The three separate nine-hole layouts (called Saguaro, Tortolita and Wild Burro) play at elevations ranging from 2,300 to 3,200 feet and offer distinct character, blending naturally among noble saguaros and the surrounding Tortolita Mountain Range. Nicklaus’s mixture of long and short holes – particularly the par 4s – makes the course an intriguing experience.
“This is a combination of tournament, resort and residential golf,” Nicklaus said. “People are going to be able to come here and have a nice golf course, an enjoyable playing experience. I’m very pleased with it.”
The “Golden Bear” said he built the layout specifically for match play, and the track – because of its risk-reward opportunities (especially in the first half of the Tortolita course that served as the back nine for the Match Play) – produced many interesting matches.
But the same things that made for a good match-play course also heighten the experience for those looking the post a real score and for the traveling golfer seeking a memorable desert-golf experience.
The Golf Club at Dove Mountain has the wide driving corridors that Nicklaus has worked into most of his recent designs. There are plenty of carries over desert washes, and the track’s bunkering varies from classic, pot-style obstacles to expansive areas that stretch close to 80 yards along the edges of the fairways.
The courses feature Bentgrass greens, while the tees, fairways and rough Bermuda (with perennial rye overseeding) – ideal for the desert climate.
The course also puts a premium on the approach shot as the green surrounds and the putting surfaces themselves are remarkable and demanding. The large greens baffle golfers with their significant undulation, even after some of the course’s original sloped have been flattened and made easier.
Each of the nine-hole sides at The Golf Club at Dove Mountain play to a par of 36, and the Saguaro-Tortolita pairing used during the Match Play Championship is carded at a whopping 7,849 yards from its back set of five tee boxes. That configuration carries a rating of 77.1 and a slope of 147; even the next-lengthiest tees are punitive at 73.9 and 145.
There are scads of great holes at The Golf Club Dove Mountain.
The Saguaro nine is set against the backdrop of a majestic eponymous cactus forest to the west. Its opening hole, a 460-yard par-4 played over a wash on the approach, is indicative of many of the things you’ll encounter during a round. The hole has a little bit of everything – a slightly elevated tee, a rolling fairway lined on the right by desert, and a left-hand border with a deep and hungry bunker. The green is slightly raised as well, and pitching to the quick and sloped putting surface can be hazardous.
Hitting the green on Saguaro’s 185-yard par-3 sixth is paramount as you can see little of the putting surface – which slants away from you – from the tees. And while the pros will consider using a 3-wood off the tee on the 476-yard par-4 ninth at Saguaro to stay short of the wash that dissects the hole, most players can – and need – to swing away. The approach is more the 200 yards and uphill to a green that slopes from right to left.
The Tortolita nine is the longest course at Ritz-Carlton Golf Club, Dove Mountain at 3,955 yards and will get the bulk of the television coverage because it’s used as the inward nine for the Match Play Championship. The side winds along the base of the Tortolita Mountains and hole Nos. 5-8 (14-17 if you’re watching the tournament at home) wander through a secluded canyon.
The 219-yard, par-3 third marks the highest elevation of the course, and a grassy hillside stadium setting surrounds the ninth green. Perhaps the best hole of the 27 at Ritz-Carlton Golf Club, Dove Mountain is the sixth at Tortolita, a 343-yard par-4 split in two by a wash. Players can take it over the wash or lay up short and face a shot of more than 150 yards to an elevated, severely sloping green.
The ninth at Tortolita (the finishing hole for the tournament) is also top-drawer. This 480-yard, dogleg-right par-4 provides an excellent risk-reward opportunity off the tee. Treacherous bunkers loom right of the fairway. Carry the bunkers and you’re in perfect shape. But if you land in one you’ll be some 150 to 180 yards away, with the difficult, two-tiered green on the far side of a wash.
The third nine, Wild Burro, is played mostly by resort members, many of which consider it the most entertaining of the three sides. Nicklaus concurs, calling it his favorite nine here. Wild Burro’s putting surfaces weren’t part of the green-flattening renovation, so they contain the same severe undulations as originally designed.
Incredible vistas of the Tortolita Mountains highlight several points on Wild Burro, which also has more pronounced elevation changes than the other 18 holes. Players will love the challenge of the downhill, 444-yard par-4 third, which moves left to right off the tee and through a tunnel of trees and over a large wash on the approach.
The fifth green includes a panoramic view of the resort facility, and the sixth – a 586-yard par-5 – demands precision on the approach as trouble abounds on three sides if you miss the heightened putting surface.
The Golf Club at Dove Mountain also features a 50,000-square-foot clubhouse with all of the services expected from a luxury private club, including tennis courts, fitness center, steward-serviced private locker rooms and a double-ended practice facility. The clubhouse includes indoor and outdoor dining venues with great views, including Cayton’s, serving American comfort cuisine with a Southwestern flair.
Staying and playing at the 850-acre Ritz-Carlton, Dove Mountain Resort is an unparalleled experience. The resort is an indulgent retreat that boasts a 17,000-square-foot spa, fine cuisine, and personalized service. Included are a 250-room hotel and adjacent cluster of secluded, multi-bedroom casitas-ideally suited for golfing families and friends.
Activities range from nature walks to mounting up for an authentic, Old West cattle drive, as guests at Dove Mountain can enjoy 20 miles of hiking trails along with marked mountain biking routes and guided jeep tours. Three swimming pools and a 235-foot lazy river flow throughout the water complex.
