Painted Mountain Golf Club
6210 E. McKellips Road
Par: 70; Yardage: 4,651-6,021
Current green fee $35-$39
Tee times: (480) 832-0156
Historically, Painted Mountain Golf Club is Mesa’s oldest public course. It dates back to 1964, when architect Frank Boxberger built the first nine holes of what then was called Camelot Golf Course.
Camelot, which eventually became 27 holes under Milt Coggins in 1975, was purchased in 1993 by the Scottsdale Golf Group. With the change in ownership came the name change to Painted Mountain.
Naturally, time and heavy play -- 70,000 rounds per year -- took its toll on course conditions and the 10,000-square-foot clubhouse. The good news is, Painted Mountain, which is located on McKillips Road east of Recker Road, is back with a fresh new coat.
Shelby Futch, the CEO of Scottsdale Golf Group, said the million-dollar makeover overseen by Tucson architect Ken Kavanaugh was designed to elevate Painted Mountain from a golf course to a golf resort. Additionally, the driving range and nine-hole executive course were eliminated in order to make room for 300 single-story condos at the west end of the property.
“Sure, we’ll now be a golf resort, but we’ll still be the neighborhood course,’’ said Futch, noting that the green fee will remain in the $35 (current price) to $55 range (peak season). “So we’ve kept the local flavor and, hopefully, made a better course, too.’’
Much better, as Painted Mountain is now even more player-friendly, with bigger greens (5,000 to 6,000 square feet), more tee boxes, and a soon-to-be completed face-lift of the clubhouse that brings it into the 21 st Century.
Jerry Wilson, the general manager at Painted Mountain for the past 12 years, said the new look has everyone “very, very excited.’’
“Painted Mountain always has been a very playable, fun golf course,’’ Wilson noted. “It’s friendly, the kind of course where you can show up as a single and still get a game.
“But now, it’s also a course we’re very proud of, because Ken Kavanaugh did an excellent job with the new holes (Nos. 1, 3 and 18) and new tee boxes (Nos. 2,16, 17). . . . It’s come together very nicely.’’
No kidding. The golf carts are new, and so are the paths they are driven on. So are the pins and the flags, which reflect -- what else? -- a new logo. Soon, the Grand View Steakhouse will open its doors in the clubhouse, and the Sun Room also has been rejuvenated along with the locker rooms and pro shop.
Kavanaugh, whose work includes nearby Longbow Golf Club and Gold Canyon Golf Resort, downplayed his role in the rebirth.
“My job was pretty simple: Fit all the pieces back together,’’ he said of the course’s new beginning and end, along with three massive greens he created near the clubhouse for the John Jacobs Short Game School. “I guess you could say, we tweaked it a little bit here and there to bring it up to resort standards.’’
In that regard, Kavanaugh built a testy, 600-yard par 5 at No. 1, which doglegs right around a large lake to a big, bowl-shaped green. The march continues through some solid par 3s (many water-guarded) and average-length par-4s before ending at the 18 th, once again a dogleg right to a green where that brings water into play. Along the way, many shots are framed against Painted Mountain, the nearby landmark that eventually became its name.
Even though Painted Mountain is only slightly over 6,000 yards long, it doesn’t play short. The discrepancy in yardage is due to the fact the course has six par-3s, Wilson pointed out.
“Sure, you can post a good score, probably under your handicap,’’ Wilson said. “But that’s just another reason this golf course is so much fun to play, especially with all the improvements we’ve made.’’
It’s as if the “Days of Camelot’’ have returned, even if “The Rock’’ -- as its patrons have always referred to it -- is now modern-day in every way.
|
