Tucson’s Starr Pass taps Troon for management

Troon has been selected to manage Starr Pass Golf Club, a 27-hole resort facility in Tucson, Arizona. Troon Golf, the resort and daily-fee division of Troon, will manage the golf operations, agronomy, food and beverage, retail, and sales and marketing.

Starr Pass Golf Club, the golf offering of the JW Marriott Tucson Starr Pass Resort & Spa, features a trio of 9-hole routings — Roadrunner, Rattler, and Coyote. Robert Cupp and PGA Tour professional Craig Stadler designed the original 18 holes in 1987. Then in 2003, Arnold Palmer was brought in to add another nine holes and refresh the existing 18. Set against the Tucson Mountains, each of the three layouts has dramatic elevation changes and is surrounded by saguaro cacti while crisscrossing multiple desert arroyos and ravines.

Southwest Value Partners, a privately held real estate investment company with offices in San Diego, Tucson, and Scottsdale, acquired the 575-room JW Marriott Tucson Starr Pass Resort & Spa in April. Marriott will continue to lead resort operations, while Troon will manage golf operations.

“Having partnered with Troon on a number of projects, they were a natural fit to lead the golf operations at Starr Pass,” said Mark Schlossberg of Southwest Value Partners. “We share Troon’s philosophy of uncompromising service and quality, and are delighted to have them help put the shine back on one of the state’s finest golf resort properties.”

Starr Pass Golf Club has hosted the PGA Tour’s Tucson Open and has welcomed legends like Palmer, Phil Mickelson, Payne Stewart, and Nancy Lopez. Starr Pass is a Certified Audubon Cooperative Sanctuary through the Audubon Cooperative Sanctuary Program for Golf Courses.

“We are thrilled to be working with Starr Pass, one of Arizona’s iconic golf properties,” Troon EVP Rob DeMore said. “Together with Southwest Value Partners, we look forward to enhancing all elements of the Starr Pass experience from golf operations and agronomy to guest service and food and beverage.”