Desert golf without a cactus in sight

Last spring I went west to the Valley of the Sun and Scottsdale for the second consecutive year to visit a handful of the region's many spectacular golf courses. One of the most noted facilities of last year's trip was the Westin Kierland Resort, which I profiled recently in Cybergolf (www.cybergolf.com).

Scottsdale is one of my favorite destinations for may reasons, two of which are: 1. there are so many golf courses you can play two different ones a day and never run out of options; and 2. you can actually play 36 holes a day for four straight days and never get bored or too worn out (unless you can't take the sun, that is).

Here are a few paragraphs of my Cybergolf story on Kierland that ran last week and a pair of photos that might want you to head straight to your computer and book a trip to the over-the-top-but-within-most-budgets resort:

There are myriad options for great golf in Scottsdale. But if a visitor is looking for the Valley of the Sun's ultimate destination for fun on and off the course, the Westin Kierland Resort has to be atop anyone's list.

Featuring three Scott Miller-designed nine-hole sides, Kierland Golf Club is the centerpiece of the 730-acre master-planned Kierland community. The development, located inside Loop 101 in north Scottsdale, also features plush residences, retail centers and the Westin Kierland Resort & Spa.



Some consider Kierland Golf Club's three nines - Acacia, Mesquite and Ironwood - Miller's best work. That's saying a lot since the Scottsdale-based architect has done many fine courses, including the ballyhooed We-Ko-Pa Cholla course in nearby Fountain Hills, the sublime Sandia Golf Club in Albuquerque, Coeur d'Alene Resort's course, among about 100 others.

Kierland Golf Club is routed across land that was once flat and lifeless, devoid of even the obligatory Arizona cactus. Miller moved 1.3 million cubic yards of dirt in shaping these 27 that now have elevation changes of up to 75 feet, along with mounds and berms that run up and down hills and through valleys, over desert washes and past huge lakes. The property is surrounded by Pinnacle Peak, Camelback Mountain, Mummy Mountain and the McDowells, all seemingly so close that on a clear day it feels like these promontories can be reached with a well-struck 7-iron.



Here's the link to the feature if you would like to continue to read: http://www.cybergolf.com/golf_news/kierland_golf_club_desert_golf_without_a_cactus_in_sight.