Sedona - a Round of Red Rock Roughs

Sedona, Arizona is a short drive from Flagstaff – 20 miles as the crow flies, but 2500 vertical feet down.  You can go two ways – (1) on the scenic route 89 which is about 24 miles, two of which are severe switchbacks where you drop 1000 feet in elevation or (2) along the highway route 17 which is almost 45 miles.

Switchbacks galore down oak creek canyon

I’ve been to Sedona maybe a half dozen times before, and Andy has been there twice.  We were wondering, therefore, if we would still be amazed when we headed down the hill and had the first glimpse of the famously celebrated red rocks.  In a word: yes.  In two words:  you betchya.

I just cannot imagine ever growing tired of the views.  I would seriously get tired of the chintzy shops selling all sorts of psychic/healing/spiritual artifacts.  I would get tired of the tourists, but that’s a little rich of me to say since I am a tourist myself.

A couple of Christmas’s ago Andy and I took a boxing day hike up a gorgeous canyon.  We had left knee-deep snow and freezing temperatures in flagstaff and by the time we descended the hill we were able to hike in a short sleeve shirt.  I’m sure if you were in Sedona in the heat of summer you’d feel equally glad to drive 20 miles up a hill and be able to be outside without air-conditioning.  It’s a great place of compromise. 

Teeing off on the first hole

On this trip we decided to play a round of golf amidst the red rocks.  We googled the various courses, trying to find the one with the best view of the rocks.  With a name like “Seven Canyons” we figured we couldn’t go wrong.  We drove up the access road and our jaws dropped and dropped and dropped.  I don’t have a grasp of the adjectives to describe what we saw – you really just have to see it for yourself. 

What a round of golf it was!  Totally friendly, totally manicured, totally awe-inspiring views – and we hit them straight the whole round.  In addition to the views of seven different gorges, we had eyefuls of wildlife – javelinas, deer, and jackrabbits accompanied us along the way.  It was a Tuesday – our new favorite day for golf – and we had no one ahead of us and no one behind us.  For $50 we had the course to ourselves.  Eat your heart out fellow golfers – we were in paradise.  

Quite possibly the most beautiful hole in golf anywhere