Talking Rock

Getting To Know: Talking Rock

An Insightful Interview With Head Golf Professional, Dave Buettner

By Brian Weis

Whether you have played a course 20+ times a year or looking to play the course for the first time, insights from an insider can help enhance your golf experience. Below is an interview with Head Golf Professional, Dave Buettner, who shares some valuable tidbits about the course, memorable holes and must eats and treats at the 19th.

Give Our Readers An Overview of the Golf Course/Property
Nestled between the beautiful Bradshaw Mountains and high desert terrain in historic Prescott, Arizona, Talking Rock Ranch combines a casual western lifestyle with exclusive country club amenities for a unique blend of relaxed luxury. The picturesque, four-season private luxury home community features a design aesthetic encompassing Arizona ranch living in its Ranch Cottages and custom homes while offering luxury amenities like the more than 30,000 square foot Ranch Compound and the 7,350-yard championship golf course that surrounds it.

Winding through 1,000 acres of preserved land, the Jay Morrish-designed masterpiece's varied landscape encompasses washes, ponds, and thousands of pinon and juniper trees - giving lots of opportunity to encounter unpredictable conditions. Lucky for its members and guests alike, Talking Rock Golf Club's team of golf professionals, led by Head Golf Professional David Buettner, has seen it all and can help players navigate the terrain and seasonal wind that can impact even the lowest handicap.

If Someone Was Looking To Golf In The Area, Why Should They Play Your Course?
Through Talking Rock's Stay & Play special, guests enjoy accommodations in a fully furnished, 2,000-square-foot Ranch Cottage with stunning golf course and countryside views. Besides golf on the Jay Morrish-designed championship course and a meal at The Ranch House, guests may also take advantage of miles of the community's hiking, biking and jogging trails; state-of-the-art fitness center; regulation lap pool; and additional dining and lounging options.

What Tips or Local Knowledge Would You Provide To Help Them Score Better At Your Course?
The greens at Talking Rock are big and fast! While reading the line of your putts, pay close attention to where the water drains surrounding the greens are located. This will give you a sense of uphill/downhill grade and will definitely help you keep from three putting and thus produce a lower score.

Recent Awards or What You Are Most Proud About The Course?
In 2012, Talking Rock's signature Jay Morrish-designed, 7,350-yard championship course made an impressive jump from number 19 to 11 on Golf Digest magazine's 25 Best Golf Courses in Arizona.

What Is Your Favorite Hole? Any Tips to Play It?
Hole 15 is a course favorite. The 337-yard, downhill-drivable par 4 is a signature of golf course designer Jay Morrish. It plays as a classic risk/reward hole, with two fairway bunkers that you must carry and three more guarding the green. With a 360 degree view of the surrounding area, including Granite Mountain, this hole has it all.

Must Have Dish or Drink after the round at the 19th Hole?
Enjoy a glass of wine or a tall beer as you sit on Granite Mountain patio and take in the scenery and the ideal climate that Prescott has to offer.

Who Holds Course Record and What Was Their Score?
It is believed that PGA Tour player Jeff Quinney holds the course record shooting a 66 off of the back tees.

Back Tee Stats
Par:
Yardage: 7,350
Slope: 135
Rating: 73.7

More Information
Talking Rock
14503 N. Talking Rock Ranch Road
Prescott, AZ, 86305
877-922-4440
www.talkingrockranch.com/

Revised: 03/26/2013 - Article Viewed 31,156 Times - View Course Profile

About: Brian Weis

Brian Weis is the mastermind behind GolfTrips.com, a vast network of golf travel and directory sites covering everything from the rolling fairways of Wisconsin to the sunbaked desert layouts of Arizona. If there’s a golf destination worth visiting, chances are, Brian has written about it, played it, or at the very least, found a way to justify a "business trip" there.

As a card-carrying member of the Golf Writers Association of America (GWAA), International Network of Golf (ING), Golf Travel Writers of America (GTWA), International Golf Travel Writers Association (IGTWA), and The Society of Hickory Golfers (SoHG), Brian has the credentials to prove that talking about golf is his full-time job. In 2016, his peers even handed him The Shaheen Cup, a prestigious award in golf travel writing—essentially the Masters green jacket for guys who don’t hit the range but still know where the best 19th holes are.

Brian’s love for golf goes way back. As a kid, he competed in junior and high school golf, only to realize that his dreams of a college golf scholarship had about the same odds as a 30-handicap making a hole-in-one. Instead, he took the more practical route—working on the West Bend Country Club grounds crew to fund his University of Wisconsin education. Little did he know that mowing greens and fixing divots would one day lead to a career writing about the best courses on the planet.

In 2004, Brian turned his golf passion into a business, launching GolfWisconsin.com. Three years later, he expanded his vision, and GolfTrips.com was born—a one-stop shop for golf travel junkies looking for their next tee time. Today, his empire spans all 50 states, and 20+ international destinations.

On the course, Brian is a weekend warrior who oscillates between a 5 and 9 handicap, depending on how much he's been traveling (or how generous he’s feeling with his scorecard). His signature move" A high, soft fade that his playing partners affectionately (or not-so-affectionately) call "The Weis Slice." But when he catches one clean, his 300+ yard drives remind everyone that while he may write about golf for a living, he can still send a ball into the next zip code with the best of them.

Whether he’s hunting down the best public courses, digging up hidden gems, or simply outdriving his buddies, Brian Weis is living proof that golf is more than a game—it’s a way of life.