Canoa Hills 15th a
“must play” for Arizona Golfers

By Ryan Finley
GolfArizona.com Staff Writer

Wouldn’t you like to shut him up? If so, take him to the Canoa Hills Golf Course in Green Valley. After fourteen painful holes, watch as he melts down on their trademark 15th hole.

The “Conoa 15”, as it’s called, is a Par 5, 537 yard hole. The fairway is a mere 25 yards wide, surrounded by a few lakes, a sand trap or two, and some mesquite trees. Oh yeah, and it’s uphill.

Ouch.

Let Canoa Hills golf pro Tom Tatum explain.

“Coming off of the tee, there’s two lakes on your left and virtually no right side,” Tatum said. “As you drive the ball, be sure to avoid the mesquite trees halfway up the course and the doglegs on both sides. It’s a rough, rough drive.”

How humbling is this hole?

• Past GolfArizona.com course reviews • Past articles by Ryan Finley

If you’re lucky enough to hit the ball 250 to 300 yards, it gets a little easier. The mesquite trees on both sides of the fairway and the sand trap 100 yards short of the pin leaves the fairway 25 yards wide.

“That’s where a good golfer will step up and make the shot,” Tatum said. “This hole is not for the easily distracted or frustrated.”

Simply put, be happy with a double bogey and hope it doesn’t ruin your final score. One of the only course players to play this hole consistently, is, surprisingly, Tatum. One afternoon two years ago, the course’s pro had an afternoon he won’t soon forget.

“I was teaching a woman golfer, Shirley Cooney, and we had a “beat the pro” tournament,” Tatum said. “I played the 15th with her foursome and birdied it. I figured I played that hole about as solidly as I could have. I was pretty excited.”

But, then, for the heck of it, he played it again.

“I went back and played the hole again with the foursome behind them,” Tatum said. “And guess what? I eagled it! It was unbelievable.”

The woman went home to tell her husband, and he was so amazed that he came down to the course to see Tatum himself.

“It’s great…his wife thinks that I’m that good all the time,” Tatum said. “I was a sort of local celebrity for quite some time.”

When the only man to master the hole is the club’s pro, you know you’re in trouble. The Canoa Hills 15th hole is the kind of hole that could easily destroy a score…and lose you some serious money.

What is Tatum’s advice on playing the hole?

“Be safe, just get it down the middle”, Tatum said. “Hell, putt it if you have to.”

Sound advice.