Billy Fuller Golf Design  1694 Pine Ridge Drive  Atlanta, GA 30324

 Ph. 404-630-6868              info@billyfuller.com

Time and one hundred thousand rounds a year, had not been kind to this 1963 William Bell classic. It was time for major reconstructive surgery.Now with modern greens, a 21st century irrigation system and a little more length, Papago has become a lot more than a shell of its former self; it's reinvented. The $5.8 million restoration project is a result of a partnership between the City of Phoenix, the Arizona Golf Association, and the Arizona Golf Foundation, a non-profit arm of the AGA.  

Papago now has four sets of tees, and this par 72 provides a true championship test from tips at 7,333 yards, harkening memories of its past when it hosted the 1971 U.S. Amateur Pub Links and countless Phoenix Open qualifiers.

For Papago, the task of renovation fell with Billy Fuller,.  Not only did he bring back Bell's classic bunkering and greens complexes, but he added a few agronomic touches, which should propel

the course into the next few decades or so.

Over 400 trees were removed. The tree removal also helped with the views of Camelback Mountain, South Mountain and downtown Phoenix.   The greens were rebuilt to USGA specifications. Fuller also restored them to their original sizes and shapes. Over the years, they had lost some 30 to 40 percent of their surface area.

The greens are also now Mini-Verde, an ultra dwarf that has gained popularity in the Southeast because of its hardiness, smoothness and cold-tolerance in the winter.  

Fuller also took great care to restore the bunkers to their original shape and contour. Most of them, especially many of the fairway bunkers, are truly penal now. Some of the fairway bunkers were also moved farther from the tee to accommodate the modern game, and 12 new ones were added.

Read what the LPGA, Sports Illustrated and Golf Week have to say about the Papago Renovation.