When Mr. McMulligan stressed about birthday and anniversary gifts in this dismal, golf-hostile Colorado winter, Molly said rather grumpily, “I don’t want any presents. I just want to go to Arizona.”
Mr. M didn’t pause, didn’t argue, didn’t clear his throat. He said, “OK.”
And that’s how we became acquainted with the wonders of the Wigwam, where a century of history merges with contemporary hospitality to make spring visitors feel comfortable, welcome and hopeful. Dine under blue skies at three restaurants, including the region’s special occasion destination, Litchfield’s. Chill at the adult pool or take the kids to their own. Take tennis lessons at the nine-court outdoor complex. And find your golf swing again at three time-tested courses.
You’ll leave Arizona the way even the Colorado Rockies do, thinking yes, this could be your year.
Spring in Arizona has always meant hip, cool, lively Scottsdale – to see the team I covered for years, the Oakland A’s, or its neighbor, the San Francisco Giants. We enjoyed watching the Rockies too because they, like every Cactus League team, enjoyed the delusions of grandeur of spring training.
But Scottsdale-area ballparks, golf courses, hotels and restaurants tend to feel overpopulated and overpriced. Even Colorado golfers who can afford to pay $350 for a round can’t feel good about paying that much for a golf experience that costs no more than a third of that in high season here.
There’s a different vibe on the other side of town, with easy access to three ballparks: Goodyear (Cincinnati Reds, Cleveland Guardians), American Family Fields (Milwaukee Brewers) and Camelback Ranch (Chicago White Sox and the current hot ticket, the Los Angeles Dodgers). It’s a wide open vibe, where you can pay $10 and spread out on the lawn and look up at blue sky and desert mountains.
And that’s how it feels at the Wigwam, the kind of roomy, sprawling property no vertical-loving developer of the 2000s would dream of designing. The first building here opened in 1918 as a gathering place for executives at the Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company, and the resort followed in 1929. Over the years, the Wigwam added more casitas, most of them just one story and spacious, and recent renovations have yielded a variety of 331 modern, elegant but not stuffy rooms and suites that open to walkways, patios and gardens within a manicured landscape of cacti and orange trees.
The property’s proud history shines. It’s best sampled in the area of the Front Desk: Check out the photos and old news clippings on the walls, and see the original adobe fireplace in the sunroom. The unusual lattice designs in the windows and doors throughout? Those replicate Goodyear’s original tire tread patent.
The Blue and Gold golf courses are named in honor of the colors of Goodyear’s logo and the Red for original head pro Red Allen and course architect Red Lawrence. They’re as beautifully conditioned as their Scottsdale cousins at half or better the rate.
Here’s Mr. M to tell you all about them.
Mr. M: Colorado has a long connection to the Wigwam and its historic golf courses. It’s not $350 greens fees; at $80-$135, it’s more affordable and especially with stay-and-play packages that allow the energetic foursomes to play all they want. The Wigwam is old Arizona cowboy and dude ranch history, with almost a century of golf junkets from Denver and environs to beat the winter golfing blues: 17th Street bankers, real estate mavens and just regular folks; talk to a golfer who’s been to Phoenix and he or she’s probably been to the Wigwam. They get a four-star resort experience with all the trimmings, restaurants, tennis facility, updated casitas and even community events and nightly live music. But most are here for the classic, no-frills honest tests of golf offered by the Blue, the Gold and the Red courses.
The traveling golfer might be more familiar with later work by Robert Trent Jones, but when he was hired by the Goodyear people in 1965, RTJ Sr. was an unknown architect. That makes a trip to the Wigwam a must-see just to experience his earlier, and maybe better work. You’re not going to pitch up and down mountains, fly your ball over death-defying chasms of roaring surf, or putt 100 yards up a slick slope that looks like Augusta. In fact, all the shots at the three courses are from flat lies. No goofy, bad tee boxes that point you somewhere other than the desired line. No sidehill, downhill or uphill lies. No tiny sloped fairways that reject your ball even if you hit it perfectly.
The Wigwam is a place to honestly test your swing, because even at going on 60 years old, the Blue and Gold courses are beasts that have stood the test of time. Long as you want them to be, they play for members from 5,199 yards on the par 70 Blue and 6,348 on the par 72 championship Gold. That doesn’t sound long, but for the typical over-50, double-digit handicapper guest, it’s plenty. The Blue stretches to 6,373 from the Jones combo tees and every year at the annual pro-am tournament, pros score the highest to par on the Blue. Then, if you really want a walloping, play the Gold at 7,345 like the many collegiate and top amateurs do at the numerous events, chief of those being the collegiate Patriot All-American.
