Despite its new name, Crooked Tree Golf Course at Arthur Pack Regional Park feels like an old friend in spiffy, new duds. It was out with the old and in with the new at the 18-hole layout formerly known as Arthur Pack Desert Golf Course, a county-owned facility on the Northwest Side. The 18-month face-lift — with a few more nips and tucks in store — is more than skin deep for the tract that hits the big 3-Oh next year. Beyond the sparkling clubhouse, past the flagstone patio behind the repositioned No. 1 tee and on the other side of the championship-caliber practice area is a rejuvenated tract that looks, feels, smells and plays as a golf course should. "You're talking resort-quality," said Oro Valley retiree Chuck Davis, 60. Rounds in 2005 totaled 51,000 — up 12,000 from 2004 — at the par-72 layout built in 1977 with the help of Lee Trevino. When Wildcat Golf Partners took over Arthur Pack's operations from Southwest Golf Inc. in July 2004, the task of whipping the tired links into shape seemed formidable. "It was like, 'Where do we start with this thing?' "‰ said Rich Mueller, director of golf at Crooked Tree. Mueller, an Amphi High School graduate and former touring pro, envisioned a property that would be challenging yet friendly, lush yet economical, manageable yet sophisticated. From the moment you stroll past the entryway and pass the 15-foot namesake mesquite tree, the $1 million or so in improvements jump off the Pima County palate. Tee boxes have been shifted, greens are true and quick, and there is grass where there should be grass and dirt where there should be dirt. Brush has been cleared, opening up views of the nearby mountain ranges. Even the high-handicap golfer is not in serious danger of losing a ball due to a stray tee shot. "There were no vistas,"‰ Mueller added. Rattlesnakes were plentiful, however. Leveling unruly desert broom and creosote eliminated much of the reptilian habitat — something that Tucson retiree Jim Davidson noticed right away. "I recall looking for my ball off the No. 1 fairway a couple years ago, and having a rattlesnake coiled right between my legs,"‰ the 80-year-old golfer said. "It started rattling, and after I jumped a foot off the ground, I moved away verrrry slowwwwly.‰" Interestingly, a relative of Davidson's wife penned a book entitled, "Land of the Crooked Tree.‰" The best part is the name,‰ he said. The noteworthy mesquite was transplanted from its home along the ninth fairway. It has become the model for a logo that dons everything from scorecards to hats. Technically, the course did not have a name, taking its identity from Arthur Pack Regional Park, which sits across the parking lot, just a 7-iron from Mountain View High School off North Thornydale Road. Tucson-based Wildcat Golf Partners, headed by medical-equipment mogul Hansjorg Wyss, holds the lease through 2019. Mueller said long-range plans include modifying tees and shuffling bunkers to keep pace with technology. Mueller's relationship with Wyss began with golf lessons. The Swiss billionaire spends part of his winters here, and the two often spoke of developing some golf property. "He wasn't interested in knocking down desert,"‰ Mueller added. "He wanted to improve an existing property."‰ Local golf course designer Ken Kavanaugh developed a practice facility that rivals any in town. He also has sketched sequential designs that will improve the course's playability in the years to come. "I come out here and practice all the time,"‰ Davis said. "The greens are better. The fairways are better. It's kept up better period.‰" On a recent morning, former Canyon del Oro High School and UA golfer Cristina Baena, now on the LPGA Futures Tour, was honing her putting stroke under Mueller's watchful eye. Mueller's dream is to develop a golf academy for his pupils, complete with a workout room in what formerly served as the pro shop. "It's all about creating a golf environment, a fun environment,‰" he added. "Golf should be fun.‰"