Camelback Golf Club (Ambiente)

Overview: Camelback’s Ambiente Course is a public Jason Straka and Fry/Straka design at the JW Marriott Camelback Inn in Scottsdale. The course blends desert native areas with rolling fairways, elevation changes, and dramatic drops, creating a contemporary Sonoran setting rather than a flat resort layout.

History: Ambiente opened in November 2013 after a major renovation of the older Indian Bend course. The project reshaped the wash, improved drainage, reduced maintained turf, and replanted native habitat, turning a flood-prone flat course into the current rolling layout.

Did You Know? The renovation reduced maintained turf from roughly 210 acres to about 90 acres. The removed material was reused to create elevation, while native trees, shrubs, grasses, and wildflowers were replanted to restore a more natural desert setting.