 SHARP SHOTS
We-Ko-Pa good,
but not as
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In the magazine's 2004 ratings of America's Best Courses, We-Ko-Pa was ranked third in the state, trumping such royalty as the Troon Norths (Monument and Pinnacle), the Grayhawks (Raptor and Talon) and the Boulders (North and South).
The two Arizona courses ranked ahead of We-Ko-Pa?
Try Talking Stick (North) and Apache Stronghold. Yes ladies and gentlemen, the purists are in the building and the writing is on the fairway: don't touch that earth and show house hungry developers the door. Do so, golf course architect, and you might just have yourself a critically acclaimed tract of land.
Welcome to the new world order of golf course evaluation. Strategy and shot values are out. "Organic" green complexes and "minimalism" are in. Designers like Tom Doak, Bill Coore, Ben Crenshaw are vogue. Earth movers like Rees Jones and Tom Fazio are passe.
Some newsflash, right? This less is more movement in golf course architecture has been going on since Bandon Dunes and Sand Hills hit the national scene a few years back. But We-Ko-Pa No. 3? The GolfWeek raters missed the mark on this one.
We-Ko-Pa is a lot of things and most of them are good.
-It is a must-play for traveling golfers. It's fun, fair and in incredible condition. At $180 in the high season ($95 for locals), it is actually a good value compared to the upper echelon of Scottsdale golf.
-It is an interesting course packed full of the sort of vegetation that golfers travel 2000 miles to see. The layout hop scotches native arroyos teeming with indigenous trees and prickly shrubs. A vast array of thorny desert plants and thick throngs of Saguaro cacti frame the airport runway sized fairways.
-It is a scenic course with few peers. Off in the distance are vistas of the occasionally snow-capped Four Peaks to the east (the namesake of the course), the McDowell Mountains to the west, and Red Mountain -- a brick-colored monolith that looms imposingly to the south.
But a truly great golf course in a state full of great golf courses must consist of more than closely cropped grass and pretty views. A great golf course should have real shot values, real risk/reward decisions and holes so memorable they stay with you the rest of your wretched golfing life.
We-Ko-Pa pulls up just short of the green on all three accounts. Here's why:
-- To much of a good thing. Unfettered by local irrigation restrictions (We-Ko-Pa is owned by the Ft. McDowell Yavapai Nation) Miller used in inordinate amount of turf at We-Ko-Pa. At first blush, the result visually stunning -- an endless sea of green juxtaposed against the craggy brown mountains of the East Valley.
At times, however, the sheer volume of grass takes away from the definition of several key holes. Becky Larsen and Brendan McEvoy, both respected writers for this publication referred to We-Ko-Pa as a "target" course. Makes me wonder what course they played.
Case in point, the par-5 17th. The fairway landing area seems to spill indefinitely to the right, held in place only by two fairway bunkers. Exactly why the fairway needed to be this wide or what the two fairway bunkers accomplish was a hot topic of conversation in my group. The par-4 13th also tumbles into this nebular niche.
-- When you come to a fork in the road, take it. Alternate fairways have been in existence for decades. Miller's mentor, Jack Nicklaus, employed the technique successfully in a handful of his designs. The par-4 10th on the PGA West private course at La Quinta sports a split fairway that is as thought-provoking as it is challenging.
We-Ko-Pa has two holes with fairways split by islands of desert vegetation. The first is the par-4 seventh. The second is the par-5 10th. Neither hole offers a clear advantage to golfers who chose one over the other. No. 7 comes close, with the right side hinting vaguely at a better approach shot.
-- Signature hole comes up short. The par-5 eighth, billed as We-Ko-Pa's signature hole, is easily the most frustrating hole on the course. The landing area for the second shot is on a severe downhill slope and the approach usually calls for a long iron. Brutal.
One design triumph at We-Ko-Pa won't be denied, however, and that is the positioning and raw look of the green complexes (dare we say, organic?). It is almost as if the course was designed from green to tee. All 18 putting stages have such an anatural feel, it is easy to overlook the fact that many have identical green entrances.
OB Sports - the management company that operates We-Ko-Pa -- recently did a little tinkering with the layout to improve the design. The 588-yard par-5 second hole was outfit with a new championship tee that helps long knockers feel a little more comfy pulling driver. The 459-yard par-4 ninth hole was dramatically improved by a new championship tee box that brings the bunker cluster back into play for big hitters.
The hillside that obscured the view to the green on the aforementioned eighth was blown out and replaced it with a bail out area. And on the drivable par-4 15th, the tips were actually situated closer to the green (I still think the hole fails in that it offers no disincentive for going for the green in one).
Plans are in the works for another signature Miller circuit on Fort McDowell Yavapai land. It will be interesting to see what he does this time around. By all means, the Scottsdale based designer has succeeded in creating a very good golf course in We-Ko-Pa that should be sampled by any serious desert golf groupie. Perhaps greatness will follow.
Contributing writer Shane Sharp sinks into the depths of the Sonoran Desert twice a year. He typically emerges with a higher handicap.
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.
Las Sendas Golf Club