Few things reinforce the fact that you’re playing a special golf course more than seeing non-golfers on nearby trails taking photo after photo of the surrounding setting. So, when our threesome pulled up to the eighth tee on the South Course at The Boulders (a brawny and majestic hole that can play either as a par 4 or a 5 depending on your tee of choice), it was refreshing to see two ladies with digital SLR cameras (with lenses as big as their arms) composing shots of the enormous and distinctive rock formations in the warm afternoon sun. Who could blame them?
One of two 18-hole hole championship designs by the impeccable Jay Morrish, the 6,917-yard, par-71 (or 72 if you play #8 as a par 5) South Course fits seamlessly with the landscape and makes sure those namesake Boulders are framed prominently enough that every group – no matter how serious the golfers – will be reaching for their cameras at some point.
I have heard the debate on whether the South course is an example of target golf disguised as desert golf, or if it’s a golf course that blends naturally into the Sonoran Desert foothills. To me, there’s no question, it’s the latter. What Morrish does, though, is use the natural features and strategic encroachment of the desert to make it look like some of the landing areas and lines into the hole are tighter and more pinched by desert than they really are.
By the second hole, you’re just bathing in desert. You’re really enveloped in it. When my playing partner, part of a San Antonio, TX duo who has been making a month-long boondoggle to Scottsdale every winter for the past quarter century, stuffed his tee shot on the 150-yard par three to four feet, we were off and running.
Arriving at the serpentine par-5 hole is one of those cool moments you get as a golfer where you feel like you are playing your favorite sport inside a postcard or one of those Evan Schiller Instagram shots the gets 20,000 likes. The hole plays 540 yards, requiring a shot that needs to land in the fairway, ideally a little right of center and short of the dry creek bed that runs across the width of the fairway. And as you blast your second shot at the elevated landing area, you can’t help but start to appreciate the large signature boulder formation that sits behind the green. It’s massive and awe inspiring it reminds you why you’d rather be playing here then some course back in Toledo. The hole represents quintessential desert golf and great example of a three-shot par 5 that can be birdied, parred or bogeyed in an endless number of ways.
The elevated tee at the 355-yard, par-four sixth offers another opportunity to reach for the camera and enjoy the full panorama of this incomparable setting. Certain rock formations look like statues while others appear almost too round and symmetrical to have been placed by nature. Ancient and towering saguaros add depth and wonder to the views.
There’s a great continuity of character as the course winds from the front nine to the back. The 10th and eleventh holes underscore just how much variety Morrish was able to put into these holes. The lengthy par-three 10th requires strong shot making and deft a deft short game should you miss the green. It’s an occasion for brawn plus brains. The same can be said for the par-five 11th, which stretches to just over 600 yards from the back tee. A cross dictate in the middle of the landing area for your second shot will dictate which angle you take while a rippling, sloping green makes stealing birdie or saving par a chore.
The second nine delivers a tasty menu of three par threes, three par fours and three par fives. Even stevens. The 12th is a fun short par 4 that plays between 254 and 348, depending on which tees you’re playing and back-to-back par threes at 15 and 16 grab your focus while fitting perfectly into the serene desert setting. We shared our round with rabbits, roadrunners and even a bobcat who was more interested in what might have been rustling in the high grass than our alternating bogeys and pars.
The 18th is a heroic par-five finishing hole that stretches to 583 yards from the tips, but just a tantalizing 514 from the blue and white tees. A generously and gently uphill fairway sets up an approach that must take the pond fronting the front-right side of the green into consideration. The 18th is a fitting end to a collection of holes each beautifully framed by the rugged desert foothills and namesake boulders all around. The posh clubhouse complex looks down on the 18th green and always affords a picturesque view of the wild desert landscape.
A consistent takeaway is that the course is impeccable condition from tee to green. The various cuts of grass are well defined and well-placed shots are routinely rewarded with quality lies. Greens take some education before they can be tamed, but roll true, another testament to the maintenance standards upheld at all Troon Golf-managed properties. Playing conditions never disappoint at a Troon property.
As you would expect at a 36-hole property that’s part of an award-winning luxury resort, the practice facilities are ample and impeccable for working on every phase of your game. The Boulders Golf Academy features lessons from talented PGA and LPGA instructors including Donald Crawley, a Class A member of both the British and United States PGA. Ranked by Golf Magazine as one of the Top 100 Teachers in America, he is also recognized by Golf Digest as one of the Best Teachers in Arizona. Crawley’s “Golf Simplified” system of simple yet practical hands-on instruction is combined with digital video analysis and on-course playing lessons, all personalized to the golfer’s individual needs.
The bottom line is the Boulders South and North courses remain Scottsdale essentials, among the top experiences in a community and destination teeming with great golf. The South Course is a must play for the vistas and the sneaky, persistent challenges the course offers hole after hole. Morrish finds a way to make you use every club in the bag and pushes you to hit heroic shots or scramble nimbly to shoot the score you’d like to post along with all those snapshots you took along the way.
To book your next round on the South Course at The Boulders, maybe even with a caddie for you or the group, visit https://www.theboulders.com.
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