Gold Canyon - Dinosaur Mountain

Review and Rating of Gold Canyon Golf Club's Dinosaur Mountain Course in Gold Canyon Arizona

Gold Canyon is home to two spectacular 18 hole golf courses – Dinosaur Mountain and Sidewinder.  Sidewinder is rated 4 stars by Golf Digest and it is the easier and flatter of the two courses and it's home to smaller greens and more target golf as it plays through desert arroyos and native desert washes.  Sidewinder has dramatic views of the legendary Superstition Mountain, several water features, gently rolling fairways, undulating greens and pristine Sonoran desert vegetation. 

Dinosaur Mountain has dramatic elevation changes; lots of holes with high "WOW" factors – at least 10 holes could be considered signature holes;  rollercoaster fairways that rival Six Flags; near perfect conditions; and stunning views of the desert, Superstition Mountain, and Dinosaur Mountain.  Dinosaur is a par 70 with 6 par 3s, 8 par 4s, and 4 par 5s and it takes you up, over, and around Dinosaur Mountain.  It's critical that you pick the right set of tee boxs (there are 6 plus two combos) to match your skill level.  It's not surprising to me that Gold Canyon's Dinosaur Mountain is rated as one of the top Arizona golf courses.

All of the holes on Dinosaur Mountain are outstanding but here are some of our favorites:

• #5 is a 236 yard par 3 with a more than a 100 foot drop to a large green with an equally large left side bunker – and unbelievable views
• #12 is a fun 448 yard par 4 with an elevated tee shot to a sloping fairway with a big bunker in your landing zone followed by a challenging approach shot to a raised big green guarded by a bunker on the left and one off the back
• #15 is a short 378 yard downhill dog leg left that will temp you to try and carry more of the natural area to possibly drive the green or you can hit into the fairway on the right and have a fairly easy shot over the natural area to sloping green guarded by a bunker, swales, mounds, and some cute little bunnies
• #16 is a really fun – the 447 yard #2 handicap par 5 has a sloping (which can easily taking you into the desert) snaking fairway that leads uphill to a green set off to the right side and guarded by two small pot bunkers, a medium sized bunker, and one huge monster bunker
• 18 is a good finishing hole with a risky shot to try and drive the green or a conservative shot that needs to miss 3 fairway bunkers and an approach shot to a small undulating green with two pot bunkers and a large bunker guarding the entire right side of the green

The greens at Gold Canyon's Dinosaur Mountain Golf Course are well guarded, surrounded by small to tall mounds and swales, a tad smaller than normal, have plenty of undulation plus tiers and ridges, and they run fast – all of which puts a premium on your approach shots and putting skills.  When we played they were in near perfect condition.

The fairways are forgiving off the tee and then range from ample to a tad tight – miss and you're in the desert with the cactus and brush.  They are loaded with lots of slope and contour and some hills along the sides.  Some stunning homes sit on the hill sides overlooking the fairways.  The Dinosaur Mountain fairways were also in near perfect condition.

The bunkers range from small pot bunkers to some huge monsters with small to huge faces – in a couple cases we got lucky and roll in and out of the bunkers.  The sand is what I'm told is typical for Arizona courses – thin and gritty to keep it from washing or blowing out of the bunkers.