Courses, Travel & Tee Times

The Preserve Golf Club at SaddleBrooke may be Tucson's best course you've never heard about

The western foothills of the Santa Catalina Mountains are rugged, rocky and unforgiving and can be a harsh environment. But golf course architect Dick Bailey tamed the land -- somewhat -- when he designed The Preserve Golf Club at SaddleBrooke. The par-72, 7,006-yard course, sitting at 3,200 feet in elevation, may be one of the finest Tucson golf courses you've never heard of. Golf course reviewers haven't exactly rushed to the site, but you should.

No better bargain in Tuscon than Quarry Pines Golf Club

Quarry golf courses are some of the most entertaining you will ever play, and Quarry Pines is no exception. It's a fun and challenging course, and you can't beat the scenery - or the price, writes David R. Holland.

Golf Channel Am Tour lets you test your game on some of Tucson's top courses

Every sports fan wants to know what it's like to dunk a basketball, hit a 95-mph fastball or sink that 4-foot par putt on No. 18 for the victory and first-place check. Well, the Golf Channel Am Tour is giving swingers of every stripe an opportunity to go 1-for-3. The Am Tour, which features 11 tournaments in the Tucson area, culminating with the Tucson Tour Championship in mid-August, is the closest thing amateurs will get to knowing what touring pros feel like on a week-to-week basis.

Tough Canoa Ranch Golf Club near Tucson: A rugged walk in the southern Arizona aridness

Canoa Ranch Golf Club, a rugged walk in the southern Arizona aridness, is a difficult, 6,701-yard par 71 designed by Lee Schmidt and Brian Curley that traverses downhill through arroyo-cut terrain. A difficult golf course with great views, Canoa Ranch provides elevation changes and fast greens.

Rio Rico Country Club at Esplendor Resort: Fine RTJ golf among the bygone legends of the West

They call it the Southern Heart of the Old West, and when you come to play Rio Rico C.C. and spend a few days at the Esplendor Resort at Rio Rico, your mind might just drift to a day when conquistadors traveled here along with bygone legends such as Geronimo, Pancho Villa and Billy the Kid. Located 45 minutes south of Tucson and 15 miles from Nogales, Mexico, Rio Rico is peaceful and quiet with gently rolling fairways, strategic bunkers and large, subtle greens that were challenging enough to host second state PGA Tour Qualifying four years in a row.

Two generations of Nicklaus in Tucson: La Paloma and Ritz-Carlton Dove Mountain

Twenty-five years passed from the time Jack Nicklaus constructed La Paloma Country Club (1984) to the opening of Dove Mountain (2009), two of the top courses in the Tucson, Ariz. area. His maturation as a course designer is evident in the evolution of his designs and further evidence of how the Tucson golf scene has grown up as well, Scott Bordow writes.

In Tucson, play the best names in golf course design

Enjoy old-fashioned golf at Torres Blancas Golf Club

Is Torres Blancas Golf Club where you want to play, with so many high-end resort golf courses in Tucson, Ariz.? Well, yes. The fairways are generous, the bunkers few and it's possible to play a variety of shots around the green. If you like an old-fashioned, straight-forward golf course that doesn't cost an arm and a leg, you can do a lot worse than the Lee Trevino-designed Torres Blancas.

No rest at this resort course La Paloma C C in Tucson Arizona offers plenty of challenges

La Paloma Country Club in Tucson, Ariz., is 27 holes of frustration, wayward shots and lost balls in the desert. That doesn't mean this Jack Nicklaus design is overly penal or too difficult for the average golfer. It's just that as resort courses go, it's a far tougher test than your normal layout.

Be ready for forced carries over desert at The Golf Club at Vistoso in Tucson

There are so many forced carries over desert at The Golf Club at Vistoso in northeast Tucson that it should be included in the course's name. How difficult are the forced carries? You may want to fill out a flight plan before you play a round there, Scott Bordow writes. Vistoso might be one of the more difficult 6,900-yard tracks in all of Arizona.