PAPAGO PARK GOLF COURSE The course profiled here that’s closest to the center of Phoenix is municipal – Papago Park Golf Course.
THE CAMELBACK INN Nestled to the north of Camelback Mountain are two top courses, Padre and Indian Bend, at the Camelback Inn. “We’re in a little micromarket here,” says Rob Bartley, golf director. “We have a great partnership with local hotels. We’re pretty centrally located, like within 20 minutes from the airport. The location is pretty central to our success.”
“If you look in the parking lot there is everything from a Mercedes AMG to a rebuilt Volkswagen,” course manager Albert Murdoch says. Past the dramatic buttes adjacent to the course, Camelback Mountain and Piestewa Peak are visible to the north and west. To the south golfers see South Mountain.
These great views have been improved by recent renovations. Besides work on the greens, tees, bunkers and irrigation, nearly 300 trees have been cleared out to make sightlines more dramatic. The best view from the course depends on a lot of things, Murdoch says. “The time of day, who you’re playing with and if you’re playing well.”
The manager’s favorite view: “How about from here in the pro shop watching the sun rise on the buttes?”
When Padre was built in 1978, cotton was still grown in the neighborhood. What sits there now are towering trees, great bunkers and an award-winning water hole – the 18th. Indian Bend has beautiful mountain backdrops lined up between eucalyptus- and palm-trimmed fairways. The homes to the north and south of the inn don’t give either course the feel of being locked in an urban setting, despite the central location. The manager’s favorite view: “My favorite spot on the course is standing on the 12th tee of Indian Bend looking back at the mountains,” Bartley says. “Some days it looks like you could hit the ball right over those mountains.”
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