we did find ourselves alone on the course with no one in front of us - all the groups scheduled ahead of us having given up on the day. So, we teed off a little early and tried to find an acceptable swing groove during the round.

14th hole at Desert Forest

Desert Forest is one of the original desert golf offerings, and had been internationally acclaimed since its opening. Robert “Red” Lawrence designed it in 1962, after having spent time at Westchester CC in New York, and with William S. Flynn at Merion Golf Club in Philadelphia. It is truly one-of-a-kind. While it only plays to 6814 yards and has no fairway bunkers, it still plays to an incredible 149 slope! The use the existing topography resulted in only about 55 acres of grass, fairways that all slope one way or the other, and a very playable-appearing, target golf masterpiece. Historically, membership has elected not to overseed in the winter, thus contributing to the minimalistic nostalgia of the course. Recently, though, overseeding has occurred with the exception of an every-fourth-year dormancy policy. We got to experience Desert Forest in its full old-school presentation, and played 18 holes on dormant, yellow fairways. And, the rain stayed away just long enough for us to finish the round. It was a pleasure to play, but we both whole-heartedly agreed that it is a course that we need to play at least once more, if not multiple times to fully appreciate.

15th hole at Desert Forest

Our accommodations for the trip, as mentioned previously, was a single hotel room. This is a Gurus first – even when we went to Bandon we actually spent one extra night at a Motel 6. We had experienced some difficulty in finding a low priced hotel room in or around Scottsdale and had been ready to book a room for more than we were accustomed to paying. However, Bill tried his luck with Priceline.com and came out a winner. Not only was the price right at $40/night, but the Extended Stay Deluxe that accepted our offer had an advertised full kitchen with full-sized appliances, and, after a well-placed phone call from Bill, they even guaranteed us separate beds – getting stuck with a single king bed is always a risk with hotels and Priceline, and a “deal breaker” for the Gurus. It was extremely nice to check in only once, leave our luggage in one place, and pay just a one-time $5 internet fee for the entire stay. We enjoyed mocking the size of the “full-size” appliances, as “half-sized” would have still been an exaggeration, but in the end we never used any of them anyway, except for the refrigerator.

Thursday morning started at Troon Country Club, a Weiskopf and Moorish beauty on the Northeast side of Scottsdale (where 8 of our 10 courses on the trip were located). We were part of the morning “shotgun start,” but were amused to find that we were 1 of 3 or 4 groups being started together. As a 2-some we started at #3 with no one ahead of us. While this usually results in a 3-hour round, we actually didn’t capitalize on our chance to play quickly due to our time spent in the desert looking for mis-hit balls. No other groups were in any of our pictures, though, and we got our first good glimpses of the iconic Pinnacle Peak. However, the rough was left dormant, and the weather was still a little cold and cloudy, so the pictures were not ideal. We noticed that on the scorecard, the 9th hole is named “Home Hole” and agreed that the two sets of 9 must be currently reversed from the original routing, though we haven’t had this verified. The architecture was much more contemporary than that of Desert Forest, with wider, more receptive fairways, more turf, bunkers framing greens and fairways, and 7041 total yards, and a rating and slope of 73.9 / 146. Designed in 1986, it was more lush than our opening round, while still making great use of the existing desert landscape. It actually was a very good architectural mid-point between our first round of the trip and our third.

14th hole at Troon CC

Our second round of the day, and third of the trip was at the Tom Fazio-designed Estancia. We were met when we arrived at the club, by Luke, our gracious member host for the round. We had a quick bite to eat, and then headed for the first tee where we met our caddie, Jonathan. Unlike some of the other courses on the trip, Estancia is only considered “desert golf” because it is physically located in the desert. Otherwise, it is a vibrant, luxuriously green routing that could have been built in about any setting that had existing change of elevation. As it was, it made for beautiful contrast – perfectly manicured, wide emerald fairways and greens set against the rugged, untamed desert with piles of huge boulders abounding throughout the round, and, all the while, playing in a large loop around Pinnacle Peak. The course was very playable but still tested your length at 7314 yards, and your skills at rating and slope of 74.3 / 148. Luke was a virtual golf encyclopedia, and was an absolute pleasure to play with. He knew courses, personalities, architecture, history, and played a pretty good game of golf, too. At every hole, he gave insightful playing tips, pointed out design and playing strategy, offered strong opinions, and quickly alerted us when he spotted a full-sized male bobcat strolling across the fairway right in front of us on the 17th hole! The heavily-built bobcat definitely had an attitude of superiority, and we chose not to challenge his decision to “play through.” Luke assured us that sightings were fairly common and we would be fine as long as it was not rabid . . . in which case, we would probably by attacked. Fortunately, we were able to finish the fantastic round, agreeing with Golf Digest that Estancia has a place among the Top 100 courses.

