Oakcreek Country Club

Getting To Know: Oakcreek Country Club

An Insightful Interview With Heather Risk, 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 Heather Risk 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
Arizona's Best Overall Golf Experience - Year Around, where guests are treated like members, and members are treated like guests. Open to the public, this 18 hole superbly manicured championship golf course was designed by Robert Trent Jones Sr. and Jr. Host to the Sedona Open, Oakcreek Country Club is a delight to play for all levels of golfers with five sets of tees ranging from 4,419 to 6,824 yards. Come and enjoy the beauty of Sedona's red rocks and play an equally spectacular and entertaining golf course. Our professional staff is committed to exceptional service and to make your visit with us a pleasurable experience. If you are going to play golf in Sedona, don't miss playing Oakcreek Country Club.

If Someone Was Looking To Golf In The Area, Why Should They Play Your Course?
Oakcreek Country Club, designed by the famous father and son team of Robert Trent Jones Sr. and Robert Trent Jones Jr., can truly be described as a work of art. The par 72, 18-hole championship golf course is nestled among the red rocks of Sedona, Arizona with views beyond compare and the golf course design a masterpiece.

Home to the Sedona Open in June each year, the golf course challenges the professional golfer, but is a delight to play for all levels of golfers. Immaculately maintained the course has five sets of tees and plays from 4,419 yards to 6824 yards. Oakcreek CC is a traditional layout similar to those that you may find in the midwestern United States. In the usual Trent Jones manner, the fairways are classic tree lined doglegs with fairway bunkers strategically placed in the landing areas and greens which are all slightly elevated and surrounded with large swirling greenside bunkers. Large practice range, putting green, and short game area are available. The Redstone Grill offers fine dining and a sports bar for after golf activities. Oakcreek Country Club offers full single and family memberships along with limited play Bell Rock memberships and special Twilight and Junior golfer memberships. To find out more or to join the Oakcreek Country Club family, please call the golf shop at 928-284-1660

What Tips or Local Knowledge Would You Provide To Help Them Score Better At Your Course?
The golf course is a traditional layout similar to those that you may find in the mid-western United States. In the usual Trent Jones manner, the fairways are classic tree lined doglegs with fairway bunkers strategically placed in the landing areas, and the greens are all slightly elevated and surrounded with large swirling green side bunkers. The course is "player friendly", allowing plenty of room for error but always with an opportunity to recover and get errant shots back into play. The golf course consists of 145 acres, including three lakes. Water comes into play twice on the front nine between the #1 and #9 holes. On the back nine the water comes into play on holes #13, #15 and #16. Recent renovations to the golf course include brand new concrete cart paths and all the green side bunkers rebuilt under the watchful eyes of the Robert Trent Jones Jr. design firm.

Recent Awards or What You Are Most Proud About The Course?
Ranked 1st among the Ranking Arizona Public Golf Courses, 2016

Ranked 10th among the Top 25 Courses in Arizona by GolfAdvisor, 2014

Ranked 4th among the Top Courses of the Week by GolfAdvisor, September 2, 2015

Ranked 4th among the Arizona's Top 10 Hidden Golf Treasures by Colorado AvidGolfer, December 2, 2015

What Is The Signature, Most Talked About, or Most Photographed Hole?
Our Hole #13 is a majestic par three. The Sedona red rocks are so close you feel like you can touch them. Don't let the beautiful scenery fool you. This picturesque green is uphill all the way. Shots hit just on the green can roll all the way to the bottom of the hill. This hole is also a great setting for weddings.

Must Have Dish or Drink after the round at the 19th Hole?
Redstone is a bistro-style grill restaurant in Sedona, Arizona, located at the Oakcreek Country Club golf course. We provide indoor and outdoor dining that features a stunning view of some red rock cliffs.
With more than five years of experience, we regard food and dining as an art form. All our dishes are prepared from the finest and freshest ingredients. Seasonal vegetables and fruits are served at ripe perfection. Meats are exquisitely prepared. Breads and buns are baked on the spot. For us, this is just the way wonderful meals are created. At Redstone, we don't simply cook meals, we serve happiness on plates.

Who Holds Course Record and What Was Their Score?
Charlie Beljan, PGA Tour Professional. Score of 62 on 7/9/2010

Back Tee Stats
Par: 72
Yardage: 6824
Slope: 71.5
Rating: 131

More Information
Oalcreek Country Club
255 W. Fort McDowell Camp
Verde, Arizona, 86322
928-300-7674
www.oakcreekcc.com

Revised: 02/01/2016 - Article Viewed 33,392 Times - View Course Profile

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.