Courtesy of Ventana Canyon Club and Lodge
Ventana Canyon: Canyon
Ventana Canyon: Canyon
6200 N Club House Ln
Tucson, AZ 85750-1399
United States
Telephone
Overview
One of two 18-hole layouts designed by Tom Fazio on property, the Canyon course incorporates the natural terrain, including the rock formation known as Whaleback Rock. Its signature hole is the 18th, which features a partial island green.
About
Awards
Ranking history:
Best in State: Ranked since 2025.
2025-'26 ranking: 43rd.
Panelists
Ratings from our panel of 1,900 course-ranking panelists
100 GREATEST/BEST IN STATE SCORES
Shot Options
Character
Challenge
Layout Variety
Fun
Aesthetics
Conditioning
Reviews
Review
“Good conditioning, greens a bit slow and soft. Fairway grass length a bit long. Some bushes and trees obstructing tee shots, need to trim. Layout variety is decent with a good mix of short to medium length par 3/4/5."
Read More2025
Review
“Ventana Canyon course is set in the foothills north of Tucson, on a wooded and undulating piece of property. Conditions were outstanding, with smooth, and true greens, firm and lush fairways, and soft white sand bunkers. The layout is unusual with major gaps between greens and tees making the course unwalkable. Many holes tee off in narrow chutes, making parts of the fairway invisible from the tee. Significant elevation changes add interest."
Read More2024
Review
“Ventana Canyon course is set in the foothills north of Tucson, on a wooded and undulating piece of property. Conditions were outstanding, with smooth, and true greens, firm and lush fairways, and soft white sand bunkers. The layout is unusual with major gaps between greens and tees making the course unwalkable. Many hole tee of in narrow chutes, making parts of the fairway invisible from the tee. Significant elevation changes add interest."
Read More2024
Review
“Some really well designed holes as well as too many pretty uninspiring holes. Back nine is significantly more interesting than the front. Cart logistics were unusual - get there early. Long ride to the range. Long ride back to the Canyon course. Then long ride to second nine. Fun course to play once. i wouldnt go out of my way to play it again."
Read More2024
Review
“A good front nine, but a poor back nine. Mountain Course is much better."
Read More2024
Review
“A good second course on this property."
Read More2023
Review
“Tom Fazio’s Ventana Canyon (Canyon) course in north Tucson is an enigmatic golf experience. The desert is lush, the nearby mountains dramatic, and the neighborhood is tony. Every golf hole, most of which are viewed from highly elevated tee boxes, is more dramatic and spectacular than the last. Many of the greens are beautifully sited between and behind trees, next to rock outcroppings, etc. The greens and surrounds are like a Tom Fazio master class in golf course architecture, so varied are the greens and bunkers in their size, shape, and design. You putt out, get on your cart, then you ride, and ride, and ride, over speed bumps, through neighborhoods, across a major six-lane highway, around switchbacks, through small drainage culverts just big enough to fit a golf cart, over more speed bumps, until you finally arrive at another spectacular hole. In some cases, these rides can exceed 10 minutes, at which point you almost forget why you are there in the first place."
Read More2021
Review
“A fine venue for any golfer with deep pockets playing from appropriate tees. Good holes left plenty of room for imperfect shots without overtly penalizing, but then this is a resort. At times Fazio had me almost convinced that the desert did not exist. The routing ruins that. You need a GPS, not on the course but instead, for driving your cart to another long distance teeing ground. When a foursome needs to stop at a busy intersection with numerous red lights, the magic tends to dissolve. That routing is ridiculous. Hence the low aesthetics score. Conditioning was close to off-the-charts perfect."
Read More2021
Review
“One of the weirdest routings you will ever play -- the two nines are located on opposite sides of the Mountain Course with a mile-long cart path between them. They even give you a map! Once you get to the back nine, some of the cart rides are long. The holes are ok, but not worth all the driving around. The resort is top notch and the Mountain Course is better!"
Read More2021
Review
“Not quite as good as the Mountain Course, but a definite must play in Tucson."
Read More2018
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