Talking Stick Golf Club
36 holes of pure golf by Crenshaw & Coore

North Course: Par: 70; Yardage: 5,532-7,133
South Course: Par: 71; Yardage: 5,428-6,833

DIVERSIFICATION

The talented tandem of Ben Crenshaw and Bill Coore created two different looks to Talking Stick, a wide-open 36 holes of golf owned by the Salt River Pima-Maricopa Community. In every way, both courses are an adventure; a good walk unspoiled.

The North Course is a strong par-70 test for scratch golfers with its long par 5s and par 3s, as well as its Scottish-inspired bunkers. The par-3 11th - a 261-yard par 3 - isn't nicknamed "Brassie" for nothing. Mountain backdrops make for soaring shots.

Nice, when there's not a house in sight!

The South is more parkland in style, with -- believe it or not! -- lots of cottonwoods, sycamores, eucalyptuses and acacias. The closing stretch - the par-5 16th, par-3 17th and par-4 18th - all are unique and bring water into play. That final exam brings a lot of different clubs into play.

Todd Massie's tip: "It's like playing golf at the Rose Bowl, in that you're playing on the stadium floor, or the desert, but all around you are the seats, the mountains. A real golf amphitheater. I'm a big fan of the South Course because it has trees and almost feels like a desert course in the Midwest, while the North Course is more links-y, like you'd find in Scotland. The North is tougher, primarily because it's a par 70 with several long holes."