Set at the foot of the Bradshaw Mountains in the upper Sonoran Desert just outside of Phoenix, Rancho de los Caballeros it a historic luxury ranch resort that features an award-winning desert layout with breathtaking views.  Voted one of Golf Digest’s Top 100 U.S. courses and top 5 in the Phoenix area, Los Caballeros Golf Club is a semi-private club that offers a traditional championship course  that plays 7,014 yards with a challenging slope rating of 135.

When you’re not golfing, this family-oriented resort offers horseback riding, spa treatments, outdoor cookouts and plenty of trails for nature walks within 20,000 acres of lush open range.   This is a full-service resort, with three gourmet meals per day included in the room rate.

Find out more about Rancho de los Caballeros at the official resort website.

Nike Golf Schools and Junior Golf Camps have announced that they will be holding the 2011 Nike Winter Gold Camp from December 18 to 22 at Ocotillo Golf Resort in Chandler, Arizona. The four night/five day golf camp will feature daily instruction on all aspects of the game from the University of Southern California Trojan coaching staff members Chris Zambri and Josh Brewer. Junior participants will play 18 holes of golf at Ocotillo and travel once during the session to Troon North for an 18-hole golf outing.

You can find out more on the official Nike Winter Golf Camp website.

Azahara Munoz and Anna Nordqvist, former Arizona State teammates, were both named to the European team for the 2011 Solheim Cup. The biennial event, which is named for Ping Golf’s Solheim family, pits the best professional women golfers from Europe and the U.S. Killeen Castle in Ireland was the location for this year’s event, which took place Sept. 23-25. The European tea secured their 4th victory over the U.S.

Munoz, who is originally from Spain, was the 2008 NCAA individual champion while at ASU. This was her Solheim Cup debut. Nordqvist was Pac-10 Player of the Year and two-time NGCA All-American during her time as a Sun Devil. This was Swedish player’s second Solheim Cup appearance.

Read more about the event at the official Solheim Cup website.

This Troon golf course, designed by Fred Couples and Schmidt Curley, provides challenges for players of all skill levels. Built in 2002, the Southern Dunes course has an Australian links layout that extends over nearly twice the land of a typical 18-hole golf course. When the course originally opened it was private and had a men-only policy. Since 2008, it has been public and women are welcome.

Located in Maricopa, Arizona, a small community 30 miles south of Phoenix, Ak-Chin Southern Dunes Golf Club offers package deals with nearby Harrah’s Ak-Chin Casino. Find out more about Southern Dunes on the official club website.

If you’ve ever found yourself tired and dehydrated in the middle of a round of golf? Are you tired of paying what feels like a king’s ransom for a simple beer or soda. Most courses don’t allow you to bring your own dinks on the course, but with the Covert Cooler no one has to know. This discreet soft bag tucks right into your golf bag and holds up to 9 bags of beer or soda. Just add an ice pack to keep your drinks cold and you’re good to go.

See a demonstration of the Covert Cooler in this YouTube video and check it out on the Covert Cooler website.

In 1962, architect Robert “Red” Lawrence designed a golf course that is now considered to be the first desert-style course. No part of the natural Sonoran Desert landscape was removed or shaped during construction of Desert Forest Golf Club’s course, which co-exists with the existing desert landscape. Located in Carefree, Arizona, north of Scottsdale and Phoenix, the course is still known for its environmentally neutral setting, with desert features adding to the golf experience.

The Desert Forest course, which has an elevation of 2500 feet, has no fairway bunkers or water hazards and its fairways are bordered by native desert plants. The bentgrass greens, known for being fast and true, as considered by some reviewers to be among the best greens in the Southwest.

Find out more about Desert Forest Golf Club on the club’s official website.

Disc golf, also known as Frisbee golf, is a low-cost game that involves throwing a Frisbee into a series of baskets laid out along a course.  Arizona is home to 37 disc golf courses, including an 18-hole course in Show Low  City Park.

Find out more about the low-cost game of disc golf in this YouTube video.  You can learn more about disc golf in Arizona at the Arizona Disc Golf Club (ADGC) website.

A recent incident with a mountain lion on a Prescott golf course has stirred controversy among some Arizona animal lovers.  The animal, which was reported to be a healthy male of about 2 years of age, was spotted in a tree near holes 9 and 10 of the Antelope Hills Golf Course.  It appeared to have no fear of humans and had been spotted in neighborhood backyards.  After a standoff that lasted several hours, Arizona Department of Game and Fish tranquilized and then euthanized the 80-pound cat.

Arizona officials stand by the official to put the animal down because it was in a populated area and posed a risk to humans.  Mountain lions who show no fear of people are not usually relocated to the wild.

In March, three mountain lions were photographed on the Desert Mountain Golf Course in Scottsdale.  Arizona’s rocky wilderness areas are thought to be home to about 3,000 mountain lions.

Read more about this story on the Phoenix Fox News and the Arizona Central websites.

Pine Canyon is a 619-acre private golf course and residential community in Flagstaff, Arizona. Adjacent to the Coconino National Forest, the course features sweeping vistas of pine trees, ponds and streams. In addition to being known for its award-winning course designed by Jay Morrish, Pine Canyon has the reputation of being a family destination. A youth recreation center known as Camp Pine Canyon features hands-on learning experiences and fun activities. Amenities include pools, tennis and basketball courts, a park and stocked lake for fishing.

Unlike other Arizona golf courses, Pine Canyon’s 7,000-ft elevation and alpine setting provides a cool escape from the desert heat. Find out more about this family-oriented golf destination on the Pine Canyon website.

Golf is a unique sport for many reasons, but one of the most important differences between golf and other sports is the lack of a supervising umpire or referee. The game of golf relies on individual players to abide by the Rules of the game and to show consideration for each other. Many call it The Spirit of the Game – all players are expected to conduct themselves in a disciplined fashion and to demonstrate good sportsmanship while on the course. Competitiveness needs to take a back seat to courtesy and mutual respect.

Acclaimed American author John Updike, who passed away in 2009, was a lifetime golfer. Read his eloquent essay on The Spirit of the Game on the USGA website.