Destination: Wickenburg Ranch

There is a new destination when it comes to making that golf trip to the Arizona desert. It might be a little outside of downtown Phoenix, but this is a place that is worth the extra miles and time in the car.

Welcome to Wickenburg Ranch, located in Wickenburg, Arizona. A golf course that is truly Arizona. It is carved out of the desert landscape and has proven so popular since opening last year, that tee times are sometimes tough to get.

In fact, Wickenburg Ranch was such a hit when it opened that Golf Digest ranked it among the Top 10 Best New Courses of 2015. The course has been open for a little over a year and sold out tee times for 100 days in a row when it opened on Feb. 7, 2015.

Wickenburg Ranch is located an hour and 15 Northwest of downtown Phoenix in the historic town of Wickenburg. A Trilogy resort community will soon be a full-time part of the ranch.

This is a project that has been seven years in the making- and the finished result has been time well spent crafting this gem. The course plays to over, 7,000 yards from the tips and every hole has its own name, starting with the first hole called “Giddy Up.” They all have a western theme including “Double Down” on 17 and the 18th which is called ‘Last Chance.”

And then there is “Big Water,” the 13th hole which is a 246-yard over, you guessed it, big water. There are six par-3 holes, five par-5 holes and seven par-4 holes, giving the course a collection of terrific holes.

The unique thing that Wickenburg Ranch has that other Arizona courses don’t is Bentgrass greens, proving smooth, fast surfaces year-round for golfers.

Before or after the round, Jake’s Spoon Restaurant is a great place to hang out. The restaurant is named after the cool cowboy in western novels.

Green fee are $115 and that includes Travis Mathew apparel or $95 for just the golf.

It’s worth the trip, the price and your time. For info, see www.wickenburgramch.com.