BY GEORGE FULLER

Arizona never ceases to amaze me. The more I explore, the more I understand and appreciate the diversity that exists in what many people mistakenly think of as a flat, desert-filled and desolate state. The awesome beauty of the Grand Canyon, Sedona’s red rocks, Petrified Forest National Park and the Mogollon Plateau stand in contrast to any misperceptions though, and these natural wonders are perfectly complimented by the rustic charm of old mining towns like Jerome and Bisbee.

Then, there are the historic Old West towns, such as Prescott and Tombstone, which are as quaint as the golf, dining and sporting events of Phoenix and Scottsdale are spectacular. But, even considering all there is to do and experience in Arizona, there will always be a special place in my heart for the southern part of the state: Tucson and—now that I’ve visited—Tubac.

Tucson strikes me as a city that relishes its heritage and holds tight to its small-town past while at the same time acknowledging—albeit grudgingly at times—that growth is inevitable. This seeming dichotomy came clearly into focus for me in February when I drove down for the Accenture Match Play Championship—which just happened to mark the return of Tiger Woods to the PGA Tour after his eight-month recovery from knee surgery.

The new course at The Ritz-Carlton Golf Club, Dove Mountain, on which Tiger, eventual winner Geoff Ogilvy and the other top players in the world competed, represents the new Tucson. Located to the northwest of town in the city of Marana, a spurt of new home, shopping center, restaurant and golf course development has occurred over the past decade. Though The Ritz-Carlton, Dove Mountain—a 250-room hotel and spa with a residential component set to open this fall, along with an additional nine holes added to the golf club—is the highest profile new resident of the area, it is by no means the only one. 

The Gallery at Dove Mountain features two excellent John Fought courses and several clusters of luxury homes. And tried-and-true properties such as Ventana Canyon—I still think the Mountain Course here is the best in the area—and the Omni Tucson National, longtime home of professional golf in this part of the state and where I was staying, have undertaken multi-million dollar renovations that have kept them on par with the newest kids on the block.

Dining options out here have kept pace as well, with two standouts that I can heartily recommend. Jax Kitchen may look like a neighborhood restaurant in the middle of a strip mall, but the cuisine is creative, fresh and tasty. I started my meal with a comforting shrimp and grits appetizer that was served with a drizzle of roasted tomato oil, which I paired with a Willamette Valley pinot gris from Jax’s small but eclectic wine list. Although my sliced hangar steak entrée was well prepared, if uneventful, the evening’s topper was the selection of fresh, warm cookies served with bourbon-spiked milk for dessert—which lingered pleasantly and appropriately during my drive back to the resort in the warm desert night.

My favorite dining discovery, though, came after golf at Ventana Canyon, when I made a reservation at VinTabla. Each night, a buzzing crowd of wine lovers and diners descends upon this stylish restaurant in the Catalina foothills to sample owner and master sommelier Laura Williamson’s cuisine and thought-provoking wine list. Though the food is delightful, it really just sets the stage for the wines, most of which you’ve probably never heard of, even though they generally come from familiar growing regions. 

Williamson, who will gladly stop by your table and talk wine with you (and explain all those small bottlings and unfamiliar labels), divides the list into easy-to-understand, easy-to-try categories. Conveniently, there are even four ways to buy wine at VinTabla: at your table by the sample-sized taste, glass or full bottle, or, if you find something you fall in love with, all of the wines are available for retail purchase on your way out. 

With the taste of the new Tucson still on my lips, I set out on an excursion into the heart of the city the following day for a lunch stop at El Charro Cafe, a culinary symbol of the Old Pueblo’s cherished past. Indeed, this is a restaurant that has remained in the same family since it opened in 1922, where the chimichanga is purported to have been invented and where food is still prepared in a time-honored tradition. Though there are now five El Charro locations scattered around Tucson, a visit downtown to the original old family home on N. Court Avenue, is still the best.

But my trip didn’t stop in Tucson, and it didn’t just revolve around food either, because 30 miles south on Highway 19, the Tubac Golf Resort & Spa in the funky/artsy/historic town of Tubac, was waiting. 

