Since 1965 the Robert Trent Jones, Sr.-designed Gold Course has been recognized as one of Arizona’s most popular and esteemed golf courses. The par-72 layout stretches to 7,345 yards, making it ideal for testing golf’s best during competitive events such as USGA qualifiers for U.S. Open and U.S. Amateur. It’s also the stage for several NCAA Regional Championships and the annual Patriot All-America Invitational – one of the top amateur competitions in the world.
How to Play the Gold Course
HOLE 1 | PAR 5
Long hitters can get on in 2 but the green is very narrow, and well protected by deep bunkers both left and right. Note: Don’t go too far left, out of bounds runs the entire way to the hole. If you are choosing to lay up, aim to the far right side of the fairway. This will avoid the bunker on the left and give you the best angle to approach the green.
HOLE 2 | PAR 4
A nice drive on this tree-lined beauty leaves a wedge approach. Find the trees, however, and a defensive punch-out short of the pond might be wise, as the green is nearly surrounded by water.
HOLE 3 | PAR 3
Add five yards for club selection to compensate for elevated putting surface on this long, par-3, which is well protected by bunkers. The narrow, difficult-to-hit green also slopes back to front and right to left.
HOLE 4 | PAR 5
At 654 yards from the tips, No. 4 is a brute by any standard. Fairway bunkers and out of bounds lurk to the left of the tree-lined corridor. A good look at the pin sheet and a little extra club are recommended for the approach to an elevated and large green, which appears smaller from the fairway.
HOLE 5 | PAR 4
This short par-4 features an interesting risk-reward design, with a hard-to-avoid fairway bunker challenging the bold. On the approach, favor the right to avoid a deep bunker guarding the left of the back-to-front-sloping green.
HOLE 6 | PAR 3
This hole is another difficult par-3, with water left, bunker left, overhanging tree left and the green sloping left! Disregard pin placement, and aim for the middle of this green. Par is a great score here!
HOLE 7 | PAR 4
Fairway bunkers hug the right side of this dogleg right. Most can clear the first, and the second is in play for longer hitters. The green is narrow in front and wraps around another deep greenside bunker. Do not go over the green.
HOLE 8 | PAR 4
A canal runs all the way up the right side, and a deep fairway bunker sits to the left. The narrow, two-tiered green falls away dramatically in all directions, making it hard to hit with the long clubs. A layup, pitch and putt is recommended to avoid the canal, which cuts in front of the green.
HOLE 9 | PAR 4
Favor the left to avoid the fairway bunker on the right. The approach is protected by a narrow two-tiered green surrounded by deep bunkers on the left as well as a steep slope to the right leading straight towards the water.
HOLE 10 | PAR 5
The 10th hole usually plays into the wind funneled down the tree-lined fairway. Best layup location is left of the fairway bunker on the right, but beware of water along the left side. Add five yards to the approach to this elevated green, and avoid bunkers on the front left and right as well as the canal on the right side of this green.
HOLE 11 | PAR 3
To avoid bunker and water short, pull enough club to favor the back of the green, which has two distinct levels left and right. There is a bailout to the right, but results in a difficult up and down.
HOLE 12 | PAR 4
Longer hitters might not need driver to reach the ideal middle-right fairway position on this dogleg left. Those who find it are left with short-iron approaches to a traditional, back-to-front-sloping green guarded by deep, large bunkers to the right and left.
HOLE 13 | PAR 4
An intimidating tee shot, the best location is either right, or short, of the fairway bunker on the left. From there a mid-to-short iron is enough to reach the green, which slopes away on all sides. A miss to the right leaves the best chance for a par scramble.
HOLE 14 | PAR 5
Finally, a reachable par 5! With a well-struck tee shot over the left edge of the water, golfers are left with a mid-to-long iron into the green. On the approach: out of bounds on the left and bunkers left and front-right are the main obstacles.
HOLE 15 | PAR 4
Driver off the tee brings the fairway bunker into play, while 3-metal or hybrid leaves only a short iron into one of the Gold Course’s most challenging greens. Wide left-to-right and narrow front-to-back with severe undulations, protected by two deep bunkers in front of the green and a steep slope falls off the back. These put a huge premium on distance control.
