Karsten Golf Course

Last updated
ASU Karsten Golf Course
Club information
USA Arizona location map.svg
Icona golf.svg
Coordinates 33°25′41″N111°55′19″W / 33.428°N 111.922°W / 33.428; -111.922
Location1125 E. Rio Salado Parkway
Tempe, Arizona
Established1989;35 years ago (1989)
TypePublic
Owned by Arizona State University
Total holes18
Website asukarsten.com
Designed by Pete Dye
Par 70
Length7,057 yards (6,453 m) [1]
Course rating 73.8
Slope rating 131 [2]

ASU Karsten Golf Course was a classic designed links-style golf course in Tempe, Arizona, located on the campus of Arizona State University. Designed by noted course architect Pete Dye, it opened for play in September 1989 and was the home venue of the Sun Devils golf teams.

Contents

Karsten Golf Course closed on May 5, 2019, in order to be developed into sports fields. [3] ASU moved their golf course to the nearby Papago Golf Course after striking a 30-year management agreement with the City of Phoenix, Papago's owner. [4]

Creation

Privately funded, the largest single contributor was Karsten Solheim (1911–2000), the founder of Phoenix-based PING golf clubs. The clubhouse and ASU players' facility were completed in November 1994. [5] It was located at the northeast edge of campus, east of Sun Devil Stadium. The elevation of the course is approximately 1,150 feet (350 m) above sea level.

History

The course was considered[ by whom? ] to many[ quantify ] as the Home of Champions, referring to ASU's strong collegiate golf program's national titles; twice in men's (1990 and 1996) and seven times in women's (1990, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1997, 1998, 2009). Alumni among PGA and LPGA Tour professionals include Phil Mickelson, Jon Rahm, Billy Mayfair, Paul Casey, Howard Twitty, Tom Purtzer, Pat Perez, Matt Jones, Chez Reavie, JoAnne Carner, Heather Farr, Grace Park, Azahara Muñoz, Anna Nordqvist, and Carlota Ciganda.

Awarded a high 4½ rating by Golf Digest Rating Panel, a number of holes were considered the course’s signature hole. The short par-four 4th hole, the tough par-four 9th, the dauntingly long par-three 16th (248 yards (227 m) from the tips) or the ill humor par-four 18th, guarded by water down the left side, was considered one of the toughest finishing holes in the state. [1] The course hosted tournaments, including the collegiate Men’s and Women’s Pac-10 and NCAA Championships, Phoenix Thunderbirds Collegiate Invitational, PING Invitational, and U.S. Open Qualifying.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Arizona State University</span> Public university in Tempe, Arizona, US

Arizona State University is a public research university in the Phoenix metropolitan area. Founded in 1885 as Territorial Normal School by the 13th Arizona Territorial Legislature, ASU is now one of the largest public universities by enrollment in the United States. It was one of about 180 "normal schools" founded in the late 19th century to train teachers for the rapidly growing public common schools. Some closed, but most steadily expanded their role and became state colleges in the early 20th century, then state universities in the late 20th century.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mountain America Stadium</span> Football stadium in Tempe, Arizona

Mountain America Stadium is an outdoor college football stadium in the southwestern United States, on the campus of Arizona State University (ASU) in Tempe, Arizona. The stadium is officially named Mountain America Stadium, Home of the ASU Sun Devils. It was named Sun Devil Stadium until 2023. It is home to the ASU Sun Devils football team of the Pac-12 Conference. The stadium's seating capacity as of 2018 is 53,599, reduced from a peak of 74,865 in 1989. The natural grass playing surface within the stadium was named Frank Kush Field in 1996 in honor of the former coach of the team. The stadium underwent a five-year, $304-million renovation that was completed in August 2019.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tempe, Arizona</span> City in Arizona, United States

Tempe is a city in Maricopa County, Arizona, United States, with the Census Bureau reporting a 2020 population of 180,587. The city is named after the Vale of Tempe in Greece. Tempe is located in the East Valley section of metropolitan Phoenix; it is bordered by Phoenix and Guadalupe on the west, Scottsdale and the Salt River Pima–Maricopa Indian Community on the north, Chandler on the south, and Mesa on the east. Tempe is also the location of the main campus of Arizona State University.

Heather Farr was an American professional golfer on the LPGA Tour.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Phoenix Open</span> Golf tournament held in Arizona, United States

The Phoenix Open is a professional golf tournament on the PGA Tour, held in late January/early February at TPC Scottsdale in Scottsdale, Arizona, United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Arizona–Arizona State football rivalry</span> College football rivalry

The Arizona–Arizona State football rivalry is a college football rivalry between the University of Arizona Wildcats (UA) and the Arizona State University Sun Devils (ASU).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Desert Financial Arena</span> Multi-purpose arena in Tempe, Arizona

Desert Financial Arena is a 14,198-seat multi-purpose arena located at 600 E Veterans Way in Tempe, Arizona, a suburb of Phoenix. It sits immediately east of Mountain America Stadium on the northern edge of the Tempe campus of Arizona State University (ASU).

