Overview: La Paloma Country Club is a private 27 hole facility that allows outside play to hotel guests of the Westin La Paloma Resort and Spa. So, I decided to drive down to Tucson, stay at the West... Continue »

Overview: La Paloma Country Club is a private 27 hole facility that allows outside play to hotel guests of the Westin La Paloma Resort and Spa. So, I decided to drive down to Tucson, stay at the Westin, play the course and asked Nickesquire to join me. Nick, thank you for a nice afternoon of golf! The course is carved in the foothills of the Santa Catalina Mountains and offers a beautiful back drop to the course. La Paloma is an early desert "signature" design by Jack Nicklaus ... with signature meaning that Jack was actually involved in the project. La Paloma is a classic desert style golf course with forced carries, tight fairways and a lot of elevation changes. The country club is managed by Troon Golf.

Pro Shop: Nice, small pro shop that is at the back of the resort. Check in was simple, but be aware that they ask if you are playing with a member or staying at the resort. The resort made it very easy because they cart you over to the course. I thought the price was very good ... with it being $79 for twilight (after 11:00 am) and $99 before that.

Practice Facilities: Very beautiful practice area that was covered with a movable awning. This was great because it kept the desert sun from beating down on you while you warmed up on the all grass range. A nice bunker and chipping area is right next to the practice range.

Course: As stated earlier, a classic early Nicklaus desert layout that calls for accuracy off the tee and on your second and/or third shots. Nick and I played the Canyon/Ridge combination and we would have liked to play the the Hill 9 as well, but it was closed due to aeration of the greens. I really enjoyed this layout as it works up and down the terrain of the land. The views of the mountains to the north and city views to the south really enhance the course. Probably my favorite hole on the course was Canyon #4 ... which was a downhill par 4 of 383 yards with a really tight landing area off the tee. Greens were in good summer shape, while the fairways had a lot of grass coverage and the rough was almost minimal. The sand was very good.

Final Thoughts: La Paloma Country Club is an excellent desert layout that reminds me a little bit of Troon North. I really like that the course allows hotel guest play. Plus, the Westin has an Arizona resident that allows for a good "staycation" during the slow summer season in AZ. La Paloma is a course that you should play if you are visiting the Tucson area.