11th hole at Estancia

After the round, we sought a place where we could eat a lot of food, and watch a lot of basketball. Our difficulty was in finding an establishment that offered the obscure and very non-HD college sports channel, The Mountain. We were hoping to watch BYU play the University of New Mexico. The first sports bar that we found had the game, but didn’t offer bottomless drinks and bottomless chips and salsa. That also is a Gurus “deal breaker.” So, we called around and found a Chili’s close to our hotel that surprisingly had the channel of choice. Once there, we got the channel changed (which ticked off only a couple of guys who had been watching Kansas play Kansas State), ordered the Bottomless Express Lunch (which is also available at dinner and includes all-you-can eat soup, salad, and chips and salsa), and watched BYU lose to UNM. On a happy note, the food was good.

Day 3 began at Desert Highlands, a Jack Nicklaus signature golf course that was built in 1984. It is 7066 from the tips and again featured a stout slope of 149, with a rating of 73.3. Our member host for the day was a gentleman named Brook. Brook also was a pleasure to play with, and was extremely proud of the course that he represented – and rightly so. Desert Highlands was arguable the best course of the trip. It had it all. The design variety was terrific, offering a fantastic mix of playable, yet challenging holes. It wasn’t as receptive off the tee, or into the most greens as was Estancia, but its shot making demands were fair and the design allowed the native desert to be more intrinsic to play throughout the round. Our weather was finally what we had hoped for a late January trip to Arizona, and we gladly played the round in shorts, and short sleeve shirts.

9th hole at Desert Highlands

The second round of the day was at The Golf Club, Scottsdale, a 2003 Jay Moorish / Dick Bailey design that stretched out to a mean 7561 yards, a rating of 75.1, and yet another steep slope of 148. Classically, we left no time for lunch, resulting in a $6 chicken salad for Bill at the club, and a handful of protein bars for me that I found in my golf bag. As the newest course of the trip, thus far, The Golf Club was also the furthest removed from development – as Scottsdale burgeoning residential build-out had grown up and around once remote courses like Desert Forest and Desert Highlands. The Golf Club was a good test. The climax of the round occurred at the 4-hole finishing stretch of the round that is affectionately referred to as “Gambler’s Bluff” due to the risk/reward nature that is a departure from the sprawling rhythm of the first 14 holes of the round. While most of the holes play out and across the open expanse of rolling desert, holes 15-18 play up against the base of Fraesfield Mountain, offer extreme change of elevation, and a new cadence to shot making and club selection that can result in either a devastating or exhilarating finish to the round.

16th hole at Golf Club of Scottsdale

The second half of the 10-round trip began Saturday morning at the nether reaches of our trip’s boundaries. The Rees Jones-designed Quintero Golf and Country Club is located north of Peoria, and about 35 miles and 45 minutes away from our hotel – very much in the quintessential “middle-of-nowhere.” And, with Phoenix’s housing bubble having burst not long after Quintero’s 2000 opening, it may stay remote longer than originally planned. However, it is worth the drive, and the far-flung location fits seamlessly with the character if the course. Quintero is a 7208 yard, 74.9 / 147 slope track that is routed around 5 separate hills, and is built on top of an old, underground mining site, with at least one former mine entrance still visible from the course. Naturally, change of elevation is a part of each hole’s personality, with 3 out of the 4 par 3s featuring dramatic downhill tee shots. None of the holes, though, feel forced, nor is there ever an unnatural feel to the uphill or downhill play. Currently, the most aberrant element of the course is the temporary clubhouse location that warrants an extensive trek to the first tee and practice range. All of the feeling of disorientation that we felt on the long and sign-less drive to the course, were renewed on the long unmarked journey to the first hole and then again on the pilgrimage back to the clubhouse at the conclusion of the round.

