The Best of Golf, Affluent Living and Chasing the American Dream

Inside the Gates of Arizona’sTop Rated Residential Golf Club

Reprinted by Permission

THE RIMGOLF CLUB

THE RIMGOLF CLUB

Inside the Gates

Great golf and gorgeous views are just two of the reasons why The Rim Golf Clubis the top rated Private Residential Golf Club in Arizona, and # 3 in the entire United States

The Rim Golf Club

“Live the life you’ve dreamed.”

Henry David Thoreau The sun was quickly disappearing into the thick copse of tall pines to the west, and the thin, wispy clouds were starting to blush with a reddish glow, reflecting of the end of another beautiful day at The Rim Golf Club. I was coming up the 18th fairway, and although my round wasn’t quite complete I was already reflecting on the awesome experience I had just enjoyed. Little did I know it was about to get even better!

There is a small lake to the right of the 18th green, and the club-house sits high up to the left, overlooking the entire area, and spe-cifically that green and lovely little lake. As I sat on the clubhouse deck a few minutes later, enjoying a refreshing beverage while re-living the great course in my mind, a small herd of deer wandered up the fairway to enjoy their own refreshing evening drink. One of them turned and stared in my direction for a few seconds, and I swear our eyes and souls met with a gentle acknowledgement of just how special this place is before she turned away and dipped her head to get her drink.

The Rim Golf Club is located in the midst of some of the most beautiful land in Arizona, just to the east of Payson on the south side of Highway 260. The club sits at approximately 5,000 feet above sea level, and it soars way above that in terms of meeting and exceeding expectations, even as one of the highest rated pri-vate golf clubs in the United States. The club is, in fact, rated as the # 1 Residential Golf Course west of the Carolinas and # 3 in the entire United States. It has also been rated by Golfweek as the Southwest’s # 1 Best Residential Golf Course for four years in a row, and is “The Top Private Golf Course in Arizona,” according to that same publication. That’s pretty high praise, and this club deserves every bit of it.

All great golf courses have one thing in common – a unique and exciting piece of land on which it is built. In The Rim Golf Club’s case this is particularly true. The land is a rollicking, roll-ing ride through a series of thick forests and open glens, playing across and up and through forest canyons, highlighted by some of the most spectacular rock outcroppings and giant boulders you’ll ever see. The most memorable shot on the course is the approach shot on the 581-yard par 5 13th hole. The shot is downhill to an inviting green, but chances are you won’t even notice the green the first time you play this hole because of the impressive 80-foot boulder formation towering right behind the green. As you ap-proach the green you’ll see several more large boulders to the left of the green. This appears to be an ancient, mystical place, and if you let your mind wander as you look at the large vertical stone standing on another huge rock to the left of the cart path you’ll swear it’s a bear that a primordial magician turned into stone.

The Rim Golf Club

By Keith James

Land like this deserves to be envi-sioned and developed by the best golf course architects in the business, and they made the perfect choice by bringing in the dynamic team of Jay Moorish and Tom Weiskopf to find the course within the land. Although the course is beautifully sculpted and kept in immaculate condition, you can tell that Jay and Tom took their time and let the land dictate where each hole would lie and the route each hole would offer the golfers who were to come along. The course follows the slope and natu-ral flow of the terrain perfectly, yet every club in your bag will be used as you play your way around its many challenges. The land never seems to stand still too long. The elevation is constantly changing, up one hole and down the next, sometimes up and down on a single hole, providing a myriad of possibilities to play many of the holes, which is the ultimate test a private country club can provide for its loyal members. Nobody will ever get bored playing this course every day, and with

scenery like what is found on this stunning piece of land, members will eagerly anticipate their next round – even if they’re playing 36 holes a day!

The first hole at The Rim Golf Club can be a real confidence booster, starting with a downhill tee shot to a wide open fairway. The short length of the hole should reward members with a very manageable ap-proach shot to the small elevated green, but missing the green could lead to a tough start as there are four very interesting and demanding greenside bunkers guard-ing against easy pars following poor wedge shots. The fairway slopes gently from left to right, and the visual stimulation of this simple, short hole will get you fired up for the entire round.

Every hole at The Rim Golf Club is unique, with no two holes looking or playing quite the same. My favorite stretch of holes starts with the 13th, which I mentioned earlier, and runs through the 16th. The 13th starts from an elevated tee box, offering a beautiful drive to the southeast, with a range of craggy mountains towering in the distance and a large bunker and rock outcropping protecting against a weak effort to cut the corner of the dogleg left. I hit my best drive of the day here, and ended up with a perfect shot to the green, which I proceeded to hit a little fat, leaving a short wedge to the green. This is the hole with the huge boulders behind and to the left, and quite frankly, I was simply awed by the setting. I was also inspired, and hit my wedge to about 15 feet right of the pin, sinking a miraculous putt for a par on this very impressive hole.

The 14th hole tees off from the north side of the giant boulders, with a gain of about 40 feet in elevation from the 13th green to the 14th tee box. This hole plays straight north from the tee, uphill to a split fairway. You can’t see the green from the tee box, and this is definitely one of the more risk/reward tee shots of the day. The shorter, straight approach to the green is to take the right side of the fairway, but this will also require a carry over a large lake, while the route left of the island of wilderness in the middle of the fairway provides a path on which your ball is more likely to stay dry. It also offers an absolutely terrific view of the Mogollon Rim far to the north, from which The Rim Golf Club gets its name. The second shot is way downhill to a large green, and any shot that misses the lake and finds the green is a great victory!

