SCOTTSDALE, ARIZONA | Golf equipment junkies appreciate this city’s place in the history of club making as the home of Ping ever since Karsten Solheim moved his newly-started concern here in 1961. And the more avid of those might like to pay a visit to the home offices of the company, which remains privately held and is largely run today by Solheim’s grandson, Ping president John K. Solheim. (To arrange a tour of its 50-acre campus, click here.)
If golf gear heads want to go even deeper, they can get properly fit for Ping clubs and purchase them at the Ping Fitting Experience at the Westin Kierland Golf Club.
Dining at the Phoenician hotel during my short-but-sweet stay is always a pleasure, beginning with a sausage and egg quesadilla and a strong cup of coffee before my game on its resort course. Fewer rounds in recent years have gotten off to a better start. And lunch at the Tavern afterwards was just as satisfying, thanks to a wagyu pastrami reuben that would have wowed even the most discerning New York City deli-goer. As for the dinner that I savored one night at the resort’s Mowry & Cotton, the Five Diamond Manhattan was equal parts sweet and savory and the perfect appetite enhancer for the Delmonico steak as my main course.
The food did not disappoint when we left the Phoenician. One night, we hit the part of Scottsdale known as Old Town and dined at Craft 64, which has a voluminous beer list (36 offerings on tap alone) and some very strong pizza options. I relished an Ale Bender IPA (with an alcohol content of 9.3 percent, I am only slightly embarrassed to admit) and a wood-fired Aji pizza that was full of spice, thanks to a jalapeño sauce that was drizzled over fennel sausage, plus spinach, with mozzarella, ricotta and parmesan cheeses.
Just down the road on East Fifth Avenue is Citizen Public House, which is regularly ranked among the top eateries here. The barrel-aged cocktails they fashion are otherworldly. And so are their appetizers, with such elevated options as bacon fat heirloom popcorn. As for my entrée, the coffee-rubbed short ribs served with a cherry barbeque sauce were as comforting as a fire pit on a cool desert night.
In a nod to the Valley of the Sun’s famous clubmaker, it proved to be just the right fit for the day.