Tubac Golf Resort - Rancho #1

Getting To Know: Tubac Golf Resort

An Insightful Interview With Ben Moennig, Head Golf Professional

By Brian Weis

Whether you have played a course 20+ times a year or looking to play the course for the first time, insights from an insider can help enhance your golf experience. Below is an interview with Ben Moennig who shares some valuable tidbits about the course, memorable holes and must eats and treats at the 19th.

Give Our Readers An Overview of the Golf Course/Property T
ubac Golf Resort & Spa is the most luxurious and tranquil vacation destination in the Southwest. Set on the historic 500-acre Otero Ranch in the Santa Cruz River Valley, the Spanish Colonial architecture and lush grounds are enhanced by magnificent views of the Tumacacori and Santa Rita mountain peaks.

"Red" Lawrence was the architect who designed the original 18 holes. In September of 2006 local Golf Course Architect Ken Kavanaugh added nine more holes, enhancing the original Lawrence design. With 27 holes (Anza, Otero & Rancho) the golfer will find not only a pleasant challenge, but an experience not found anywhere else in Southern Arizona.

If Someone Was Looking To Golf In The Area, Why Should They Play Your Course?
The Tubac Golf Resort is set in a lush river valley, creating an ambiance different from any in southwestern Arizona. Towering Cottonwood trees, thick groves of Mesquite and a flowing Santa Cruz River will lead you to believe that you may not be in the desert. Beyond the setting, the splendid Bent Grass Greens, character rich golf holes, and exceptional customer service provide golfers an experience to remember.

Recent Awards or What You Are Most Proud About The Course?
The Tubac Golf Resort and Spa was made famous by Kevin Costner's 1996 movie "Tin Cup," where many of the scenes were filmed.

What Is The Signature, Most Talked About, or Most Photographed Hole?
Anza # 9 - This Par 3 should remind you of the 17th at TPC Sawgrass, except for the cows of course. Finding the island green is tough enough with all that water, but throw in the spectators at the Stables Patio Bar heckling anyone whose ball finds a watery grave, and it gets even tougher. The intimidation factor is high here. Par is always a good score.

Rancho # 4 - This long par 5, Tubac's Tin Cup hole, requires three well struck shots to reach the green. Keep tee and second shots on the fairway's right side, away from the trees and thick rough on the left. The pond fronting the green prevents all but the longest hitters from getting "home" in two. This hole was the setting for the scene in the movie "Tin Cup" where Kevin Costner was caddying for Don Johnson and Johnson wanted to lay up with a seven iron. Costner said he could do it and that is when Gary McCord, Peter Kostis, Craig Stadler and a young Phil Mickelson began to wager on whether or not he could pull it off.

What Is Your Favorite Hole? Any Tips to Play It?
Rancho # 6 - This beautiful par 4 is set along the eastern bank of the Santa Cruz River. Measuring 464 yards from the back tees with a perfectly placed bunker on the left edge of the fairway, it is one of the most challenging holes at the resort. It's beauty is breathtaking. To me, challenge and beauty are what make a great golf hole. Mission accomplished on hole # 6 Rancho.

Back Tee Stats
Par: 72
Yardage: 6870
Slope: 71.6
Rating: 130

More Information
Tubac Golf Resort
One Otero Rd.
Tubac, Arizona, 85646
520-398-2021
Tubacgolfresort.com

Revised: 12/13/2013 - Article Viewed 31,518 Times

About: Brian Weis

Brian Weis is the mastermind behind GolfTrips.com, a vast network of golf travel and directory sites covering everything from the rolling fairways of Wisconsin to the sunbaked desert layouts of Arizona. If there’s a golf destination worth visiting, chances are, Brian has written about it, played it, or at the very least, found a way to justify a "business trip" there.

As a card-carrying member of the Golf Writers Association of America (GWAA), International Network of Golf (ING), Golf Travel Writers of America (GTWA), International Golf Travel Writers Association (IGTWA), and The Society of Hickory Golfers (SoHG), Brian has the credentials to prove that talking about golf is his full-time job. In 2016, his peers even handed him The Shaheen Cup, a prestigious award in golf travel writing—essentially the Masters green jacket for guys who don’t hit the range but still know where the best 19th holes are.

Brian’s love for golf goes way back. As a kid, he competed in junior and high school golf, only to realize that his dreams of a college golf scholarship had about the same odds as a 30-handicap making a hole-in-one. Instead, he took the more practical route—working on the West Bend Country Club grounds crew to fund his University of Wisconsin education. Little did he know that mowing greens and fixing divots would one day lead to a career writing about the best courses on the planet.

In 2004, Brian turned his golf passion into a business, launching GolfWisconsin.com. Three years later, he expanded his vision, and GolfTrips.com was born—a one-stop shop for golf travel junkies looking for their next tee time. Today, his empire spans all 50 states, and 20+ international destinations.

On the course, Brian is a weekend warrior who oscillates between a 5 and 9 handicap, depending on how much he's been traveling (or how generous he’s feeling with his scorecard). His signature move" A high, soft fade that his playing partners affectionately (or not-so-affectionately) call "The Weis Slice." But when he catches one clean, his 300+ yard drives remind everyone that while he may write about golf for a living, he can still send a ball into the next zip code with the best of them.

Whether he’s hunting down the best public courses, digging up hidden gems, or simply outdriving his buddies, Brian Weis is living proof that golf is more than a game—it’s a way of life.