The Estancia Club

Tom Fazio's desert course on the north slope of Pinnacle Peak in Scottsdale, set among granite boulders and saguaro with a member-owned, capped membership.

The Estancia Club is a member-owned private club inside a gated community of about 600 acres at the base of Pinnacle Peak in north Scottsdale. Tom Fazio's course opened in 1995 and was named Golf Digest's Best New Private Course of 1996. Membership is capped at 298 full golf members, open to both residents of the community and non-residents. The course itself occupies only about 150 acres of the property, leaving much of the desert untouched.

Fazio laid the course over a high desert plateau so that the boulder outcrops, saguaro and washes frame the holes instead of being cleared away. The front nine circles granite formations at the base of the mountain, and the back nine gains elevation as it climbs toward the clubhouse, opening longer views across the valley. Several par 3s play to greens enclosed by dense desert growth.

The 11th is the hole members talk about: a short par 3 played slightly uphill into a rock amphitheater, with enormous boulders ringing the green. The 12th asks for a canyon carry from the back tee, and the 17th's approach falls through a narrowing valley toward the green. Reviewers consistently point to turf quality and the setting as the source of its ranking, and it is regarded as one of the most enjoyable rounds in the Scottsdale area.

Holes to know

11

Par 3 · 137 yd

Plays slightly uphill to a green ringed by huge boulders, set in a natural rock amphitheater.

12

The back tee requires a carry across a canyon.

17

The approach falls through a narrowing desert valley toward the green.