The sidewall of stone is intact and the terrazzo floor shines in the new lounge with leather chairs facing a fireplace, big screen, and patio and course. Martyn welcomed his grand


opening guests with, “the bunkers now have sand in them,” eliciting uproarious applause. Reshaped and filled with fresh fluffy granules, the new drainage passed the stress test of apocalyptic summer rains. Manicured teeing areas, bunkers and fairways are the essentials that comprise the restoration, not a redesign of the course. He likened the transformation


to an antique car with a brand new engine, which is pretty typical for a guy. She thought of it more as a facelift on a centenarian. All the teeing areas were bulldozed and rebuilt for a length of 6,640 from the back tees, down from some 7,000 yards from its length in the ’70s. He thought San Marcos had a Donald


Ross feel minus the sloping greens, which are small. Both agreed it is a very playable resort course that didn’t need redesigning, just a little TLC. At San Marcos, golfers have it


made in the shade. Unlike most desert courses, San Marcos is tree-lined habitat to jack rabbits, the kind with ears half the size of their body, hopping around like cartoon characters. The canal that runs through San


Marcos dissects several holes, which in turn challenge distance calculations. But that canal also reduces irrigation costs via water rights. She remembered that unique water feature being a distraction for her son when they first started playing golf. That happens when you would sooner catch frogs than retrieve balls. That was fine. Later her son played the course as a member of the Chandler High School team. Yes, time marches on. Little ponds attract white egrets and


waterfowl. He remembered watching college teams when she and his daughter competed there. Particularly memorable was the 13th


hole, a par 3 over water.


Back then tee shots would catch the top of tall cattails and be devoured. Now freshly cleaned and lined with concrete, the 13th


is one of the course’s focal


points, and the ducks that still paddle upon on the water quack their approval. Chris Adcock and his wire-haired


fox terriers were in their backyard along www.azgolf.org


Indeed the 10th


Operated by Touchstone Golf, San Marcos Golf Course is located at 100 North Dakota Street in Chandler. For tee time reservations and information on tournaments and events, call (480) 963-3358 or visit www.sanmarcosresort.com.


one of the new glistening fairways at San Marcos. Adcock said he purchased his home 15 years ago and the first few years were OK, but they were always promised course improvements, which never came — until now! Members are elated, Adcock pointed out. “We haven’t seen grass in this area


for 10 years, and in a year the greens will be really good,” Adcock said. “People are nice here. It’s like the Midwest. ”


, 11th


and 18th


holes are still cart path only, but the greens are getting faster every day. With all new mowing equipment, pumps and a state-of-the-art irrigation system, hopes are sky high. In a way, it’s like back to the future, as San Marcos is once again a course — and a resort — with affordable residential memberships and green fees that seem ideal for making new memories. n


Alice and Danny Scott are a Couple of Travelers and write a regular column on their globe-trotting golf adventures for New England Golf Monthly. They live in Gilbert.


Cornerstone of Chandler: CROWNE PLAZA SAN MARCOS


Chandler’s founder Dr. Alexander Chandler —


“AJ” for short — opened San Marcos Resort & Golf Course in 1913 with a flock of ostrich on property. From almost the beginning, small boutique-like shops and retail businesses started popping up on the adjacent blocks. Saba’s Western Wear was founded in ’27, catering to cowboys on horseback, and is still styling Arizona natives, transplants and tourists. Organically grown,


downtown Chandler has a new vibrancy that marries elements of other cities while focusing on the preservation of the city’s true heritage. The Ostrich Festival, for example, attracts tens of thousands with its unique bird races, music, rides and a parade. Since 1957, a tumbleweed Christmas tree is constructed and ceremoniously lit. This year will mark the inaugural New Year’s Eve ball drop.


The stately courtyard of the Crowne Plaza San Marcos.


Truly, Chandler is a happening place these days: Calendar-marked Thursdays for the farmers’ market, an art walk every third Friday, and on any given day happy hour starts early (2 p.m.) at Bourbon Jack’s or the home-grown SanTan Brewing Company. Vintage 95 hosts wine lovers while Murphy’s Law lends a wee bit of Irish flair. Culinary choices run the gamut from Serrano’s Mexican to sushi, and all-American cuisine in between. For enrichment, Arizona


State and Arizona students attend satellite classrooms in


Chandler as entrepreneurs with access tools to build prototypes and launch start-ups at TechShop or Gangplank’s. For fun, Improv Mania hosts family friendly comedy at 7:30 most nights, with saucier laughs later. Bids are being solicited for a grand entertainment center to complement the boutique downtown hub. Yes, indeedy, the future


looks bright for Chandler residents and guests of the Crowne Plaza San Marcos Golf Resort, which provides the cornerstone of it all. – COUPLE OF TRAVELERS


ANNUAL2014 | AZ GOLF Insider | 21


CROWNE PLAZA SAN MARCOS


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