Prescott turning into a golfer's paradise

PRESCOTT, Ariz. - Hard to believe, but until five years ago, the main place to play golf in the Prescott area were the two courses at Antelope Hills owned by the city of Prescott. Now there are four more courses and talk of new ones to come.

First to debut in 1998 was a private course, Hassayampa Country Club, a completely new design created by Tom Weiskopf on the site of an old deteriorating club. Then came Prescott Lakes, a Hale Irwin layout. Then last year, StoneRidge Golf Course in Prescott Valley, a daily-fee mountain-style course by Randy Heckenkemper, opened up, and so did Talking Rock Ranch, a private layout by Jay Morrish.

At the same time, this mountain-area town and its surrounding communities have grown from a population of about 50,000 in 1990 to almost 80,000. A lot of the interest in this picturesque area in Northern Arizona got started about 10 years ago when Money magazine named Prescott the best retirement area in the United States.

Despite the population increase, says Jim Noe, director of golf at Antelope Hills, his muni club with two 18-hole layouts has seen a drop in play over the past few years. "It started with Hassayampa five years ago," Noe says. "Even though some of the clubs are private, they've been inviting groups in and having outings that otherwise could have been ours."

Susan Rakozy, head golf professional at StoneRidge, doesn't mind the competition. "The more courses they build, the more likely that people will come up here and stay longer and play three or four of them," she says.

Rakozy thinks Prescott is a lot like Bend, Ore., where the building of golf courses has exploded in recent years. Bend is two hours from Portland; Prescott is less than two hours from Phoenix. Both are in high-desert areas, but Prescott gets less snow. "When people go to Bend now, they end up playing 18 to 36 holes everyday," she says.

Possible new courses in the Prescott area include one that could be built by Universal Homes at the Granville development off Glassford Hill Road and maybe another in nearby Chino Valley. "This is all based on a lot of optimistic speculation and might never happen, but there's a lot going on up here," Rakozy says.

This is a popular weekend spot for Phoenix residents to visit during the summer when temperatures can be 15 to 20 degrees cooler. But the golfing season here can run from March to December for permanant residents and sometimes longer. Prescott is at about 5,000 feet and does get snow. The town also makes for a great two-day stay if you're traveling through Arizona.

Here's a quick rundown on the possibilities:

Antelope Hills Golf Courses offers two very different rounds

If you're expecting Antelope Hills to be the typical muni facility, you're in for a pleasant surprise. There are two par-72 courses here, both well-maintained, and one a 1992 design by renowned Scottsdale architect Gary Panks - is well worth the 100-mile trip from Phoenix.

The Panks course, known as the South Course, has the generous fairways and interesting mounding that are part of his trademark. Once you've played one of his courses, you'll become adept at using those mounds as a way to bump your ball into position on the greens or fairway. You'll enjoy the elevated tees and greens as well. This is not a short course; it measures more than 7,014 yards.

You'll face a different kind of challenge on the North Course, which takes you back in time to 1956 to be precise. That's when designer Lawrence Hughes created this 6,778-yard course that winds its way through mature poplar, spruce, elm, cottonwood and willow trees. Hughes incidentally also did the original layout of the Phoenix area's most exclusive golf club, Paradise Valley Country Club.

"Both courses are equally popular," says Jim Noe, director of golf for Antelope Hills. "On the old course you have the traditional tree-lined course that's Midwestern or Eastern in style. It has small greens, few bunkers and it's shorter from the back.

"On the new, you have more mounding, limited trees, bigger bunkers and more water in play. Most people enjoy the difference, but there are some diehards who think the old is superior."

Although conditions are excellent on these courses, the pace of play can be slow. Green fees for non-residents range from $44-$55 (including cart fee). There are discounts for residents.

Address: Antelope Hills is located at 1 Perkins Drive, just off Highway 89. Tee times: (928) 776-7888 or (800) 972-6818. Web site: antelopehillsgolf.com.

Play Prescott Lakes now before it goes private

Prescott Lakes was built three years ago as part of a 1,200-acre, master-planned community by the same name. The 7,200-yard course covers 150 acres including lakes, natural washes and wild grasslands; views from the course take in the Granite Dells, Mingus Mountain and Thumb Butte major local landmarks.

PGA legend Hale Irwin designed this par-72 semi-private layout. If you're interested in Prescott Lakes, play now rather than later as the eventual aim maybe in a year or two is to turn it into a completely private facility restricted to members, residents of the development and guests at a resort yet to be built on the site.

Many holes have very wide and generous fairways. This course seems to favor the distance hitter, but accurate shots are important, too. You'll find many arroyos to cross and dry washes to avoid. Several holes offer serious water hazards and many fairway bunkers. Conditions here are superb, both on the fairways and greens, which are all watered with treated wastewater. The manmade lakes and waterfalls are sparkling blue.

Green fees: $80-$100 in the summer and $50-$60 in winter. Membership fees: $27,500 (full time); $17,500 (Monday through Thursday).

Address: Prescott Lakes is located at 315 Smoke Tree Lane, Prescott. Take Highway 89 north two miles out of Prescott to Prescott Lakes Drive. Turn left and follow the road to Smoke Tree.

Tee times: (877) 643-3501 or (928) 443-3500. Web site: prescottlakes.com. Troon Golf of Scottsdale manages the course; so check out troongolf.com as well.

StoneRidge Golf Course gives you a mountain high

StoneRidge Golf Course in Prescott Valley is a hybrid of the desert- and mountain-course styles. The course (about 7,000 yards from the back tees) winds its way up and down for miles through brush-tangled, boulder-dotted canyons and ravines. Randy Heckenkemper has designed the course, in the Bradshaw Mountains, so that a smart golfer can play the slopes and curves to best advantage. The fairways may be narrow; the greens may be hiding around blind turns. But once you catch onto the concept, instead of fighting the course, you'll be conquering it.

