Desert Mountain( 6 Nicklaus courses) sold to members...

[Steve_ Shaffer]

for $73.5 Million. Price includes vacant land:

http://www.azcentral.com/business/articles/2011/02/13/20110213desert-mountain-golf-club-bought-by-members.html

[Duncan Cheslett]

Intrigued by the idea of six courses on one site I looked the area up on Google Earth. The only patches of green to be seen for miles around are bloody golf courses...



Am I alone in thinking that this is an obscenity in every imaginable way?  

I was amused however, to see a business advertised called 'Desert Mountain Foreclosures'!

[Carl Nichols]

How much does a buildable one-acre lot go for in that neck of the woods?

[Adam Clayman]

The homes are much more impressive than the golf.

[David_Tepper]

"Am I alone in thinking that this is an obscenity in every imaginable way?"

Duncan Cheslett -

Have you ever been to Arizona? Are you aware that much of it (and much of California as well) is a desert climate that gets little or no rain for months on end?

If it was not for irrigation that produces what you are seeing in the satellite images, there would be very few golf courses in much of that part of the world.

DT 

[Greg Chambers]

And that irrigation isn't gonna flow forever...

[Don_Mahaffey]

Duncan,
All six golf courses and almost all others in the PHX/Scottsdall area are irrigated with reclaimed water. Water that used to be discharged down dry desert washes but is now cleaned up from sewer discharge and sold to those courses at a profit by the water utility companies. Does that fact make it any less obscene to you?

[Don_Mahaffey]

And that irrigation isn't gonna flow forever...

Only stops if people quit using the toilet and taking showers.
All this desert course wasting water is crap. Yes they used to, but at least in AZ they have been restricting water use and mandating the use of reclaimed for years. You really care about water use. Take on ag in the southwest, golf in AZ has been using reclaimed water for decades. But don't let those facts get in the way of nice little sound bites.

[Greg Chambers]

My comment wasn't about the golf courses using water, my comment was about the fact that the irrigation sources are drying up.  And that is a fact.

[Jason Topp]

I seriously doubt toilets are drying up. Even in Arizona.

[Steve_ Shaffer]

The number of 1M+ houses for sale in Desert Mountain reflects the economy IMO:

http://lisalucky.com/ArmlsPages/dm_price.htm

[Andy Troeger]

I actually think its impressive and perhaps a bit surprising how much variety exists at Desert Mountain given that the same designer did all of the courses. Outlaw really plays as a desert links, with good width, interesting greens, and firm conditions. Its perhaps a little severe at times, but overall its perhaps the best AZ course that no one seems to mention.  Renegade is unique with its two pins per hole and often two greens per hole. The variety there is excellent, and its my favorite of the bunch. Chiricahua is the most scenic, but perhaps a little more similar to other nearby courses in terms of target desert golf. I wasn't a huge fan of Cochise in comparison to the other three, and haven't gotten back to Geronimo or Apache yet.

[Anthony_Nysse]

My comment wasn't about the golf courses using water, my comment was about the fact that the irrigation sources are drying up.  And that is a fact.

I would guess that reclaim irrigation water useage is at an all time high and the sources will continues to become more numerous as it is now a sources of income. I do not see it drying up anytime soon. As stated, a long a people are washing dishes, using toilets, taking showers, washing clothes, this source will continue to flurish.