Playing a round of golf does not have to entail getting up early during the weekend, and staggering home in the late afternoon…a $100 lighter in your wallet and exasperated from waiting on each shot. There are a number of courses in Tucson where you can still have a lot of fun…that take much less time to play and cost about a third of your usual outing.
Also, a number of these courses, either called executive or pitch and putt courses are just right for young or beginning golfers. These are great places to learn the game, both in terms of skills and etiquette. In fact, my dad insisted I play non-regulation courses until he thought I could break a 100 on a regulation course.
We’ve talked about Rolling Hills a few times on this show. Near 29th and Camino Seco…It’s a par 63…half par 3’s and half par 4’s, usually in very good shape. It costs about $20 to walk, about $35 if you want a cart…and takes about 3 ½ hours to play.
Dorado is just northeast of Wilmot and Broadway. It’s also 18. Has 8 par 4s and 10 par 3’s…par 62. It’ll run you anywhere between 15-$25 depending on when you play.
There is a fun 9 hole course at the El Conquistador Hotel that’s open to the public. It’s a little less than 3000 yards and they charge about $39 if you want to play early and it goes down to $20 if you tee off after three.
Tucson is home to some just par-3 courses…or as their commonly called, pitch and putts. Quail Canyon off of Oracle and Rudasill has 18 holes, between 90 and 150 yards long. It’s only about $15 to play. And down in Green Valley, there is a par three course, called Tortuga attached to the Haven…that will cost you about $20.
And then there’s miniature golf like Funtastiks by Tucson Mall and Golf and Stuff on Wilmot. And Tiger Woods has developed a very realistic version called PopStrokes, which has features more like a real course, and fewer clown mouths and windmills. We don’t have one yet, but I’d expect us to be high on the list of towns. Like Top golf…I expect it to grow like crazy.
So, as you can see, there are a lot of ways to have fun without playing a regulation course. For beginners, for folks who don’t want spend all day playing golf, and for golfers on a budget…executive and pitch and putts offer up a great option.
