We have never been huge desert golf people. Not because it is not good. It is always fun and always a great time, and in the winter there is nothing better. But with so many incredible places to play, mountain golf and ocean golf have always jumped to the top of our list first. Desert golf has just never made us feel like we need to rush back. Tucson changed that.
THE COURSES
Four Rounds That Kept Getting Better
The Club at Starr Pass (CYNTP Media)
The Club at Starr Pass is the one that does it. Twenty seven holes of Arnold Palmer signature design carved into the Tucson Mountains and the minute you step onto the Roadrunner course you already know you are somewhere special. Every hole is surrounded by saguaro cactus as far as you can see. We played at golden hour and it was genuinely one of the most beautiful rounds we have ever had. The place just looks so pure. We want to play all 27 holes here and we will be going back.
Make sure Roadrunner is part of your 18. Do not skip it.
Arizona National was one we had high expectations for going in and it lived up to every one of them. Robert Trent Jones Jr. design with some of the most unique tee shots we have played anywhere. The one that sticks with you is a blind shot straight over a wall of cactus into the fairway below. You genuinely cannot find that anywhere else.
The Saddlebrooke courses were our biggest surprise of the whole trip and you need to play both because they are completely different experiences. MountainView gave us the mountain views we love and had some of the coolest par 3s we have played anywhere. The Preserve had a completely different vibe entirely, looking out over rolling hills of exposed rock. We actually played best ball on The Preserve with just two of us and set a goal of shooting under 72. We beat it by one stroke. Vibes were high.
THE NUMBERS
4 Nights & 4 Rounds of Golf
Based on two sharing a room. Here is exactly what you get for $697:
Quoted Dates (can be adjusted): 9/7/26 - 9/11/26
The Club at Starr Pass: 1 round
Saddlebrooke MountainView: 1 round
Saddlebrooke Preserve: 1 round
Arizona National: 1 round
Kennedy Hotel Tucson: 4 nights
WHERE TO STAY
Clean & Easy
The Kennedy Hotel is a boutique property in the heart of Tucson with a pool on site and a great energy to it. The street it sits on has restaurants and things going on in every direction so after a long day on the course you are never far from a good time.
THE INSIDER
You Need to Eat Here!
Guadalajara’s Fresh Tableside Guacamole
This is the one thing we want every person who goes to Tucson to know about. You need to eat at Guadalajara Original Grill. They make guacamole fresh tableside right in front of you and it is genuinely the best guacamole we have ever had anywhere. Then they do the same with salsa and let you pick your spice level. This is the kind of place you only find when someone tells you about it. Now you know.
NEXT WEEK
Your Thursday Edition of The Turn
SentryWorld in Stevens Point, Wisconsin opens for the season next month and we cannot wait to tell you about it. You get hot food and drinks included (plus alcohol) for all 18 holes, one of the prettiest holes in golf, and an experience that is unlike anything else in the country.
See you next Thursday.
Beau
