by BRUCE VITTNER

One of the best things about golf is that you can always find a great place to play it year round. Here in New England most of us have to hibernate for a few months as the ground freezes and that white stuff drops from the sky and hides our golf balls in the fairway (or rough or woods).

One of those nice places to travel to in the winter is Arizona, and a perfect spot is Scottsdale. Scottsdale is host to some of the finest courses in the world and there are about 200 courses to choose from in the Greater Scottsdale area that was voted “America’s Best Place to Live for Golf” by Robb Report magazine. Over seven million visitors per year to the Phoenix/Scottsdale area are a good indication that they are doing something right.

How do you pick which ones to play? You need help. Last December Ocean State Golf had the privilege of staying in the Scottsdale area and playing some very nice courses. One of them was the Resort Suites in North Scottsdale. The complex includes some standard hotel rooms, but is known for their suites that feature full living rooms and dining areas with multi-bedrooms. Centrally located, it makes a great spot for your travels to the various courses close by.

Resort Suites has developed a partnership with sixteen courses in the area called the “Golf Bank” which allows guests to get preferred tee times, complimentary buffet breakfast and reduced rates at these excellent courses. They also have a golf director on staff to help with planning your golf vacation to fit your budget and golfing ability. The golf planners have over sixty other courses that guests could choose from including many private ones if they wanted to try courses beside the sixteen.

Resort Suites was purchased by Goldman Sachs last year and is being run by Marcus Hotels, headquartered in Wisconsin. “We are doing a major renovation of the property including the rooms, pools, decks and restaurant,” said Dan Zollo of the marketing staff. “We want to provide a higher standard for our guests, and people will notice the difference,” he added.

One of there premier courses on the package is Grayhawk Golf Club. There are two courses on the property and the Raptor Course is on most of the Top 100 Courses list. Phil Mickelson is an ambassador at the club and Gary McCord and Peter Kostis run the golf school on the property. Beautiful vistas and undulating fast greens highlight this course that measures 7,315 yards from the championship tees. Beautiful vistas and undulating fast greens highlight Grayhawk Golf Club.

Another course that we played last year was Ocotillo Golf Resort. It does not look like it belongs in the desert as it has water on 15 holes. There are even many houseboats in front of large homes on the property. People use them as patios and also to meander through the canals on the property. Usually you worry about cactus, prickly pears and the desert on most courses in Arizona, but at Ocotillo it is that blue stuff. The water is all reclaimed and it also claimed a few of our spheres.

Troon North has two of the top courses in the country called Monument and Pinnacle. We played the Pinnacle course and very much enjoyed the golf up the mountain and then down it again. The views are spectacular and the forced carries over rocks and canyons will get your attention but also last in your memory.

Eagle Mountain is the only course that I have ever played that goes around a mountain. Designed by Scott Miller, the course offers wide fairways that slope to the middle that saves a lot of shots from that brown stuff. There are quite a few blind shots, but it is an excellent course offering fine views of the Scottsdale and Phoenix below.