The 15th hole is just stunning. This hole plays back to the south, with the green just to the left of the 14th tee box – with the back side of that huge boulder formation standing about 40 feet above this side of the land, which is densely populated with trees and wild shrubs. This hole plays the exact opposite from 14 in terms of eleva-tion change, with a downhill tee shot and uphill approach to a relatively small green. I’m not exactly sure why, but I just love everything about this hole. I suppose it could be the birdie I found there, but I loved it even before sink-ing the short putt!

The 16th hole tees off from the east side of that same huge boulder formation, but this time you’re close to the top of the formation and aiming dead east. I think this tee shot has the greatest drop in elevation from tee to fair-way on the course, and the view from the tee box is once again inspiring. I’ve never played four holes in a row on any other course which offers such a diverse collection of shots all built around or incorporating one natural for-mation. The vision Jay and Tom displayed on the entire course is extraordinary, but on this stretch of holes it is simply astonishing.

Looking back from the 5th green

The approach shot from #14’s “safe” side of the fairway

Halfway up the impressive 533-yard 9th hole

After my round I spent some time relaxing on the deck overlooking the 18th green and lake. That was when that deer and I had our moment of peace-ful communication and understanding. I was contemplating how great life would be if it was centered around playing and living at The Rim Golf Club. Looking back into the clubhouse I was equally impressed by the quality and design of the magnificent stone structure. Everything one could ever want in life seemed to be within grasp, which meant I wanted nothing more.

Henry David Thoreau once said, “Live the life you’ve dreamed,” which is possibly the greatest advice any of us could ever heed. If you’re in the position to live the life all of us dream of living, you owe it to yourself and your family to pay a visit to The Rim Golf Club. The best way to get started is by calling Wendy Larchick, the designated broker for The Rim Golf Club. Homesites start in the mid 100s, and finished homes are currently priced from $1,098,000 to several million. Call 1 (800) 311-5370 or check them out on-line at www.therimgolfclub.com.

Members never tire of the dynamic views at The Rim Golf Club. This is the 15th green from the 14th tee.

The Rim Golf Club is as impressive inside as it is out-side, with beautiful stonework and luxurious furnish-ings throughout.

Looking back up the fairway of the extraordinary finishing hole, one of the best in golf.

custom homesites, all carefully positioned to capture the best elements of the natural forest and surrounding vistas of golf andthe Mogollon Rim. With 326 homesites starting from $150,000, The Rim Golf Club offers a variety of custom-home options with prices starting at $1 million; Full Equity Golf Membership must be purchased.

OTHER AMENITIES:

The superior services are matched by an abundant array of recreational activities for all members. The entire area is connected by a sys-tem of nature trails with direct access to the ad-joining Tonto National Forest. The area’s mild climate allows residents to golf, fish, hike, boat, hunt, camp and partake in their favorite outdoor activities year-round. Members also enjoy being pampered at The Rim Club’s exclusive spa.

NEAREST AIRPORT:w Phoenix Sky Harbor Internationalw Payson Municipal Airport

Golfweek’sGolfweek’sBESTBESTResidentialCoursesResidentialCourses

THE RIMGOLF CLUB

THE RIMGOLF CLUB

Membership/ Real Estate Contact:Wendy Larchick

Phone Number:800.311.5370

Web Address:www.TheRimGolfClub.com

Address:2101 East Rim Club Dr.

Payson, AZ 85541

COURSE ARCHITECTS:Tom Weiskopf and Jay Morrish

HONORS:w “Golfweek’s Best Residential Golf Courses” (No. 9) - Golfweekw “Golfweek’s Best Modern Courses” (No. 45) - Golfweekw “Top 40 Residential Golf Communities in the United States” - Golf & Travel

GOLF COURSE:Anchoring The Rim Golf Club is a 7,200-yard course, ranked No. 9 overall and No. 1 in Arizona for the fourth consecutive year on “Golfweek’s Best Residential Golf Courses” list. The par-71 championship course is the final collaboration of the legendary design team of Tom Weiskopf and Jay Morrish. The routing features impres-sive boulder outcroppings, scenic mountain vis-tas, dramatic elevation changes and breathtak-ing views of the Mogollon Rim. The Hallmark of Weiskopf-Morrish design, playability makes

The Rim Golf Club enjoyable for golfers of all skill levels, while impressive bunkering adds strategy and definition.

CLUBHOUSE & MEMBERSHIP:One of the centerpieces of The Rim Golf Club is the clubhouse, which opened in 2003. With 29,000 square feet of outdoor patios, the club-house reflects the rugged grandeur and heritage of the Rim Country while treating members to the very best in service and five-star rated, world-class cuisine. The Rim Golf Club has capped memberships at 295 with a limited num-ber of Equity Memberships.

COMMUNITY:Perched on 555 gate-guarded acres, The Rim Golf Club brings a new level of gracious living to a precious domain about 75 minutes north of Scottsdale and Phoenix. Here you’ll find one of the geological wonders of the West - a 200-mile long rocky escarpment known as the Mogollon Rim. With a vertical life approaching 2,000 feet, the Mogollon Rim forms a broad plateau that is speckled with ponds and streams and is home to the largest Ponderosa Pine forest in the United States. The Rim Golf Club features estate and

THE RIMGOLF CLUB

THE RIMGOLF CLUB

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FORE!

For four years in a row,Golfweek has ranked our Weiskopf-Morrish linksin Arizona’s high country the third best residential course in the nation.

The Spa at The Rim Clubhouse opened in early 2008 w Wonderful view homesites now availableHomesites from $150,000; full equity golf memberships must be purchased w Custom Estates starting at $1 million

A scenic 75 minutes north of Scottsdale in Payson, Arizona w (800) 311-5370 ext. 220 w TheRimGolfClub.com