Soon-to-be Las Barrancas blends greens with desert and mountains

A bigger, better brand of golf is coming to the Foothills Jan. 24.

H&S Developers, Inc., the company responsible for constructing the Foothills Executive Golf Course and the Foothills Par-3 Golf Course, both of which are nine-hole tracks, will be opening an 18-hole desert-style course, Las Barrancas, in late January.

"It's going to be over 7,000 yards long from the back tees," Foothills golf manager Paul White said. "Not very many people here locally are going to want to play the (back tees), but that's the kind of yardage you need to have if you're going to host any kind of tournament."

Las Barrancas, which translates to "The Ravines" in English, will be a 9-hole course when it opens in less than three weeks. The course will be open until April, but will shut down during the summer months so it can be completed and ready to open a full 18 holes in January 2006.

Las Barrancas, which is on 48th Street off of Foothills Boulevard, will be playable for all levels with five different sets of tee boxes, complete with rolling terrain and what will probably be the most beautiful course in Yuma once it matures.

"Everybody will be able to play from a distance that challenges their game, but still makes it a challenge for them without beating them up or making it too easy," said White, who projects the cost of a round being anywhere from $50-$60, cart included.

There's plenty of room for the unfinished course to grow.

Builders are still moving dirt and rock, as well as grading fairways, tee boxes and greens.

"Building out here in the desert, the soils are pretty bad," Las Barrancas irrigation manager Jamie Banuelos said. "It's kind of tough to irrigate and grow the grass because you're dealing with such bad soils."

A club house, large enough to host weddings and parties, also is being drawn up and should open this time next year.

There also will be a driving range, a short-game practice area, putting course and carts that may include global positioning systems.

"It's going to be maybe a few bucks more than current prices in Yuma, but there's going to be additional values as well," White said.

Las Barrancas, like most new courses being built nowadays, is being developed for real estate purposes.

Homes surrounding the 18 holes will be built to attract America's baby-boomer generation and could cost in the neighborhood of $500,000, although some residences will be more affordable.

"It will definitely have it's own personality," White said of the development. "The views are going to be terrific, as close to the mountains as we are.

"There are a lot of elevation changes, which a lot of your courses here have a little, but some of them don't have any."

If you're thinking about making a tee time, think again, the course probably won't be taking any until it opens.

"People always ask us when it's going to open," White said. "We're not going to really start taking tee times until we're open for sure."

Joe Genzel can be reached at

jgenzel@yumasun.com or at 539-6883.