Superstition Mountain Golf Club – Lost Gold Course

Grandiose (gran-dē-ōs); adjective; impressive because of uncommon largeness, scope, effect, or grandeur. Synonyms: see Superstition Mountain Golf and Country Club.

As soon as you pull up to the clubhouse at Superstition Mountain Golf and Country Club you will understand why it can be (okay, should be) found in Webster’s dictionary as a synonym for grandiose.

This majestic, romanticized Tuscan mansion will leave you breathless and in awe. You’ll feel your insides fluttering even before you step foot on the golf course.

The corridors and passageways inside the clubhouse will wind you through rooms with comfy leather chairs, dark weathered wood and rich earth tones. You will instantly know this is a place you want to come back to time and time again.

But don’t just take my word for it—the greatest players in the world have revisited this site on more than one occasion.

Upon opening in 1998, Superstition Mountain was immediately targeted to host premiere golf tournaments. The Club has been honored to host numerous major LPGA and Champions Tour Tournaments including:

• LPGA Safeway International – 2004 to 2008
• Countrywide Tradition – 2002
• Senior Slam – 2002
• AJGA, Cleveland Golf/Srixon Boys Team Championship, Hosted by Jim Furyk – 2009

Some of the games’ greatest such as Jack Nicklaus, Curtis Strange, Tom Kite, Hale Irwin, Annika Sorenstam and Lorena Ochoa have all tested their skills on this majestic Arizona desert course.

Two-time Masters Champion, member of the World Golf Hall of Fame, and one of the foremost golf course architects of our era, Ben Crenshaw, has some very flattering commentary about Superstition Mountain.

“These greens are as good if not better than any I have ever played,” Ben Crenshaw said.

If he says they’re good, you know they must be good.

Topping not only among players’ favorites lists, Superstition Mountain Golf Club has also ranked as one of America’s 100 Premier Properties by Links Magazine and boasts “Top 100” accolades from Golfweek and Golfworld.

Superstition Mountain features two Nicklaus Design golf courses, the Prospector and Lost Gold. The Prospector Golf Course, the first of the two to open in 1998, combines the creative skills of Jack Nicklaus and his son Gary, and was the site of the Countrywide Tradition and Safeway International.

In 1999, Nicklaus teamed with son Jack Jr. to design the Lost Gold. The links-style course offers generous fairways, slightly smaller greens compared to the Prospector and strategic bunker placements.

Memberships are available and for the first time ever, you can play this exclusive Club for a daily fee. Since late 2009, a newly adopted membership plan allows for daily-fee club guest starting times on one course while the second course will remain exclusive for current and new members.

For daily-fee players, current rates range from $120 to $180, ($90 to $110 for Arizona residents). Memberships are also available with initiation fees starting at $15,000 for a full golf membership.

According to Director of Golf Patrick Tyson, Superstition Mountain is “an Arizona golf course you can play every day and never get bored.”

Tyson says you’re always hitting different irons into greens and are presented with new shots every day. As far as the conditions go, Tyson says, “You’d be hard-pressed to beat our conditions anywhere else in the valley. We have tour-quality conditions day in, day out.”

I played the Lost Gold course the day I went out and played. This course is characterized by open fairways and bottleneck entries into greens. Standing on the tee boxes, you may not get a sense for how wide the fairways are, but once you’ve found them you’ll see they really are an easy target off the tee.

From the fairways, most shots into the greens are safer short than long. Most bunkers, desert and trouble are behind the greens and bump and runs are the go-to shot.

Lost Gold doesn’t waste any time throwing you into the challenges of the course, requiring precision from the get-go. The second hole on Lost Gold is a 558 yard par-5 that will dare even the greatest of players to reach it in two. With an arroyo that stretches the length of the fairway that must be carried before reaching the green, and with any bit of wind in your face, the smart play here is to make this a three-shot hole. There is, however, some room to the right and long of the green if you’re feeling ambitious. Just check the pin placement to make sure right is a good miss for an up-and-down birdie.

No. 7 is considered the men’s number 1 handicap hole on the Lost Gold course but I’m confident you can conquer this hole with a routine par. The fairway is wide and welcoming, so a hit fairway here is likely. The green is where it gets a bit tricky. With two tiers and a gulley in the middle, hitting your approach shot on the right shelf is key. Be accurate here and a two-putt par is within reach as well as bragging rights to all of your friends!

The 10th hole is a long par-5 with a water carry off the tee that stretches 589 yards. Don’t let the visuals scare you—the carry is minimal and the fairway welcoming. Your second shot will need to carry an arroyo, but once again, there’s plenty of fairway room for you to land safely and leave yourself a wedge into the green.

The remaining holes on the back nine shouldn’t give you too much trouble; just remember the fairways are wide and bump and runs are often rewarded.

No. 16 is another par-5 with an arroyo carry you must face. This hole will most assuredly take you three tries to get to the green—it stretches a whopping 622 yards from the tips! The green here is deep and wide and there are bunkers short right. Make sure you’ve saved some energy and concentration for this hole, otherwise things could get messy very quickly. Long left of the green here is desert, so a precise shot into the green will be necessary.

The par-3, 17th stretches 188 yards and with any wind will be a true test to your iron accuracy. This large green slopes back left to front right and will feed even the greatest shots to the front surface, leaving you a lengthy birdie putt on a Sunday pin placement. Be sure not to miss the green left as a shot out of here will be a difficult sand save.

Superstition Mountain provides beautifully manicured fairways and greens, majestic and aesthetically pleasing surroundings, a friendly staff and a clubhouse unmatched by any other in the valley.

Spend any time here and you’ll soon learn why so many of the game’s most prestigious golfers name this one Club that tops their list. Come here and feel comfortable, romantic and rich. Everywhere you turn, there’s a place to sit down, have a drink and a conversation. Come be one of many before who have done just that.

For more information, on Superstition Mountain Golf Club  call Arizona Golf Vacations at 1-800-426-6148  or Click Here to Email Your Tee Time Request or Click Here To Book On-Line

Also be sure to read all of our Arizona Golf Course Reviews of all golf courses in Phoenix, Scottsdale and Tucson.