One of Arizona's original dude ranches, the land surrounding the golf course has a long history of being a desired location as it was once a desert oasis for the Tonto Apache tribe and a common stopping place for the U.S. Calvary en route from Camp McDowell in Phoenix to Fort Whipple in Prescott. In the 1940s, the ranch was renamed from Howard Ranch to Rancho Manana by partners China and Ted Loring of Chicago, IL and cowboy musician and author Romaine "Romy" Lowdermilk.
In 1989, Rancho Manana Golf Club first opened for play. The course layout, designed by, former PGA and Senior PGA professional, golf architect Bill Johnston, features dramatic changes in elevation, amazing views of the surrounding mesas and foothills, abundant wildlife and the rustic charm of the original dude ranch that gave this property its name. Johnston, who also designed The Links at Arizona Biltmore Country Club and Point Hilton Golf Club on Lookout Mountain, created a par 70 6,004 foothills course with a slope rating of 125 and a 67.8 USGA rating that was recently listed by Golf Digest as "One of the Top 50 Courses in the Country for Women" and ranked "Top 10 Golf Courses" in Arizona by Ranking Arizona.
I played Rancho Manana in December in near perfect course conditions with some of the best greens I've putted on in the valley. I haven't played this course in the summer when the bermuda grass is in but these quick winter rye greens were excellent for putting and reminded me of the greens at Sedona Golf Resort but faster. The course offers high risk reward for the driver off the tee since it is a shorter course. However, most holes are narrow enough or require placement at certain distances on the fairway where a driver is not a good choice. Best advice for amateur golfers is to keep your driver in your bag except on a few of the holes I will mention later.
Front Nine
Hole 1
Par 4 398 yards
Layout: Straight with slight left turn to green
Tips: Left is jail on this hole with its tee box in a type of shoot through a narrow opening between trees with a widening fairway to the right and extra bailout further right on the adjacent 18th fairway. Depending on your tee you can either use a fairway wood or driver on this hole.
Driver: Yes
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| Approach shot view on Hole 1 at Rancho Manana |
Hole 2
Par 4 391 yards
Layout: Slight left to right dog leg
Tips: Narrow tee with small glimpse of fairway. Right and left of fairway is jail with extreme drop off on upper shelf of fairway. Best way to play this hole is to hit an iron or utility wood to land drive at upper plateau of fairway. Approach shot is straight down as seen in below photo.
Driver: No
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| Approach shot view on Hole 2 Rancho Manana |
Par 4 374 yards
Layout: Straight with mountain on right side of fairway
Tips: Elevated tee box with mountain banking right side of fairway and brush and trees guarding the left side of this narrow fairway. Best way to play this hole is a fairway or utility wood aiming for the right side of the fairway that slopes right to left from the tee.
Driver: No
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| Green side view of Hole 3 Rancho Manana |
Hole 4
Par 4 379 yards
Layout: Severe left to right dog leg
Tips: From the tee the fairway has a big uphill elevation change. Utility wood from tee is best. There is a small shelf on the fairway before the hole turns to the right where you need to land your drive. From the landing area is yet another large elevation change then last but not least is a highly elevated green (around 40 ft) for your approach. Best advice on the approach shot is to go up an extra club for the distance.
Driver: No
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| View from designated landing area on fairway of Hole 4 Rancho Manana |
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| View from behind green on Hole 4 Rancho Manana |
Hole 5
Par 3 168 yards
Layout: Elevated tee shot to green
Tips: The green is hard to see from the tee box so make sure you get a good angle on your shot to land on this shallow kidney shaped green. Slight elevation change to downhill green yardage plays about same as a level shot.
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| Green side view of par 3 Hole 5 Rancho Manana |
Par 5 465 yards
Layout: slight dog leg left
Tips: Bailout is on the right with hole 8 fairway providing extra room. No room on left side of fairway along the entire hole. This hole has a shallow green sloping right to left with trouble behind the green. Better to be short than long on approach shots.
Driver: Yes
Hole 7
Par 3 195
Tips: The elevation change on this par three is spectacular. Wind is a big factor on club selection and obviously the drop in elevation. The distance on this one played surprisingly close to the yardage. Probably plays 5-10 yards less than actual yardage. However, you don't want to go long on this hole.