What makes these courses so challenging? Conditions in the winter are perfect, with a verdant layer of snug rye overseed carpeting every inch of the course, including the rough and the greens. Chipping, brutal on the normal Bermuda, is quite comfortable with cushy lies. Balls roll a good bit before coming to a stop in the wide fairways. That doesn’t sound tough.
Not so fast. Even early RTJ Sr. exhibits his devilry. Holes are gorgeously wide, until that giant tree frames from the right side of the fairway, like it does on the Gold’s fifth hole. Trees and evil cross bunkers intercede on many fairways, presenting the need for that soft butter cut driver you never had but wish you did.
The greens on both courses are nightmares. Small to begin with, they’re actually about a third their size because of the numerous drop-offs, false fronts, sides, backs and sinister positioning of collection ponds. On the Blue, the raised greens require an extra club to get to snarling little brat-faced, upside-down bowls in the middle, daring you to go at them. Hit the hard surfaces and you’re bounding over. But try and run them up and you get caught in a yawning protection bunker. The Gold’s greens seem a little more accepting, but as on the 176-yard (member tees) sixth, we were warned by a course veteran that any shot on the left side of the green would roll into the pond on the left. Only a perfect approach shot is rewarded on those raised greens of the Blue and Gold. It looks easy, but is so tantalizingly hard. It’s probably why so many return to try their luck. So, golf. Make it harder than it looks. The genius of RTJ Sr. shows through in his early work.
Once you’re on the tiny surfaces where the pin rests, the golfer is rewarded with a smooth-rolling, true putt with little break. So, you can make a lot of one-putts. Unfortunately, it’s usually for bogey.
Favorite hole on the Gold: the short, dogleg par-4 12th, with beautiful huge trees guarding the dogleg left side, large sand protecting the right side of the green and a false front ready to trap short shots. A rewarding par or a double bogey awaits. It’s the kind of classic golf hole you admire but also respect.
When former pro Red Allen teamed up with Robert “Red” Lawrence to create the Red course in 1972 for the growing membership, they must have kept the idea of mercy in their minds. Gone are the raised greens, the pushed up bunkers, the fairway bunkers and trees. The Red course is generous off the tee, and more generous to large, gently sloped greens. It’s a place where you can collect your thoughts among the quiet, whispering trees and gentle ponds. Where you can find your swing on good, even footing. Your bashed ego even shows a glimmer of light, somewhere from down there in your crushed soul after playing the Blue and Gold courses.
“Why didn’t I play here the whole week?” many golfers were heard saying in the pro shop. Yes, what’s wrong with a more fun round? You work hard for your money. Golf is supposed to be enjoyable. And, with a wink, the Red course’s 18th double-dog leg left through impossibly huge, menacing trees on both sides, a canal running the length of the hole and treacherous ponds invites you to play it. And here, probably the best hole of the bunch, reminds you of what the Wigwam is all about.
No flight reaches spring faster from DIA than the one to Phoenix Sky Harbor Airport: an hour and 10 minutes. Wigwam guests don’t need a car and could ride-share to ballgames; just set up airport transportation and you don’t have to schlep your clubs on the train to the PHX’s new rental car center. … The Wigwam’s 331 rooms and suites are scattered over 440 acres. That means some are situated near the golf course or overlooking a swimming pool or near the front lawn, and a few are on the second floor, so be specific about your preferences when you make your reservation. … Golf packages may include unlimited golf per guest, depending on the season, and breakfast. Sample price: $660 a night for two. Individual rooms start at around $360 without golf. … Courses are walkable but the pushcarts are old-school rickshaws. … Step outside the Village Gate on the west side of the property and you’re in the heart of Litchfield Park, where there are a few more popular places to eat. … Yes, of course there’s a spa at the Wigwam!
Molly McMulligan, created by golf journalist and CGA member Susan Fornoff, is the CGA’s on-the-course advisor on how to have more fun on the golf course. She answers questions in Dear Molly and will be sharing more of her travels. Mr. McMulligan, Keith DuBay, is also a journalist and a much better golfer than Molly.