Kokopelli: Phoenix, Arizona Golf Course Review
The Kokopelli Golf Club is the "old
reliable" place to play in the Southeast Valley
of Phoenix.
The course is always in good shape, tee times are
spaced enough that there isn’t a lot of wasted
downtime on the tee box and the layout has some of
more intriguing holes in the area. It adds up to being
on the most underrated courses among the 220 in
the Valley.
The 22-year-old course, which was designed by
Bill Phillps, has four sets of tees – as long as 6,716
yards (par 72) from the tips – that gives the players
several options on how to play a hole. The first hole
is a perfect example as the opening par 5 is a long
dog-leg right that lines the driving range. The easy
play is to hit a hybrid or low iron some 200 yards
out, but a well placed drive along the right side can
cut most of the distance off as long as it stays out of
the range that seemingly keeps boring into the
fairway.
It’s a good example of the options the golfers
are presented with on the tee box on this track. One
of the more intriguing decisions for the long hitters
comes on hole No. 11 where the 306-yard dog-leg
left can be infuriating and exhilarating all depending
on where that drive ends up. The easy play is out to
the right where a good drive leaves an easy look into
the elevated, but small green. The kicker is whether
or not to go for the green. The neighboring houses
come into play as the angle of the drive has to start
over the backyard and land somewhere in between
the down slope of the end of fairway and start of the
green, but the reward is the possibility of an eagle
putt. If you got the distance then hammer away.
The signature hole - the picturesque 324-yard
par 4 - doesn’t come with such a dilemma but offers
the prettiest view on the course. The fountain in lake
on the left draws your eye that way and the three
bunkers in front of the uphill green forces the
approach shot to be the right distance because there
is very little room behind the green to keep anything
long safe. One of the better greens on the course,
and when pin placement is vital to one’s score, is No.
11. It is a big green – 31 feet deep – but that’s not
really the case as the front of the green falls off
pretty quickly.
The hope is the day you show up that the
greens keeper is in a good mood -- because if he
isn’t, good luck in staying away from a three putt.
Kokopelli ends with a long, and tight finishing hole.
Water runs along the left side and the range comes
back into play on the right. The placement of the
second shot on this par-5 is vital to coming home
safely. It sort of defines Kokopelli in that the hole
seems simple enough, but if you really take a step
back to look at it there is a lot more intrigue than
you originally expect.