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By John Maginnes
PGATOUR.com Contributor

MARANA, Ariz. -- When I first saw the Gallery at Dove Mountain I had two reactions. The first was that this is just another bomber's paradise. And the second was, what kind of a name is that for a golf course? While I still am not sure about the name, the golf course is beginning to win me over.

My first view was from a cart on Tuesday afternoon after flying across the country. Sitting in coach on a full flight from the east coast to Arizona for a man of some size is a trying experience at best. I managed to survive it OK with the small bag of peanuts and the quarter of a can of diet soda that was provided to me by the friendly flight attendants. Who would have ever thought that you could miss airplane food?

The Gallery is growing on our John Maginnes. (Condon/PGA TOUR/WireImage)

So I probably wasn't in the best mood to make an equitable judgment on the merits of the golf course. However, after spending Wednesday walking the course with several of the early matches and then with the Tiger Woods-J.J. Henry match, I must say that this is a wonderful venue, especially for match play.

What I didn't realize Tuesday is that the course doesn't play anywhere near the 7,500 yards that it boasts on the scorecard. From the first hole to the eighth, the players are virtually playing directly downhill. Par 4s that read 490 yards on the card are a driver and a short iron for the 64 players who began the World Golf Championships-Accenture Match Play Championship.

Like most desert golf courses, the Gallery is in impeccable shape. The course is carved through the natural terrain of southern Arizona. The course sits just at the bottom of the mountains and changes elevation on nearly every hole. The landing areas are generous but if you miss the greens overseeded with bent grass you are in jeopardy of suffering the same fate as Wiley Coyote. He is from around here, you know. And there are plenty of road runners throughout the course to mock his spirit.

There is a wonderful mix of holes on this golf course. Tiger flew his drive onto the green at the downhill 357-yard, par-4 seventh. J.J. hit his second shot pin high on the 635-yard par 5 fifth -- a hole that I had thought unreachable. This course requires a lot more strategy that it first appeared.

In the second match of the day, won by Chris DiMarco, it looked as if he was going to be over-matched. Brett Wetterich certainly had the length advantage but precise strategy and execution won out for Chris. It was this match that alerted me to the possibility that this is a shot-maker's course as much as it is a bomber's course. Yes, there some par 5s that the longer hitters are going to reach and mere mortals will have to play the old-fashioned way.

But if a shot-maker can hold on through the meat of the course then the closing stretch of holes favors players like Jim Furyk and DiMarco. Starting at the short uphill, par-4 12th , the course changes tone a bit. Few players can drive the green but they can all get near it, leaving a short pitch to the elevated putting surface. The 14th and the 16th are both medium distance par 3s. Obviously, par 3s negate the big boys' advantage. The par-5 17th playing up hill is the only par 5 that may not be reached all week. And the final hole is a spectacular par 4 climbing back up to the top of the property.

You would think that an English major would have learned not to judge a book by its cover. At first glance, the Gallery at Dove Mountain did not impress me but after a day of play I am a believer. As for the name, well....a rose by any other name......