Tucson, AZ--Any Walkable Courses?

[Brent Hutto]

I've searched up a couple thread regarding golf in Arizona. I may have occasion to find myself in Tucson with a day or two to play golf. The catch is it would be summertime and I always walk if at all possible. Is that sheer suicide in August?

A few courses received multiple recommendations in other threads. Are any of these set up reasonably for a walker as opposed to cartball?

Dove Mountain North (Fought w/Lehman, lefty slicers dream?)
Stone Canyon (Jay Morrish, no Weiskopf?)
Del Lago (maybe not really in Tucson)
Silverbell Muni (as renovated by the tastefully named Ken Kavenaugh)

Or any courses that might hold GCA interest. I'm not interested in Phoenix/Scottsdale courses as I understand that's quite some distance from Tucson.

[PThomas]

might be suicide Brent unless you went out REALLY early in the a.m....even then it might be a problem

[Tom Huckaby]

Interesting, my first take reading Brent's post was "here's another crazy militant walker who's gonna get heat stroke just out of principle."  

But then I looked it up... average temps in August are 98.7 high, 73.6 low.  So while that is toasty, well it's a hell of a lot more doable than Palm Desert, anyway.  I'd likely still get in a cart, but I'm lazy and not militant.

But his question does have merit anyway.

So without further ado, someone who knows Tucson please do turn Brent on to a walkable course, without assumptions that he'll get heat stroke.

 

[Jason Blasberg]

Dove Mountain North (Fought w/Lehman, lefty slicers dream?)
Stone Canyon (Jay Morrish, no Weiskopf?)
Del Lago (maybe not really in Tucson)
Silverbell Muni (as renovated by the tastefully named Ken Kavenaugh)

The only one I've played that you list is Stone Canyon, and it's very good with GCA interest and a very unique property.  However, if you can walk it in August you are Superman!  

It's really not a walkable course but nevertheless a should play if you're in Tucson.

[Brent Hutto]

But then I looked it up... average temps in August are 98.7 high, 73.6 low.  So while that is toasty, well it's a hell of a lot more doable than Palm Desert, anyway.  I'd likely still get in a cart, but I'm lazy and not militant.

Those numbers sound about right. I'm thinking if you're done by lunch time and keep hydrated it's doable, especially if you happen to find a course up in the hills a thousand feet or so above town. And I'm just talking one maybe two rounds, no 36-hole days or six-rounds-in-four-days marathons.

[Steve_ Shaffer]

I'm not so sure about walking The Gallery North at Dove Mountain and Del Lago, both of which I've played and would recommend. Most of the Tucson City courses are very walkable except Fred Enke, including Siverbell and El Rio, both of which have been recently renovated by Ken Kavanaugh. www.tucsoncitygolf.com

Perhaps the new Lehman course at Tucson National is walkable. Another course to consider is The Preserve at SaddleBrooke.

[Doug Wright]

Brent,

Randolph North and South (Dell Urich) are easily walkable, parkland courses with shade so should be doable. I thought the North course was a decent muny.

[Jason Topp]

In college I spent my summers in Tucson and could not afford a cart.  I would play the city courses for $5 as their sunburn rate in the afternoon.

Here is your potential walking list in my order of preference.  

Public:

1.  Randolph North - Completely flat and has trees so shade is available.  Is a midwestern 60's style course that is nothing special, but enjoyable.  Site of LPGA and PGA tournaments at times over the years.

2.  Fred Enke - very quirky desert course that is very walkable.  I actually enjoy the course quite a bit, although the conditioning varies wildly.  There are a few short tight holes, short par fives, good par threes and a few long wide open holes.  Definitely not for everyone - a number of holes are blind and a few are just goofy.  Nonetheless, I think it is really fun if taken in the right spirit.    

3.  Tucson National - very walkable, site of Tucson tour stop.  I prefer Randolph because this one is more expensive and not all that much better.

4.  Arthur Pack - county course through desert.  A few interesting holes, a few very mundane ones.  Very walkable.  I know they have had problems with conditioning quite often in recent years so it would be worth doing some investigating.

5.  Tubac - about 45 minutes South of Tucson.  Fairly vanilla holes in a nice location around a river.  Part of Tin Cup was filmed on one of its holes.

6.  Haven - about 45 minutes South of Tucson.  Essentially your basic muni.  Has one good par four around a lake.

7.  Del Ulrich (Formerly Randolph South) - was renovated in the early 90's which I think did little to improve a mundane 6000 yard course.  Now it is a mundane 6000 yard course with artificial mounds and low areas to catch floods.  