Karsten Solheim was an American golf club designer and businessman. He founded Karsten Manufacturing, a golf club maker better known by the name of PING, and the Solheim Cup, the premier international team competition in women's golf.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Papago Park</span> Municipal park in Maricopa County, Arizona

Papago Park is a municipal park of the cities of Phoenix and Tempe, Arizona, United States. It has been designated as a Phoenix Point of Pride. It includes Hunt's Tomb, which is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

The Arizona State Sun Devils are the athletic teams that represent Arizona State University. ASU has nine men's and eleven women's varsity teams competing at the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I level as a member of the Pac-12 Conference. The mascot was adopted in 1946; earlier nicknames were the Normals and later, the Bulldogs. The Sun Devil mascot, Sparky, was designed by former Disney illustrator Bert Anthony. ASU's chief rival is the University of Arizona Wildcats, and both universities' athletics departments compete against each other in the Territorial Cup Series.

Packard Stadium was a college baseball park in the southwestern United States, located in Tempe, Arizona, a suburb just east of Phoenix. It was the home field of the Arizona State Sun Devils of the Pac-12 Conference from 1974 to 2014.

Robert Bryan Gilder is an American professional golfer. He won six tournaments on the PGA Tour and currently plays on the Champions Tour, where he has ten wins since joining in 2001.

Arizona State University Tempe campus is the main campus of Arizona State University, and the largest of the five campuses that comprise the university. The campus lies in the heart of Tempe, Arizona, about eight miles (13 km) east of downtown Phoenix. The campus is considered urban, and is approximately 642 acres (2.6 km2) in size. The campus is arranged around broad pedestrian malls and, in toto, is considered to be an arboretum. ASU has an extensive public art collection, considered one of the ten best among university public art collections in the United States. Against the northwest edge of campus is the Mill Avenue district which has a college atmosphere that attracts many students to its restaurants and bars. ASU's Tempe Campus is also home to all of the university's athletic facilities.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mona Plummer Aquatic Center</span> Sports venue at ASU, Tempe, Arizona

The Mona Plummer Aquatic Center is the aquatic center used by the Arizona State University Sun Devils swim team. It opened in 1981, cost four million dollars to build, and is named after Mona Plummer. Plummer was a national championship winning coach who died in 1979; she coached during three decades.

Sun Devil Soccer Stadium is a soccer-specific stadium on the campus of Arizona State University in Tempe, Arizona. It is home to the Arizona State Sun Devils Women's Soccer team. The stadium opened in 2000 and features chair-back bleachers and individual seats with a capacity for 1,051 fans.

Jack Russell Nelson was an American educator who served as a chancellor/president of the University of Colorado Boulder and Arizona State University in Tempe, Arizona.

Sports in Arizona includes professional sports teams, college sports, and individual sports. All four major league sports teams in Arizona are based in the Phoenix metropolitan area.

The Arizona State Sun Devils men's ice hockey team is the college ice hockey team that represents Arizona State University. It plays its home games at Mullett Arena in Tempe.

The Arizona State Sun Devils women's beach volleyball team represents Arizona State University in the sport of beach volleyball. The Sun Devils compete in Division I of the National Collegiate Athletics Association (NCAA) and the Pac-12 Conference. ASU is currently one of nine schools to play beach volleyball in the Pac-12 Conference, along with Arizona, California, Stanford, Oregon, UCLA, USC, Utah and Washington.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Arizona Wildcats women's golf</span> College golf team

The Arizona Wildcats women's golf is considered one of the best in all of women's collegiate golf, dating back to their first season in 1979. Since they have won three national championships in 1996, 2000, and 2018. The Wildcat Women have also had four individual national champions with Susan Slaughter in (1990), Annika Sörenstam in (1991), Marisa Baena in (1996) and Jenna Daniels in (2000).

References

  1. 1 2 "Scorecard". ASU Karsten Golf Course. Archived from the original on June 24, 2013. Retrieved April 28, 2013.
  2. "Karsten Golf Course @ ASU". USGA. Course Rating and Slope Database™. Retrieved April 28, 2013.
  3. "Former Arizona State golfers reminisce as Karsten Golf Course closes for good". May 6, 2019.
  4. Metcalfe, Jeff (February 18, 2019). "ASU Karsten Golf Course closing set for May 5". Arizona Republic.
  5. "Course history". ASU Karsten Golf Course. Archived from the original on March 6, 2013. Retrieved April 28, 2013.