What are the best golf courses in Vistancia, Arizona?

In this blog post we’ll explore the golf courses in Vistancia, which is a small neighborhood to the northwest of Phoenix in Arizona.

Set within the vast Sonoran Desert, this is a thriving community which is built around promoting an active lifestyle. This includes parks, miles of open space and of course golf. 

There are just two golf courses in Vistancia. Yet both are top class. And as Vistancia’s popularity continues to grow and further master-planned communities arise, I wouldn’t be surprised to see another join this list.

See also: What are the best golf courses in Arizona?

The best golf courses in Vistancia

Blackstone Country Club

The first of our golf courses in Vistancia is the outstanding Blackstone Country Club.This one-of-a-kind private club is set within a much larger premier gated community. 

Over 7,100 acres of Sonoran Desert create an intimate setting which clearly appeals to many of the residents here.

Blackstone Country Club and its delightful Hacienda style clubhouse is the centerpiece of this community. And for good reason. 

Members get to enjoy a whole range of amenities including various indoor and outdoor dining facilities. A lap pool and children’s pool are two of the three onsite. Whilst four floodlit tennis courts and a 24-hour fitness center with exercise classes top things off.

But clearly it is the golf we’re interested in and it does not disappoint. The award-winning layout was designed by Jim Engh and opened for play in 2005. 

Engh is an interesting architect who albeit hasn’t designed hundreds of courses, many of those he has have been littered with praise and awards. 

He also has a unique approach to golf course design. His ethos is about embracing ‘quirky’, which refers to injecting uniqueness and variety into his designs. This ensures his routings are not mundane and don’t follow a mandated, pre-ordained narrative. 

At Blackstone, he certainly achieves that. Ever since opening, Blackstone has been recognised as one of the ‘Best in State’ by Golf Digest. It was also ranked as one of the ‘Best New Courses’ by Golfweek in 2007. 

The course is desert-style and features many undulating fairways due to the rolling hills upon which it is positioned. Water comes into play on two holes, the long sweeping par-5 eleventh and the fourth. Aside from that, the main feature are the many deep bunkers which have been strategically positioned. 

This is a stunning layout, great fun and in superb condition. And when you’ve finished your round, the Hacienda clubhouse is the perfect place to enjoy a cold drink and take-in the spectacular mountain views.

Trilogy Golf Club

Similar to Blackstone Country Club, Trilogy Golf Club is set within a vast neighborhood called Trilogy. Set within the foothills of Peoria, this is another breathtaking gated community with an appealing resort lifestyle.

Yet where Trilogy and Blackstone differ, is the fact Trilogy Golf Club warmly accepts the public. This is the one public golf course in Vistancia and with a number of daily deals, it is also very affordable. 

For starters, this is a stunning setting. The routing meanders through the wild untamed Arizona landscape whilst enjoying panoramic mountain views.

The course was designed by the renowned Gary Panks, opening a year before Blackstone Country Club in 2004. Unlike Jim Engh, whose only design in Arizona so far is Blackstone, Panks has an impressive portfolio of projects within the state.

And boy did he excel himself here. Not only did he excel himself, he achieved what many other golf architects have failed to do. His creation was awarded the coveted five stars out of five from Golf Digest. 

Very few courses have earned that distinction. Yet here up in Peoria, Trilogy Golf Club has. 

Panks designed the layout drawing upon the distinctive landscape, crafting fairways and bunkers naturally into the rolling topography. There are 70 pronounced bunkers throughout the course requiring strategic and accurate play to plot your way around. 

From the back tees the course stretches to just under 7,300 yards. But nearer tees reduced the yardage down to 5,573 yards. So all abilities of golfer can come and enjoy Trilogy. 

And to top things off is the spectacular clubhouse, a place where many of the local residents come to hang out. A Taproom style ambiance which has been awarded a number of different awards from OpenTable. 

This is outrageous quality for a public facility. And at only forty minutes drive from central Phoenix, this comes highly rated.