The Wigwam’s $30 million multi-phase resort and golf course renovations have recently grabbed the attention of several prominent golf and travel publications in their annual ‘best-of’ rankings.
GOLF Magazine, Golf.com, GolfWeek and Conde Nast Traveler have all recognized The Wigwam for its exceptional golf, premier accommodations and historical significance.
In the September 2016 issue of GOLF Magazine, the Wigwam’s Robert Trent Jones, Sr. designed Gold Course returned to GOLF’s list of “Best Courses You Can Play in Arizona.”
Every two years, GOLFMagazine puts together a ranking of the best of the best golf courses you can play in each state. The list is determined by a panel of 100 raters that includes major winners, course architects, journalists and golf connoisseurs.
The Gold Course returned to the prestigious list after it underwent a large-scale bunker and course renovation during the summer of 2015. Under the direction of the Lehman Design Group and The Wigwam’s ownership group – JDM Partners, the renovation project eliminated 30 bunkers and relocated and reshaped numerous others. Bunkers were strategically placed for today’s game, while fairway/target lines were moved left and right off the tee.
In July 2016, The Wigwam Resort was named to Golf.com’s prestigious “Premier Resorts” rankings for 2016-17 – the biennial guide listing the greatest golf resort destinations in North America. Voting for the “Premier Resorts” was based on four criteria: golf, lodging, food & drink and service.
Forty percent of the resort recognition was based on golf, considering factors such as challenge, playability, scenery, history, facilities and service. The rest of the score was equally weighed among lodging, food & drink, and overall service at the resorts. In recent years, the resort property has undergone an extensive makeover, including new interior décor, a new pool complex with both adult and family areas, new restaurants and bars featuring al fresco dining and entertaining areas and a variety of new social areas and event lawns.
In March 2016, GolfWeek magazine named The Wigwam’s Gold Course to their list of the “Best Courses You Can Play, State-By-State.” Among the criteria used by GolfWeek’s panel of course raters include: ease and intimacy of routing, variety and memorability of par 3s, 4s and 5s; basic quality of conditioning; and the “walk in the park” test.
And, last fall, Conde Nast Traveler recognized The Wigwam Resort as a “Top 25 Resort in the Southwest” proclaiming in the accompanying article that The Wigwam “provides historical cred in its inception as meeting space for Goodyear execs by 1918 and a full service resort by the roaring 20’s; Today, Old West seals the deal with faultless contemporary flair.”
Today, golf course improvements continue at The Wigwam, as crews recently completed extensive bunker and irrigation system renovations on the Robert Trent Jones Sr.-designed Patriot Golf Course. Lead by Nevada-based golf course renovation firm Key Golf, in collaboration with JDM Partners, the renovation work focused on removing bunkers, modernizing and reshaping the remaining bunkers and updating the irrigation system on the 51-year-old golf course. During the renovation process, 35 bunkers were eliminated while the 34 remaining bunkers were reshaped. The new bunkers have a splash-up, flat-top design and are filled with white sand. In addition to the bunker renovation, the course’s irrigation system has been revamped as more than 880 sprinkler heads were replaced with newer, more water-efficient heads.
