Troon North: Monument & Pinnacle
Played Troon North (Monument) in 2003 – almost 20 years ago – then Pinnacle a couple of years later. Of the two, I rank Monument higher as from my recollection, the houses on Pinnacle were more of a presence than on Monument. I also don’t have a lot of photos and I don’t have a lot of memories. However, when it comes to the Monument course, through the years I always compare the desert courses I play to there and with the exception of Desert Forest, none compare to what I remember.
A ranking wrecker for me is housing that impedes on open golf course views and Troon North is indeed a golf-housing community. That knocks Pinnacle practically out of my own Top 100. Monument? I do remember some tees getting awfully close to someone’s patio or whatnot but my lasting takeaway is that there were enough areas that the houses weren’t on top of you that it didn’t wreck the whole experience. Also the third hole – with the namesake monument rock in the fairway – is one of the most memorable holes in modern golf design. I know, that’s a mighty bold statement but I am guessing most golfers who have the occasional buddies trip have been to Arizona and have likely played here. Survey them on every hole they remember from their road trips and most will only recall the third here.
Conditioning from what I remember for both courses was excellent. First class service too. I have to get back there again. This was my first Arizona desert golf course I played and was smitten but now that I have played more desert courses here I wonder if the ranking would stay the same. Quintero and We-Ko-Pa don’t have the housing developments attached and offer some of the same elevation changes.
So let’s talk Scottsdale. Love the area. A lot of great restaurants and bars. Stay in Old Town. That way you can walk everywhere. If you’re looking for a place to grab a beer in Old Town, try Cold Beers & Cheeseburgers. A cerveza? Loco Patron next door is also great. The Mission is cool for cocktails and broader Latin American fare – a little different than most of the Mexican joints around Old Town. A super cool down & dirty bar is the Coach House. If you want to watch a game, have a pizza delivered, grab some Miller Lites and hang here. A lot less touristy than the other bars around the area.
For eats, Mastro’s Town Hall is the go-to- steak house. Steak 44 is really good as well. The best combination Mexican and sushi restaurant in the world is SumoMaya – the combo is a lot less weird when you’re here. Roka Akor is great for Japanese (sushi, steak and seafood). If you want to stay up by Troon North, then I recommend the Boulders – which also has two great courses. Dining-wise, Palo Verde there was great but I understand that they are closed now. Rancho Manana in also way the hell out there and is quirky but I liked it and they have a cool little restaurant here called Tonto that was really good – it was ranked in the top 100 Al Fresco Dining restaurants by Open Table.
Golf Scrapbook 