In its June 2005 issue, Conde Nast Traveler magazine featured the "Top 100" golf resorts in North America, Mexico, Canada, the Caribbean, Ireland, and Scotland. The Greater Phoenix area has the second-most golf resorts listed for a destination, second only to Maui.
The results of the magazine's 10th annual survey were based on readers' opinions on course design, speed of play, rooms, service, dining options, and other facilities at the resorts. Each score represented the percentage of more than 1,500 subscribers who rated a particular feature excellent or very good.
Courses that made the list include The Phoenician, JW Marriott Desert Ridge Resort and Spa, Four Seasons Resort at Troon North, the Boulders Resort and Golden Door Spa, the Fairmont Scottsdale Princess, and the Sheraton Wild Horse Pass Resort and Spa. The Phoenician and Boulders Resort and Golden Door Spa have appeared on the list 10 years running.
The number of courses and challenging links, 325 days of sunshine a year, a spectacular backdrop of stark mountain peaks and Sonoran Desert scenery and sunsets, and a variety of housing in all price ranges make the Valley of the Sun the ideal spot for the golfer looking for a primary or secondary residence. In fact, Mesa, Arizona, one of the Valley's 24 cities, has been ranked as a "Hot Spot for Second-Home Living" by Golf Magazine. (The others are Jackson County, North Carolina; Prescott, Arizona; and Naples, Florida.) The fact that Greater Phoenix, the fifth-largest city in the U.S., is a major tourist destination also adds to its livability, because numerous fine restaurants, shopping areas, and recreational spots cater to visitors as well as residents.
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