Is This The Loveliest Course In The Desert? I Think So

The signature hole 5th on the South Course at the excellent Boulders Resort & Spa

(Image credit: Boulders Resort and Spa, Scottsdale)

The Boulders - South Course

GF: 18 holes: $289-$329
Stats: Par 72, 6,726 yards
W: theboulders.com

Scottsdale is an oasis in the Sonoran Desert that is home to an incredible variety of fascinating and different golf. Towards its northern reaches, Boulders Resort & Spa is blessed with not one but two remarkable courses. Each was designed by Jay Morrish, an architect who worked with some of the industry’s greatest including Robert Trent Jones and Jack Nicklaus.

Boulders - South - Hole 1 - RS — The opening hole on the South Course is a tough but beautiful par 4

While the North is for members and their guests, the South is a thrilling and very beautiful adventure through the rocks that is open to all. Benefitting from full bunker and greens renovations in recent times, the course runs through some prime real estate that is largely so far from the playing lines and so well screened by nature that you would hardly know it was there.

By contrast, the amazing rock formations that give the resort its name and the course its definition are very much in evidence. They are beautiful to behold and breathtaking in their stature. The star of the show is perhaps the brilliant par-5 5th with its split fairway which plays to a green towered over by Boulder Pile, but there’s endless invention, intrigue and fun all the way.

Boulders - South - Hole 7 — The par-3 7th is played from a tee nestling right back in the rocks

There are plenty of other really strong holes such as the par-3 7th where the back tee is actually nestled right up in the rocks.

Boulders - South - Hole 15 — The par-3 15th is the first of back-to-back short holes

There is also a really strong finish with back-to-back short holes at 15 and 16 before a thrilling par 4 at 17 that crosses a gulch, and finally a scenic par 5 back to a green protected by water.

Boulders - South - Hole 18 — The final green is very well protected by water and sand

With its excellent and stylish accommodation, delicious food and friendly service, the Boulders Resort and Spa is a fabulous resort, sympathetically designed in every way to fit in with its environment.

Rob has been playing golf for over 45 years and been a contributing editor for Golf Monthly since 2012. He specialises in course reviews and travel, and has played nearly 1,300 courses in almost 50 countries. In 2021, he played all 21 courses in East Lothian in 13 days. Last year, his tally was 77, 44 of them for the first time. One of Rob's primary roles is helping to prepare the Top 100 Courses of the UK&I, of which he has played all, as well as the Next 100 where he is missing two in Scotland and four in Ireland. He has been a member of Tandridge for over 30 years where his handicap hovers around 14. You can contact him at r.smith896@btinternet.com.

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