I have not seen but would be interested in seeing:

1.  Rio Rico - This would be the redesign I would be most interested in seeing.  Not much land so I am not sure how much they could do with it.

2.  Silverbell - This course was weak before.  More land is available so it could be decent after the redesign.

Private

1.  Tucson Country Club - terrific course built before land use restrictions so there is plenty of grass, it is kept in great shape and I have always played in four hours or less.

2.  49'er - Tightly squeezed between houses but a pleasant enough course that is short but lots of trees to provide shade in the summer.  Ends with a par three which always seems to turn into a great ending hole for bets.

Others to consider:

1.  Vistoso - pretty flat site, challenging course - it might be walkable.

2.  AZ National - beautiful course.  I walked most of the back nine once after getting a cart stuck in the mud.  My favorite course in the city.

3.  Ventana - again a cart course

4.  Gallery - interesting greensites, I doubt it is real walkable.

  August is the beginning of monsoon season - which usually means a bit more humidity but can sometimes mean violent thunderstorms in the evenings.  The sky will gradually cloud up during the day and can rain in isolated spots.  The closer you are to the mountains, the more violent the storm potential.  

[Jason Topp]

It will be more pleasant than walking in South Carolina in the summer!

[Brent Hutto]

Good stuff, guys. Every year this time I make a run at my wife to see if I can interest her in a vacation somewhere interesting that I can play golf and she would also enjoy.

The only two places she's ever admitted any interest in would be accompanying me next time I go to NorCal (some years away, alas) and to Tucson, AZ of all places. There is a hummingbird aviary there that she was disappointed not to see on her previous trip to the area and she's determined to return. I'd like to see it to...assuming there's some golf to be played.

So if we want to do summer, would it make sense to aim for earlier to avoid the monsoons? Who wants to go to the desert southwest and then suffer in humidity, we can do that here in South Carolina for free. Would mid-July or maybe even the July 4 holiday be better weather?

One idea that occurred to me was to stay at the Omni Tucson National resort in which case the old course and the new Lehman course are pretty affordable off-season. That would seem to make sense together but probably doesn't make sense to stay there if playing elsewhere or play there if not staying at the resort.

Randolph North sounds like it has potential. Maybe get a round there combined with a second round at a desert course since I'm honestly not convinced that desert golf is my thing.

[Bill_McBride]

Brent, my wife and another couple played three rounds there in Jan 04.  Walked all three very easily:  Randolph North, Tucson CC (solid Billy Bell Sr) and Rio Rico which is over an hour south.  RR is a pretty old RTJ Sr with some fun holes.

From what I saw of Randolph South it's just as walkable as the north.

You can call Tucson CC and get on but it's $100 unaccompanied guest.  The other two rounds were in the high $20's so the average cost per round wasn't bad.

[Jason Topp]

Brett - humidity in AZ is a relative thing.  I would guess a "humid" day would be 20-30%.  It is enough to make a bit of a difference, but I doubt you would notice the difference between July and August coming from SC.  Many in Arizona find the monsoon season more pleasant because of the occassional relief from the heat.  You will be able to play golf every day, especially if you play in the morning.

Tucson National would be a nice place if they have good rates.  

[Brent Hutto]

Well, it's a year later and it looks like this time we're actually going to make the trip. We're going to Tucson for a short three-night stay in early May and visit the hummingbirds and just generally get our first good look at the desert.

This time around I've looked back over my options and am convinced that desert golf really isn't my kind of thing so the obvious possibilities are either the Randolph muni or spring for a more expensive round on the Billy Bell course at Tucson CC which has been recently renovation if I'm not mistaken. I'm just more of a midwestern parkland guy than a desert guy when it comes to golf.

But on balance I'm about to decide the best option is to leave my clubs at home. In all honesty, I'll be playing alone for one round of golf and I'm not sure any of the Tucson area is worth hassling with clubs on the airlines. We only have two full days there (plus two travel days) and I think I'd rather do sightseeing stuff or maybe spend a night down at Kitt Peak looking at the stars than try to squeeze in a quickie round.

I'll make up my mind before May but that's how I'm leaning now...

[John Kavanaugh]

Brent,

I was just out at Randolph and a large percentage of golfers were walking.  Given your wonderful analytical mind I would love to set up a time for my brother to meet you out there and explain the water management system he designed into the course.  Give me a buzz when you will be going and I will see if he is available.