The Arizona Country Club

Overview: The Arizona Country Club is a private 18-hole parkland course in central Phoenix, where mature vegetation and a long-established club setting replace the exposed feel of many desert layouts. Course records list a par of 72 and 6,735 yards from the back tees, with Ernest Suggs and Willie Wansa associated with the 1946 course. The club’s location, tree cover and historic profile make it an important part of the city’s golf story, although the playing experience is reserved for members and their guests.

History: The club traces its roots to 1909, when the property was known as the Ingleside Golf Resort and featured oiled sand greens with six holes. Ralph Murphy later moved the resort across the Arizona Canal and created an 18-hole course with Bermuda grass. In 1946 the course was reshaped for a new era and The Arizona Country Club was incorporated. It hosted the Phoenix Open from 1955 to 1973, giving the fairways a direct connection to generations of professional golf and players including Arnold Palmer, Jack Nicklaus and Gary Player.

Did You Know? The club began as Phoenix’s first winter resort. Its earliest course used oiled sand greens, a reminder of how different desert golf was before modern turf and irrigation.