The Golf Club at Vistoso, Tucson, AZ

This is one of the best tracks in Tucson and a decent value - a hard to find combination in the winter in AZ. A definite play if you are in the area. The layout is quite nice and the service is good as well.

Played this course on Friday, November 12, 2008. We had 2 foursomes and everybody loved this course. It started with a friendly greeting in the parking lot and carried over to the check in at the pro shop. We were informed how to get to the range and met the starter and was very impressed by what we had seen and how we were appreciated. The Starter, Mike, is a man who thoroughly enjoys his job. He gave us balls for the range, water and told us how much time we had to warm up, when called he gave us information about the course and directed us to the proper tees, you can run into 200 - 220 yard carries form the gold tees and these are not the tips.
The course was pristine, so clean, no weeds around the flat green, well marked tee boxes. The course was in great shape and the new greens was growing in nicely. Of the 7 courses we played that week everyone listed this in their top 3. It was as challenging as you wanted to make it, but we could not get over how clean and well manicured it was. We had lunch at their outdoor grill, which overlooks the course. Just a nice way to finish a great day. We have already made plans to play this wonderful course again next year. With a year for the greens to mature this will be a must play for anyone visiting Tucson.

What a fantastic time. I flew out early from Pennsylvania landed at 11:30 am (local time) and was at Vistoso by 1:00 PM. Played with my friend Dave and hooked up with an older gentleman (Jim) a retired club pro who played right at par. Beautiful scenery, beautiful conditions and a very fair challenge. Heading to the colder part of the season for us in the Keystone State. Will be thinking about Vistoso as I put on my woolen cap, winter golf gloves, layer up and play in 30 degree weather.

Gary Dobson

A Great Course in the Desert

The Vistoso Course is located in Oro Valley, just north of Tucson. It is a beautifully maintained course in the middle of the desert. I was greeted upon arrival and had my golf bag put on one of the nearby GPS-enabled golf carts. After checking in, I drove down to the practice area to hit the all natural driving range. If you haven't played bent grass, it is a good idea practice on the putting green.

Even though I lost a few balls, which isn't hard to do given the vastness of the desert terrain, the course itself is a lot of fun to play. Be prepared to carry a lot of desert from the tees, especially on some of the par 5s.

My favorite hole was the dogleg left Par 4 #14, which forces you to lay-up on the first fairway or go for the second fairway, which requires a 200+ yard carry from the silver tees. I decided to lay up with a 6 iron. But that requires you to hit a blind second shot over the trees and onto the green. These sorts of decisions make shot selection a lot more interesting than you would find on an average course.

Overall, I really enjoyed this course and would highly recommend it to anyone visiting the Tucson area.