Pinetop Lakes Golf & Country Club, Pinetop, AZ

Don't lower your expectations because the Pinetop Lakes Golf Course is an executive course. This beautiful and challenging course located near Arizona's White Mountains might be one of the most memorable you will ever play.

The par-63 course offers three tees with the back tees playing 4,558 yards. Unlike most executive courses, Pinetop Lakes features two par-5 holes. The par-5s are on the ninth and 18th holes, a good way to wrap up each side.

The 512-yard ninth hole is the longest on the course. Again, it's not common that an executive course will have such a long hole, but it provides an excellent chance to pull out the driver on the tee. The fairway is wide open on this hole, but you will have to be accurate because there are out-of-bounds hazards on both the left and right.

The 18th hole is 473 yards long and also provides a good chance to hit driver off the tee. No other hole on the course is over 360 yards long.

Probably the toughest hole on the course is the par-4, 354-yard thirteenth hole. A sharp dogleg right requires you to play your tee shot on the left side of the fairway to have a shot at the green. Scoring well on this hole is all about the tee shot. Use your driver and you could end up out of bounds. To increase the challenge of the hole even more, a large pine tree is situated in the middle of the fairway, just after the dogleg.

The course is very well maintained and the views are fabulous. Many of the holes look out onto the White Mountains and large pines are everywhere (no surprise, given the name). There are a few holes where water comes into play, but most of the challenges here involve managing your game around the many trees.

Visit the course in the summer and the cool mountain air is a perfect escape from the heat an hour drive's away. You might also notice that your ball travels a little further in the high elevation's thin air.

The cost to play Pinetop Lakes Golf Course is more than most executive courses – around $65 on weekend mornings with a cart – but most would agree that it's a fair price for the unique course layout and overall experience.