Wild Burro at The Golf Club at Dove Mountain

The Wild Burro course at The Golf Club at Dove Mountain sits in the high Sonoran Desert northwest of Tucson, where Jack Nicklaus routed twenty-seven holes across rugged terrain in the Tortolita Mountains. Opened in 2009, the facility features three nines—Wild Burro, Saguaro, and Tortolita—that can be combined into different eighteen-hole configurations. The Wild Burro nine forms part of the championship routing that has hosted professional tournament play at the property.

Nicklaus worked with dramatic elevation changes and natural desert washes, preserving the native landscape of saguaro cacti, palo verde, and rocky outcroppings. The routing moves through arroyos and climbs ridgelines, offering views across the Santa Catalina Mountains and the surrounding basin. Fairways are defined corridors through the desert, and greens are typically elevated with significant contouring. The design emphasizes strategic positioning off the tee, as the desert carries throughout and recovery from native areas is often difficult.

The Golf Club at Dove Mountain gained prominence when it hosted the WGC-Accenture Match Play Championship (later the WGC-Dell Technologies Match Play) from 2009 to 2014, with television coverage showcasing the property's desert character and mountain backdrop. The club operates as a private facility with real estate development integrated into the broader Dove Mountain community. At elevation above 2,600 feet, the course plays firm and fast for much of the year, with cooler temperatures than the Tucson valley floor.