Troon North Golf Club - Sonoran Sensation

Monument, Pinnacle Setting Sonoran Target Standards

Many have said the blueprint for desert golf was made when Tom Weiskopf and Jay Morrish designed Troon North Monument Course back in 1989. The late Morrish subsequently downplayed that by saying he thought target-golf standards were set by Jack Nicklaus’ Desert Highlands and then Troon Country Club, a Weiskopf-Morrish private course. I really don’t care. What I care about is the pleasure it is to step on the grounds at Troon North. And when you top it off with a stay at nearby Four Seasons Scottsdale at Troon North you have one fine vacation.

SCOTTSDALE, AZ - Many have said the blueprint for desert golf was made when Tom Weiskopf and Jay Morrish designed Troon North Monument Course back in 1989. The late Morrish subsequently downplayed that by saying he thought target-golf standards were set by Jack Nicklaus’ Desert Highlands and then Troon Country Club, a Weiskopf-Morrish private course. I really don’t care. What I care about is the pleasure it is to step on the grounds at Troon North. And when you top it off with a stay at nearby Four Seasons Scottsdale at Troon North you have one fine vacation. I love the way Weiskopf was inspired by Alister MacKenzie, not by Augusta National, but by Ohio State’s Scarlet Course, where he played collegiate golf. I look forward to the drivable par fours he designs on every course and trying to figure out what “gotcha” element he is presenting. I enjoy his approach to bunkering – putting as many on the left side of the fairways as the right. And that his bunkers are used in three schemes – as aiming points, as hazards to avoid and in strategy where they may save you from OB or water. Today, Troon North’s Monument and Pinnacle 18s keep improving. Have a chat with Mike Friend, Troon North’s Director of Sales, and you know wheels are churning. “Last summer we had a three-month project to update the Monument’s greens and bunkers and this year we will do the same for the Pinnacle side, which will close June 5 and reopen October 5 after over-seeing,” Friend said. The Arcadia goals Bluffs of both The Lodge projects -- greens resurfaced with creeping A4 bent grass and collars resurfaced with TifGrand semi-dwarf Bermuda grass. Bunker renovations updated drainage in all greenside and fairway bunkers, new bunker liners and new Pioneer bunker sand. Monument updated green complexes to their original shape, size and contours by utilizing GPS coordinates gathered from Weiskopf’s original design. “We are committed to providing our guests with the finest course conditions on the planet at our flagship facility,” said Dana Garmany, chairman and chief executive officer, Troon. “Through these green and bunker enhancements on Monument, we are proactively improving and reinvesting in one of the top daily-fee courses in the nation. We plan to execute a similar improvement project on the Pinnacle course next summer (2018) to keep both courses at the top in a competitive marketplace.” Friend was also excited for a new fleet of golf boards and club cars with the premium bucket seats, usb ports and spots for Bluetooth speakers. “We are also in discussion for Shark Experience, which would make our excellence in customer service second to none,” he said. “And many people don’t know we are one only a few in the valley still with bent putting surfaces.” First-time golfers will find these 36 holes beautiful,