WHIRLWIND GOLF CLUB 480-940-1500
Cattail Review 6/21/04
General information
Whirlwind Golf Club at Wild Horse Pass in Chandler features two beautiful championship courses, both
designed by Gary Panks. This property is managed and operated by Troon Golf - the leader in upscale course
management, with an obvious commitment to superior service, amenities and playing surfaces. Both courses at
Whirlwind - Cattail and Devils Claw, are upscale desert layouts that are wonderfully conditioned from tee to
green. The facilities at the golf club, as well as at the relatively new Sheraton Wildhorse Pass Resort & Spa, are
heavily influenced in architecture and design by the Gila Indian Community, which also operates three casinos in the general area. For more information on the WildHorse Pass Resort & Spa - click here.
The wonderfully appointed clubhouse features locker rooms/changing areas with showers for men and women
The Sivlik Grill includes a restaurant and lounge that serves a nice variety of breakfast and lunch items, with an
outdoor patio that affords spectacular views of the courses. A putting green is situated directly in front of the
clubhouse, and another is located at the practice center, which provides a complimentary grass range plus a
short game area with sand bunker. The clubhouse also features a spacious pro shop that is stocked with tasteful attire and golf accessories.
On course golfers will find that the layouts are well marked, with yardage blocks in the fairways at 100, 150 and
200 yards, plus 250 on par fives. Sprinkler heads are measured to the center of the green, and especially nice is
the presence of yardage indicators near the cart paths every 20 yards or so from the landing area on par fours
and fives - to near the greens. Each tee box has yardage blocks, and pin placement sheets on the carts provide
info on the days hole locations. Finally, ice chests are mounted to each cart, and hole diagram booklets are complimentary with each paid green fee.
Cattail Golf Course
The Cattail provides 5 sets of tee areas, with the tips measuring 7218 yards with a slope of 132. Alternate sets
play to 6725/128 slope, 6300/123 slope, 5895/131 slope for women and 5383/123 slope for women. The mid or
silver tees are recommended for the mid-handicapper and average golfer, and are challenging with 3 par fours
in excess of 400 yards. This course plays over and around a mild, landscaped desert terrain, with a couple of holes featuring natural wetland areas that are unique to this area.
You will get a good example of the sculpted tees and fairways that are commonplace on the Cattail on the
opening hole, which invites a tee shot placed to the left center. With no greenside bunkers, it is possible to get
off to a great start here. The second hole presents a wide fairway that bends to the left and plays to a long,
narrow outing surface. Avoid the greenside bunkers and this par five is score-able. The third is a pretty par three
over water (4th photo in the review) with plenty of room in front of and to the right of the green, and is followed by
the course's number one handicap. The generous fairway on this long par four plays slightly uphill to a raised
green that is protected on the right side by two deep bunkers. If you have the distance, a tee shot over the water
hazard towards the bunker deep of the fairway will leave a wedge approach on the short par fourth 5th. Another
option is to lay up to the 100 yard area in the right center. From here there is room on the second shot over the
bunker to the right side of the green complex, which effectively takes the greenside water hazard along the left
out of play. The sixth is a par three with a desert carry - anything left short will find a tricky up and down. The
fairway on number seven is ample, with the left center providing the most advantageous positioning for the uphill
approach to a well bunkered putting complex. There is a desert area that crosses the fairway between the 250
and 200 yard markers. The wide fairway on eight features bunkers short right and long left off the tee, and ridges
on the putting surface make pin placement info important here. The closing hole on the front plays slightly uphill
and bends to the left, with a shot aimed directly over the edge of the tree along the left side near the cart path the
recommended play off the tee. Anything hit to the right has a good chance of continuing through the fairway into the desert.
There is plenty of room short on the par 3 tenth, but a water hazard awaits shots hit long or to the right. Eleven
plays long, and invites a tee shot hit over the tree line along the cart path on the left, as the left to right sloped
fairway guides balls towards the desert. The par five 12th turns to the right with the area left of the fairway traps
on that side providing an advantageous landing zone. The water hazard immediately right of the green is
buffered by a large sand bunker. Thirteen also doglegs to the right. A tee shot landing near the 150 stake will set
up a simple approach. The water hazard along the left is reachable off the tee, as it comes onto play on that side
from 120 yards in. The fairway is extremely narrow to the right of center, setting up the likelihood that the
approach will have to angle across the corner of the pond. There are a number of sand traps on that side, with a
small pot bunker sitting strategically in the middle of the landing area. The par three fifteenth plays from an
elevated tee over a deep desert ravine, with substantial bunkering greenside. Short is not an option here. A tee
shot down the center will provide a good angle to the green on the dogleg right par four 16th. The approach is a
tight one, with bunkers short and a water hazard to the right. To clear the right fairway bunker off the tee on 17 will
require a shot that carries 300 yards from the tips. Played cautiously as a three shot par five, a good score can
be the result here. The closing hole is a long par four that features a very undulating fairway leading uphill on the
approach. The tee shot needs to avoid the large bunker complex on the left to have a reasonable chance of finishing the round with a par.
The Cattail is a great golf course, with wonderfully conditioned fairways, tees and greens. Each hole has a name
- posted on the scorecard and also at the tee boxes, represented in English and also in the Native American
translation of the Gila River Indian tribe. The community's mantra is challenge and perseverance, tempered by
hospitality, tradition and fellowship - affording an opportunity to flourish in the face of adversity. Nice thoughts to have going through your head during a wonderful day on the course.
For more information and a link to this course's website - click here.
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