THE BOULDERS South Course
Arizona Golf Course Review 4/22/06
General information
The Boulders in Carefree is a full service luxury resort featuring two beautiful Jay Morrish designed championship golf courses, luxurious accommodations, the Golden Door Spa, fine and casual dining,
banquet/meeting facilities, tennis, swimming pools, and all the amenities expected of a world class property. The environment, with huge boulders scattered about the finely landscaped high desert
topography, is visually stunning. The service is exceptional! For more information on the resort, visit our page for the Boulders, with direct link to their website by clicking here.
The golf facilities include a targeted grass range, short game areas with grass bunkers, and multiple putting greens. Practice balls are complimentary...those staying at the resort can take advantage of
using one of the most complete golf resort practice areas in the country. Lessons of various types are
available from a staff of seasoned professionals. The clubhouse features a fully stocked pro shop, locker rooms with showers, plus a restaurant/lounge.
As indicated by the photo images in this review, the views on both of these wonderful courses are hard
to match. Finely manicured rolling fairways play from sculpted tee boxes to wonderfully conditioned bent
grass greens. There is plentiful bunkering and the surrounding mountains, saguaro cacti, indigenous brush and desert wildflowers make for some post card memories. Desert carries are frequent but
reasonable in length, allowing golfers of all skill levels to enjoy their experience here. The courses are
well marked, with yardage blocks posted every 25 yards from 200 (250 on par fives) to 75 yards in -
providing distances to the front, middle and back of the greens. All par threes also have yardage blocks
on the tee boxes. The putting surfaces on both courses are large, mildly undulating and often protected by grass and sand bunkers, swales and mounding. Conditioning from tee to green is impeccable!
The South Course
The South Course is a par 72 layout with 5 sets of tees measuring in distance and slope 6726 yards/140 slope, 6246 yards/134 slope, 5642 yards/119 slope for men and 139 for women, 5119 yards
/125 slope for women and 4684 yards with a slope of 117 for ladies playing from the Red tees. Though bit shorter than the North Course, The South is challenging with over 70 sand bunkers located near the
landing zones on the fairways or greenside.
Water comes into play on four holes - about 90 yards from the green on four, off the tee and on the right
side of the fairway on the short par four 6th, behind the green on ten, and ominously to the right of the
green complex on the par five closing hole. This course is known for the unique boulder complexes that form the backdrop behind some of the green complexes...nothing else like this on any other course in
Arizona. There also are some elevated tee areas and significant drops from tee to green on quite a few
holes. All four par threes demand carries over beautifully landscaped desert areas. As with the North,
this layout is very challenging from the two back tees but player friendly from the front sets, making this a great resort golf experience.
Hole diagram cards are available for each course, with images of the layouts for each hole along with
yardages to hazards and landing zones. First time visitors will find this information helpful. Standard on
each cart are ball and club washers and ice chests, and a staff of attendants waits to courteously attend
to most of your needs. This is an idyllic setting - stunning landscape, challenging layouts, top notch amenities...we cannot recommend a round here more highly! Prices are upscale - but the experience is
like few others in Arizona. If you have the opportunity to stay on property, it gets even better. The spa is incredible - one of the best in the country.
For more info, visit our page for the South Course, with direct link to the Boulders website by clicking here.
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