Sunsites aka Shadow Mountain Golf Course

 It had been six or seven years since we last drove to the Sunsites, Arizona area to play golf at the Shadow Mountain Country Club.  In that time the owner of the golf course had apparently filed for bankruptcy and the local people of the small community of Sunsites had banded together to arrange to lease the golf course from the owner.  These folks have taught themselves how to run a pro shop, advertise and maintain the fairways and greens of a golf course and by doing so have managed to keep the golf course open.

Shadow Mountain is an eighteen hole golf course that is flat and wide open for the most part.  From the longest blue tees the yardage is 6632 yards with a rating/slope of 71.1/126.  The middle white tee yardage is 6324 with a rating/slope of 69.5/124 and the red tee yardage is 5432 yards with a rating/slope of 70.0/125.  There are a few ponds (and we found them) as well as some areas of links style grasses.  There are also some sand traps although these days they would more appropriately be termed dirt traps because the stuff in the traps has the appearance and texture of dirt.  It's obvious the folks are struggling to keep the course in condition as some of the greens are very rough making it impossible to putt with any accuracy.  And while there appears to be a watering system in place on the golf course, there must not be funds to operate it because the fairways are dormant and dying in many areas.

For all of that, you do get to whale away at the ball here and your ball might just run forever on the hard-pan.  For $20 you get to play eighteen holes of golf using a riding cart while viewing majestic mountains in all four directions.  The sunshine is bright, the air is crisp and clear and the surroundings are quiet.  You won't play regulation golf here due to the current condition of the golf course, but it's nice to get out and swing the club on a beautiful day in Arizona.