One of the best golf experiences in Arizona is also located in the heart of one of the fastest growing and most dynamic entertainment destinations in the Southwest. The Talking Stick Entertainment District located at Talking Stick Way (formerly Indian Bend Road) and the 101 in Scottsdale is the primary economic center of the Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community and Arizona’s favorite place to play! Driving by the area, you can’t help but notice Talking Stick Resort, home to the valley’s hottest casino and some of the best entertainment including the wildly popular Release Pool Parties. 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 are family friendly favorites like Odysea Aquarium, Butterfly Wonderland and Pangea Land of the Dinosaurs. You can almost hear the cheers from fans at the Spring Training games at Salt River Fields, the most popular and highest attended Spring Training facility in the Country; home to the Arizona Diamondbacks and Colorado Rockies. Or, maybe that’s excitement yelling you hear coming from the new indoor skydiving facility iFly where people are flying but don’t have to jump from an airplane!

At the heart of all of these fun and exciting facilities is the locals’ favorite Talking Stick Golf Club. Nestled alongside the resort and unencumbered by any homes or development, and showcasing spectacular mountain views and the tribe’s 19,000 acre preserve, 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 Masters Champion 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.”

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, and PGA National in West Palm Beach, Florida. With an approach to appeal to the local resident, Talking Stick Golf Club offers their unique Inclusive Golf Card, providing a discounted rate for the cardholder and one guest, also, from October through May, breakfast and lunch for each player is included 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 is relatively neglected other than in the summer months, and we have developed programs that make it affordable for residents to enjoy our great Club year round. This past season, the number of cardholders increased over 20% from the year before, proving that the program is something that both residents and winter-residents find valuable” said Talking Stick PGA General Manager, Steve Leonard. 

The Wildhorse Grille restaurant is open daily to the public and serves delicious traditional Club fare including their infamous Torta Sandwich and golfer’s favorite nachos. Other items on the menu include dishes inspired with ingredients used by the Maricopa “Xalychidom  Piipaash” (People who live towards the water) and Pima “Akimel O’Odham” (River People) 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 has become a hotbed of golf instruction in the Valley. The First Tee of Phoenix has a 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. 

The Player Development Program is a monthly practice and play program where at the current rate of only $39 per month, golfers get daily practice privileges and can play in the afternoon for only $15. This “grow the game” program is designed to provide an affordable vehicle for golfers to learn how to plan and to then 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.