Playing golf in Phoenix? This linksy desert course needs to be on your list

Playing golf in Phoenix? This linksy desert course needs to be on your list

Back in 2013, the property’s three-decade-old Indian Bend course underwent a major $10 million renovation via Jason Stracka of Hurdzan/Fry Environmental Golf Design to improve both playability and flooding. Indian Bend was extremely flat, which meant it was harder to drain after big rains. Flat courses are also less fun, so there was plenty of work to do. About 365,000 cubic yards of material was removed from the water much of the course butts up against and used to raise parts of the layout, improving not only the fun factor but the ability to properly drain. They also removed trees and added more native/desert areas. Only 90 acres of the course is now considered maintained turfgrass, which also helps the maintenance team (not to mention saves millions of gallons of water annually). When it reopened it was renamed Ambiente, which means “environment” in Spanish.

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Ambiente - New layout reshapes Camelback GC

Ambiente - New layout reshapes Camelback GC

The new Ambiente course at Camelback Golf Club has blossomed into a layout this Couple of Travelers love to play. It is a big step up from the former Indian Bend Course at Camelback, which was built on a flood plain that couldn’t drain the rain. That problem led to other problems, such as being expensive to maintain and having limited play.

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Best New Courses 2013
News, Golf Digest, Ambiente at Camelback Ben Wheeler News, Golf Digest, Ambiente at Camelback Ben Wheeler

Best New Courses 2013

Camelback's old Indian Bend Course, straddling a linear flood control channel, was embarrassingly flat and lifeless. No more. Straka lowered and naturalized the wash and used the fill to reshape every hole with such flair that Ambiente now overshadows the resort's Padre Course. Started as a Hurdzan/Fry project, now billed as a Fry/Straka design, Ambiente is probably the most improved course of the year.

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