Want something new in Phoenix Scottsdale golf? Go West Valley!

By Chris Baldwin,
West Coast Bureau Chief,
Golf Publisher Syndications

LITCHFIELD PARK, Ariz. (Nov. 21, 2005) - Golf geography is a funny thing. It doesn't matter if a course is in a decent location if it's not in a location on the usual tourist/resort player path. Dora The Explorer and Boots may be able to find you no problem, but that doesn't mean golfers will.

No matter how many maps and newspaper coupons smoke signals you send out.

This is the dilemma courses in the West Phoenix Valley have long faced.

"From the moment I got out here, I knew our No. 1 issue would be location," said Doug Foss, director of sales at the Raven Golf Club at Verrado. "People are used to going North and South from Phoenix. They're not used to West."

That could be changing. The long forgotten West is quickly emerging as the biggest growth zone in Phoenix-Scottsdale golf. Longtime community linchpin Wigwam just completed a $5 million makeover on its two Robert Trent Jones Sr. tracks.

New kids on the block Raven at Verrado and Trilogy at Vistancia are attracting headlines and golfers. With most other sections of the greater Phoenix-Scottsdale area already built beyond max and packed with golfers, the West is likely one of the only areas where new courses can rise.

You can almost see it getting a little more duffer trendy by the day.

"I never would have been out here even two years ago," golfer Ryan Bullock said, while getting in nine at Triology at Vistancia. "And I'm local. You just didn't think about driving out here."

Here is only about 30-35 minutes from Sky Harbor Airport or 35-40 minutes from Scottsdale. The ride is easy. But it seems a whole lot farther when you arrive.

Wide open spaces and endless views abound. Staring off into the horizon can be an endless proposition in this largely flat land.

Trilogy at Vistancia has Restless Spirits (that's what local Native American tribes call the desert whirlwinds) whistling across the plains. Raven at Verrado showcases desert climbs, makes you forget any thought of a Home Depot being around.

Even the Wigwam Resort, in the heart of one of the most built up West areas, is so quiet at night that it's hard to believe you're still near the Scottsdale bustle.

This is the West Phoenix Valley. It's growing. It's not quite there yet. It's more connected than ever. It can still seem isolated.

If you're sick and tired of the usual Phoenix-Scottsdale golf vacation, going West Valley just might be your elixir. Everything's a little different here. For one thing, the golfer's still clearly king.

"You can see the area growing with new courses like the Raven going in," Wigwam Director of Golf Craig Allen said. "But you can still get some pretty good deals out here."

The greens fees are a little lower West. The perks are a little bigger (Raven Verrado gives golfers two gourmet meals with every greens fee). It's a hacker's market.

For now.

Population experts are forecasting that in 15 years the West Valley will be the geographical center of the greater Phoenix area. Things could soon be growing at a rabbit rate in the West.

The Phoenix Coyotes are already playing hockey here, a good stretch from downtown. The Arizona Cardinals will follow in 2006, with their state-of-the-art stadium built in a huge expanse of desert. Golf will surely continue to come as more buildings do.

"We were pretty much the only West Valley course only 10 years ago" said Lance Burton, marketing director at the Wigwam, which traces its history back to 1918. "Now you're seeing new housing developments all the time.

"This part of town is gaining a lot of notoriety."

So much so that it's now possible to spend an entire Phoenix-Scottsdale golf vacation in the West Valley. And never leave disappointed about the golf.

Places to Play

Raven Golf Club at Verrado: This year-old Tom Lehman and John Fought design is fast gaining a reputation as Troon North on a budget. That means you're neither that poor (greens fees average around $99 in season) nor that lacking in golf payoff.

Raven at Verrado delivers scenery that borders on spectacular and several inventive holes. It is a fun play that's a little less punishing than Troon North.

"I've had clients tell me they enjoy Raven Verrado better than Troon North and it can be $130 dollars cheaper," said Scott Bowles of Las Vegas Golf Travel, a hotel and course packaging company.