On Saturday we headed out to Wickenburg Ranch Golf Club to play the Big Wick Course. That review is next in line. However, I made sure that we got there early enough to take a quick spin around Li’l Wick, which is the facility’s nine-hole par-3 course.
A large tournament on Big Wick was finishing up about the time we arrived so no carts were available. But, the proshop said that we could head over to Li’l Wick (no tee times taken) and walk it if we wanted. It was 100+ degrees, but we decided to hoof it around Li’l Wick. And, I’m glad we did!
Li’l Wick is a couple miles from the clubhouse and after parking the car we had trouble finding the first tee. We found the putting green, one of the Big Wick holes and just kept walking up a hill until we came to a tee box. As things turned out that was the 2nd hole. So, we started on the 2nd hole and played the 1st on the way back to the car. Ultimately, the 2nd hole turned out to be a great place to start!
The 2nd, 3rd and 4th holes play on top of a small ridge and were my favorite holes on Li’l Wick, solely because of the great views from those holes. While playing this stretch you’ll see the rest of the course in a small valley to the left. The closing holes with water in play are down in that valley along with “The Watering Hole”, which is a spot to get food and drinks.
The Watering Hole sits near the closing holes and is right on the water, so it sets the tone for the relaxing vibe at Li’l Wick. Speaking of that relaxing vibe, there is also a hammock on the course, music streaming through speakers during the round and lights on the last four holes. Unfortunately the timing wasn’t right to finish at night, but that is always great fun!
Li’l Wick plays a maximum of 1,240 yards with a nice mix of yardages. There are four short holes, a couple mid-length ones and two longer ones. The 110 yard 4th was my favorite as it drops down from the ridge to the flat. You’ll need to do some guesswork to get the distance right unless you play here consistently! The 7th, where you’ll have to carry the water, was another favorite of mine.
The conditioning was great with many tight lies and pure, bentgrass greens. The greens were wild with tons of contour and challenging to putt. Li’l Wick is towards the top of my personal list for par-3 courses I’ve played. And if there was a list of top public par-3 courses then I’m sure Li’l Wick would be near the top of that as well! Make sure not to skip Li’l Wick when you get out to Wickenburg Ranch.
Course Pictures (click any picture to scroll through the gallery):