Beautiful SunRidge Canyon G.C.

It seems that every spring I write about Myrtle Beach and every fall about Scottsdale, Ariz. Golf Digest just rated Myrtle Beach "America’s Greatest Golf-Home Town" and Scottsdale the top ranking for the West region. They are right.

Scottsdale is the perfect cold weather getaway for us hunkered-down, cold, wet New Englanders. The Sonoran Desert makes a beautiful golf backdrop and provides views and vistas not found in the northeast. We spent a week last December in Scottsdale and had a wonderful time. How great it is to play golf in shorts in the winter.

After watching the FDR Open at TPC Scottsdale every year and seeing 80,000 screaming fans at that tournament, we had to try it. It’s as good as it gets. No, I didn’t par the 17th hole where 25,000 fans sit and holler after each tee shot to the tough par 3. What I did see is the stands being constructed and it looked like as many seats as Fenway Park.

The other courses we played this year were Legend Trail, Vista Verde, SunRidge Canyon and the Talon course at Grayhawk. Each course offered wonderful vistas, pristine conditions, and challenging golf. Legend Trail has a Gold Digest School attached to the facility with many different golf lesson packages. Vista Verde is a new development up towards the mountains north of Scottsdale. It has very wide fairways and extra large rolling greens. Plenty of room to hit errant shots a little off line.

SunRidge Canyon was either “too difficult or truly spectacular” from the comments after the round. I felt the latter. There were some holes that are very memorable. The landscape and topography are pure desert golf. Grayhawk has been the host for many professional tournaments, and it was pristine. Phil Mickelson is the ambassador for the two courses on site.

There are over 200 courses to choose from when planning a vacation to the Scottsdale area. A daunting task made easier by Resort Suites, our hosts for the last three years. Resort Suites has a unique ‘Golf Bank’ program that offers accessibility to 25 courses at 19 of the areas clubs.

“We try to tailor the golf package to the individuals’ plans for type of courses that want to play and the price they want to pay,” said Steve Nicodemus who has been planning golf vacations for visitors to the Scottsdale area for 12 years at Resort Suites. “We are on-site everyday to help our guests, which is unlike most tour operators and packages that operate as third parties,” he added.

Resort Suites was recently sold and has become part of Summit Hotels & Resorts, a growing collection of internationally acclaimed locations with 120 hotels in 37 countries. “Business remains just as it was with a wonderful staff of skilled, seasoned veterans in the golf planning business,” said Jaclyn Revis, Marketing Coordinator for Resort Suites.

The unique part of Resort Suites is the wide variety of 1-, 2-, and 4-bedroom condominium style suites available for guests as well as a full range of resort activities.

Scottsdale is world renowned for its arts and cultural events. There are more than 125 galleries and museums, and it has a thriving Downtown Arts and Shopping district. The Phoenix/Scottsdale area is called the Valley of the Sun, appropriately named because the sun shines about 330 days a year. I’m not sure I’d want to venture to the area in the middle of summer, but for golf, entertainment and touring, there are not many better places during the late fall, winter, and early summer months.

Southwest Airlines has many direct flights from Providence to Phoenix daily. We left Providence at 5 p.m. and were sitting in the lounge at Resort Suites at 9 p.m. Mountain Time. Not bad! Resort Suites can be reached at 888-997-5791, or online at www.resortsuites.com. You can contact the Scottsdale Convention and Visitors Bureau at 800-782-1117 or online at www.scottsdalecvb.com. Sure beats looking at that white stuff in New England in the winter.