There is a world of activity going on at the Talking Stick Cultural and Entertainment Destination located at Indian Bend Road and the 101 in Scottsdale. Driving by the primary economic center of the Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community, you can’t help but notice Talking Stick Resort, home to the Valley’s hottest casino and some of the best entertainment in the southwest. Within a long par five is Topgolf, the new non-traditional approach to golf that is a hybrid of a driving range, bowling and a great night club/restaurant. To the north, construction of the new Odysea Aquarium, located by the family-favorite Butterfly Wonderland, is well underway and scheduled for opening in summer 2016. And soon, the area will be filled with baseball fans attending Spring Training games at Salt River Fields, home to the Arizona Diamondbacks and Colorado Rockies. 

The area is definitely alive with year round activity and at the heart of it all is Talking Stick Golf Club. Nestled alongside the resort and desert, and showcasing spectacular mountain views, Talking Stick Golf Club is one of the state’s best daily-fee facilities with two Championship Courses designed by the renowned design team of Bill Coore and Ben Crenshaw. According to the duo, they created these unique courses with a different approach to the design of each course. 

“When commissioned to design Talking Stick Golf Club, our charge was to create two golf courses to accommodate public play yet each decidedly different, with respect to playing characteristics. Talking Stick Golf Club’s North Course, with its broad, angular holes, rewards thoughtful play through the rise of its many options according to one’s level of skill. Its low profile, slightly crowned greens and close-cropped approaches encourage running as well as aerial assaults. The South Course with its tree lined fairways and raised greens defended at the sides offers a more straightforward style of play. It presents its challenge and strategy in an open and clear-cut fashion. Whichever course one chooses or prefers, it was our desire to portray golf in a traditional sense, which quietly merges with its tranquil desert surroundings.”–Bill Coore and Ben Crenshaw

The golf courses are managed by Century Golf Partners/Arnold Palmer Golf Management (APMG), a Dallas-based company who also manages notable courses such as the Disney Courses in Orlando, Florida, PGA National in West Palm Beach, Florida, and Reflection Bay, Las Vegas, Nevada. With an approach to appeal to the local resident, APMG has introduced their unique Inclusive Golf Card offering to the Valley. Only $79 until 1/1/16, this card provides a discounted rate for the cardholder and one guest, plus breakfast and lunch on the same day of play. “We really want to become the Club where locals play and practice on a regular basis. We believe the local market has been relatively neglected other than in the summer months, and have developed programs that make it affordable for  residents to enjoy our great Club year ‘round,” said PGA General Manager Steve Leonard. 

The Wildhorse Grille restaurant is open daily to the public and serves delicious traditional Club fare inspired with ingredients used by the Maricopa “Xalychidom  Piipaash” (River People) and Pima “Akimel O’Odham” (People who live toward the water) tribes. In fact, one of the current initiatives for the Club and the Salt River Golf Enterprise Board is to create a special and unique experience for guests of the Club by sharing the rich culture of the Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community through art and historical information which can be found throughout the property.

The Club is quickly becoming the epicenter of golf instruction in the Valley. The First Tee of Phoenix installed a new Chapter at the Club – the first Chapter on Tribal Land in Arizona and only the second in the entire United States. The Club is also home to the top two female instructors in the United States with co-founders Pia Nilsson and Lynn Marriott of VISION54. These world-class coaches have worked with countless tour winners, college golf teams and golfers of all levels, helping them to perform best where it counts – on the course. Nilsson and Marriott are also ranked in Golf Digest’s Top 50 Golf Instructors List. 

Furthering the golf improvement theme, the recently introduced Player Development Program is a monthly practice and pay program where at the current rate of only $39 per month golfers get unlimited practice privileges and special discounted afternoon green fees to take to the course what they’ve been working at on the range. 

Located just minutes from the heart of Scottsdale, Talking Stick Golf Club has something for everyone. For more information, visit www.talkingstickgolfclub.com or call 480.860.2221.