Environmentally friendly Talking Rock Ranch to open in Arizona

Golf Course News, Sep 2002

PRESCOTT, Ariz. - Talking Rock Ranch, a private 18-hole Jay Morrish-- designed course, will open to members Sept. 14.

Built on one of the most historic ranches in Yavapai County, which occupies a little-known canyon with hundreds of ancient petroglyphs (drawings chipped into rocks that tell stories of those who passed before), Talking Rock will feature a ranch compound with small clusters of territorialstyle buildings in lieu of a large clubhouse.

Harvard Investments deeded the property to the Yavapai Prescott Indian Tribe as a means of preserving and protecting the natural environment. More than a third of the property is dedicated to open space. The plan seems to have paid off, as the Arizona State Historic Preservation Office awarded Talking Rock Ranch its 2002 Heritage Preservation Award.

According to Morrish, the owners of the property wanted an environment where golfers and homeowners would coexist in harmony. In designing the course, Morrish said the owners essentially told him, "Here's 3,500 acres. Put the course where it makes the most sense." The result is a course that plays at more than 7,300 yards from the back tees, with five tee boxes on each hole.

Last summer, RLS Development, which managed construction, brought in Native Resources International, an organization that works to preserve indigenous materials that were destroyed as a result of intense development in the Southwest. The company salvaged approximately 150 native trees from the golf course and roadway areas. These trees were later replanted on the site.