The '90's: A Decade of Change in Tucson Golf

By Scott Behmer
Southern Arizona Bureau Chief

	Raven Golf Club at Sabino Springs

TUCSON - Over the past decade Tucson has seen the continuous creation of excellent layouts and the constant improvement of existing courses. The Old Pueblo has grown from a city where you pay either $25 or $125 for a round to a city where there is a course that fits every price range. The constant inflow of top designers and the city's desire to keep its courses up to today's standards have helped elevate Tucson golf to a level unmatched in its history.

The 90's in Tucson will be remembered for the rise of the upscale daily fee course. With rates between $50 and $100, this new breed first landed in Tucson in 1994 with the completion of the University of Arizona's home course, The Raven Golf Club at Sabino Springs. At $75, the public could afford to play this desert beauty, and they felt like they got their money's worth.

Breathtaking views of the adjacent Catalina Mountains and panoramic sights of the Tucson city-scape were unmatched. Further, the incredible customer service, combined with Robert Trent Jones, Jr.'s perfectly manicured course created a desert paradise that could be played frequently without going broke.

But if desert courses aren't your cup of tea, try a course that harkens back to the origins of golf, The Links at Continental Ranch. Opened in 1997, here you won't lose any balls in the desert, but you'll probably lose at least one in the four-foot high heather. It's a fun change of pace, and rates are always under $50.

With Tucsonans heading to the new courses, the city decided to get in on the act, totally rebuilding Randolph South. The old, hard, flat layout became a new, lush, hilly beauty prompting one writer to call it "Arizona's Augusta National."

In fact, it even received a new name, Dell Urich Municipal Golf Course, after a longtime Tucson pro. Unlike any of Tucson's other courses, solid shots are rewarded with birdie opportunities while wayward ones always land on a fairway. This is one of the most challenging and enjoyable tests of golf in all of Arizona.

Other changes were made at city and county courses as well. The best change for Tucsonans was the overseeding of Arthur Pack Golf Course's fairways last fall. After years of complaining about the painted fairways, Arthur Pack overseeded and now has lush fairways to go with the always stellar greens.

Also, a couple of holes at the city municipals were changed. The 400-yard, par 4 #3 at Silverbell was turned into a slight dogleg right with the green further away from the police academy. The other change, a bittersweet one for me, was the new green created for #6 at Randolph North.

	The Golf Club at Vistoso

As the decade ends we can only hope that Tucson keeps up its current streak of excellent additions and changes. At the start of the new year the redone Conquistador Course, formerly Sunset, at El Conquistador Country Club, will be in top shape, and I can't wait for the opening of the much anticipated Stone Creek Country Club. It looks like the new millennium will pick up right where the 1990's left off.

Related links:
• Past GolfArizona.com course reviews
• Index of past feature stories
• Past course reviews by Scott Behmer