Ron Whitten
Overview
From Golf Digest Architecture Editor emeritus Ron Whitten:
Every so often I come across a golf hole so compelling that it overshadows my memory of every other hole on the course. The par-5 18th at The Victory at Verrado is such a hole. It’s a dogleg right from the back tee (590 yards) over an irrigation pond (not really in play for big hitters) to a wide diagonal fairway with a rock escarpment on the left. The second shot is uphill to a green that’s tucked into a box canyon and protected front right by boulder outcroppings.
It’s an unusual hole visually, the first hole you see driving up the street toward the course entrance, and it sets the tone for this very unusual course that was built partly on the site of an old Caterpillar Tractor testing grounds where operators learned to shove around chunks of rock using D-9 dozers.
Victory is golf on the moon, but with some grass and full gravity, around rockscapes and washes, buttes and canyons. There’s a small black mesa just right of the first green that you drive completely around to reach the par-3 second tee, where you hit to a recessed green that turns out to be just yards away (and below) the first green. The long par-4 13th is blind off the tee to an S-shaped fairway that rumbles and tumbles downhill to a wide green. The 14th is a reachable par 4, but if you choose to lay-up of the tee, you must deal with a serpentine wall of rock that divides the fairway into high and low.
This is one inventive golf course. I’ll let Lehman himself sum it up: “Every hole gives you something unique and different, with the theme being a surreal, beautiful, rugged rock environment. We truly used whatever the land has given us, whether it’s a cliff or a nob or a boulder or a drop-off or a sudden rise up the mountain. We left the terrain all natural, so it looks like it’s been built right into the land.”
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Reviews
Review
“The Victory Course at Verrado is a bit different than your usual AZ desert fare, built over an interesting landscape that once was the testing ground for the Caterpillar company. Because of this fact, I was expecting a bit more avant-garde design through a rocky moonscape, but this course is well on its way to being surrounded by houses, which already line several holes on the back nine. Regardless, there are some semi-blind shots and fun green complexes, so it's a fun play with a wild pond and rock-infused par 5 18th hole . The Victory is worth a round, but I feel like they missed an opportunity here for something truly unique,"
Read More2023
Review
“A fun course with a great finishing hole. Houses on the back 9 take away the scenery."
Read More2023
Review
“Good layout variety contributes to an enjoyable day of golf"
Read More2023
Review
“At the Verrado (Victory) course, designer Tom Lehman made excellent use of quite rugged desert terrain and surrounding mountains to fashion a playable, resort course. With minimal, if not minimalist, bunkering, Lehman created mounds, swales, boulder-filled bunkers, and rock walls to keep your attention. There are some real forced carries from the back tees, although this course, at its core, really appeals to the high handicapper, with the ultra-wide fairways, tremendous rollout of tee shots, and generally open green sites that allow for a variety of types of shots around the greens. Unfortunately, the slow and bumpy greens that don’t hold shots well really put a damper on what could be a treat, as does the premium placed on the tee shot above all else. However, there are plenty of memorable holes and beautiful scenery here, but if you are looking for a strong challenge, this is probably not the best choice in the area."
Read More2021
Review
“New Tom Lehman design which is more picturesque and plays wider than old Founders Course."
Read More2018
Review
“There are several holes here that are very challenging, but for the most part quite playable. The course is part of a housing development, but not many homes are built as yet. The course was in good condition when I played. I quite enjoyed the 18th hole."
Read More2018
Review
“Good course needs to grow in and have some development around it soften the desert affect. F"
Read More2018
Review
“Very good condition and a reasonable price. The layout is good and it's unique with all of the rocky landscape off the fairway. Have a drink and some appetizers at the VIC which is the restaurant above the clubhouse. This course is unique and well worth the trip to get here."
Read More2018
Review
“Solid design with a lot of short grass around the greens. Not exceptional, but not bad for under $100 in the Phoenix area."
Read More2018
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