Tribes in good position when golf demand rises -
[Cached Version]
Published on: 11/19/2002
Last Visited: 11/19/2002
Scott Heideman, general manager of Talking Stick Golf Club on Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community land, said that two years ago, in the busy winter season, he was turning away 10 golfers for every one who got on the course.Those days have disappeared with the depressed tourism and the travel downturn that has occurred over the past two years because of a recession and the aftermath of Sept. 11.
The Fort McDowell Reservation has 24,000 acres and an allotment of Central Arizona Project water totaling 18,233 acre-feet.An acre-foot is 325,851 gallons, roughly enough to serve an urban family of five for a year.
A golf course typically uses 400 to 500 acre-feet per year.
The Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community has a CAP allotment of 13,300 acre-feet for the 53,600-acre reservation.
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That reservation on Scottsdale's eastern flank has no immediate plans to build additional golf courses, Heideman said.
"I haven't heard of anything being built within 30 miles of us," said Heideman, adding that in today's saturated market, it doesn't make sense to build new courses.
Scottsdale has one course under development at Desert Mountain and two others in the planning stages.After that, city officials say, there probably isn't enough land or water to add more courses to what is one of the world's most-sought-after golf destinations.
Northeast Phoenix has some potential sites for golf courses and has developed a pipeline to deliver effluent from a new treatment plant to courses.
The plant at Cave Creek Road and the Central Arizona Project Canal and pipeline are similar to the system Scottsdale has been using since 1999 to deliver effluent and untreated CAP water to 22 golf courses.