The Gallery Golf Club – The North Course – Marana, Arizona
Our group was excited to return to The Gallery to experience the North Course after having such a great experience on the south. Designed by John Fought and British Open Champion and 2006 Ryder Cup Captain Tom Lehman, Gallery’s North course was previously noticed by Golfweek as one of America’s top 100 modern courses. Not to mention it was ranked #1 in Southwest Arizona by Golf Digest.
As we arrived, we decided to skip the breakfast buffet this time and go straight to warming up. We learned upon this visit that there are actually two separate ranges, which face each other. One members range, and the other is for guests. Until recently The Gallery was semi-private, which meant that one course was closed to the public and rotated daily. Since then, it is now fully private. With amenities like a sports club, fitness center, café, spa, and incredible golf, The Gallery couldn’t be more worth it.
The members range features a chipping area to tune your short game and hopefully save some strokes! The tee box on the north course has a practice green next to it so you can dial in the putting speeds. This particular green had two very drastic tiers, so it was helpful to practice uphill and downhill putts, along with left and right breaks.
A look at the 3rd green with a backdrop full of cacti don’t go long!
The first hole started us off nice and easy with a short par four, playing at 336-yards from the blue tees. If you read my articles regularly, you know how much I love those short 4’s. As we made our way through the front nine, several holes were deceiving upon approach. We hit numerous shots that looked and felt great, but came up 10-15 yards short. We were not accounting for enough upslope, as the entire course is on a mountain. So make sure to take more club than less if you are faced with a tough decision.
The back nine starts off with a unique par-4 playing at 430 yards from the blues. What makes it unique are the two 150-yard sticks, one on each side of the three bunkers that split the fairway. If you hit a decent drive, chances are you still have around 170-yards into the green.
One of my favorite holes on the back nine and even the course was the par-3 15th. The hole featured two separate greens and two different sets of tee boxes. This allows for several different set ups, with the ability to place the flag on either green. They play relatively similar distances but one features trouble in front while the other gives you a break.
There are not many holes with water on this course, featured only on the monster 609-yard par-5 (725-yards from the tips!) and the par-5 16th. However, anybody who has played desert golf knows that you don’t need water to make a difficult course.
Overall, The Gallery’s North Course played very similarly to the South Course, but donned even more beautiful views. The fairways are wider than you think here, giving you a bit more room to miss. After all, golf is a game of who misses best, right? The hospitality we received on each visit was just fantastic. The staff was friendly, the members golfing there were friendly as well. I will definitely be back to experience some of the best golf Arizona can offer.
The Left-hand Green on the 15th note the boulder in the bunker
The Gallery Golf Club North Course Rating 4.25 out of 5 Stars
The North Course at The Gallery came in at 4.25 stars out of 5, a very solid rating and a tick under the 4.5 of the South Course. The North Course was very similar to the south, with reasonably wide fairways and even more amazing views. I’m sure it had to do with timing, but one of the things that affected the rating was the condition of the greens. They were not bad by any means, but also not the lightning quick, responsive and spongey greens we experienced during our first trip out. The arrival process was a bit scrambled around this time and we went to the wrong range, as it was closed. These small details are obviously knit picky. The Gallery is one of the top courses I have played in Arizona and I do not see it coming out of my top 5 anytime soon.