We Ko Pa (Saguaro)

The third round of the trip was played at We Ko Pa, on the Saguaro course.

Matt launches his 3 wood down the par four 1st hole.

We Ko Pa stands for "four peaks", the mountain after which it is named is approximately 20 miles away, and the four peaks can be seen just under the tree branch on the right of the above photo.

Knowing that we were going to the Ping factory later in the day, Gary Jones was determined to not let Miguel Angel Jimenez upstage him in the warm up moves department.

Saguaro is the second course at the complex, and was designed by Coore & Crenshaw in 2005, and opened for play in 2006.

Gary Jones had no Tiger Woods style assistance to move his boulder, so attack his shot with it in the road he did. I am pleased to say that it was successful, as a ricochet could have been bad for both of us.

The view towards the green on the par four 7th hole.

The plaque near the 10th tee gives insight into the design philosophy of Bill Coore.  We Ko Pa is built on land owned by the Yavapai tribe of Fort McDowell.  The land here is more undulating than many desert courses, and it has been used well.

The par four 10th is a great start to the inward nine, and offers some great strategy options from the tee.

This is the par three 11th hole.

Looking down the fairway of the par four 13th hole.

Andrew Cookes tees off on the par five 14th.  This hole presents the golfer with the choice of fairway options. Unfortunately in our group, we all chose the option of hitting on neither fairway, preferring the rocks and cactus instead.

Rae Biggart drives on the short par four 16th hole.

The course has a really strong finish.  The 495 yard par four 18th hole plays uphill and today was into the wind.  A great way to finish a very enjoyable day in the desert.