Boulders Club

The Boulders is world renowned as one of the finest golf, tennis and spa resorts in the United States and it is a 2008 Golf Magazine Platinum Medal Award winning resort. The resort is one of only 5 Star Resorts awarded the Gold Medal every year since its inception in 1988. Travel and Leisure Golf recently ranked The Boulders as the #7 Golf Resort in the USA for 2006 and #2 Golf Resort in the USA for 2005. Regionally the magazine ranked The Boulders the #1 Golf Resort in the Southwest for 2005 and 2006.

The Boulders is nestled in the tranquil beauty of the high Sonoran desert and the 12-million year old granite boulder formations that dot the landscape. The two fabulous courses, North and South, meander through the boulders and magnificent desert scenery, offering golfers a fun, memorable, and challenging round of golf.

During the off season, May to September when it's too hot for most normal people to play golf (not us Texans), only 27 holes in are play. When we played, we started on the South front and finished on the North front. From our playing and according to a few people we talked to, the North 18 is more traditional and straightforward – what you see is what you get. The South 18 is more scenic, more rugged desert, and tighter requiring more accuracy. The South side had just been aerated so the greens were a little sandy and bumpy and the fairways were slower in making the transition to all Bermuda giving some of the rough a brownish tint. Whereas, the North side greens and fairways were in near perfect condition – lush and green.

Both North and South are very scenic as they play up and down the desert and in and among the huge boulders – you'll see some amazing desert fauna, unusual rock formations, and all sorts of wildlife. The course is very well manicured and maintained and the desert fauna added a variety of colors – absolutely beautiful.

On each of the nines you'll find lots of variety with no two holes the same and plenty of fairway and green side bunkers (with hard and gritty sand) most of which are very steep faced and deep – do whatever you can to avoid these monsters. Most of the fairways are wide and forgiving and you can pull out the driver and let-er-rip. Some of the approach shots can get a little tight and narrow and some of the dog legs require a precise tee shot to make the turn.

There are some really fun, scenic, and memorable holes on each nine. #5 on South for example is a beautiful 545 yard par 5 with a fairway split with a dessert arroyo. The right side looks like the safest but it requires a precise landing to avoid the desert. The left has more room but requires a longer carry over the desert from the tee box. Then it's uphill to a smaller green tucked into the trees and well protected with bunkers. #8 on the North front is also great – a 356 yard dog left with 7 green and fairway bunkers, a couple boulder formations (one of which is smack dab in the middle of the landing zone) that you need to avoid, and a very thick cut rough in a semi wet arroyo – you'll want to play this one again!

Generally speaking, the greens were big, in excellent condition, running about a 9 (versus a typical 11 to 11.5 on the Stint meter), and had both slope and undulation. We found them pretty easy to read and very true – putting wasn't our problem on The Boulders. However, the desert ate a few balls and the bunkers added a few strokes.

The resort looks fantastic with a variety of rooms nestled along the course and in and among the boulders. Plus there is a spa, tennis courts, restaurants, and more. We're already thinking about staying here sometime in the future. The Boulders was one of the courses we played when we spent 6 days in Scottdale and played 150 holes, went hot air ballooning, kayaking, off-road jeeping, and lots more fun things – here is a link to Golfing In Scottsdale article.