Talking Stick Makes Golf Magazine's Top 100 Courses

Talking Stick (North), AZ, USA

5^th hole, 355 yards: The key to this hole lies in its name - 'Left is Right.' This short par four bends slightly to the right and features a bunker smack in the middle of the fairway. As the hole does go to the right, the player might instinctively think that the preferred line is down the right, but he would be wrong as the green is angled to accept an approach from the left. As proof that the architects have a sense of humor, the 4^th hole on the South course is named 'Right is Right,' and with good reason.

7^th hole, 430 yards: Again, the hole's name, 'The Ditch Hole,' gives away the key - to avoid the dry ditch to the right. Such a task is easier said than done. The bunker to the left of the green encourages the player to go right, only that is where there is a slope that will carry the ball to the ditch. One of the authors had his six-iron approach shot land on the right side of the green, only to roll down the closely-mown area and into the ditch.

10^th hole, 390 yards: The lesson here is simple - when you are fortunate enough to have something like a mountain peak in the distance, use it. This hole plays directly toward Pinnacle Peak. Such a ploy forces even the most crude player to appreciate his surroundings.

11^th hole, 215- 265 yards: A throwback hole to the days when bunkers well short of the green served a practical purpose. In this case, the large, Thomas-style bunker some 30 yards short of the green (1) deceives the player in judging the distance, (2) serves as an heroic carry, with the potential of great satisfaction, for the higher handicapped player (who has the option of playing to the fairway left of the bunker) and (3) seizes the better player's attention into the wind. The rolls around the green, particularly off the back-left corner, ensure that the player who plays 'safely' to the left will have to work hard to save par.

The wash on the 12th hole.

12^th hole, 360 yards: An excellent match play hole, with a dry wash splitting the fairway. By going down the narrow left side, between the wash and the boundary, the player can knock it within 20 yards of the green. However, such a play would be unlikely in stroke play, as the slightest draw can land in the fairway and roll effortlessly out of bounds. Finding the wash is not death as being in it is usually no worse than having a marginal lie in a bunker.

As with Coore and Crenshaw's Plantation Course at Kapalua, the superb conditioning ensures that the course is played the way the architects intended. The wide fairways and closely mown areas surrounding each green allow the player to adopt a ground game. This opportunity to play many different type shots can often befuddle the player as there is still doubt in his mind when he pulls the trigger as to whether he has made the proper decision (e.g., high or low). Yet, this effect leaves the course within the grasp of all players, a most desirable trait in a daily-fee course.