Summary:  Value Rating = A++

This course is a gem.  The course is great – a wonderful track.  In my opinion, the best golf experience I’ve had in the Tucson area.

We got a great surprise as we drove up to this course.  Just when we wondered where we were, we drove over a hill to a stunning view of a valley with the Santa Catalina Mountains in the background – just spectacular.  The views provide a really pleasant distraction while you play this course.

We played the course in late October in both 2009 and 2010 for $50 (US excluding taxes and range balls).  Really great value at this price and a great golfing experience.  You definitely need to play this course if you are in the Tucson area.

The Preserve Golf Course at SaddleBrooke is located north of Tucson, outside of the community of Catalina.  Their website says it is about 20 minutes north of Tucson.  We stayed in Oro Valley and it took us at least 20 minutes to drive to the course from there.

There isn’t much info about the course on the website as it is geared towards the properties they manage.  Look under “The Preserve” and then the golf link to get some info.  Check out www.robson.com for more details.

Play and Value Evaluation Rating Table

Refer to my evaluation criteria to see how I judge and rate the courses I’ve played.

Some Details:

As I noted above, this is a tremendous course to play.  It offers a golf challenge for the average player and at the same time offers value and tremendous views.  You do have to play this course if you have the opportunity

Right from the moment you step up to the first tee and even before that as you view the area from the patio outside the pro shop entrance, you can see that this is going to be a fun course to play.

The fairways give you ample room to spray the ball around a little bit.  Bad shots will get you into trouble.  The course offers a great mix of challenges – elevated tee shots to par 3 greens in valleys or across gullies, some blind shots to landing areas where trouble exists, well placed bunkers, and good sized greens with undulations and slopes that makes almost every putt have a slight bend to it.  There are a number of sloped fairways where you can get some extra distance on your tee shot or you can find your ball coming to rest leaving you with an uphill or downhill lie.

Some course knowledge is an advantage.  On the downhill par 3s you definitely can take one less club, unless you are hitting into the wind.  The first 2 par 3s on the front 9 are really nice holes – holes 4 and 6 – elevated tees give you a great view.

Hole 7 has you hitting your drive onto an uphill sloped area where you need to try and stay to the mid-right part of the fairway to have a better view of the green, otherwise you have to hit a blind shot to the green.  On hole 9 you want to hit a shot that lands on the right side of the fairway which should give you a better view of the green and avoids the large bunker on the left side of the green.  On hole 10, the fairway narrows in the middle of this par 5 with a deep gully on the left so your 2nd shot needs to be kept to the right.  On hole 15, there is another deep gully about 3/4’s of the way down the fairway so you will have to clear this to get the ball on the green in regulation.  Hole 16 has another gully that will affect your 2nd shot – you can’t see the gully from where your tee shot lands – best to take a little less club to avoid rolling downhill into this hazard that runs across the fairway.  I did get caught on a couple of these course features and will be better prepared the next time I play this course.

The large greens offer many undulations and the course can be set up with difficult pin placements, either in tricky parts of the greens or behind or close to the greenside bunkers.

I played the course from the gold tees.  The difference between the gold tees and the platinum tees (white tees) is significant and most average golfers will enjoy this course more from the gold tees.  You will find the par 5s can get long if you are hitting into the wind.

I used all the clubs in my bag, especially my utility club (3 iron equivalent) – used it on all the par 5s and about 1/2 the par 4s.

The sand was very soft and there is lots of it in the bunkers.  Some of the fairway bunkers are large.

The rough along almost all the fairways is soft and fluffy and you need to be careful not to swing under the ball if it is sitting up in the rough.

My score at the Preserve was 89 in 2009 and 94 in 2010 which included 3 penalty strokes for having my ball roll into some of the gullies along the way.  I also 3 putted 2 of the greens.

My Evaluation Details:

Scenery – spectacular views of the surrounding area.

Mix of holes – offers a nice mix of long and short holes.

Consistency and condition – the course is in great shape, well maintained.

Character – a great layout with variety.

Golf Challenge – a challenging course to play

• tee shots – ample room to keep the ball in play
• fairway shots – you will get some uphill/downhill lies and the fairways were in great shape across the whole course.
• pin placements – The greens are large with undulations allowing for some interesting pin placement choices.
• putting – Putting was consistent across all holes.  Not many straight putts – almost all putts had a slight bend to them.
• greens – The greens are large, well maintained and a bit hard
• a chance to recover – rough areas can produce fluffy lies and some of the desert and gully areas will produce unplayable lies.
  

Other Observations:

You do have to play this course if you have the chance.  I highly recommend that you play The Preserve at SaddleBrooke.

The practice green and driving range area are great.  The pro shop staff was very friendly, informative and helpful.

Enjoy the photo’s.

Comments appreciated – Lane Smith – Lane@lifepast50.ca