PLAYROUND COURSE GUIDE

How to Play The Club At Prescott Lakes

Course strategy, tee-specific yardages and a hole-by-hole game plan for The Club At Prescott Lakes in Prescott, AZ.

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The Club At Prescott Lakes golf course

The Club At Prescott Lakes

Prescott, AZ
Black Bear tees · 7,086 yards
COURSE OVERVIEW

About The Club At Prescott Lakes

Designed by Hale Irwin and opened in 2000, The Club at Prescott Lakes is a high-desert championship layout in Prescott, Arizona. Sitting at over 5,400 feet elevation, the course winds through natural arroyos, rock outcroppings, canyons, and scenic lakes while offering views of Granite Mountain, Mingus Mountain, and the San Francisco Peaks.

COURSE STRATEGY

How to play The Club At Prescott Lakes

Off the tee

Fairways vary from wide landing zones to tight, strategic corridors framed by natural arroyos, lakes, and out-of-bounds boundaries. Tee shots require careful club selection rather than driver on every hole to manage landing areas and avoid fairway bunkers or crossing washes.

Elevation & terrain

At over a mile above sea level, golf shots fly slightly farther, requiring adjustments to yardages. The course incorporates significant terrain movement, including elevated tee shots, downhill fairway rolls, and uphill approaches.

Approach play

Approaches regularly demand precise distance control over forced carries across arroyos and water hazards. Green entry points can be narrow, flanked by deep bunkers, grass swells, and severe slope breaks.

Around the greens

Green complexes are large and highly contoured, featuring two- and three-tiered surfaces separated by steep ridges and slopes. Missing on the wrong side or wrong tier leaves delicate recovery shots and challenging long putts.

Best way to play it

Prioritize target placement and course management over distance. Respect the natural arroyos and water hazards by laying up to preferred distances on long or risk-reward holes, and target the correct green tiers to avoid three-putts.

Key takeaways

  • Hale Irwin design situated at over 5,400 feet elevation with panoramic high-desert mountain and canyon vistas.
  • Natural arroyos cut across and border numerous fairways, requiring strategic layups and clean forced carries.
  • Strategic risk-reward options feature on multiple holes, including alternate fairway routes on Holes 3 and 14.
  • Multi-tiered green complexes guarded by deep bunkers and grass swells demand accurate approach positioning.
YOUR GAME PLAN

Hole-by-hole game plan

Hole
Par
Yards
HCP
Strategy
1
4
356
18
Tee off with a fairway wood or long iron to land on the crest of the hill. From there, hit a controlled short iron downhill into the shallow green, ensuring your approach does not go long into the arroyo behind the putting surface.
Your 240 yd driver · ~116 yards remaining by raw distance.
2
4
320
16
Unless attempting an aggressive drive toward the green, select a layup club off the tee that stops short of the central fairway bunker while avoiding the hazards on either side. Fire approaches toward the proper level of a two-tiered green protected by a large wrapping bunker front-right and bunkers left and rear.
Your 240 yd driver · ~80 yards remaining by raw distance. Favor position and approach angle over extra tee-shot distance.
3
5
550
4
Lay up short of the crossing arroyo on your second shot to set up a short-iron approach into the narrow green. Longer players attempting the alternate left fairway route must clear the wash and avoid deep bunkers guarding that line.
Your 240 yd driver · ~310 yards remaining by raw distance. Plan this primarily as a three-shot hole.
4
4
400
6
Focus on hitting the fairway off the tee, keeping right of the left-side arroyo without driving into the right-hand fairway bunkers. Target the narrow opening into the green between two guarding bunkers, aiming for the correct tier divided by a steep ridge.
Your 240 yd driver · ~160 yards remaining by raw distance.
5
3
225
14
Account for the drop in elevation off the tee when selecting your club. Aim for the center of the large green, making sure not to come up short into deep grass swells or carry too far into the rear bunkers.
6
4
445
10
Drive down the center of the fairway to gain extra distance as the ball rolls down the sloping terrain. The approach requires a carry over a front arroyo to reach a tricky green protected by a deep rear bunker.
Your 240 yd driver · ~205 yards remaining by raw distance.
7
3
215
12
Take enough club to clear the front arroyo and native brush. Favor the short-right side of the large green for the safest bailout, as missing left, long, or into the deep right bunker results in a difficult up-and-down.
8
5
587
2
Play this long hole in three calculated shots. Lay up to the second fairway on your second shot rather than challenging both arroyos, and hit a precise pitch into a three-tiered green flanked by bunkers on both sides.
Your 240 yd driver · ~347 yards remaining by raw distance. Plan this primarily as a three-shot hole.
9
4
408
8
Aim tee shots up the left side of the fairway to counteract the natural slope sending balls toward the right-side arroyo. Approach shots must clear the arroyo guarding the front and left, keeping away from steep surrounding hillsides and bunkers.
Your 240 yd driver · ~168 yards remaining by raw distance.
10
4
371
15
Carry the native brush off the tee with confidence onto the broad fairway. Focus your effort on distance control into the green complex, as multiple deep bunkers guard the putting surface.
Your 240 yd driver · ~131 yards remaining by raw distance.
11
5
526
17
Tee shots should avoid the corner bunkers guarding the inside of the left dogleg, as only long hitters should attempt to carry them. Finding the fairway sets up a chance to reach or approach close to the green.
Your 240 yd driver · ~286 yards remaining by raw distance. Plan this primarily as a three-shot hole.
12
3
179
13
Hit a precise tee shot over the lake to clear the water hazard and clear the surrounding greenside bunkers. Target the correct tier on a large putting surface divided by two severe slopes.
13
4
461
5
Execute a solid drive over the water hazard and up the hill. Take note of the pin location on approach, as a deep swell catches shots left and a large, deep bunker guards the right side of the green.
Your 240 yd driver · ~221 yards remaining by raw distance.
14
4
397
11
Decide off the tee between playing straight down the main fairway for a longer, downhill approach, or taking the smaller right fairway for a shorter, level shot. Favor the left portion of the green on approach as balls slope toward water on the right.
Your 240 yd driver · ~157 yards remaining by raw distance.
15
4
459
1
Precision off the tee is mandatory to hit the narrow visible fairway, steering clear of out-of-bounds left and fairway bunkers right. Approach the elevated green with a long iron or wood, hitting to the correct side of a severe dividing slope.
Your 240 yd driver · ~219 yards remaining by raw distance.
16
3
189
9
Hit a precise tee shot to the center of the large green. Ensure your shot carries the front bunkers and stays left of the right-side creek without flying long onto the steep hillside behind the green.
17
4
465
3
Hit a long, solid drive into the wide fairway. Approach shots must carry cleanly through a narrow front entrance to avoid large, deep swells guarding the front of an undulating green.
Your 240 yd driver · ~225 yards remaining by raw distance.
18
5
533
7
Hit a strong drive up the hill. Laying up on your second shot is the recommended play for most golfers to avoid fairway bunkers and deep greenside sand; long hitters going for the narrow green in two face a steep uphill approach with water right.
Your 240 yd driver · ~293 yards remaining by raw distance. Plan this primarily as a three-shot hole.

Course information and strategy are provided for planning purposes. Yardages, course setup, hazards and playing conditions can change. Always confirm current course information before your round.