Escape Reality at Scottsdale's Orange Tree Golf Resort

SCOTTSDALE - Tucked away in southwest Scottsdale lies an oasis for summer golfers. The Orange Tree Golf Resort provides a lush, green course for the moderate to experienced golfer to escape the reality of the Valley's summer heat.

Orange Tree provides a full eighteen hole course, 6,762 yards long. It is a par 72 course but is not suggested for a beginning golfer due to its unique challenges. Fairways on most holes are generous but in many cases, bordering the fairways are housing developments, trees and water hazards.

The course will play well for a golfer with a straight, confident tee-shot. A golfer with a natural left-to-right fade will struggle on this course and lose several balls in bordering front-yards.

The course, designed by Johnny Bula in 1957 lives up to its reputation of beauty and excellence. The course has a slope rating of 122 and a course rating of 71.3. Fairways and greens were well-kept overall, despite a few brown areas. The trademark of the course has to be its enormous sand bunkers guarding the fairways and greens on almost every hole.

The sand in the bunkers is very fine, so extreme caution must be used when hitting out due to this. Hole 15, a short par 3, has a sand bunker in front of the green as well as bunkers on either side. It is an unrelenting hole if the tee-shot is not well-placed. Many golfers hit from one sand bunker to another, misguided by the sand's rough appearance.

Adding to the lush appearance of the course is the large trees lining the fairways. Although beautiful, they can provide a real challenge to the golfer who hooks or slices the tee-shot, creating a very difficult second shot. The rough in general, on this course, is very unforgiving and nearly impossible to get a solid shot out of. The trees do serve another purpose, though. They help to keep the golfer protected from the afternoon heat.

The set-up of the course is, however, very forgiving insofar as protecting golfers from the elements.

The ladies tees on this course provide a real advantage to the female golfer. On Hole 13, the ladies tees take the water hazard essentially out of play and take it from 580 yards from the championship tees to only 459 yards. The course includes a nice mix of par three, four and five holes and even a frustrated golfer will have a couple of holes where he might be able to birdie.

Orange Tree, located at 10601 N. 56 Street, at 56 Street and Shea Blvd., is also home to a beautiful resort and would provide the perfect setting for a getaway weekend. The course also provides a lovely full-service restaurant. Capers provides a welcome respite from the heat and the food is excellent. The price for 18 holes of golf run a little steep, but is well-worth the extra cost for the experience. A full eighteen holes, on the weekend, runs $63, but that price will drop to $49 once summer's heat is in full swing. This includes a cart.

Any opinions expressed above are those of the writer and do not necessarily represent the views of the management.