83 Brad Klein reports on the Phil Smith Design renovation of Seven Canyons in Sedona, Arizona. Seven Canyons Golf Club in Sedona occupies one of the most dramatic settings for golf in the American West. The 18-hole course, designed by Tom Weiskopf and opened in 2003, has been called ‘the Imax of golf’, such is the drama of the natural setting and the powerful ways in which the holes sit against the backdrop of Arizona’s legendary Red Rocks. The long views are all the more impressive because millennia of erosion have exposed the layering of the underling volcanic rock – flecked with iron and seemingly luminescent. It forms a theatrical staging for outdoor recreation that has made the region world famous. At most golf courses, you have inspiring interior views or long, exterior views outward of the surrounds. What makes golf at Seven Canyons so exhilarating is that at every turn you have vistas in both orientations. Golf at 4,600 feet above sea level is an entirely different matter than at ground level, and not simply because the ball travels further. Pursuing pars and bogeys in such an exposed terrain as Seven Canyons’ is a breathtaking experience, one that demands you focus on the shotmaking options presented while also indulging in the deep sense of wonderment that only a bold natural landscape can offer. Rocky creeks and ravines come occasionally into play, but with options short, long and laterally so that you Desert drama The fourth hole at Seven Canyons, set against the backdrop of Arizona’s famous Red Rocks Photo: Brad Klein REPORT
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