SunRidge Canyon's 6,823 yard, par 71, Keith Foster designed championship golf course winds its way down and then back up the rugged ridges and shady canyons unique to the desert mountains that divide Fountain Hills from Scottsdale, Arizona. 

Golf Course Architect, Keith Foster, followed Mother Nature's lead, as he routed the golf course through the canyon to create a dynamic golf experience and arguably one of the most challenging finishing stretches in the desert.

The 6,823 yards from the back tee are deceiving as the front nine, playing 3,536 plays much shorter than the back nine although it measures only 3,287 yards.  The layout provides you a false sense of security with a rather tame beginning with the 318 yard, par 4, 1st hole and 419 yard, par 4, 2nd hole.  Even the par 5, 3rd hole measuring 540 yards gives you a little margin for error before embarking on a more difficult stretch of the outward nine.  

SunRidge Canyon provides you a nice combination of forgiving tee shots with ample landing area and tighter more demanding accuracy over length.  The par 4, 5th hole is a great example of needing both accuracy and length as this 463 yard hole represents the most difficult on the course.  A tee shot down the left side with a slight fade is the preferred ball flight, but even with a well hit a shot the desert comes into play on both sides of the fairway.  The green is large and very undulated requiring proper positioning of your approach shot to stay below the hole location.  

One of the more enjoyable aspects of SunRidge Canyon is the diversity of length of the par 4's featuring several shorter and driveable for the longer hitters.  The 308 yard 10th hole tempts longer hitters to carry the divded fairway to push the ball within 20 to 30 yards of the green to only be asked to hit an approach shot into a very narrow putting surface with bunkers short and long to catch the miscalculated wedge shot.  Undulations on the rather large greens allow for shots to be hit into safer areas allowing the ball to feed down to many hole locations. 

As you begin your round at SunRidge Canyon, the starter will warn you about the Wicked Six, holes 13 - 18 which work their way back up the canyon.  Beginning with the 578 yard, par 5, 13th hole the Wicket Six truly lives up to its high regard.  Three good shots are required to navigate this uphill monster of a par 5 while staying clear of the water hazard in play on the second shot.

The same water hazard is more in play on the par 3, 14th hole which features a downhill tee shot to a green well protected by water on the right and short with a bunker protecting the left side of the green. 

The par 4, 15th hole presents not only a challenge in length and accuracy but also in not being deceived from the tee.  It's imperative to keep your tee shot right of the fairway bunkers lining the left side of the landing area in order to reach this 457 yard par 4.  The green is flanked by a bunker short and left, leaving ample area short and right to bail out should you find yourself having trouble reaching this green in regulation. 

Key to conquering the uphill par 5, 16th hole is getting a tee shot in the fairway.  The fairway is divided in the lay up area, and clearing the ravine is vital to getting a short iron in your hand for the difficult 3rd shot which is guarded by severe contours in front of the putting surface.  If you are forced to lay up short of the ravine with your second shot, get ready to grind for par as hitting the putting surface will be difficult. 

Yet another par 3 over 200 yards welcomes you on the 17th tee, however the shot will play downhill to a huge green.  But don't let the size of the putting surface fool you as a bunker and severe slope on the green essentially divide the putting area into two seperate greens.

Finishing the climb back up the canyon is a par 4, 18th hole that reads 432 yards on the scorecard, however probably plays to 480 yards in reality due to the elevation change.  Two bunkers on the left side have to be carried off the tee or favor the right side of the fairway, but beware of missing too far right as a water hazard can come into play.  Plan to add at least one club, possibly even two or three depending on the hole location to account for the severe uphill approach shot.  Needless to say, par is a great score on any of the Wicked Six, especially on the finishing hole.

The final six holes are brutal, however not to be lost in the difficulty is the beauty of the surroundings and views as you make your way back up the canyon.  Foster did a remarkable job of offering players a scenic setting to test their skill and shotmaking on one of Arizona's elite championship layouts. 

For more information on SunRidge Canyon, visit http://sunridgegolf.com/ or www.standbygolf.com.