By Jon Johnson
SAFFORD – The Mount Graham Golf Club boasts an 18-hole, par-72 course situated in the shadow of Mount Graham, a prized amenity owned and operated by the city. Management of the course is handled by Troon, the world’s largest golf and golf-related hospitality management company. Recently, the course briefly closed for winter grass seeding while continuing to upgrade the facilities. The course and restaurant are scheduled to reopen Saturday, Oct. 4, starting at noon.
New General Manager Alan Ashton comes to the Safford course via Gold Canyon, where he last plied his 40 years of experience in the golf field.
Ashton is busy overseeding the course with winter rye and keeping an eye on the forecast. It is a delicate balance of providing enough water to the seed to germinate while not allowing storm runoff to take the seed away.
To ensure sufficient water, the course utilizes quick couplers that are manually inserted at various points along the course to provide sprinklers. The other nine holes are equipped with a residential-style sprinkler system.
“Mt. Graham has, probably, in the state of Arizona, the only remaining quick coupler irrigation system, “Ashton said. “Of the 18 holes, nine of the holes are irrigated with quick couplers, which is the old fashioned sprinkler on a pipe – stick it in the ground, turn it, (and) water starts coming out.”
Ashton said a priority will be updating the irrigation to a new automated system throughout the course, but doing so could cost upward of $3 to $5 million.
The golf course is irrigated entirely by effluent from the Safford Wastewater Facility. According to Safford Assistant City Manager Eric Bejarano, the course used 160 million gallons of effluent water last year and 190 million gallons in 2023.
Bejarano acknowledged that a top priority for the golfing community was a new irrigation system and that the city is working to make that a possible reality.
“We are working on that,” Bejarano said. “You heard the cost – that is a big cost, but when we tie that into the economic impact it has on our community, the recreation aspect – that is a long-term goal that we’re working on out here. The benefit of that is that we (could) now better manage this effluent water that we’re pumping up here with a new irrigation system, so just want to let everybody know yes, it is on our radar, and we’re looking into ways to make that happen.”
While new irrigation for the course may be in its future, more immediate upgrades have already been made with a new electric golf cart fleet; new additions to the restaurant, including two new keg options, new prep tables, and a dedicated walk-in freezer to better serve the community, and a newly dedicated wedding venue just off the 18th.
The new golf carts feature built-in GPS to stop them from driving where they shouldn’t, such as on the greens or T-boxes. And there’s talk of perhaps bringing Safford’s newest home brew to the restaurant, The Double R Grille, Bar & Patio, which can now stock more of its customers’ favorites and be better prepared to host tournaments, such as the upcoming second annual Justin Gaethje Golf Tournament in November.
“Not a lot of people know that the golf course even has a restaurant,” said Aaron Medina, Assistant General Manager. “I believe it is a hidden gem in the Gila Valley for food.”
Safford Assistant City Manager Eric Bejarano pointed out several upgrades or new additions at the golf course, and said he was excited about the level of work being done on and at the course.
“As a non-golfer, if I can come out here and get excited . . . We’re going to continue to draw more and more people out and use this as an amenity for the Gila Valley,” Bejarano said.
The Mt. Graham Golf Club welcomes the community to experience the course and restaurant when it reopens beginning at noon on Saturday, Oct. 4.