9th hole at Quintero

Round 2 for the day occurred after a much-needed stop at a Peoria Panda Express. After a quick bite, we were off to Blackstone Country Club, Jim Engh’s lone Arizona design that opened in 2005. We correctly anticipated better scores on the round. While it stretches out to 7089 yards, the slope and rating (136/73.0) were accurate indicators of more playable round. Our start time was dictated by a tournament that had been played that morning, and while the starter tried to buffer some time between the tournament’s last group and our start time, we quickly caught up with a four-some ahead of us and were forced to take our sweet time and play at their pace for the remainder of the round. Unfortunately, we had another 2-some play right up behind us and ridiculously “sit on us” for the last half of the round – acting like we were the cause of the slow play, and suggesting by their constant pressure that they thought they ought to play through. The most intolerable aspect of this obnoxious behavior was the volume of one of the guys. What a “blow-hard!” He was the type of arrogant jerk whose volume clearly indicates his self absorption and need for attention. Every word that came out of the boar’s mouth was heard as if he was actually in our group and speaking with a megaphone – and of course his comments always occurred in backswings and over putts throughout the remainder of the round. Sometimes in life, however, such situations make payback that much sweeter, and I definitely paid him back! In an attempt to minimalize the graphic nature of what occurred, I will just say that the previous night’s Mexican food, and the afternoon’s stop at Panda Express had not mixed well in my digestive processes. As a result, I made a much-needed pit stop after about the 16th hole. I am quite sure that I have never polluted an airspace like I did at that time. It was a horrific event – likely qualifying as an environmental catastrophe. But, to my vindictive delight, as I hustled out of the men’s room, I noticed our loud-mouthed friend making a beeline for the same facility. Moments after he entered . . . he exited . . . grasping his sides, doubled over, coughing and dry heaving violently as if his insides had incurred permanent damage and were trying to abandon his body. Nothing could have pleased us more. We, of course, took great satisfaction in every second of his suffering, and only wished that we could have locked him inside until our round was finished. Ah, the thrill of retribution!

17th hole at Blackstone

Our 5th day of the trip was our final 36-hole day, and we were scheduled to spend it all at the Troon North facility. We played the “New” Pinnacle Course first, and then played the “New” Monument course to finish the day. They are referred to as “New” because the entire 36-hole complex underwent a rerouting that re-opened in October of 2007. Originally the Monument course was opened in 1990 and the Pinnacle course following 1996, with the Weiskopf / Morrish team responsible for both designs. However, once both courses were in, it became evident to Troon North and Weiskopf that they could be made better, and more walkable, by rerouting each course. The “New” Monument course was essentially formed by the combination of both original front 9s, and the “New” Pinnacle course was formed from a combination of the original back 9’s (with a couple hole exceptions). The changes resulted in a couple of terrific tracks, with the Pinnacle Course measuring 7025 yards and a 73.0 / 149, and the Monument Course coming in at 7070 yards and a 72.9 / 147. While they were at it, Weiskopf took the opportunity to tweak several greens and bunkers, helping to improve the overall playability. We had not played the courses before the rerouting, but applaud the changes and were impressed with the seamless conversion.

For the morning round at the Pinnacle Course, we were one of the first groups off, and were joined by a single from Southern California named Jeff. Unbeknownst to Jeff, we were very entertained by his company. The first thing we noticed was the amount of pink that Jeff was sporting – his clothing, his bag, his head covers, his golf towel, etc. We had already drawn our own conclusions about this pink obsession when he informed us that he was in town with his girlfriend for a couple of days. The second thing that I noticed was the striking resemblance to Austin Powers, minus the British accent. Maybe it was the teeth. Nevertheless, I found myself tempted to shout: “Yeah, baby, yeah!” after every good shot. I should mention that Jeff was very enjoyable to play with, had caught the golf bug in recent years, and had compiled a very impressive resume of public golf tracks that he had found time and money to play in a very short amount of time. Jeff, if you read this, we really did enjoy your company, and were amused, not critical or condescending.

16th hole at Troon North (Pinnacle)

As the first group out, we finished quickly and were prepared for a fairly long break between rounds. We had plans to eat and to hit the range for some much-needed swing fine-tuning. However, the starter told us that we could head straight to the Monument’s first tee if we were ready to play. We are always ready to play. So, we put our golf gloves back on and started the next round. Several holes into the round we caught up with a foursome in front of us, and it looked like there were groups in front of them, so our enjoyable pace of play slowed to a halt. In the meantime, a single caught up with us and we invited to him to join us. His name was Rod, and he was a local. His wife had given him the green light to get a round in on the weekend, and he was making the most of it. The highlight of the round was another bobcat sighting about halfway through the back nine. It wasn’t as big as the one we encountered at Estancia, but it was impressive, nevertheless.

15th hole at Troon North (Monument)

That night we returned to a Mexican food sports bar called The Sandbar, where we already eaten once earlier in the trip, to watch the NFL Pro Bowl. As it turned out, our eating habits for the trip were fairly predictable. For dinner, we ate at The Sandbar twice, Chili’s twice, and a Thai restaurant once. Chili’s and The Sandbar were both choices based upon the availability of TVs and sports programming. On our first trip to The Sandbar, we were both debating between the chimichangas and the fajitas, so we asked our waiter which option would result in the most food. He emphatically told us that the chimichanga platter was huge, and by far the bigger of the two choices. Needless, to say we both ordered it. When our dinners arrived, Bill’s chimi was inexplicably close to twice the size of mine, so I was a little bothered. However, Bill joined in on the personal agitation when the fajitas that had been ordered by the adjacent table arrived. They were easily twice the amount of food of even Bill’s chubby chimi. So, on this, our second night at The Sandbar, we both ordered the fajitas and ate like kings until we were among the last patrons in the restaurant – our time there being significantly increased by the skankiest and most unattentive waitress of all time. Interestingly, there was a staff meeting that night for a briefing on brand new menus. Maybe the new menus had a “junior chimichanga” option on it which had been beta-tested on me, and a “jumbo fajitas” options that they also started running a little early.

