The Club at Starr Pass, where Phil Mickelson won as an amateur in 1991, set for reopening
Todd Kelly- The Club at Starr Pass in Tucson, Arizona, has completed a two-year renovation of its 27 holes and clubhouse.
- The course is famous for being the site of Phil Mickelson's 1991 PGA Tour victory as an amateur.
- All three nines now feature new TifEagle Bermuda putting surfaces and restored bunkers.
- Starr Pass will host a stage of the PGA Tour Q School in December, marking a return to professional golf events.
TUCSON, Ariz. — It's a golf course famous for one of the major mileposts in PGA Tour history. Now it's been rejuvenated, with restoration work done to the venue's 27 holes and a long-overdue renovation of the clubhouse.
The Club at Starr Pass first opened in 1987 with 18 holes. In 1991, it served as host when amateur Phil Mickelson, still attending college two hours up the road at Arizona State, won the Northern Telecom Open. In 2003, it added a third nine with an Arnold Palmer design.
Here in 2025, after two years' worth of work, Starr Pass is ready for its close-up once again.
"It's great to come out of the renovation and finally be in the new product," said The Club at Starr Pass general manager David Loomis, who joined the club about two and a half years ago. "We've had such a long period of disruption as we were going through the renovations and to really have 27 holes of renovated and fully ready golf is tremendous."
Three nines at Starr Pass are Gambler, Pioneer, Palmer
The original two nines are now called the Gambler Course (designed by Bob Cupp) and the Pioneer Course (which is Craig Stadler's handiwork). Much of the property hugs the Tucson Mountains, its hills covered in saguaro cactus and native brush. Wildlife is aplenty here and golfers may very well see bobcats, javelinas, squirrels and perhaps even rattlers.
"The really cool thing about the golf course is 18 of 27 holes really don't have any homes on them. It backs right up to Tucson Mountain Park," Loomis said. "The nature, the deer, the animals, the wildlife you're going to see here, you're right in nature, so that's really a cool thing that we got here."
Each of the three golf courses goes up and down the hillsides, and there are multiple vantage points offering views of the Tucson skyline as well as the Santa Catalina Mountains. The Palmer course was the first to switch from bentgrass to new putting surfaces featuring TifEagle Bermuda. Now all three nines have that.
"It's really a restoration of the golf course. Having the classic rotation that's nearly 40 years old now and to get new bunkers and new greens and have a very proper golfing experience for our members and our guests is really awesome," Loomis said.
Starr Pass will reopen on Nov. 1
The golf course is gearing up for a grand reopening on Saturday, Nov. 1. Then, from Dec. 2-5, Starr Pass welcomes the return of the PGA Tour as it will be one of five venues for Stage 2 of PGA Tour Q School.
"It was really great that the PGA Tour had the confidence in us getting everything completed on time to bring Stage 2 Q School here," Loomis said.
Those four days bring Starr Pass back to full circle in some ways. Mickelson broke on the scene 34 years ago. Now, many other potential budding stars have a chance to reach the PGA Tour via this southern Arizona venue.
"It's part of the legacy of Starr Pass that has kind of faded away a little bit, that Phil Mickelson won that year so it's definitely be cool to be a part of the story," Loomis said. "It's our obligation to tell that story and make sure that it doesn't go away."