The worst and
most beloved
course in Arizona:
Coronado Golf Course
comes through
on both counts

By Chris Baldwin,
Senior Writer

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. (July 19, 2005) - You hear the cars rushing overhead. The vibrations of the rumble shake your golf cart as you ride about 20 feet below. Graffiti greets on all sides, weeds sprout through broken concrete, looking more rugged and jagged than any cement. There are smashed bottles, a discarded shirt and the odor to match.

Welcome to the midpoint of your round.

Yes, you're playing golf through - or in this case underneath - a freeway overpass.

But this isn't some inner city course struggling to keep the game alive. It's located in Scottsdale, Ariz. - only maybe the most consistently ritzy golf zone in the United States. This is the land of resort courses with endlessly scenic climbs, waterfalls, desert by design and tirelessly synchronized staff movements.

Muirhead's Pine Course at McCormick an early, satisfying look inside a mad golf design mind Mountain Shadows proves even executive courses can be overrated Home sweet home on the range: RV golf in the desert is heating up The Foothills: comparatively easy, but worth the price of admission

And one unique ugly duckling that runs through a highway and charges $12 a round.

Introducing Coronado Golf Course.

It may be the worst golf course in all of Arizona. It's undoubtedly one of the most beloved.

For Coronado Golf Course has been on the chopping block twice in the last two years and both times a groundswell of community support kept the course alive. First, the city of Scottsdale came out with plans to build the San Francisco Giants' new spring training home on the land. Then, there was a proposal to convert the 44 acres into a public park.

Community activists repelled the attempts with a grassroots campaign, geared toward getting important decision makers to understand the passion for a low-priced course average working folks could afford and the history behind this Milt Coggins design.

"People love this place," Scottsdale golfer George Phillips said. "When the Giants were talking about moving in here, you would have thought they were trying to tear down the Sistine Chapel."

Phillips looked down at the tattered tee box he was standing on, up the fairway crammed against a chain-link fence, ahead to a worn-down green and smiled. Sometimes heaven can look like hell.

People know what they're getting when they come to Coronado. There's not the slightest hint of pretension around the place. For many, that's another welcome break from usual suspects, pretty as they may be, in Scottsdale.

At Coronado, you plunk down a 10 and a few singles - barely more than the cost of a movie ticket - and swing away.

"It's like golf was 30 years ago," regular Ron Poggemeyer said. "You could pay $10 to golf 30 years ago. It's more about the game than trying to impress anyone."

That's a good thing because Coronado is about as likely to wow someone as Bill Gates is to go broke. Part of the course runs along the back parking lot of an Osco drug store. Putting in the late-afternoon sun, you see several Osco employees sitting on the curb, getting in their smoke breaks.

Hey, no one ever said you get to choose your gallery.

There's unmistakable charm to this too-bizarre-to-even-script scene. There's also a certain wholesomeness to it. You see a father teaching his junior high school daughter the game, an eight-year-old boy tagging along to complete dad's foursome and older couples who use golf at Coronado as their daily exercise.

A par 62 with a slope rating of 75, Coronado is in many ways golf on training wheels. It's the base for many local high school golf teams and an unofficial community center for an area filled with transplants.

Coronado Golf Course is never going to win an architectural award or end up on the pages of a glossy color magazine. But it's going to grow the game and produce the type of golf addicts on which all those $200 resort courses across the globe depend.

"I've played golf at probably 500 courses around the world," Valley native Paul Hopper said. "And it all started here with getting in nine at Coronado."

It's been that way since 1966, long before the current West boom made the Phoenix-Scottsdale area one of the fastest growing communities in the country. The foresight of Henry Galbraith, who gave the land to the city in 1979, is the only thing that kept the Giants from getting Coronado's track as Barry Bonds and Co.'s slugging grounds. For when Galbraith made his gift, he put it into the contract that the site could only be used as a golf course or a public park for 45 years.

Signs protesting Coronado's various planned extinctions dot the chain-link fence that runs along part of the course. "Save Coronado Golf Course: Scottsdale's Oldest Most Affordable Golf" they read in green block letters, fresher than anything that's out on the course.

Even now, with the city council having unanimously rejected the park plan at the end of June, no one dares take them down. An air of uncertainty hovers over the future of this low-key landmark. The city will take bids from golf course operators and no one can say what the new owners of Coronado will have in mind for the course.

Everyone agrees there's plenty of room for improvement, maintenance issues that need to be addressed and an irrigation system that likely requires a complete makeover. A better route under the freeway perhaps?

All these things take money, though, and finding investors willing to do that will likely mean higher greens fees and a course closer to all those other courses in Scottsdale.

"It could be a very challenging course with some changes here and there," Mesa resident Piter Komon said. "But then it wouldn't be what it is, no?"

Komon looked down the seventh tee at the huge mound of dirt blocking shot's path. He grinned and adjusted his target foot stance to take into account Coronado's charm.

The verdict

Coronado is only a course you want to play if you're a golfer who appreciates history and a community vibe - or just want to get the thrill of paying $12 for a round of golf. It's one of a kind in the Phoenix-Scottsdale resort corridor. It's a dump, but it's their dump and a charming one at that.

Don't expect fantastic service or any of the usual views. But how many times do you get to face that pressure putt with rush hour rumbling past?

Coronado would be an easy course, if so many of its lies weren't nearly impossible. This is a good test for learning to adjust to the elements.

Maybe this will be the place you play to get the rust off your swing on the first day of a golf vacation. Maybe, it will just be a one-time lark. Either way, you'll likely leave Coronado hoping the place stays alive and true to its roots.

Someone who buys it could try to squeeze a sub-par, over-priced course into this largely flat land. Or they could just keep the crazy magic going.

Resort courses might be the norm. But golf still needs a few characters. Every big golf town should have a Coronado.

Places to eat

The greater Old Town Scottsdale area boasts many of the best restaurants in Arizona. Chef Nobuo Fukuda works wonders with his counter side tasting menus at Sea Saw ((480) 481-9463), producing dishes every bit the equal of New York's more famous Nobu at a third of the cost.

For a happening, mingling spot, you only have to go down the alley behind Sea Saw and open the unmarked door to the Kazimierz World Wine Bar ((480) 946-3004). Sure, this forced, faux mysteriousness is a little cheesy, but once you get inside the comfortable place where the Phoenix area's 30- and 40-somethings relax with a selection of 1,800 wines to choose from, you'll forgive it. Make sure you try the Country Pate.

Places to stay

The Pointe Hilton Squaw Peak Resort ((602) 997-2626) is far enough away from the hustle and bustle to provide a relaxing getaway retreat and close enough to easily reach all the areas you want to visit. This sprawling complex includes a meandering, slow-raft-lounging pool and a putting practice course. There are a half dozen golf courses within a 10-minute drive.

The Scottsdale Resort & Conference Center ((480) 991-9000) provides distinctive, comfortable accommodations at cheaper rates (still significantly more than $100) than some of the surrounding resorts that aren't as nice. This is an especially good place to get a last-minute deal. Another bonus is that most of the rooms have balconies to enjoy the area's temperate winter weather.

Fast fact

Carts are equally cheap at Coronado.

Any opinions expressed above are those of the writer and do not necessarily represent the views of the management. The information in this story was accurate at the time of publication. All contact information, directions and prices should be confirmed directly with the golf course or resort before making reservations and/or travel plans.