If you think of the southern Arizona desert as a dry, arid landscape populated by saguaro cacti and scampering lizards, Tubac will surprise you. It is a literal oasis in the desert, located on the banks of the Santa Cruz River, which feeds the largest grove of cottonwood trees in the United States. 

Residents swear it’s the greatest place on earth. And for the laid-back golfer, it just might be. Tubac is still a town where locals get to the post office, supermarket and restaurants—and, of course, the golf course for that matter—by golf cart, as horses swish their tails in the cool shadows of the cottonwoods. October through May are ideal months to visit—with average temperatures hovering in the 60s and 70s—but even the summer months are significantly cooler in Tubac than most expect and the thermometer rarely breaks into triple digits. 

Though I had come for the golf, it was tempting to rack the sticks for a day and spend my time strolling the myriad galleries, artist studios and gift shops lining the streets of the cozy downtown presidio. Since the 1940s, Tubac has been a reputable artists colony, where you can now find plenty of Southwestern-themed crafts and fine art. There are also several tempting cafes and restaurants downtown, although dining at the Tubac Golf Resort & Spa’s Stables Restaurant & Bar—with its saddle barstools—or at Dos Silos for authentic Mexican cuisine and tasty margaritas is not to be missed.

The resort, where part of the 1996 film Tin Cup was filmed, has a rich history of its own. The property was known as Otero Ranch originally, after being established in 1787 as the first land grant by the King of Spain in what was then called New Spain. The Otero family cultivated fruit orchards and raised cattle on the land for nearly two centuries, until 1959, when they sold it to a group of businessmen that included Bing Crosby. The group then created a small inn and the first 18 holes of golf on the 400 acre site, and before long the simple charm and relative isolation of Tubac became an attractive hangout for Hollywood stars such as John Wayne. 

Today, under the ownership of developer Ron Allred—former owner of Telluride Ski & Golf Company—there are 98 new and newly renovated casitas, two thriving restaurants, nine new holes of golf, a state-of-the art spa and salon, 7,000 square feet of meeting space and an impressive replica Spanish mission church used for weddings. But, while Allred’s $40-million renovation modernized the resort, it didn’t strip away its unique charm—something golfers will find on the course when they encounter Suzie, the large brown cow who still roams the fairways. 

Golfers will find plenty of non-bovine thrills on the course as well. The Rancho nine is the best and most challenging of the three nonets, and when I got to No. 4, I was down to the very last ball in my bag. Known to locals as the “Tin Cup Hole,” this is where Roy McAvoy—a down-and-out golf pro so aptly played by Kevin Costner in Tin Cup—hit shot after shot after shot into the lake fronting the green. There’s even a plaque commemorating the site.

I hit a good drive on the 544-yard par five, but was nowhere near in position to go for the green in two. I did the smart thing—a thought process that escapes me most of the time—and laid up to 120 yards. But of course, as happens after any smart play, I proceeded to chunk my next shot—a pitching wedge—to the edge of the lake and right next to the plaque.

Remembering McAvoy’s 12 in the film—based apparently on a real-life 15 that CBS commentator and occasional golfer Gary McCord took on a similar hole—I took a deep breath and lifted a nice little wedge onto the putting surface and got away with a one-putt par. 

But, while I escaped Tin Cup Lake unscathed, the Tubac Triangle—a trio of ball-eating holes built by Allred—was still in front of me. And on No. 8, appropriately called “Approaching Train Wreck,” a cranky par-five that plays adjacent to some railroad tracks and tapes out at 651 yards from all the way back and 595 yards from where I was playing, my last golf ball met its fate. 

After avoiding the tracks and finding the fairway with my tee shot, I again played the smart shot and laid up. But, with the ghost of McAvoy apparently looking on, I chunked my next shot into the greenside water…and headed back to the clubhouse smiling. After all, there was a saddle waiting for me in Stables Bar. 

back to top >

View Archives:
Hualalai, Hawaii >
Napa Valley, California >