Whisper Rock

[Rob Rigg]

Sean,

Even if the courses at WR are not at the top of the rankings, I think it would be hard to put down the spirit and intent of the club.

I think it's fantastic for a club in AZ to have a great caddy program, a high percentage of walking golfers, two strong layouts with amazing scenery and an incredibly strong playing membership.

What is comical, is that WR does not fly under the radar as mentioned previously. They have perhaps the strongest low budget marketing campaign around with Gary McCord, Peter Kostis, etc. sliding a "WR" into the convo whenever they can on air. And with guys like Phil, GeO and Casey playing out of the club, they will continue to get the opportunity to bring it up throughout the year.

[Joel_Stewart]

 BTW Joel, the top picture that you posted on the first page is NOT from WR (Mirabel maybe?).

As I posted that picture I mentioned it didn't look familiar to me?  Thanks for the clarification.

NBC ran a small and poorly produced segment yesterday on the 5 clubs that have the most tour players.  I believe it was,

Whisper Rock
Isleworth
Lake Nona
Bears Club
Old Elm?

I was disappointed in the photos of Whisper Rock showing a few fairways of the club, it really didn't show anything?

[Anthony Butler]

One annoying thing about Whisper Rock: As its reputation for being a cool place to hang out grows–a lot of wannabe's are trying to imply an association with the club.

During one of Ogilvy's early round matches, some yahoo yelled out "Put one down for the Rock!" as he attempted a putt of anything more than 3 feet.

I was walking with a couple of guys who seemed to know Ogilvy well. I assume they were members at Whisper Rock and this guy wasn't since they were planning on pushing him into a cactus bush if he kept it up for another couple of holes. Fortunately for all concerned, the absence of beer tents on 14-17 meant he stopped following the match.

McCord et al have done the club a disservce by promoting that nickname for all and sundry to start using.

[David Botimer]

Rob-

WR certainly does have a walking culture.  In fact, hardly anyone ever rides.  They have an absolutely phenomenal caddie program at WR - a lot of the caddies are excellent players in their own right (ie, they have some mini tour players who are caddies).  Probably the best caddies of any course I've ever played - it adds to an already great experience.

Jim

About half of the WR caddies spend their summer at Bandon Dunes caddying.  In that regard, they are fairly similar to Bighorn; some mini tour players along with a mix of full time caddies splitting time between winter in the desert, summer north such as Bandon Dunes.

[Rob Rigg]

For those interested in seeing a bit of Whisper Rock, there is a "Playing Lessons" on Golf Channel today with Geoff Ogilvy that is filmed on one of their courses.

[Steve_ Shaffer]

A recent blurb about Whisper Rock, home of Martin Kaymer, US Open champ:

U.S. open champ boasts Whisper Rock membership;


After Martin Kaymer's victory at the U.S. Open, Whisper Rock Golf Club in Scottsdale now can boast of having 11 major championships among its membership.

Not that anybody there will brag. Heck, we couldn't even get anybody from the exclusive, invitation-only club to chat with The Heat Index about the place.

In fact, there might be more major championships we don't even know about. But, according to various reports through the years, the membership rolls have at one time or another included Phil Mickelson (who designed the lower course, which opened in 2001), Geoff Ogilvy, Bubba Watson, Kaymer and Fred Couples.

Those guys account for 11 major championships.

But that just begins to tell the story of Whisper Rock's membership. Reportedly, more than 30 PGA Tour members have memberships, which go for about $130,000. The club has only about 550 members.

Peter Kostis and Gary McCord also are members. So is Mickelson's caddie, Jim "Bones" Mackay.

Imagine what it must be like during the Tour's down time to hang out there on the driving range or on one of the practice greens?

You might be hitting balls next to Paul Casey, Aaron Baddeley, Chez Reavie, Todd Demsey or Kevin Streelman, if not one of the major champions.

Streelman is the coolest story among them.

He was a caddie at Whisper Rock for two years while trying to play his way onto the PGA Tour. When he finally earned his Tour card, he got a call and was invited to join Whisper Rock.

How does that go, anyway? Do they have Sean Connery call you up and say "Welcome to the Rock!"

Anyway, Streelman went on to win the club championship, which probably ranks in difficulty right up there with his first Tour victory last year at the Tampa Bay Championship.

http://www.azcentral.com/story/sports/golf/2014/06/20/martin-kaymer-champions-members-select-club-scottsdale/11199099/