Mesa (AZ) Country Club is embarking on a significant renovation of its historic golf course as part of the club’s plans to commemorate its 75th anniversary. The project is expected to be the largest and most encompassing investment since the William F. “Billy” Bell-designed course opened in 1948 among the tumble weeds and coyotes of the then-largely undeveloped eastern Valley of the Sun.
While the renovation – scheduled to be complete next year by Andy Staples – will include greens, greenside bunkers and an upgrade to the clubhouse, the most significant part of the project focuses on updating the Club’s aging irrigation system.
“The (new) irrigation system will allow our team to really focus on certain areas,’’ Club General Manager Nate McLaughlin told me. “We’ll be able to manipulate individual sprinkler heads in order to water areas that need it. Other areas that get soggy a lot will dry out a bit more. So, it allows our agronomy teams more access and control.’’
Water access and control, of course, is a prime concern in the Valley, as well as the entire desert Southwest. It’s even more important at a parkland-style course, such as Mesa CC, which generally irrigates more land than a typical desert layout.
“Here in the desert, we’re all making concerted efforts to be good stewards of the environment,’’ McLaughlin said. “The (new irrigation system) will allow us to control where they water goes.’’
Mesa Country Club is one of the first five “classic’’ private city golf clubs in Arizona – along with Phoenix Country Club, Arizona Country Club, Tucson Country Club and Paradise Valley. The City of Mesa acquired the 124-acre property for $20 per acre in 1935. Funding for the golf course wasn’t allocated until 1947. The story goes that the developers bought an additional six acres from a man who had originally homesteaded that piece of lane. Upon completion of the deal to acquire the additional six acres, the home on land mysteriously burned to the ground.
By the late 1940s, Bell was among the West’s best-known course architects, mostly for his work with George Thomas, Jr., on Las Angeles CC, Bel-Air and Riviera, each remain testaments to great course design, as does Mesa CC, which features fairways lined by towering eucalyptus trees and some or the more challenging greens in the state. large .Mesa CC, whose membership has what is reputed to be the second-lowest handicap among Arizona golf clubs, has had two head golf professionals over the past 50 years. Current Head Professional Scott Wright has been at Mesa CC for more than 15 years. His predecessor, the legendary Joe Bartko,a member of the Arizona Golf Hall of Fame, spent more than 35 years at the Club.
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Photo: The seventh hole at Mesa CC (Mesa CC)