KEN KAVANAUGH
OB Sports (OBSports.com, 480-948-1300) has a well-earned
reputation as a developer and operator of world-class golf courses. And though
their course portfolio stretches from coast to coast, some of their finest
facilities are in Arizona’s Sonoran Desert. Mesa, Arizona’s, Longbow Golf Club (LongbowGolf.com,
480- 807-5400), for example, is a Ken Kavanaugh design that perfectly
exemplifies “core golf.” You won’t find a home on the course. It’s also a desert
golf experience unlike any other.
Although holes are bordered by desert filled
with Saguaro and other native desert vegetation, the desert floor is groomed,
allowing you—in most cases—to find your ball and play it. Longbow offers a great
variety of holes, from short par 4s to 600-yard par 5s. No. 17 is a great
example of the Kavanaugh design. At 309 yards, this par 4 is reachable for the
long hitter. But if you take the aggressive play from the tee and fail to pull
it off, you may struggle to make par with a two-tiered green with a grass hollow
and bunkers left and desert to the right. The tee shot favors a high
power-fade.
SCOTT MILLER
In Fountain Hills, you’ll find another OB Sports facility:
Eagle Mountain Golf Club (Eaglemtn.com, 866-863-1234), designed by Scott Miller.
His design credits also include the acclaimed Cholla Course at We-Ko-Pa Golf
Club. Contoured playing corridors will deflect slightly wayward tee shots back
toward the fairway, but creative bunkering and undulating greens give golfers
all the challenge they can handle— two-putts are anything but a sure thing. No.
18 (pictured above) is a spectacular finisher and typifies Miller’s work at
Eagle
Mountain.
The tee shot
plays downhill to a fairway that will kick slight misses back toward center. But
then, watch out: bunkers line the right side from 150 yards out to the
greenside, with water right of the green, as well. A bail-out left will leave
you with a downhill chip with water beyond the green. Be aggressive off the tee—
you’ll want the shortest iron possible for the approach.
