Blackstone Country Club

As one rounds the corner at Blackstone Country Club, they may be reminded of numerous bold golf holes from around the world...but what else would one expect of a Jim Engh design in the Arizona desert, aside from boldness?

The No. 9 hole is a par five that will require multiple forced carries to reach a green that sits in a natural “amphitheater,” which is to say three vertical stone walls on its sides (calling to mind Engh’s own Black Rock in Idaho...the name similarity being strictly coincidental).

Making the turn, golfers may compare the pot-marked fairway to No. 18 at Trump International in Scotland, which features similar pot bunkers that turn the fairway into a hopscotch of sorts. Finally, at No. 11, you may sense familiarity with any number of Pete Dye’s “Double Dogleg” par fives; here, a lake guards the right side off the tee, but it may not be worth challenging. At 611 yards, very few will consider going for this green in two.

Desert golf invites inventiveness and Jim Engh has always looked for a place to let his flourish. His first design in Arizona serves its purpose.