The Outlaw course is a unique desert links layout, and an ideal place to build your career

Desert Mountain is many things, each of them a testament to the Club’s remarkable vision in building a truly unique golf community in Scottsdale, Arizona. For example, it is the largest collection of Jack Nicklaus Signature Golf Courses in the country, with six of the Golden Bear’s 18-hole designs joined by the par-3 Seven course at the Club. Desert Mountain is also a golf community of unparalleled size and scope, with seven Clubhouses and 2,000 luxury homes within the Club’s 8,300-acre footprint in the Sonoran Desert. 

The golf industry is starting to learn that Desert Mountain also provides tremendous opportunities for golf industry professionals to further their careers. Beyond hosting events and boasting some of the top PGA Professionals, superintendents and food & beverage experts in the business, Desert Mountain has been named one of the “Best Places to Work and Healthiest Employers” by the Phoenix Business Journal. The Club believes strongly in providing the training and development to help employees at every stage of their career, along with a wide range of benefits to help them and their families enjoy physical, emotional and mental wellbeing. 

As part of our Desert Mountain series, which highlights the Club’s seven golf courses and Clubhouses, this month we’re focusing on Outlaw and talking with employees there about why they enjoy being part of the Desert Mountain team. Outlaw is a traditional links golf experience on the edge of Tonto National Forest with a rustic-chic Clubhouse that offers a secluded getaway for Desert Mountain Members. 

The Nicklaus-designed Outlaw course provides stunning views of local landmarks like Pinnacle Peak, the McDowell Mountains and Four Peaks. As the only Desert Mountain course without homes built around it, Outlaw offers a unique experience to the Club’s Members. 

For our Members, Outlaw is like an escape,” says Peter Swanson, the PGA Head Professional at Outlaw. “It’s as close to true links golf as you can get in the Sonoran Desert – a tremendous thinker’s golf course where you can use local knowledge of the terrain to your advantage and use your creativity.

Swanson and his staff at Outlaw also get to use their creativity in building programming and playing opportunities for Desert Mountain Members. In his 8 years with the Club, Swanson has also worked at the Cochise, Geronimo and Renegade courses. In his year and a half as the head professional at Outlaw, Swanson has witnessed the creation and development of a strong junior golf program that is resonating with new and younger Members. 

“We’ve definitely seen a bit of a demographic shift with a lot more young families at Desert Mountain, and we want to have programs that cater to those Members,” Swanson says. “Being here is a tremendous opportunity to collaborate with the other PGA Professionals on staff and bounce ideas off each other on how to improve our operations. Having that sort of network within a single golf operation is very unique compared with other golf facilities I worked at in the past.” Outlaw Superintendent Matthew Hamberg sees the same opportunities for professional growth with his staff. With seven golf courses at varying elevations – and with different grass and soil types – Desert Mountain offers a complete curriculum in learning how to maintain outstanding playing conditions across different terrain. 

“Desert Mountain is known for the quality of its golf courses, and the sheer size of the operation gives you a real opportunity to learn a lot more quickly in a shorter period of time than at other golf facilities,” Hamberg says. “For example, Outlaw is a sand-based golf course, so water management is important, especially to maintain that links-style golf experience. That’s different from our other courses, which are on soil that holds water differently. Here, my staff gets a chance to learn on Outlaw while also seeing what is done on our other courses. It’s a great way to launch your career.” 

Hamberg did just that, starting at Desert Mountain for three years before going off to work at a handful of other high-end private clubs. But he was thrilled to come back to Desert Mountain when the opportunity arose. 

Desert Mountain is just a fantastic place to work, with a culture that is really good and getting better every year,” Hamberg says. “All of us want to feel like we have the best-conditioned golf course at the Club, so there’s a friendly competition between the courses, but also a great camaraderie and a lot of support. We all push each other to get better, and we help each other out. Working at Desert Mountain was a great break to start my career, with some great mentors, and it changed the way I thought of what the superintendent position could be.

That sentiment is echoed by Chris Mirza, the Clubhouse Manager at Outlaw. He recently joined Desert Mountain after working as a food & beverage manager at other properties in the Scottsdale area. Mirza’s wife worked for Desert Mountain for three years, and he knew he needed to follow suit. 

“I saw from her experience what a great work environment Desert Mountain has created, and now I see it myself every day,” Mirza says. “The thing that really stands out is the care the Club shows for its Members and its employees – the whole culture is built around the employees being the Club’s greatest asset, and you can see from the benefits and support you receive that it’s a great place to grow your career.” 

Given Outlaw’s location on the edge of thousands of acres of pristine desert, Mirza and his staff create an outdoorsy environment where families can enjoy a home-away-from-home dining and recreational experience. A large lawn area outside the Clubhouse features games like cornhole and ladder ball, and there are bocce leagues and other activities for Members of all ages. 

“I’d say Members look at Outlaw as an extension of their homes – a place they can go hang out,” Mirza says. “The Arizona Grill restaurant offers what we call elevated Mexican cuisine and the best margaritas with fresh ingredients. It’s a nice, relaxed feel with family fun and people hanging out by firepits in the evenings.” 

Just as the culture and variety at Desert Mountain offers options for Members to enjoy themselves, the Club offers numerous ways for employees like Mirza to thrive and grow in their careers. 

The opportunity here to build your career in food & beverage is huge,” he says. “Desert Mountain is a top-15 Platinum Club in the nation, and working here will give you a chance to learn the core values of caring about your teammates while serving the Members. To have this kind of culture demonstrated from the CEO down to the newest employee is the sort of thing I encourage everyone to experience.

To find out more about current opportunities and the benefits of working at Desert Mountain, visit our Careers page.