The Saguaro Course at We-Ko-Pa Golf Club combines distinctive desert-golf traits with the timeless traditions of golf course design. For example, it’s built for walking with greens situated near to the next tee. It follows the natural movement of the land; they didn’t move much dirt. And the playing corridors are wider when compared to target-golf design.
AWARDS AND ACCOLADES
Like its sister course, Saguaro has garnered numerous awards and accolades from golf industry leading publications. Golf Digest give it the 21st spot in its 2015-2016 list of the “Best in State Rankings: Arizona,” which considers both public and private courses across the state.
Golf Magazine listed it as No. 41 in its ranking of the “Top 100 You Can Play” for 2014. And in 2015, Golfweek honored Saguaro with three prestigious rankings: 4th “Best Casino Courses” in the U.S.; 2nd “Best Courses You Can Play: State by State” in Arizona; and No. 30 on Golfweek’s list of America’s “Best Resort Courses.”
Bill Coore and Ben Crenshaw teamed up to design and build Saguaro, as they did with many other highly touted courses such as Bandon Trails, Sand Hills, Friar’s Head, The Golf Club at Cuscowilla and Barnbougle Lost Farm.
“This piece of land has some very interesting natural movement to it,” said Crenshaw. “I think this golf course will be pretty unique for the desert. People will be induced to play different shots and find solutions to new challenges when playing this course.”
Admiration and respect for classic golf courses of the “Golden Age of Architecture” inspired Crenshaw and Coore to establish their design firm based upon the shared philosophy that traditional, strategic golf is the most rewarding, and the creation of courses that present this concept with the greatest artistry is the ultimate goal.
