Quarry Pines Golf Club delivers a fun, challenging round on Tucson's northwest side

In Southern Arizona, there's a plethora of golf courses worth playing. Yes, even in peak summer — hey, cheaper rates!

We've created a guide with 10 courses Southern Arizona golfers should play as soon as possible.

Here's the catch: no country clubs or courses that require memberships to play, which excludes sumptuous tracks like Tucson Country Club — the home course of the Arizona Wildcats — along with La Paloma Country Club, Skyline Country Club, The Gallery Golf Club and Stone Canyon Golf Club, the host of the "The Match: Change for Charity," a made-for-TV charity with Phil Mickelson and Charles Barkley against Stephen Curry and Peyton Manning. 

Over the next 10 days, we're featuring courses that should be on your golf to-do list in Southern Arizona. 

Quarry Pines Golf Club

Location: 8480 N. Continental Drive

Length: 18 holes, 6,482 yards

Par: 71

Notable hole: 11 (Par 3, 256 yards)

The rundown: Known as the only quarry golf course in the entire state, Quarry Pines Golf Club was designed by Brian Huntley and built in 1997. The course was initially named "The Links at Continental Ranch," which later changed to "The Pines Golf Club" in 2003.   

The Scottish links-style course briefly closed down in 2000 for renovations. Following the abandonment of the neighboring sand and gravel quarry, the redesign of the course included 10 holes in the quarry, with most of them on the back nine. 

The back nine of Quarry Pines Golf Club features the most challenging holes on the course, including a 256-yard par 3 on the 11th hole, which has an elevated tee box. That hole precedes the longest — and arguably the narrowest — hole on the course, a 575-yard par 5.

The back nine offers complications on the back nine, but some of the greens on par 4s are reachable from the tee box, including the second, fourth and ninth holes. Quarry Pines is a high-risk, high-reward golf course with changes in elevation throughout the round. 

Be careful if you're driving from Marana to Tucson on Interstate 10; Quarry Pines' seventh hole can be easily spotted, especially going eastbound. A snap-hook shot with some juice could potentially send a shot bouncing down the freeway. 

The unique layout with the quarry and the location of the course makes it one of the most intriguing courses in Southern Arizona.