John Wayne, Walt Disney, Crosby and Hope and handfuls of presidents have all played hel'e. The S A has con ducted eight major tournaments al The Broadmoor, including the first majors for Jack icklaus (1959 Amateur) and Annika Sorenstam ( 1995 U.S. Women's Open). Tile Valley of the Sun is ripe with classic old resorts, some of which, like the phoenix, had to arise from proverbialif not literal-ashes. Both the Arizona Biltmore in Phoenix proper and The Wigwam in Litchfield Park opened their door to the public in 1929. The Biltmore is characterized by its Frank Lloyd Wright-inspired design motifs throughout the resort (Wright's winter home and studio, Taliesin West, is in Scottsdale). The two golf courses are characterized by parkland style, not desert: a timeless and leisurely 1928 Billy Bell de-s ign (the Adobe) and a 1979 Bill John on track {the Link ) !hat ome say is a toughel' go. Both offer splendid views Mu,phr o·�Jel, '
'
..
TRAVEL
of the nearby mountains and have been well-trodden by variou U. . pre idcnts. In 1918, The Goodyear Tire & Rubber built its Organizational House in Litchfield Park fore ecutives vi iting to check on the company's cotton fields (cotton then being woven into tires). By 1929, the bl1ilding had been opened to the public as The Wigwam, all guests arriving to the resort by stagecoach. Upon check-in they were given a room key-and a horse. Arizona was still the wide open west in those days. Now a 440-acre, full-service resort, The Wigwam stiU t as its old adobe-style casita look on the outside, with 331 thor• oughly modernized rooms and suites on the inside. There are three 18-hole parkland style courses, two by Robert Trent Jones Sr. (the Gold and the Patriot) and one by Red Lawrence (once cannily called the Red but now known as The Heritage).
Named Mountain Shadows for the shade that crept over the resort each afternoon, it quickly attracted the Rat Pack and other celebrity clientele.
A modern resort opened in Arizona's Paradise Valley in 1959, with a hort par-56 course de ig,ned by Arthur Jack nyder debuting a year later. amed Mountain Shadows for the shade that crept over the resort each afternoon, it quickly attracted the Rat Pack and other celebrity dientele, was featured in a short-lived detective serie-S called "The Brothers Brannagan" and one episode of "The Monkees." The resort plowed through a few own ers before it finally threw in the towel in 2004. But We-Stroc Hospitality began new construction in 2015, the course was redesigned (to a par-54) by Snyder disciple Forre t Richardson, and a brand spanking new Mountain Shadows Mu,phr o·�Jel, '
'
..
opened last year, with a retro design nodding toward it fiftie past. Feel the need for a regulation round? Mountain Shadows will pour you into their esla Model X courtesy car for a trip over to the Camelback Inn, said to have been Scottsdale's first resort, open ing with 80 seasonal rooms in 1936. Thirty-one years later it became tbe first Marriott property-the full name is the JW Marriott Scottsdale melback Inn Re ort & Spa, but the motto over the front entrance prevails: "Where Time Stands Still." Early visitors included Ike, Gable, Bette Davis, Jimmy Ste,vart and, natu rally, a flock of golfers queuing up on the two courses. Arthur Jack Snyder and Red Lawrence were the earl}• architect of record, but the old Padre Course was redone by Arthur Hills in 1999, and the Indian Bend Course replaced altogether