Sojourn in Scottsdale

	Desert Links at Troon North

Loyal readers of this column -- hi, Mom! -- know that two of my passions are for high-end golf and midcentury modern furniture.

If eBay ever listed a wooden driver designed by Herman Miller, no doubt I would be maxing out my credit card.

So for me Scottsdale, Ariz., might as well be Shangri-La.

That this desert town boasts as many great private and public courses as anyplace west of the Mississippi will come as no shock to serious golfers.

On the private side, there is Desert Highlands, Estancia Club, the Golf Club Scottsdale and Whisper Rock (Phil Mickelson's old place, and home club to umpteen PGA Tour pros), never mind the six -- yes, six -- Jack Nicklaus-designed tracks at Desert Mountain. For people who know people, these are all top-notch, if unnecessary, options, given the breadth of resort and daily-fee play.

Anyone with deep pockets who wants to be close to all the great shopping -- retro or modern -- that Scottsdale and neighboring Phoenix have to offer should stay at The Phoenician, the majestic, venerable resort in the shadow of Camelback Mountain.

It's as luxe as all get-out but also relaxed and personable, with amenities coming out its cacti (and the Funicians Kids Club means Mom and Dad can indeed make time for themselves). The on-site 27-hole course is one of the most charming, old-school layouts in town, not the aerial-focused "target golf" generally associated with desert-area designs.

If you should happen to fire a career-best score, you can celebrate at the remarkable T. Cook's restaurant at the Mediterranean-styled Royal Palms Resort and Spa, just a quarter-mile down the road and the place where President Bush stays when he's in town. The food is so superb that I bet Senator McCain even meets him there.

The Phoenician puts you close by many other excellent courses, especially the 27 holes at the Westin Kierland Resort & Spa, where the renowned husband-and-wife teaching team of Mike and Sandy LaBauve ply their trade.

For a more Southwestern, nature-centric vibe, the obvious lodging choice is the Four Seasons Scottsdale in the foothills of Pinnacle Peak, with lovely, spacious adobe casitas and incomparable scenery.

This base of operations will put you down the road from the most famous, and maybe toughest, of public-access Scottsdale golf clubs, Troon North. This is home to the Monument and Pinnacle courses, the first designed by former British Open champion Tom Weiskopf and Jay Morrish, and the latter by Weiskopf alone.

Advanced players will welcome the severe challenges on offer; lesser sticks are advised to bring dozens of balls and a glass of milk to wash down all that humble pie. Regardless, the high-desert views will stir one and all.

My wife, Lorraine, and I chose to have our bruised egos -- and everything else -- kneaded back at the Four Seasons' spa, with its side-by-side duo massage. (Note to husbands: When the masseuse asks you, "How does that feel?", don't murmur, "Ooh ... fantastic." Try "Um, nice." That said, Lorraine told me she forgot I was even there five minutes into the rubdown.)

Other top-shelf area courses include the TPC Scottsdale, home to the PGA Tour's always wild-and-crazy FBR Open, and the two Bill Coore/Ben Crenshaw-designed courses at Talking Stick, which, on tribal land, have no houses lining the holes.