If you’re a fan of golf courses designed by Ben Crenshaw and Bill Coore (and who isn’t?), be sure to visit Talking Stick Golf Club in Scottsdale on your Arizona golf vacation.
There, you can play not one, but two courses designed by the team responsible for such greats as the recently opened Saguaro Course at We-Ko-Pa
(also in Scottsdale), Bandon Trails (Oregon) and Kapalua Resort’s Plantation Course (Hawaii).
While the traditional, parkland-style South Course is good, the North Course is the one you should play first. It’s a links-style layout with broad fairways and plush greens. Be warned, however, if you’re partial to the drama of desert golf, you may be disappointed.
That’s because Talking Stick’s was built on flat terrain, and, in their usual, minimalist style that pays homage to the Scottish design masters, Coore and Crenshaw shaped the landscape quite subtly.
Yet the fact that the course is as interesting as it is speaks volumes to the talent of the architects. Closely-cropped grass near the greens leave players with a multitude of approach and short-game options and elements such as split fairways add to the intriguing strategic decisions.
Our only gripe is that average players would be better served by an additional set of tees. The layout plays 6,510 from the middle tees and 5,532 from the forward set, too large a gap when par is only 70.
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