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Renovations to the Gold Course at The Wigwam coincided with upgrades to the resort that has a long history in the Valley of the Sun.
Renovations to the Gold Course at The Wigwam coincided with upgrades to the resort that has a long history in the Valley of the Sun.

A $20 million renovation project at The Wigwam has the Phoenix area golf resort looking shiny and new, or old and dated, depending on your point of view. But that’s what happens when refurbishment plans double as preservation work and places with local history refresh themselves while keeping the traditional look that made them popular.

Dating to 1929 and designated as a Historic Hotel of America, The Wigwam, technically in the West Valley’s Litchfield Park, is the epitome of comfort because of its community feel and 331 casitas and suites spread among its 440 acres. The renovation project that included updated interior décors, a new pool complex and restaurants and adding social areas and event lawns, extended to the golf course as well, primarily on the Gold layout at the resort that is the only one in the Valley of the Sun with 54 holes of golf. That distinction comes in handy for guys on buddy trips and people looking for a variety of play without having to leave the property.

The headliner of the trio is the 6,860-yard Gold Course that was renovated by Scottsdale resident and Champions Tour star Tom Lehman. The layout is unlike most desert tracks because there are fewer than 40 bunkers and not many waste areas to speak of. What there is, however, are 18 smallish, domed and sloped greens that will test your short game, so it’s best to play from the tees (the tips are 7,430 yards) that will leave you with shorter irons into putting surfaces for the best chance to walk away with fewer than three putts. Besides turf and sand upgrades, Lehman didn’t do a whole lot to the original design of Robert Trent Jones Sr. besides altering the routes of some fairways so the trees in the parkland-style layout serve as guides rather than penal obstructions.

The other two courses – Heritage and Patriot – are shorter than Gold but with the same short game tests. At 6,850 yards from the tips, Heritage has several water features and tree-lined fairways, and Patriot, also an RTJ Sr. design, is a cute 6,000-yard, par-70 course known for its bunkering, ponds and dogleg fairways.

Lehman isn’t the only famous local who had a hand in revitalizing The Wigwam. The first letter of JDM Partners, which acquired the resort in 2009, is for Jerry Colangelo, a principal in the company and former owner of the Phoenix Suns and the original owner and managing partner of the Arizona Diamondbacks. Colangelo, also the national director of USA Basketball, and his group spearheaded the work that has the resort looking like its old self again.

“We tried to bring back that historic charm, and that’s what the whole thing has been about,” resort general manager Greg Gooding said about the renovations. “JDM did a great job of making sure the history and heritage were upheld.”

But history doesn’t have to mean tired, and the resort’s new interior design scheme shows that with a contemporary Southwest charm based on a warm desert color palette and motifs. As the site of the original property, the spacious new lobby pays homage to the resorts’ past with historic photography, original hardwood floors and Arizona artifacts all around. The two-story, 26,000-square-foot Red Door Spa also fits in well with the property’s sigh-of-relief feel because of its wooden and adobe exterior and soothing and luxurious interior.

“It’s really been about reintroducing the property,” Gooding said about the past few months. “Everyone knows The Wigwam because it’s been such a landmark here in the West Valley. We’ve been getting people back and the response has been overwhelming. This has a special charm about it. There’s a unique feeling when you come here, and I think a lot of people experience that when they walk into the main lodge. It’s hard to re-create this feel anywhere else.”