Who better to reconstruct the Arthur Jack Snyder-designed golf course at Mountain Shadows Resort near Phoenix, than a man who once worked with Snyder, Forrest Richardson, ASGCA?
Golf Course Architecture reports:
“The early ads for Mountain Shadows are stunning to read,” said Richardson. “They are nearly a play-by-play to what we are finally getting people to realise today, that golf needs to be fun, take less time and involve less resources. Indeed, Snyder’s Mountain Shadows was billed as a ‘course you can enjoy with the whole family, and in less time’. The ads appeared in local newspapers and magazines throughout the 1960s.”
The current project sees the rebuilding of the entire course, but still based on Snyder’s original routing. Once complete, every hole will be a par three, playing from between 75 and 200 yards.
“We hear all the time from people who recalled playing there with their parents and grandparents,” said Richardson. “Compared to the other golf in Phoenix at the time, one can see why Mountain Shadows was so popular. It was not only different, but the round could be enjoyed by those of every skill level. It was the ultimate equaliser.”
The reworked course will measure just under 2,500 yards and plays to par-54. Richardson has also achieved a personal ambition of creating a bonus par two hole, something he wrote about in his 2001 book Routing the Golf Course.
“The idea for a par-two had always been to creatively use small spaces,” he said. “Until now it has never presented itself, at least not on a site where it fit the routing.”
The entire article can be found here.