SunCor Development will be building houses in the vicinity, so now is a great time to play while many arroyos and ridgelines look wild and natural.

In general, Susan Rakozy, the head golf professional at StoneRidge, advises players, "If you're going to miss it, miss it short, because the fairways get narrower as the shots get longer. The same is true with the greens. If you miss them in front, it's OK. But if you go over, you're in trouble. You' re either going to have a close putt or a long putt here. There are no in-betweens."

Rakozy's personal favorite is the signature hole, No. 12, a par 3 (230 yards from the back tees, 101 from the forward). Stony ridges and boulders surround this hole and serve as a backdrop for your target on the green.

Green fees are $49 Monday-Thursday and $59 Friday-Sunday. The twilight rate (after 1 p.m.) is $20 less than the posted rate. Rates drop as low as $30 in winter.

Address: StoneRidge is located at 1601 N. Bluff Top Road, Prescott Valley. From Phoenix take I-17 north to exit 262 toward Prescott. Merge onto AZ-69 and travel 25 miles to StoneRidge Drive. Tee times: (928) 772-6500. Web site: stoneridgegolf.com.

Get away from it all at Talking Rock

Last fall marked the opening of this superb Jay Morrish-designed golf course at Talking Rock Ranch, a real estate development near Prescott.

This Arizona high-country, par-72 course (7,350 yards from the back tees, 5,105 yards from the forward) is on a site about 14 miles north of the town of Prescott and about 120 miles from Phoenix. It's an area known as Williamson Valley where there is still a wide-open rural feeling.

The front nine on this course travels through the scrub pine forest with views of local peaks like Granite Mountain. The back nine is where the elevation gets higher, and the terrain grows more rugged. The mountain views are more spectacular as well.

Club memberships are tied to buying homes or sites; custom lots range in price from the low $100,000s to the high $200,000s. There will also be a development of patio homes or golf cottages, starting in the low $400,000s.

A membership including unlimited golf Monday through Thursdays is $20,000; a full membership costs $40,000. Compare this to some new clubs in North Scottsdale where unlimited golf memberships run from $100,000 to $225,000, depending on the club, and where property ownership can also be required. They're expecting to have 450 full memberships at Talking Rock; so far they have sold about 130.

Although there is no walk-on traffic from the public here, Jim Leisenring, the director of golf, does allow reciprocal play from some other private clubs. Groups of from 12 to 24 can also arrange golf outings in an effort to get to know the property, he says.

Address: To reach Talking Rock, drive about 12 miles north of Prescott on Williamson Valley Road. For information, call (877) 922-4440 (sales office) or (928) 858-7000 (golf course).

Hassayampa Country Club brings history back to life

Since 1919, folks have been playing golf at Hassayampa, although at first they only had six holes and players went around three times to get in their 18-hole rounds. In 1969, the club was forced to close; in the 1990s, Desert Troon bought the property along with another 547 acres and developed it with housing and a golf course designed by Tom Weiskopf.

This great mountain-style course starts out high above the town and offers sweeping views of local hills and dales. Lots of wonderful holes here including the par-5 No. 5, the infamous "Bloody Basin." You tee off from a knoll down to the first landing area which would be fairly generous if it were not for a big rock outcropping smack dab in the center. Your second shot has to cross a side swath of wetlands, and then you're shooting back uphill toward an elevated green well-protected by bunkers. Back-to-back par-3s on the back 9 Nos. 16 and 17 require lofting your ball across canyons to greens tucked into hillsides.

Too bad the public can't play here, but it's members-only with memberships going for $30,000 (non-refundable) and $45,000 (fully refundable).

Address: 2060 Golf Club Lane, Prescott. Phone: (928) 445-0009. Web site: hassayampagolf.com.

Farther to the East

There are two other older public golf courses in the town of Dewey just outside Prescott Valley:

Prescott Golf and Country Club is located at 1030 Prescott Country Club Blvd. Phone: (928) 772-8984.

Quailwood Greens Golf Club is located at 11750 E. Highway 69. Phone: (928) 772-0130.

Other sights to see

Perhaps one of the most fascinating sights in Northern Arizona is Arcosanti, located in Cordes Junction about 30 miles east of Prescott.

Italian architect Paolo Soleri has spent almost 35 years building Arcosanti, what is supposed to become a giant concrete structure that can house 6,000 people plus large-scale solar greenhouses in the middle of a 4,000-acre desert preserve. Thousands of students and professionals, many of them volunteers, have worked here over the years. In a huge foundry on site sculptures and windbells are created for sale in the gift shop. Soleri's project is designed as a prototype of his principles of arcology a term he invented that means architecture and ecology working together. The project is going very slowly, but it's well worth the $8 donation that's asked for a tour of the site.

Directions: Take exit 262 off of I-17; this is also the turn-off for Highway 69 which takes you to Prescott. Arcosanti is open daily from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. with tours from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Phone: (928) 632-7135. Web site: arcosanti.org.

Where to stay

Prescott is loaded with lots of motels including branches of Holiday Inn, Comfort Inn, Days Inn and many others.

August 7, 2003

Rebecca Larsen is a former features and assistant features editor for the Marin Independent Journal, a medium-sized daily paper located north of San Francisco. She has also worked for the Milwaukee Journal and for a Chicago public relations firm. She has a bachelor's in journalism from Northwestern University and a master's from the University of California at Berkeley.

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