Gainey Ranch Golf Club (Lakes/Dunes)

Overview: Lakes/Dunes is the more measured of Gainey Ranch's principal two-nine combinations, pairing a water-influenced opening nine with a desert nine that places a premium on accuracy. Lakes supplies generous green scenery, waterways and a waterfall at its closing hole. Dunes is a quieter, more austere test, with native desert around the fairways and a need for precise tee shots. The result is a par-72 round whose character comes from playing two contrasting landscapes at the same club.

History: Gainey Ranch's golf facility is built around Lakes, Dunes and Arroyo, three nines that can be combined into different 18-hole routings. The official club credits Michael Poellot and Bradford L. Benz with the design. Their brief was not simply to repeat one visual style, but to give each nine its own feel while keeping the overall program connected to the Sonoran setting. The available course history does not establish a reliable opening year for this exact Lakes/Dunes combination.

Did You Know? Lakes and Dunes are deliberately opposite in tone. The club highlights Lakes for its lush greenery, waterways and waterfall at the ninth, while Dunes is described as a test of accuracy and touch among indigenous desert. On a Lakes/Dunes round, that change in texture arrives at the turn and makes club selection, trajectory and distance control feel different from one nine to the next.