The Boulders (North)

Jay Morrish and Tom Weiskopf have made their mark on the Arizona golf community, whether it’s the perennially-ranked Forest Highlands or their series of resort courses throughout the Scottsdale area. Morrish was more than capable of working sans Weiskopf, however, as evidenced by the Boulders courses in Carefree, AZ.

The North course at The Boulders, a semiprivate club, offers numerous opportunities to consider its namesake. On the ninth tee, players can look behind them and marvel at the massive dome of rock embedded in the desert landscape. They will have just completed a more hands-on approach to geology on the previous hole, however. The short par four at No. 8 features several hazards to discourage bombers, including a long turf trench as well as a pile of boulders set in the center of the fairway to deflect shots that can’t make it over on the fly.

More curious is the par three at No. 17, where a front-right bunker features a large stone right in its center. We highly advise that if you miss the green short, miss it long-short and not short-short, unless you want a boulder blocking your sand wedge.