That’s the challenge the 378-yard, par-four 15th hole on the Dinosaur Mountain course at Gold Canyon Golf Resort in Arizona presents. Go long and left with a driver and have an easy wedge into the green, or play it safe with an iron up the right side and leave yourself with a longer approach into this tiered, guarded green. It’s a stunning risk-reward hole, split in two by a craggy, scrub-filled arroyo that is ready to swallow balls and turn beckoning birdies into bogeys or worse.
What makes number 15 all the more breathtaking on this particular day is the 20 or so mule deer that have gathered in the middle of our landing area for a late-afternoon snack. Nature’s greens-keepers munch away on fairway, oblivious to the projectiles that land like stray bullets at their hooves.
“That’s the most deer I’ve ever seen at one time,” says a marshal who has worked at Gold Canyon for 20 years and has made his way out to check on our progress as the sun begins to slip behind the surrounding mountains. Maybe they’ve been brought out of hiding by the storm that has swept through the canyon like a whirlwind, delaying the completion of our round and momentarily bringing temperatures down near single digits.
The gray-coloured deer are unfazed as we make our way to our balls, glancing up only occasionally and moving away oh-so-casually. Heck, I could have reached out and touched a few with my club. In fact, I’m more nervous than they are, wondering if one of the mountain lions that patrol the surrounding hills might want to make a meal out of these healthy looking creatures. Maybe we’ll be mistaken for food in the same way scuba divers are mistaken for seals by great whites? It’s a fleeting thought, though, and my brightly coloured golf attire is probably enough to set me apart from the four-legged gallery. I get down to the task at hand, hoping to stick a lob wedge to within birdie range. “Nice shot,” I’m sure I hear one of the bemused deer say.
While we’re lucky enough to get this close to these beautiful animals, they aren’t the only wildlife we encounter on our recent six-day golf trip. Rabbits and grouse are our constant companions, nervously scurrying back and forth across cart paths and into the nearby scrub like pedestrians making their way across busy intersections. We also come across the occasional wild boar and roadrunner, too. No coyotes, though. For those, we would have to head to Glendale.
GOLFER'S PARADISE
It’s no secret Arizona is a golfer’s paradise. Hundreds of top-notch courses and resorts spread out across the state like spider webs from the major hubs. But we decide to check out first hand what all the fuss is about and fly south into Phoenix during the American Thanksgiving. We’ve chosen three resorts that, while all excellent in the services they provide, differ in topography and challenge.
Our first stop after navigating our way to the car rental agency at the maze-like Sky-Harbor International Airport is the award-winning Wigwam Golf Resort and Spa, a five-star 331-room resort, 30 minutes southwest of the airport.
Wigwam, whose roots date back 80 years as a guest ranch for visiting Goodyear executives, is home to 54-holes, including the Blue and Gold courses. (Courtesy Wigwam Golf Resort and Spa)
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