Los Caballeros Golf Club Keeps its Dude-Ranch Roots Alive in Wickenburg
By David R. Holland
Photos courtesy of Los Caballeros Golf Club
WICKENBURG, AZ – So when Hopalong Cassidy, Clark Gable and former President Richard Nixon visited Rancho de los Caballeros -- a famous dude ranch dating back to 1948 -- did they tee it up at Los Caballeros Golf Club?
He spins tales of when he walked the fairways with former Vice President Dan Quayle (his parents owned a house here) and watched Secret Service guys scramble when a local pilot buzzed the golf course.
Nope, but one might be surprised that dude ranches started thinking about golf as far back as the 1950s. Some have access to golf courses, but a list of the best has to include Los Caballeros Golf Club, the Alisal Guest Ranch & Resort in Solvang, California, and the Flying L Ranch Golf Club in Bandera, Texas.
When the afternoon dash of the 80 guest ranch horses pass the 18th hole heading to the night pasture, Batchelder says with a grin: “You can’t see that at any other golf course.”
Van Batchelder, today’s Director of Golf and General Manager, perfectly embodies the spirit of a cowboy. He plays golf with cowboy hat and work boots, long-sleeved shirt and he won the 1994 Arizona Open. He’s the real deal and a perfect leader of this golf club. “I work with colts and cattle horses, so I’m dressed to go from the golf course to the corral,” he says. The cowboy hat also keeps his swing “on plane”. That makes sense, maybe more should try it. 18 Golf Vacations • February 2022
Golf on a Dude Ranch Los Caballeros Golf Club was constructed in 1979 by Greg Nash and Jeff Hardin (Red Lawrence trainees), taking rugged Arizona land that features views of Vulture Peak, the Bradshaw Mountains, saguaros, chollo and palm trees. Batchelder actually arrived at Los Cab back in 1988 taking his first head pro job after working at three golf courses in Denver. He went on to head up two award-winning Lake Tahoe area golf courses (Whitehawk Ranch and Grizzly Ranch) for 25 years before retiring in 2020. “A new partnership bought the ranch and golf club and asked me to come on and I told them I’d help them out a little while www.golfvacationsmag.com
