June 2006 I had a bicycle accident and was in the hospital for 2 months. The road to recovery was slow and I doubted I would ever play golf again. But slowly I recovered.
From the golf point of view it was-- putting green, then chipping and putting then the driving range and finally after a few months I felt it was worth a try to go play a round of golf. But I didn’t feel I had the stamina to play 18 holes.
A friend turned me on to Riverview Golf Club in Mesa, about 10 miles from our Fountain Hills home, and I went and tried it. 9 holes, 3200 yards of gently rolling terrain, par 36 designed by Gary Panks, one of the leading golf course architects of AZ.
This may be one of the best 9 hole courses I have ever played and one of the few golf courses in the Phoenix area that allows walking. As a guy who has played the Top 100 golf courses in the U.S. I think I qualify as someone who knows a good golf course when he sees it. It was $17 to walk and a couple more dollars for a pull cart. One of the best bargains in the valley.
I have returned there many times-- bringing friends to show off this “gem of the valley” where I would go on those days I wanted to play golf but didn’t have a whole day to play 18 holes.
The Chicago Cubs, who train in Mesa, needed a new training facility. The city of Mesa did not want to loose them to another community, so they agreed to build the Cubs a new facility. This park and this golf course will be the new space for the Cubs.
This is a sad day for golf in Phoenix..Oh how I hate to see the bulldozers tear this place up. It has served Mesa since 1987 and hosted 1.6 million rounds of golf in the past 25 years
I am playing it for the final time, today, Thurs March 15, 2012. The final round will be played this Sunday. This weekend as a tribute to all those it has served, they are rolling back prices to 1987’s opening day $10.50. I would tell you to call for a tee time, but I don’t think there is one to be had.
Today is like a funeral service for this lovely golf course and I will cherish every shot of every hole today.
2 comments:
Slightly embarrassed Cubs fan here. You mean there was nowhere else in or around Mesa that would have sufficed?
It's bad enough pro sports holding cities to ransom over new stadia but now this?!
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