Designed by Ted Robinson, Ocotillo Golf Resort is a hidden gem located in south Chandler, Arizona. While the course is named after an iconic desert plant, Ocotillo is not your typical Arizona desert golf experience. Winding its way through large trees and lakes, the course proves to be a straightforward challenge to accuracy and club selection. Consisting of three separate nines in the gold, blue, and white courses, Ocotillo is no stranger to water, as you can see in the flyovers. With water being present on 24 of the 27 holes, Ocotillo demands well executed shots to avoid the hazards. While you may have a second shot out of Arizona’s traditional hard pan, an errant shot here will squander your score, thus forcing a drop. The distinctive layout of Ocotillo combined with award-winning facilities beckons golfers of all skill levels to come out and play.
The sun had not yet risen as we drove past the Ocotillo welcome sign and alongside my favorite hole, the Par four fourth of the white course. We had an early
morning pacesetter tee time, so the course was fairly empty. Coffee in hand, I walked into the golf shop to check in. Despite its modest size, the shop boasted some quality items for anyone looking for a souvenir.
After crossing the bridge during the short ride to the driving range, the steam was still rising off the grass as the morning dew evaporated. The balls were included with the green fee, which was beneficial because the crisp morning required a few extra warm ups from my old 25-year old body. Once the swing was feeling grooved, we made our way to the putting and chipping facilities. The practice green was next to a beautiful waterfall, thus providing an opportunity to putt towards water and gauge speed. The chipping area was a bit on the small side, but still provided quality space to get ready since the course was empty. The only thing missing was a practice bunker, which would have been nice to get a feel of the sand’s consistency and depth.
As our tee time drew near, the starter drove up to the practice facilities to announce our foursome and inform us that we would be playing the blue and white nines, which made me happy as I had heard the white nine is the most popular.
The water made itself evident immediately on the first hole, making the par 5 1st of the blue course very difficult and risky to reach in two. I opted for the lay up shot, thus making the third shot a 100-yard approach and a good chance at birdie. My favorite hole on the blue course came two holes later and was almost a mirror of Ocotillo’s feature hole, but a bit longer. Playing at 353 yards from the blue tees, the par 4 3rd hole required another short 250-300-yard drive to be short of the water. A short approach shot leaves you with a good shot at birdie but a tough putt on an undulating green.
Blue Course: Par 4 Hole 9
As the round continued I started to notice that many holes don’t beat you with distance, but rather required an accurate long iron or hybrid shot to stay short of the water. This made it tough to gauge how far to hit it to leave yourself with a short approach shot, but avoid dunking it. I made sure to miss on the short side, avoiding a penalty stroke and keeping my score alive! While the course itself only boasted a slope of 122, the greens on the blue course were extremely undulating. With large craters and slopes towards water, this made approach shots sensitive to placement and putting sensitive to pace. You can see here on the par 4 9th that although this green does not feature craters, the slope is aggressively down towards the water. With a front pin placement, this made it tough to land below the hole and leave myself with an uphill putt.
White Course: Par 3 3rd into an island green
The touted white nine was up next, and fortunately for us it would consist of less water. The par 5 2nd hole would be one of the most difficult. Playing at about 500 yards, it consisted of a dog leg left with water beginning at the curve, extending 50 yards towards the green, and continuing up along the right side. It is rare that a par 5 requires an iron tee shot, but this one is the exception. It is a true three-shot par 5. The par 3 3rd hole was my second-favorite, flaunting a 160-yard shot into an island green. There was room around the green to miss, but not much so you better be on target. The next hole, the par 4 4th, is the feature hole requiring two well-placed shots for a good score (see “tee to green”).
Although the white nine had less water, an errant shot left or right landed you behind colossal trees, thus forcing a punch into the fairway and a hopeful bogey. Of course I hit it straight every time so I didn’t have to worry about that (yea right!). The first half of the white nine was definitely more exciting than the second, but the ninth hole posed the biggest challenge of them all. Playing at about 440 yards, the par 4 9th required a long drive and an approach shot over 100+ yards of water. If the shot is chunked just slightly, there is a good chance you will end up dropping and a double bogey awaits.
Overall, Ocotillo provided a welcoming break from the traditional desert experience. The ever-present water combined with large trees proved to be a true test, both mentally and physically. The undulating greens required careful pace and green-reading capabilities, especially taking into account the breaks towards water. While views of the Arizona mountains were absent, the beauty of the course design and vibrant flowers were pleasing to the eye. I will definitely be back for a break from the desert and to experience what the gold nine has to offer.
Feature Hole
White Course: 4th Hole, Par 4
Tee
The tee shot on the par 4 4th does not require much distance, but boy you better hit it straight. The water started by crossing between tee box and fairway, continuing along the left side and curling up around the end of the fairway before the green. Too far and you are in the water, left and you are in the water, and if you are short, you guessed it, wet.
To
Hitting the fairway leaves you with a shot of 80 -100 yards into the green over the H2O. Here you can see I pushed it a bit right, but I was still in good shape at 105 yards out.
Green
The green is fairly large, so as long as you are not short, you will be in good shape. I left myself with a 15-foot downhill putt towards the water. A birdie is the ultimate goal, but a two-putt for par leaves you satisfied. Unfortunately, it was the latter, but par would do. Plus, it did not affect my decision to name this my Ocotillo feature hole.
Ocotillo Course Rating (Overall Rating 4 ¼ stars out of 5)
Overall, Ocotillo rated at an impressive 4 ¼ out of 5. The 2 major impacting criteria for the course were bunker condition and beverage service. The service did not lack quality but rather frequency. We only saw the cart once throughout the round, but were on the fairway and did not have a chance to grab anything. To their defense, we had an early bird pacesetter tee time, so perhaps that impacted the frequency of the cart. The bunkers were a bit on the hard side and soppy in some areas. Again, maybe due to the fact that we played a morning tee time. Nevertheless, Ocotillo is still considered a top course, especially if you are looking for a break from desert golf.