The Boulders Golf Club

The Boulders Golf Club North Course sits in the high Sonoran Desert foothills of Carefree, Arizona, approximately thirty miles north of Phoenix. Designed by Jay Morrish and opened in 1984, the course was among the first major desert layouts to embrace a naturalistic routing philosophy that works with rather than against the dramatic terrain. Morrish, who collaborated frequently with Tom Weiskopf during this period, routed the North Course through and around the property's namesake granite boulder formations, some rising several stories high and estimated to be twelve million years old. The design philosophy preserves native desert vegetation—saguaro cacti, palo verde, ocotillo, and ironwood—as integral playing features rather than clearing them entirely. The routing moves through arroyos and elevation changes of more than two hundred feet, creating a varied sequence of holes where target golf and strategic options alternate. Several holes play alongside or between the massive rock outcroppings that define the property's character. The par-three seventh hole is frequently noted for its tee shot over desert wash to a green framed by boulders. The North Course has traditionally been considered the more dramatic and visually striking of the two eighteen-hole layouts at The Boulders, with its companion South Course (also by Morrish) offering a somewhat different character on adjacent terrain. The Boulders operates as a desert resort with lodging integrated into the boulder landscape, and the courses serve both resort guests and members in a high-end Southwestern setting.