Rio Rico Golf & Country Club

The Rio Rico Resort and Country Club golf course is one of several designed by the late Robert Trent Jones Sr., whose work is immortalized by such other famous courses as Spyglass Hill, Hazeltine National, and Firestone. Rio Rico remains as one of the top 25 public courses in Arizona and is one of the few selected to host the first stage of the PGA Tour Qualifier.

The beauty of the natural terrain and the way Jones fit the golf course into it is truly spectacular. Situated alongside the Santa Cruz River, the course meanders into the surrounding hillsides where the sunlight casts mystical purple and yellow shadows in the late afternoon. Holes 5 to 8 are considered one of the finest four hole stretches in the state, ending with the 439 yard No. 8. Teeing off from high on the hill, the fairway drops off twice before your long approach shot settles onto a green framed by a reed filled pond to the right and a gaping bunker to the left.

After a most enjoyable day on this classic course, the golfer will want to settle into the laid-back style of the resort and dine on the Southwestern cuisine served in the San Cayetano Dining Room. If the golf by day isn’t enough, there is plenty to explore in nearby Nogales, Mexico or the thriving artist colony of Tubac. The resort is less then an hour away from all the major tourist attractions of Southern Arizona and is quickly accessible via I-19 to Tucson and Tucson International Airport.