Wigwam Golf (Gold)

Unveiled in the late 1920s, Wigwam was the first big resort to open in Arizona. Robert Trent Jones Sr. designed two 18-hole layouts (the Gold and the Blue) in the mid-1960s, before Red Lawrence added another nearby course (appropriately named the Red) a decade later. That was back when the property was called the Goodyear Golf & Country Club.

Today, amenities at this 440-acre resort include 331 nicely appointed guest casitas and suites, four sparkling pools with two exciting waterslides and a spa, along with a floodlit 9-court tennis complex. In addition, there are three remarkable restaurants on site which are sure to satisfy the most discerning pallet.

The Gold course, nicknamed “Arizona’s Monster,” has hosted many tournaments over the years, including numerous qualifiers for the US Open and US Amateur. It’s also home to the the Patriot All-America Invitational, featuring top collegiate golfers from every NCAA division, along with special invitees.

In The American Golf Resort Guide, author Daniel Wexler comments on the Gold course as follows:

“Predictably, so big a layout has several overly large holes (e.g. the 272-yard par three 3rd as well as two par fives in excess of 650 yards) but there are a number of fine shorter challenges as well. Going out, these include the 391-yard 2nd (played to a huge lake-fronted green) and a pair of late par fours; the 465-yard canal-fronted 8th and the 452-yard dogleg right 9th.

Coming home, the 190-yard 11th and 174- yard 16th are watery one-shotters, but the true standouts are the 384-yard 12th (where carrying a left-side bunker shortens things considerably), the 422-yard lake-guarded 17th and the 440-yard 18th, where the canal runs flush along the left edge of the putting surface.”

In late 2015, Tom Lehman completed a course renovation, which largely focused on bunker modernization with some traps relocated and others eliminated altogether. Fairway/target lines across the course were also altered to provide a less linear aesthetic.