Arizona Biltmore Links Course

Signature Setup

I played the Links Course on a late-February morning, 8:10 a.m. off the 1st, 51°F and so still the flags hung dead. By the 11th tee the air had already shifted — and that downhill par-3 is where this course shows what it is. The green sits well below you against the base of Squaw Peak, and judging the drop with a crosswind starting to move is the whole round in one shot.

The Links is the Arizona Biltmore's second course, opened in 1979 — roughly five decades after the original Adobe (Estates) layout — and designed by Bill Johnston. Where the Adobe is flat parkland, the Links is routed across the higher, rolling ground toward the mountain, with elevation changes, raised greens, and a more target-style approach game. It runs about 6,300 yards from the regular tees, par 71. I have not seen a professional card off this course, so I won't dress it up as a tournament venue — its value is a scenic, position-driven resort round.

Hole-by-Hole Wind & Playing Lines

Phoenix wind here is about timing, not raw strength. Dawn is calm; a southwest valley thermal builds through late morning, usually 12–20 mph by early afternoon — and because the Links sits on higher ground than the Adobe, it arrives noticeably earlier.

• The uphill par-4 8th (#1 handicap): Into the building SW breeze this plays a full club-and-a-half longer than the yardage. My morning approach was a 6-iron; the same shot two hours later is a 4-iron, no exaggeration. Favor the front-left of the green and let the wind feed it back.
• The downhill par-3 11th: Calm, it's a smooth mid-iron and the drop eats roughly a club. Once the crosswind is up, the falling-away green won't hold long shots — take less club, land it short, let it release.
• A back-nine dogleg par-5: the quartering wind off the right turns the second shot into a decision. On afternoon rounds I lay back rather than chase the green; the raised putting surface rejects anything coming in hot and downwind.

Green & Fairway Characteristics

The Links greens are smaller and more elevated than the Adobe's, and they fall away at the edges — miss the surface and you're chipping uphill from a collection area more often than not. Putts break toward the valley, away from the mountain, and they break more than the desert light suggests. I left my first two approach putts short reading them as flatter than they ran. Speed is moderate, around 10.5 on the Stimp in spring after the overseed matures.

Turf follows the standard Phoenix two-season pattern: perennial ryegrass overseed through the winter tourist months, transitioning back to Bermuda for the summer. Fairways are firmer and more sloped than the parkland Adobe, so awkward stances and downhill lies are part of the test. Slope sits in the mid-120s — fair, but the elevation changes punish lazy club selection.

Seasonal Weather Pattern

At roughly 1,150 ft, Phoenix is one of the most forecast-reliable golf markets in the country. Winter (Dec–Feb) highs land near 66–70°F with rain odds in the single digits — peak season and peak rates. February and March mornings open in the low-50s and warm quickly toward midday.

Summer is the swing factor: June through August routinely sees 105–115°F, and the July–September monsoon delivers abrupt late-day thunderstorms and blowing dust. I have not played the Links in mid-summer, so I won't guess how the elevated greens hold under that heat — but the operating rule is the same across Phoenix: only the first two hours of daylight are genuinely comfortable from May on.

Local Play Tips

The local edge here is timing relative to the Adobe. Because the Links sits on higher ground, the morning calm window closes earlier — by my watch the breeze was already nudging flags around 9:30 a.m. when the Adobe below was still dead still. If you're playing both courses on a stay, play the Links first at sunrise and save the flatter, more wind-sheltered Adobe for the afternoon. And respect the downhill par-3s: in still air the drop is worth about a club, but a building crosswind erases that fast.

Pre-Round Weather Workflow

Check the 7-day G-Score and windExposure panel the night before:

1. G-Score 80+ with an early slot: ideal — calm air, receptive greens, attack the elevated pins.
2. Read the wind clock: if SW wind is forecast past 12 mph before midday, club up on every uphill and downhill approach and play to the safe edge of the falling-away greens.
3. Summer (May–Sept): treat any tee time after 9 a.m. as a heat round — lighten the bag, add fluids, and expect the G-Score to fall sharply through the afternoon.
4. Monsoon months: track the afternoon storm probability; on exposed high ground like the Links, lightning risk is the real reason to finish early.