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| Hole 7 195 yard par 3 Rancho Manana |
Par 4 272 yards
Tips: 50 yards in front of the green are several large bunkers. A Fairway wood or utility wood is best choice. Bailout is on the right side of fairway with adjacent hole 6 fairway. Hole is very tight on left side of fairway with trees on ledge left of cart path.
Driver: Depends on your distance.
Hole 9
Par 3 192 yards
Tips: This plays about a club less than the yardage because of the large drop in elevation.
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| View from tee at par 3 Hole 9 Rancho Manana |
Back Nine
Hole 10
Par 5 514 yards
Layout: Straight but very narrow
Tips: From the tee you will see two fairways. Make sure you aim towards the fairway on the left and not the 18th fairway on the right. A good drive on the right side of the fairway can setup you up well on this hole. The fairway winds through a narrow passage through the desert. Several mesquite trees located in the fairway about 100 yards out from the green present a problem for golfers trying to go for this green in two shots.
Driver: Yes
Hole 11
Par 3 126 yards
Tips: This is a very short par three with a two-tiered green. Fairly easy hole unless pin is located on back tier of green.
Hole 12
Par 4 401 yards
Layout: Hole turns left from tee box to steep downhill drop towards green
Tips: High risk reward with driver on this hole. Best to aim at right center of the fairway that has a severe downhill drop from initial view from tee box. Fairway wood or utility wood is not a bad option either. You don't want to be long on the approach shot. Severe downhill decline to green. However, don't under club too much on this shot because yardage seems to play about 5 to 10 yards less at the most.
Driver: Yes
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| View from approach shot on par 4 Hole 12 Rancho Manana |
Hole 13
Par 4 384 yards
Layout: Hole turns left from tee box to steep downhill that then winds right in drop towards green
Tips: High risk reward with driver on this hole. Best to aim at left center of the fairway that has a severe downhill drop from initial view from tee box. Fairway wood or utility wood is not a bad option either. You don't want to be right on this hole. Water comes into play on right side of fairway along with desert past the water as the fairway drops from right to left.
Driver: Yes
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| View of water on right side of par 4 Hole 13 Rancho Manana |
Hole 14
Par 3 148 yards
Tips: Narrow green requires accuracy on this hole with green guarded by bunkers and water on the right.
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| Green side view of par 3 Hole 14 Rancho Manana |
Hole 15
Par 4 377 yards
Tips: You need an accurate tee shot because this hole has a carry over water to the fairway and is also guarded on the right by water. Probably best to hit fairway wood or utility wood. Left side of fairway is best option if you hit driver.
Driver: No
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| View from green to fairway on Hole 15 Rancho Manana |
Par 5 508 yards
Layout: Severe dog leg right
Tips: A straight shot from the tee only allows for a 227 yards of room because the fairway takes a major turn to the right at about 200 yards from the tee. For first time players of the course best option, depending on tees you are playing, is either an iron or utility wood. You need to be on the left side of the fairway for your second shot. This hole winds straight downhill curving left to right. Keep all your shots on the left side of the fairway. Since this is a par 5 if you are feeling lucky a driver off the tee is a big time reward if you can manage to cut the corner and get your angles right because you will get a lot of roll downhill on the fairway.
Driver: No
Par 3 156 yards
Tips: This hole usually plays an extra club because of the elevated green and change in elevation from the tee box. This hole is adjacent to a very wide river wash dotted with cottonwoods that can come into play with an errant tee shot to the right.
Hole 18
Par 5 556 yards
Tips: The view from the tee can be deceiving. You may think this is a very narrow fairway but actually this hole opens up a lot to the right including bailout to the right of the 18th fairway with hole one fairway. Left is jail in the desert so right center of fairway is how to play this from the tee. Since the fairway sets up to the right of the tee box make sure you get properly aligned from the tee. A fade would be the shot of choice off the tee. The green is guarded by a ditch with heavy rough for those who try and get home in two on this hole.
Driver: Yes
Course Information:
Website: http://www.ranchomanana.com
Address: 5734 E. Rancho Manana Blvd Cave Creek, AZ 85331
Telephone: 480.488.0398
Tonto Bar & Grill Information:
Great bar and restaurant to enjoy after your round! Located next to golf course.
Website: https://tontobarandgrill.com/
