GoGilbert_0806.qxd
7/25/06
go golf!
7:56 PM
Page 48
P L A C E S T O P L AY A R O U N D
user friendly L o n e Tr e e g o l f h a s s o m e t h i n g f o r e v e r y b o d y
y
our golf partner tells you about a course that has water on eight holes and sand traps so deep you’ll need a compass to find your way to the hole.
What you want is a course that offers a fair test, one that rewards good shots, but is open enough so every second ball doesn’t land in the desert … and doesn’t cost a half-week’s paycheck. Don’t think you can have both? Think again.
manager. “There is a lot of room in the fairways. And you have two great finishing holes on each nine.”
It has hosted two Gateway Tour events. And yet, it’s a short course for women and from the white tees.
The ball rolls well during the summer months, so both finishing holes dare long hitters to go for the green—No. 9 measures 551 from the back and No. 18 is 572 yards from the back. But with water guarding the left side, both are classic risk-reward par-5s.
Whether one plays from the tips (6,984 yards) or the blue tees (6,496), there are challenging par-4s that will test even singledigit handicap golfers. That’s especially true at No. 15, which measures 470 yards from the black tees. There are four holes that are longer than 410 yards, even from the blues.
“The great thing about this golf course is that any level (of golfer) can play,” Avant says. “The course can withstand big events, but when you move up to the front tees it’s fantastic for women and kids.”
Lone Tree has five holes with water. Its signature hole is the par-3 No. 12, which has an island green. When the wind is blowing, tee shots can be quite challenging, notably from the back tees (181 yards).
Sounds like Lone Tree Golf Club. The traditional course is moderately long and fairly wide open. It cuts through the Solera community and yet you never get the feel of homes coming into play.
Avant, a Minnesota native, has been at the course since it opened at the beginning of 2001. He partnered with TG Golf Inc. to buy the course in April 2005.
“We want golfers to come out and have a great time,” Avant says. “Our goal is not to beat them up.”
“The golf course is very user-friendly,” says Greg Avant, Lone Tree’s owner/operations
Lone Tree has served as a qualifying course for the former Phoenix (now FBR) Open.
Lone Tree is a semi-private course with about 90 members. It has an active men’s
48
GO GILBERT! Magazine
August 2006
