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Golf in the Desert Can Be Hazardous to Your Health

June 2, 2010

Golfer covered in Cholla cactus spines

This kind of situation is exactly why the desert rule was created for golf in the Sonoran Desert. You hit your ball into the desert out here you drop in the fairway near as you can determine where your ball entered the hazard and take a one-shot penalty. Even your shiniest ProV1 ain't worth searching for in the desert if this is the result. Oh, and at this time of year cactus is your least worry, that buzzing noise that you hear out amongst the cactus and sagebrush? That would be rattlesnakes!

wekopa8 No Scottsdale golf package would be complete without at least a couple of rounds played at the WeKoPa Golf Club near the Ft. McDowell Casino in what I call East Scottsdale. Keeping it in the fairways here is a must if you want to score and if you should stray, please pay attention to this poor golfer's plight.

There are two outstanding 18-hole championship, desert-style golf courses at WeKoPa near Scottsdale, The Saguaro and The Cholla courses, each one unique and deserving of your green fee dollar.

Ironically the unfortunate golfer seen here got into this "prickly" situation with a Cholla cactus on the Saguaro 18, named for the Saguaro cactus that is the predominant feature of of this course and not on the Cholla course, which is named, appropriately it would seem, after the type of cactus wear this golfer is sporting.

This golfer may seem like he is keeping a stiff upper lip about the whole thing but the reason he is turned away from the camera is because he is crying from the excruciating pain and it will get much worse before it gets better.

It took paramedics over three hours to remove enough spines just to transport this golfer to the nearest medical facility. Each one of these tiny little needle-like spines carries toxins which can mess with your golf swing as well as any allergies you might have. It's just like being stung by a thousand wasps!

So please, please, pullleeeaaassee do not go into the desert for a wayward shot, take your medicine with a one-shot penalty to maintain your pace of play and to above all avoid the pain and discomfort this guy experienced. It just isn't worth it.