SAN MARCOS GOLF CLUB at San Marcos Crown Plaza Golf
Resort (480-963-3358)
Arizona Golf Course Review 4/19/06
The San Marcos Crown Plaza Golf Resort (formerly Sheraton San Marcos) located in Chandler, opened in 1913 as the first property in Arizona to offer a full compliment of resort amenities - including golf,
tennis, horseback riding, polo and social activities that attracted celebrities from all over the country.
Today this newly refurbished resort offers 295 luxurious guest rooms with 12 suites and 2 presidential suites. Other amenities include fine dining, over 35,000 square feet of meeting/convention space, a
fitness center, tropically landscaped swimming pool with large spa, tennis courts, golf plus an on-property Starbucks. For more info, visit our page for the San Marcos Resort by clicking here.
The golf facilities include an 18-hole championship course, large putting green, grass range and a clubhouse with restaurant/lounge, showers for both men and women, and a pro shop. This is a
traditional layout - and the first all-grass course to be built in Arizona! All fairways are tree lined - some
tightly - and the topography is quite level, though there are some undulations and man made mounds.
The course is marked with yardage indicators at 100, 150 and 200 yards both on the cart paths and on the fairways. Ball and club washers are also mounted on each cart as well as ice chests. Scorecards
provide course diagrams and pin placement information.
Three sets of tees allow golfers a choice to play from distances and slopes measuring 6626 yards/122 slope, 6162 yards/119 slope and 5431 yards with s lope of 122 for women. If you can hit the ball
relatively straight, you can score well on the resort-style course. The layout presents numerous doglegs, and 49 sand bunkers come into play along the landing zones near the fairways or greenside.
The green complexes are raised and often protected by bunkers on either side, and the putting surfaces are of varying shapes and sizes with mild undulations. On our April visit they were in great shape.
Golfers will have to be aware of the canal that crosses the fairways of several holes - or pay the consequence of penalty strokes. This hazard comes into play about 80 yards from the first green, about
200 yards away on nine, about 50 yards from the hole on the eleventh, and about 100 out on 18. The canal also crosses the fairway off the tee on numbers 10 and 12.
Avoid these hazards and good scores can be had. This is a player-friendly layout that can be enjoyed by
all levels of golfers. The resort is quite nice, and the rooms are very comfortable. As with many Arizona
golf resorts, players have the convenience of stepping out their door to play golf. San Marcos is an affordable resort experience, and the course makes for a good opening round on a prolonged trip. For
more info, visit our page for the San Marcos Golf Club, with direct link to their website by clicking here.
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