MOVERS&SHAKEUPS
Redesigning the future of Arizona golf
The Phoenician, DM Renegade, Troon North Pinnacle reworked, updated
Y
ou can count on one hand the number of golf courses that have been built in Arizona over the past decade.
On the other hand, redesign projects seem to be in full swing, especially lately, with The Phoenician, Renegade at Desert Mountain and Troon North Pinnacle all boasting grand reopening projects in the past three months. There are two reasons why redesigns
are outnumbering original designs 10 to 1. Like people, golf courses get old and need a facelift from time to time, even if they are a multimillion- dollar expense. That is especially true in Arizona, where most courses were
Renegade at Desert Mountain
built in the 1980s and 1990s, meaning they are now 20 to 30-plus years old. The other reason, apparently, is
golfers’ wants and needs, as trends tend to change over time even in the tradition-laden game of golf. That is especially true when it comes to the difficulty factor, which leads to the time factor. There were quite a few really challenging courses built in Arizona during its boom that today are kinder and gentler thanks to a renovation. Architect Phil Smith of Scottsdale
knows a thing or two about this. Smith recently completed his renovation of The Phoenician, scaling it down from 27 holes to 18 new holes. He must have done a lot to his new course that opened in early November because
his name as the official architect of record is now on the scorecard. “That’s my first official course as an
architect,” said Smith, 55, an easygoing Scottsdale resident. “We changed pretty much everything out there, so I’d call it a ‘new course’ more than a renovation.” It’s a game of semantics sometimes.
While Smith kept 16 of the 18 original corridors, he realigned all the tees so the new holes all have different elevations and yardages, as well as a lot of “new ideas and new golf experiences.” “I played it the other day, because it
always feels differently playing it versus designing it,” Smith said. “What I liked was it had ample room to play golf, whereas it was a little tight originally. “Plus, it had a nice crescendo
to the holes, meaning it got more dramatic as you get to the end of it.” Smith said the reaction he’s
heard from head pro Erik Broka has been “very positive.” “It feels like a country club,
like a course you could play every day,” Smith said. “The ladies particularly like it, because there are no longer any forced carries.” Smith also had a hand in Renegade,
the original course done by Jack Nicklaus at Desert Mountain way back in 1987. If you remember, Renegade has always featured two greens with two options for tees/pins: the Gold (difficult) and White (easier). “We’re still shaping, sand capping
The Phoenician 38 | AZ GOLF Insider | ANNUAL 2018
and growing grass out there,” Smith said of the course that is supposed to open in December. “Jack is restrategizing the course, and it’s a complete redo.”
www.azgolf.org
By Bill Huffman
DESERT MOUNTAIN
THE PHOENICIAN
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