The Kokopelli Golf Stance

7015 Yds, Par 72, Slope 133, by Arthur Hills

GolfWeb

Note that, here in the Valley, Arthur Hills also designed the Interesting & Challenging Camelback Resort Course - not to be confused with the Old-Fashioned & Flat Camelback Club Course.

They Say: "One of Palm Valley Golf Club's most valuable assets that set it apart from other Phoenix golf courses is its diversity in play. Whether you're an experienced golfer seeking a serious challenge or a new or junior player looking to polish your game, Palm Valley, housing two of the top Phoenix golf courses, offers golf just the way you like it. Only minutes from downtown Phoenix, Palm Valley is one of the most complete golf facilities in the entire Southwest. In fact, Palm Valley offers 36 holes of great golf. "

Well, everybody raves about the 9th hole, I didn't see anything so special about it. I'd birdied #8 after a string of seven bogies, and figgered to at least par #9 to break 45, so I placed my drive carefully over in the grassy mounds on the right, away from the water that runs all the way up the left side, strategic, if you know what I mean. From the half-buried side-hill lie, I tho't I was playing it safe -- even with my 3wood -- and planned a fade down the right side again, but what I got was a tomahawk hook into the water. Score a 7.

Meanwhile Mr Science capped my birdie on #8 with a chip-in birdie on #9.

"This is starting to irritate me," I complained. . . "it's getting to be too regular for you to chip-in on top of my birdies, like at Vistancia!" I swear, he missed 4 more chip-ins by less than a foot, total.

I don't remember much of the back 9, except that it seemed fun to play . . . it might be it's just that much easier than the front 9? Wound up with 46-42=88, to Mr Science's 41-41=82.

None of the holes have stuck memorably in my memory, but we were never bored. It's not that Hill's designs are bland, they're just so subtle they're hard to describe: the greens canted at an awkward angle; the barely uneven fairway lies; the large, harmless looking sand traps.

Special kudos to Palm Valley for making it so convenient to walk there. They let Mr Science bring his hand-cart, too. Maybe that's why it seemed like so much fun, the walking . . .