Hole 4
Par 5
631 | 609 | 595 | 494 | 494 yards
The first par 5 you'll face is a brute. Anytime you see yardage starting with a 6 you know you have your work cut out for you. Off the tee you are presented with your first challenge. From the back tees it is 260 yards to carry that central fairway bunker. Even from most of the closer tees your are looking at 230 yards to safety.
The safer option is landing the ball to the left half of the fairway (though another bunker sits off the left side), or landing in the 50 yards between the start of the fairway and that bunker. Shortly after that bunker the hole starts descending in elevation towards the green.
Take note again if the conditions of the course. Look at this fairway. It almost looks fake! The views to the NE here are also pretty stunning.
The second shot requires you avoid a bunker down the left that is just over 200 yards from the green. Its position squeezes down the width of the fairway before it widens out again to a fairly generous target. I think playing down the right side is the intended line here.
At around 120 yards from the green another large bunker bumps in from the left. A shot played down the this left side will expose the best third shot into the green and take the bunker on the right side of the green more out of play. A ball down the right side of the fairway will require a carry over that bunker for your approach.
A ball down the right side of the fairway will require a carry over that bunker for your approach, making for a much harder shot.
The front of the green is guarded on both sides again by bunkers. For the first time there is little room to miss the green here. The desert is in play almost right behind the green. This design encourages playing this hole with three shots in mind as a long shot in here would be pretty difficult. There is room to run the ball onto the green but with this holes length I don't think too many people are reaching here in two.
Hole 5
Par 3
178 | 159 | 146 | 146 | 89 yards
The first par 3 is a pretty straight forward that plays south. The prevailing southwest winds can mean a little more club is needed.
If you can avoid the two bunkers short, there is plenty of room around the green. The green itself is a pretty massive target though too. It is almost a circle 30 yards in either direction. The front edge has almost a false edge though, so make sure you carry that to stay up.
Hole 6
Par 4
442 | 406 | 380 | 283 | 283 yards
A wide fairway offers an accessible target to swing away on on this mid-length par 4. The biggest danger here is a ribbon of bunkers running down the left side that stretch almost 100 yards.
The fairway crests around 135 yards from the green before falling downhill and then rising back up to the green.
Art the base of that hill the fairway ends before a separate "island" of fairway starts up again so 35 yards before the green. There is no desert wash dividing the two fairways only rough. This design really doesn't impact the play of this hole. From the tee you'd never reach the end of the fairway. It is more of a visual distraction on your second shot.
This green is a deep oval that is unprotected by bunkers, with typical ample space surrounding the green to miss.
Hole 7
Par 4
331 | 305 | 290 | 290 | 275 yards
A slightly uphill tee shot requiring a forced carry, and fronted by a large central bunker before the fairway makes for maybe the most daunting shot of the round so far. The hole actually isn't that long though so you have plenty of options to hit a confident shot here.
The forced carry is probably only 120-180 yards depending on your tee selection. Using driver here is maybe not the best option, as the most hazardous feature of the hole is the smattering of bunkers at just around the perfect landing zone for a drive.
The fairway, once you get up to it, is very kind. It is over 50 yards wide as a target to hit.
The line of bunkers stretching across the fairway frame your approach with the mountains to the south offering a great backdrop.
Sand sand pretty much everywhere starting about 85 yards from the green.
With the pair of bunkers sitting short of the green, and a severe drop off down the left of the green this is the toughest approach so far. This green is almost a pear shape. The first time I played here the pin was in the very front, a target only 18 feet across!
There is room to miss to the right on your approach shot. This view, taken from the 8th tee shows the fairly sizable area to miss there.
Hole 8
Par 5
515 | 498 | 482 | 482 | 356 yards
Another tough tee shot awaits you on this par 5. The hole has a fairly wide initial landing area, until the fairway is constricted by a bunker playing in from the left side at around 260 yards.
In the initial landing zone there are another pair of bunkers down the left side that will surely spoil this hole if you find them off the tee. Playing down the other extreme can find your shot running through the grass and into the desert.
A testing shot to be sure.
The last of the series of bunkers in the landing area off the tee has an extremely high face requiring taking your medicine and getting out, rather than advancing the ball any serious length.
Not everything is trouble here though. An almost 50 yard fairway does offer a lot of target to aim at. A ball that finds the fairway will require avoiding the large cross bunker encroaching from the right. If you can clear this hazard, another wide landing zone awaits you.
At around 150 yards out, and just before that bunker on the right a cart path crosses the fairway. If you can carry the bunker on the right you will have about 120 yards to the center of the green.
Another bunker sits further up across the fairway at about 80 yards out.
The approach into the green is ever so slightly uphill and is guarded by two bunkers on opposite corners of the green. The green is a deep oval that is turned diagonally from the fairway. A shot played down the right half of the fairway opens up the length of the green and is the preferred angle in.
The short left bunker sits below the green a good 6 feet and can make for a tricky escape to a short-sided pin.
A view from behind the 8th, taken from the 9th tee shows how the hole plays uphill the whole way from tee to green.
Hole 9
Par 3
137 | 130 | 121 | 121 | 106 yards
The final hole on the front is a short par 3 that is well protected by a trio of bunkers surrounding the front half of the green. Behind the green is the starter and halfway house for Saguaro.
There is a small collection area behind the green, but the green falls away behind there, before a steep slope down to the trail around the clubhouse comes into play. This green is again fairly deep kidney shaped green. A pin tucked back right, around the bunker on that side, should be a no go. Just aim for the middle if it is located there.
Part 1: Holes 1-3
Part 3: Holes 10-15
Part 4: Holes 16-18
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