Tubac Golf Resort - Otero Nine

Tuba cGolf Resort & Spa is home to 27 holes of golf that are a real joy to play.  Each nine has its own unique personality and characteristics, for example:

• Otero has eight of the Resort's original holes and it is the tighter of the three nines, lush from tee to green, and has the smallest greens
• Rancho is the toughest and most demanding of the three nines thanks to fairways lined with stately cottonwood and mesquite trees and it is known for two of the holes which were made famous by Kevin Costner's Tin Cup
• Anza is the newest of the nines and it has a desert links look and feel on the first five holes and concludes with four outstanding finishing holes

Common to all three nines is a first class resort, upscale stay and play lodging, excellent service, near perfect conditions, and beautiful scenery with two mountain ranges as the backdrop.  All three nines are very player friendly and designed to deliver a very playable and enjoyable round of golf. 

Tubac Golf Resort's Otero nine is the easiest and most traditional and straight forward of all three nines.  This is a very player friendly nine with flat tree lined fairways.  In most cases you can see the pin from the tee box and easily access what you're up against.  No tricks and no gimmicks to get you.

That's not to say Otero is a walk in the park, you'll need to keep the ball in the fairway and away from the trees, you find a couple tough approaches, water on four holes, some dog legs that require a precise drive, strategically placed fairway bunkers and green side bunkers, and some tricky greens. 

There are also several fun holes, like:

• #2 a 529 yard dog leg right par 5 that requires a precise drive off the tee box to make the turn or a good risk reward opportunity to try and fly some stately cottonwoods for a birdie opportunity
• #5 is a slight downhill dog right then a tough approach through a slot and over a small pond in front of the green
• #9 will make you want to play this nine again – a short but challenging 315 yard par four with water along the left side and a tough landing zone thanks to water, two fairway bunkers, and a narrowing fairway

The greens on Otero are all shapes and sizes (21 to 33 yards deep), with gentle but manageable slope, and they held the ball well.  They were in great shape but we thought they were running a little slow (around an 8) and a tad fuzzy (bumpy). 

The fairways are ample and the first cut is playable – after that you're under or next to the cottonwoods or mesquites.  They were over seeded when we played in early February but were in excellent condition – lush, green, and soft. 

The bunkers are about average size with fair and manageable depth as well as faces.  The sand was a  little harder and thinner than most resort courses. 

Bottom line – Otero gives you an opportunity to have a very relaxing and enjoyable round and turn in a great score if you can keep the ball in play. 

Read our review of Anza and Rancho and to learn more about Tubac Resort, read our Tubac Resort Golf Stay & Play review.   

The rating and slope are based on the Otero/Anza  course.