The Kierland Westin Golf Club – Scottsdale AZ Best Golf
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6902 E. Greenway Parkway, Scottsdale
(800) 354-5892
Arizona Resorts/ Arizona Travel Deals / Arizona Golf / Spas in AZ
The Kierland Westin Golf Club is one of the newer kids on the Scottsdale golf scene. This 27 hole Scott Miller design opened in 1996 to rave reviews and was immediately nominated “Best New Public Course” by Golf Digest. It is comprised of three separate nine hole courses: Ironwood, Acacia and Mesquite which surrounds the massive (700 acre development) Westin resort complex. It is also purported to be the course most favored by Bob Uecker during spring training.
According to one of the friendly staff members in the clubhouse, the course superintendent determines the amount of play each course will get on a daily basis, so it is recommended that you call ahead if you have your heart set on a particular combination of the three.
We played the Ironwood/Mesquite 18 on a gorgeous breezy Saturday afternoon. In this configuration, the course was just over 6,300 yards. The starter was encouraging and gave us some course management tips during a brief and informative chat at the first tee. Undulating rye grass fairways threaded with copious bunkering dominate the layouts of both the Mesquite and the Ironwood. The general feel of this 18 was a sort of an interesting mash-up of the emerald greens we encountered at the Raven with sand and desert grasses of Viastal.
The contrasts of color and the geography which it is set upon have the affect of forcing your eyes on the course rather than the beauty of the surrounding mountains in the distance. Because there are only a few strategically placed trees it also has a vague feel of links golf. There are water hazards on or alongside a few of the holes, but the main threats to a lower score are the aforementioned bunkers.
Since it is a rather wide-open design, it is a welcome relief for the mid to high handicapper from the often punitive nature of Arizona golf. Errant shots are generally findable and more importantly, playable. The ample Bermuda grass greens are very fast, but rolled true, and were a great test of a players pace and ability to read them. As we were leaving the course in the last snatches of twilight, a huge mesquite bonfire glowed outside the clubhouse. All golf aside, the wafting smoke and the earlier scent of the freshly blooming lilacs at the tee box on 5 made the visit to Kierland worth the trip alone.
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