A tale of two courses and their golfers

Maricopa’s two golf courses – The Duke at Rancho El Dorado and the Ak-Chin Southern Dunes Golf Club – complement each other, experts say.

“We couldn’t be more different – Southern Dunes is more of a championship course and The Duke is more player-friendly and easier to play,” said Jon Bacon, head golf professional at The Duke.  

“For six months out of the year, there is plenty of play for both courses,” Bacon says. “March is one of our busiest months – June, July and August are slow.”

The course does most its business in January, February, March and April, he says.

Both 18-hole courses are open to the public. The Duke offers annual memberships.

The Ak-Chin Southern Dunes Golf Club is located at 48456 Arizona 238. It is a 7,307-yard course from the back tees, and is rated No. 6 in Best Courses You Can Play in Arizona by Golfweek and No. 87 in the Top 100 Courses You Can Play by Golf Magazine, according to the club’s website.

The Duke, located at 42660 Rancho El Dorado Parkway, was built in 2002 and covers 7,011 yards from the back tees.

Southern Dunes was also established in 2002, first as a private club, and later becoming a public course, says Brady Wilson, general manager. The Ak-Chin Indian Community purchased the golf club in 2010.

“Southern Dunes is considered one of the premier championship venues in Arizona,” Wilson says. “It attracts the highest caliber event.”

The Ak-Chin Southern Dunes Golf Club has hosted the PGA Tour’s Qualifying School. Golfers must do well at the Q-School to quality for the PGA Tour.

Great golfers from around the world play at Southern Dunes, Wilson says. Steve Jones, winner of the 1996 U.S. Open Championship, shot a hole-in-one in February on the par 4, 14^th hole.

 “We are a little more expensive than The Duke because of our championship caliber,” Wilson says.

The club advertises nationally in Golfweek, he says. Ninety percent of course’s players come from Phoenix, Canada, the Pacific Northwest, Denver or Chicago.

Bacon describes The Duke at Rancho El Dorado as a resort-style course in the sense that the fairways are wide, the greens are big and “you don’t have to be experienced to play here and still have a good time.”

“I think almost everyone in the community probably plays at both courses,” he says. “The city of Maricopa – for the size of the community – is very lucky to have two golf courses of such high quality.”

He said most golfers at The Duke come from the community.

As with other sectors, golf has suffered economically in the past several years.

The golf industry has seen minimal increase in revenues over the past three years, Wilson says. The years 2007 to 2009 were “hard” on the industry, but 2011, 2012, and 2013 were “better minimally.”

“I don’t feel we are back to where we were in 2006,” he adds.

He said the Ak-Chin Southern Dunes Golf Club has benefitted over the years from the Ak-Chin Indian Community’s support. The community provides the club with “all the tools and resources, equipment and capital improvements necessary to continue to grow the brand of Southern Dunes and Ak-Chin,” Wilson says.

Rob Pederson, visiting from Wisconsin, plays at Southern Dune and describes the course as “manicured.”

Maricopa resident Jim Henke, who also plays there, calls the greens and fairways “pristine.” “When you putt a putt here, it goes where it is supposed to go.”

Brenda Heibein, of Saskatchewan, says she prefers to play The Duke because she has made friends there.

For Marilee Bell, of Wyoming, the 109 sand traps at Southern Dunes sway her to prefer golfing at The Duke, she says.

“Playability” for the average golfer matters to Ans Kiewin, from British Columbia, who golfs at The Duke.