March 2026: I’ve been wanting to play Estancia for a long ass time and finally connected with my host Mark and was just able to play it last week. It did not disappoint. I even had Estancia on my bucket list (discussed in my Lochenheath review). Once I play Banff later this year, I will have been able to cross off six of those bucket list courses in about six years.
The reason why I wanted to play here so badly is that for me, part of what makes a golf course great are the aesthetics and framing. Beautiful ocean vistas. Unspoiled desert backdrop. Mountain backdrops. All help a good course become great for me. Now the golf architecture nerds don’t always agree. In fact you will hear from them that some of the top courses are where the architect is given an average or even underwhelming piece of ground and turns it into an architectural masterpiece. Tillinghast and Winged Foot, Fazio with Shadow Creek, even Dick Wilson at Pinetree. All great courses but imagine those designs in spectacular settings like Cape Kidnappers, Pebble Beach, and New South Wales (all in my top 10). I’m not a hiker but I certainly would rather hike in a beautiful setting even if the hiking trail doesn’t offer some of the amenities as others in more modest settings. And I love the look of a nice desert track and when given a beautiful desert landscape, Fazio knocks it out of the park at Estancia.
Another golfing achievement is playing the top course by state. Now I’ve golfed in 44 of the 50 states and would love to play in all 50, but I’d love to play as many of the top courses in each state, too. Some are pretty out of reach (Augusta in GA and Cypress in CA) and I’ll settle for number two but it is nice to see why the GD raters put a course on top and whether I agree. To date I have the following top in state courses checked off (from a previous GD Best in State):
Course/ST
Shoal Creek , Shoal Creek AL
The Estancia Club, Scottsdale AZ
Victoria National G.C., Newburgh IN
Valhalla G.C. , Louisville KY
Congressional C.C. (Blue), Bethesda MD
Fallen Oak G.C., Saucier MS
Shadow Creek , North Las Vegas NV
Pine Valley G.C. , Pine Valley NJ
Pacific Dunes, Bandon OR
Merion G.C. (East), Ardmore PA
The Ocean Course , Kiawah Island SC
Dallas National G.C. , Dallas TX
Kinloch G.C. , Manakin-Sabot VA
Sahalee C.C. (South/North), Sammamish WA
Whistling Straits (Straits) , Haven WI
I would use the newest ranking but it’s too much scrolling and not in a nice list as previous. All those Best in State courses are in my top 100 – just like Estancia is now.
I won’t go into the Scottsdale area as I do in multiple other AZ course reviews. I did add a new restaurant this trip: Ocean 44 in Scottsdale Old Town. Very nice.
Finally before I get into the course, in my Old Memorial write-up I discuss the top men’s locker rooms/grills. Add Estancia to that list.
Estancia can be stretched to 7,300 yards and has recently hosted an Open qualifier and what I understand from my host Mark, it ate the guys up as the wind was blowing. We played the Copper tees which measure 6,336 yards with a 70.0/130 rating/slope. Tough but not outrageous though I have been really sucking lately so even minigolf is challenging for me right now. I played with a group of pretty good golfers so there was some added pressure but I wasn’t tee shamed into playing further back and my host Mark was so accommodating with my craptacular game. BTW, the carts at Estancia may be the fastest golf carts on the planet!
Hole 1 (384 yards/#9 handicap/par four): I have a scorecard but not my scorecard so while I remember that I hit a nice bogey here after just missing my par putt, I will not recount my scores as I am trying to forget them. Lost about a half dozen golf balls and make sure you load up because if you go off the fairway here then you will be in the desert. I would have lost some more but my host Mark was an eagle eye and found at least three wayward hits for me. He said the snakes weren’t out yet but the next few days on a text thread we’re on together, another person shared a picture of a snake from nearby. Yikes!
Approach on one. Greens all rolled toward the valley and if you were downhill and down grain, your ball will take off like (as my father used to say) Speedy Gondolez.
Hole 2 (303 yards/# 7 handicap/par four): That’s pinnacle peak to the left. What an idyllic backdrop.
Hole 5 (379 yards/#1 handicap/par four): First this photo is actually taken from the back tees (478 yards). You can watch hikers on the trail head up to Pinnacle Peak. It also follows the snack shacks and these offer some home-made jerky you should try. Also, I missed the 170-yard par three third and 488-yard par five fourth.
That’s the fourth borrowed from Golf Course Gurus.
And the third from the Estancia website.
Hole 6 (341 yards/#13 handicap/par four): A dogleg right that you need to be on the left-hand side of the fairway to get a look. I was too far right and was blocked out despite a decent drive. Listen to your caddie and/or host.
Your approach on six if you did indeed listen. I avoided the traps but these are punishing.
Hole 7 (166 yards/#15 handicap/par three): This is a tough distance for me. Should really be a five but I hit that worse than my other clubs. A hybrid is too much. So I took a six and was of course in the right trap. Then still in the right trap. Double. Also there are some homes scattered about here but they never really destroy the holes’ aesthetics. A) they fit into the landscape and B) are not on top of the course so tight that they bug you.
Hole 8 (418 yards/#3 handicap/par four): This is a man’s par four from the back tees.
Hole 9 (524 yards/#11 handicap/par five): From my drive where I still had a mile left. My three wood was wonky and I know I hit that into the desert more than I did with the driver.
Hole 10 (317 yards/#14 handicap/par four): They had a nice little bar/snack window at the clubhouse for the turn and you could take pre-made hotdogs (or free cookies) along with Miller Lites. My host didn’t drink but was gracious enough to allow me to indulge here and in the men’s grill post round.
Hole 11 (115 yards/#18 handicap/par three): A short little par three where my nine iron took me to the back fringe. But I hit a nice curving downhill slider for birdie.
Hole 12 (361 yards/#8 handicap/par four): This taken from the back tees that you walk up to from the 11th green. From our tees, hit a great drive but a flub just short of the wash that crosses the fairway about 125 or so yards out. I like finding interesting ways to hit the dreaded PBFU.
This is where my flub left me.
Hole 13 (373 yards/#10 handicap/par four): An intimidating but beautiful carry off the tee.
Same tee box but looking back down hole 12.
Hole 14 (539 yards/#2 handicap/par five): One of the very few (this and four I think) holes where water comes into play. This from my second shot.
Hole 15 (393 yards/#4 handicap/par four): While the topography changes here and this is the less rocky part of the course, there still really isn’t a less desirable portion of the property. Fazio lays out the holes taking advantage of all areas of the course.
Hole 16 (163 yards/#16 handicap/par three): See my comments from seven. Same exact thing here except I was in front of the trap on my tee shot then flubbed it in on the next shot. I have perfected the par three double in a large variety of ugly ways.
Hole 17 (510 yards/#12 handicap/par five): Just a beautiful golf hole on a course chock full of them.
Hole 18 (392 yards/#6 handicap/par four): Spectacular finish. Mark was saying that the course is not happy with the home owners of the house under construction on this hole. It’s the only time houses really affected the view and only because of the construction on this one. Below is my approach.
Just a great golf course and one that you have to try and get on if you love desert golf. One last thing. Played this right after the US and Israel took out the Ayatollah. Attached is a Pro-Trump” rally in Scottsdale. Pro-Trump! Imagine that.
Golf Scrapbook 