COURSE REVIEW
Wigwam Resort
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LITCHFIELD PARK, Ariz. (March 7, 2004) -- How many times have you seen it: Guy purchases a dozen Titleist Pro V1s, heads out to a desert track, and only has a few pearls left in his bag when the round is over.
Desert-style golf, and more specifically, target golf is unkind to the weekend player. Little green islands surrounded by sand and rocks are intimidating.
In the Phoenix area, the alternative is the Wigwam Resort and Golf Club, a 54-hole facility in the west valley. The first two courses -- Blue and Gold -- were designed by Robert Trent Jones, Sr. in 1929 and 1964 before the desert was synonymous with target golf. The third course -- Red - opened in 1972 and was a more forgiving design authored by Red Lawrence. It is the favorite of Wigwam's membership, which is made mostly of retirees or golfers nearing that stage in life.
Large oak and pine trees line the fairways. Some have limbs that droop all the way to the ground. Before hundreds of houses were erected around the Blue and Gold Courses, the sight must have been odd: a thin forest with wall-to-wall grass in the middle of the desert.
"People make comments that they like having a traditional golf course around," said Craig Allen, director of golf at The Wigwam. "They don't like losing 12 balls when they play the other courses. Because of that, we do a lot of tournament activity. And with a 54-hole facility, we're able to maintain a happy membership and hold these local events."
With the injection of target golf in the early '80s, Wigwam became an off-beat Arizona design. It was also considered off the beaten path before the new freeway system came into play a few years ago. Thanks to "The Loop," also know as The 101, Wigwam is no more than a half-hour from anywhere in The Valley. And you'll want to know where it is when summer rolls around and the temperature is pushing 110 degrees. The Wigwam is one of a handful of Phoenix-area clubs that has shade thanks to its trees.
The inviting nature of shade in the desert and resort golf might lead golfers to believe this old track can be scored upon easily. Jones has never designed a pushover. Sure, the Wigwam is his version of resort golf, but it still has its challenges with elevated greens with everything from subtle breaks to winding downhill snakes. The good news is that just about everything is in front of you.
The courses
With nothing to hide, the Blue Course might be the most deceiving challenge in Arizona. Look at its individual parts: wide fairways, it plays short (6,085 yards) from the back tees, medium to slow greens, and it consists of five par 3s and only three par 5s. But "easy" is an inaccurate description of the Blue Course. The key is getting past Jones' mind game that starts on the first three holes.
Wedged between two par 5s over 500 yards is a 203-yard par-3 hole. After only three full swings on the first hole, the golfer is expected to take a long iron into a well guarded green on the second. So much for the firm handshake. Get off to a bad start, and the course already has you over-thinking.
But the real start, the first hole, is quite a thrill. The tee box for the 501-yard par-5 hole has a long rear edge and it runs right along the clubhouse with only a narrow cart path between the two. It feels like a tournament setting. With what could compete for the widest fairway in the state, the first tee ball is not a nerve racking shot.
Throughout the round, the golfer will have moments where tee shots feel comfortable. The first three holes of the back nine, a sub-500 yard par-5 birdie hole and two par-4 holes barely over 300 yards, are low scores waiting to happen. But after a stretch of medium challenges, the 17th and 18th are vintage Jones-level finishing holes. The 17th is a 453-yard par-4 dogleg right and requires a gutsy drive over the tree-lined right side. The 18th is a nearly impossible 194-yard par-3 monster. The green is too shallow to hold long iron shots and it's heavily guarded by bunkers.
Jones challenges golfers with approaches and putts more than tee balls on
the Blue Course. And with Texas-wide fairways, it's easy to just try and
muscle up on drives. But playing the holes backwards in your mind -- asking
which side of the fairway would be the best to approach the green -- is the
smart way to attack this design.
The Gold Course, the most popular track at Wigwam, is a muscular version of the Blue Course. It's also in much better condition. With a 54-hole facility, Allen explained that the club can't afford to shutdown all three courses at the same time to overseed for the winter. The Blue Course is often overseeded first (in September) while the temperature is still over 100 degrees. Those conditions hinder the rye seed from take root.
"It's a constant battle with three golf courses," Allen said.
With club in hand, the Gold Course is a constant battle, too. Jones' design is vulnerable to birdies on three of the first four holes, but other than the par-4 384-yard 12th, the rest of the course is made of easy bogeys. The design requires length off the tee, soft approach shots and imagination with the putter.
"It's a traditional layout that requires golfers to use every club in the bag," Allen said. "It's straightforward, but you'll use a full variety of shots."
The double dogleg par-5, 605-yard 10th hole is the most memorable hole on the course, and Allen's favorite. The fairway starts out wide open, but tightens toward the hole. "You've gotta hit two good shots and a premium is on the second shot," Allen said.
But the hole you'll want to forget is the 451-yard par-4 eighth. Golfers need to hit their longest ball of the day, and with a mid or high iron on approach, avoid the concrete canal that runs in front and to the left of the green. Most recreational golfers would benefit from playing this hole like a par-5.
The Blue and the Gold Course have elevated putting surfaces which penalizes
players who are slightly off line, and again with uneven lies on chips and
in traps. The Red Course is less penal around the greens, but still plays
6,865 from the back tees. Allen says the design is more forgiving until the
final stretch.
"The last four finishing holes are the best finishing holes on all three golf courses," he said.
By "best," Allen means tough. It starts with 414-yard and 454-yard par-4s, followed by a 254-yard par-3 and then the grand finale, a 591-yard par-5. From the middle tees, the par-3 is significantly shorter at 179 yards, but the other three holes play close to the same distance.
The Resort
The Wigwam is a member of Starwood's Luxury Collection, and has 330 luxury casitas wedged in and around the property. Palm trees and flower gardens line the streets of the quaint surrounding village, and its Native American design gives the resort a rustic feel. It has won Mobil's Travel Guide Four Star Award for excellence.
The Verdict
Let's try an analogy. Everyone has a favorite burger joint -- In-and-Out Burger, Wendy's, McDonalds, etc. If you were backpacking through Europe for a few weeks, eating foreign cuisine, after a while you'd want a nice juicy hamburger. If your favorite burger joint popped up in the middle of your trip, you'd make sure to stop in for lunch.
Because many people in the Valley of the Sun are from the Midwest or East Coast, the Wigwam is kind of their taste of home for a day. It's traditional golf in a place where golf is anything but. It won't dazzle you with scenery and there aren't many memorable holes, but it's a good test of golf that will penalize for wayward shots without the casualty of a dozen golf balls. People who are visiting the Phoenix area would do themselves a favor if they booked a round under at the Wigwam before heading out to some of the target-style tracks. Understand that the greens on the Blue Course are in rough shape because of the overseeding issue which should work itself out by April or May. Until then, try to play the Gold and Red Courses.
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.
