Few desert courses in the Phoenix metro manage to feel genuinely removed from the sprawl, but Las Sendas pulls it off. Perched in the McDowell Mountains on Mesa's northeastern edge, the club sits within striking distance of the Tonto National Forest, where the Sonoran Desert transitions from suburban edge into raw, open terrain. The elevation changes are real here — not manufactured — and the views across the Valley of the Sun reward patience on the tougher stretches.
Robert Trent Jones Jr. designed the course, and his fingerprints are evident in the way the layout uses the natural topography rather than fighting it. Arroyos come into play as genuine hazards, saguaros frame the corridors, and the routing moves through several distinct pockets of desert that keep the round feeling varied. It's a demanding track by Sonoran Desert standards, one that rewards course management over raw power.
Las Sendas draws a strong local following and holds up well against the resort-heavy competition elsewhere in the Valley. For visitors accustomed to flat, manicured desert golf, the terrain here can be a pleasant shock.