The final day of the trip is always a bit depressing. We packed up our suitcases (there wasn’t much left in them after 5 days in the same hotel room), crammed them into the backseat of the Malibu (which we were assured by the car rental attendant is “the biggest of all the ‘standard’ options” – probably her way of making us feel good about not getting a free upgrade) along with our golf club travel bags and headed for TPC Scottsdale. The date was February 1st, which meant that we would be playing it 3 weeks before the pros arrived for the Waste Management Phoenix Open. The cool side of that type of tour proximity is that the course conditions are similar to the actual event, all of the bleachers and grandstands are in place, and there is the opportunity to see the holes again while they are still very fresh in your mind. The downside of playing that close to the event is seeing the pros carve up the course that we just hacked our way around, and that they close the back tees. This resulted in us playing about 700 yards less on the 7216 yard layout, and against a 71.1 /129 instead of a 74.6 138. In this rare situation, I have always thought about promising them that we would take no driver divots if they would allow us to play all the tips, but I, and everyone who has ever played with me, know that that is a promise I am not likely to keep!

16th hole at TPC Scottsdale

We were joined by a member named John, a vacationer from Paraguay named Augustine, his 8-year-old daughter Sophia, and our caddy – also named John. We were started off the back (also less than ideal), and I birdied the opening hole. Yeah! I then proceeded to go 7 over through the next 4. Boo! Luckily, I got it rolling again, and was only 1 over through the final 13 holes. We had to be told a couple of times to speed up, took pictures of Tiger Wood’s famous rock (or moveable obstruction on hole #13), and really enjoyed holes 15 through 18 – especially the par-3 16th. As most golfers know, it is affectionately referred to as “the loudest hole in golf” due to the 30,000 seat amphitheater that is created for the Phoenix Open. Fortunately, the stadium was all set up for us, and we felt for a few moments like we were part of the tour . . . minus the noise, the chants, the boos, and the cheers. We furthered that sensation by all carding pars on the hole. I would have been booed, though, as my well-struck shot hit on the green but bounced off the back. As with most final rounds, it went much too quickly and we soon found ourselves done with another 10 rounds of golf.

The famous boulder at TPC Scottsdale

All that was left was to find a Chinese buffet and then head for the airport. On our way out, though, I realized how close we would be passing to the Arizona Tempe Mission home and office, where I had spent a good portion of 2 years, almost 17 years ago. So, we stopped in for a few moments of nostalgia, met a couple of missionaries from Idaho, and then got back on the road. We relied heavily on Nikki to help us find a place to eat, knowing that she desperately needed a Garmin POI update. Never was that more evident as it was in this search for a buffet. Bill must have called close to 15 places before we found one in Phoenix that was still open, in the same location, and ready for business. When we finally arrived, we instantly knew that we had just encountered a new all-time golf trip low. It was the nastiest Chinese buffet we had ever set eyes (and any number of other senses) on. It was cheap and dirty in every way – from the clientele to the 5 choices that were disgustingly presented under the heat lamps. Within seconds we both broke into a quick jog back to the rental car and were glad that all the tires were still on it when we arrived. Fortuitously, within a mile we drove right past another Chinese buffet. It was a couple of bucks more than the first, but we have never before been so glad to pay for an upgrade.

After returning our car to Sky Harbor’s “Great and Spacious Rental Car Return Building,” we were ready to be home. Unlike our return trip from New York last June, we arrived in Salt Lake at a reasonable hour – about 6 pm. So, we decided to skip dinner and try to be back to Pocatello by about 9:00 – in time to squeeze or kids and tell them goodnight. We are such good dads! The drive home went surprisingly quick as we recapped the trip – which has become somewhat of a custom on our final leg. We had finally penetrated Arizona golf! And, while we had played 10 great tracks, we felt like we hadn’t even made a dent in the Grand Canyon State’s golf offering – which lead to the obvious conclusion . . . we’ll just have to go again!

• Minimalists, their favorite courses, and their love for dormant grass - Hype
• The value of kitchens in motel rooms - Hype (I am on vacation!)
• Actual desert as one of the most formidable hazards - Not Hype
• Someone else's opinion of good food, good golf, good times - Hype