Longbow Golf Club: The Course Where You Need Good “DNA”

If you want to play a good-looking, challenging and one of a kind golf course in the Phoenix area, Longbow Golf Club in Mesa is where you want to play for your next Arizona golf vacation.

Located 20 minutes east of Phoenix, this Ken Kavanaugh designed beauty offers you mountain views, rolling fairways and contemporary design and architecture.

You will see rusty-colored girded fences filled with natural stone along some holes. Contemporary shading systems that look like mini Stealth bombers dot the 7000-yard, Par 71 layout as well. Not only does this look set Longbow Golf Club apart from other courses, so does its name.

Longbow was originally named after the Apache military attack helicopter. Those Apache Longbows are built at a large Boeing facility right across from the course. It is safe to say that no other golf course in the world is named after an attack helicopter. The Apache Pebble Beach, The Apache Torrey Pines or the Apache Pinehurst just doesn’t have a ring to it!

Nowadays, you will see the statue of a medieval archer right outside of the clubhouse near the spacious patio. This archer is aiming his longbow, which is to inspire distance and accuracy.

DNA (distance ‘n accuracy) is critical to scoring well at Longbow. Out of the eleven par 4’s, five of them are over 400 yards.

On hole #1, you will find yourself staring down a 423-yarder (451 yards from the tips) with a 300-yard long transitional area left of the fairway. The green is surrounded by eight Ocotillos. This is the third most difficult hole on this Phoenix golf course.

The longest par 4 is your finishing hole at #18, stretching 443 yards (474 yards from the back) and your most difficult hole on the course is, you guessed it—a par 4 at #5, 439 yards and dog left with a lengthy transitional area running along the left side of the fairway.

Longbow’s signature hole is lucky #13. This Par-4, 402 yard, dog-left dandy is guarded by a lake along the left side of the fairway and the green is protected by two large right side bunkers. This is the second most difficult hole on the course.

Terry, a six handicapper from Austin, Texas played Longbow on a cloudy and cool day in September and said he loved the course, “The greens are great! The course is in great shape and the risk/reward is there,” he said.

His playing partners said they had fun looking at the low flying planes and “toys in the sky.”

Chad (a 12 handicapper) not only enjoyed the layout and course condition of Longbow, but he liked the value as well. The foursome paid only $20 per person for the round with a cart in the afternoon.

When you play Longbow Golf Club, enjoy the views of Red Mountain and the Superstition Mountains. Enjoy the quail, rabbits and the tiny ground squirrels scurrying through the desert. Enjoy the Ocotillos and other desert vegetation. Tap into your “DNA”, take aim and fire– and enjoy your round on this unique and terrific East Mesa golf course.

Shade Factor

Average. There are no large shade trees to protect you from the sun. At least the course owner (Daedulus) recognizes this and has placed several interesting looking shade systems on some holes. They provide relief depending on the time of day and position of the sun.

Five Gimmies

1. Course architect Ken Kavanaugh designed the course and it opened in 1997. Kavanaugh was brought back to enhance the course and made it longer. The newly designed layout debuted in 2003.
2. Longbow hosts the Heather Farr AJGA tournament in April featuring the top junior golfers in the U.S.
3. In 2008, Golf Digest recognized Longbow as a Four-Star Golf Course, which means it is considered one of the best public courses in the U.S.
4. In 2007, Golfweek placed Longbow in its Top 20 public access courses in Arizona.
5. Falcon Field is three miles from Longbow. It originally opened in 1941 to train Royal Air Force pilots. Now, it is the second busiest airport in Phoenix.

Five Things You Might Overhear at Longbow

1. “Are you sure that 443 yard hole isn’t a par 5?”
2. “Can you repeat that please. I couldn’t hear you because of that airplane.”
3. “Can I ground my club in this transitional area?”
4. “That’s a nice looking contemporary fence. I’ve never seen that on a golf course before!”
5. “What a great view of Red Mountain!”