HOLE 16 | PAR 3
The shortest par 3 on the course provides a great birdie opportunity. Water front left and deep bunkers front right guard the two-tiered green, so it’s best to aim for the pin. Note: A water canal does run behind the green, so don’t go long.
HOLE 17 | PAR 4
It’s imperative to first find the fairway for the best chance of hitting the green in regulation. The green is set deceptively close to the pond, and everything slopes toward the water on the right while bunkers guard the left. It takes two great shots to have a chance at birdie on this hole.
HOLE 18 | PAR 4
The best line for the tee shot on this dogleg left just skirts the largest tree on the left side of the fairway. When executed, this leaves a short iron into the very narrow green, which features an unusual dead-straight left flank flattened against a canal running along the entire left side of the hole.
A ROBERT TRENT JONES, SR. DESIGN
Robert Trent Jones, Sr.’s distinguished brand of golf course architecture spanned nearly 70 years. During that time, he built or rebuilt nearly 400 courses in 45 states in the U.S. and 35 countries worldwide, with more than three dozen hosting championships. Jones’ most famous designs include: Peachtree Golf Club, Spyglass Hill Golf Course, Firestone Country Club’s South Course and Mauna Kea.
Only six years after making finishing touches to Firestone’s famed South Course, Jones, Sr. crafted the Wigwam’s Gold Course, which he envisioned as a West Coast relative. By comparison, both courses measure more than 7,300+ yards from the tips, include a series of long par-4s, epic par-5s, and modest-size, elevated greens. Most importantly, both courses have been long recognized as among Robert Trent Jones, Sr.’s finest designs.
TOM LEHMAN’S 2015 GOLD COURSE RESTORATION
“It’s not putting my stamp on it,” said Lehman. “I don’t want it to be said, ‘this is what Tom Lehman did.’ The restorer doesn’t have his name on it – it’s Picasso or someone like that – you want Robert Trent Jones’s intent to be seen.”
“The Gold Course at one time was known as one of the best courses in the country. It still has the bones for that. We’re trying to take it back to the original feel, original intent, strategically to give it some variety, give it a different look, make it more playable for the average player, yet very challenging for the good players.”
Lehman assessed the bunkers, eliminating 30 he deemed “unnecessary,” while reshaping others to, “vary strategically in ways that really are very significant; they really mean something.”
He also reshaped fairway lines to break up the “straight bowling alley” look, so they now “move, pinch, get bigger, they go left and right, and the new bunkers are a part of that strategy. It all goes together.”
Lehman left the greens alone, instead he “tried to enhance and build around the greens and what they have to offer.”
MENS YARDAGE / RATINGS
Jones
7,345 Yards
75.0 Rating / 137 Slope
Combo
7,021 Yards
73.3 Rating / 133 Slope
Championship
6,830 Yards
72.4 Rating / 130 Slope
Combo
6,594 Yards
71.2 Rating / 128 Slope
Club
6,348 Yards
70.3 Rating / 125 Slope
Forward
5,885 Yards
67.9 Rating / 120 Slope
Teal
4,849 Yards
63.1 Rating / 113 Slope
WOMENS YARDAGE / RATINGS
Club
6,348 Yards
76.6 Rating / 134 Slope
Forward
5,885 Yards
74.1 Rating /126 Slope
Teal
4,849 Yards
69.3 Rating /118 Slope
2024 SUMMER MAINTENANCE
Red Course Maintenance: Closed: 6/24 – 7/7 | 7/22 – 7/26 | 8/12 – 8/16
Blue Course Maintenance: Closed: 5/28 – 6/9 | 7/8 – 7/12 | 7/29 – 8/2
Gold Course Maintenance: Closed: 6/10 – 6/23 | 7/15 – 7/19 | 8/5 – 8/9
TWO COURSES ARE AVAILABLE DURING TEMPORARY MAINTENANCE CLOSURES
2024 OVERSEEDING DATES
Red Course Overseed: 9/23 – 10/13 | Cart Path Only: 10/14 – 11/7
Blue Course Overseed: 10/21 – 11/10 | Cart Path Only: 11/11 – 12/05
Gold Course Overseed: 10/07 – 10/27 | Cart Path Only: 10/28 – 11/21
WE WILL ALWAYS KEEP ONE COURSE OPEN DURING OVERSEEDING!
