Pooley's favorite things

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The PGA TOUR will leave California and trek over to Tucson, Ariz., for the World Golf Championships-Accenture Match Play Championship this week. Don Pooley, a four-time combined winner on the PGA TOUR and Champions Tour, resides in Tucson so he's got plenty of insider knowledge about the area. Here are some of his recommendations.

Don Pooley

1. Best restaurant: For a little Mexican flair, head over to El Mezon del Cobre for their excellent chicken tacos (he likes them on the soft corn tortillas). Pooley also recommends La Parrilla Suiza, voted the best Mexican restaurant in the area by Tucson Weekly. His choice for south-of-the-border flavor there is No. 35 on the menu -- the chicken enchiladas. When he's in the mood for a quality filet mignon, there's no place better than Sullivan's of Tucson.

2. Top golf course: "There are too many to choose," Pooley says. But he narrowed it down to three for us. First is the course at Westin La Paloma Resort & Spa, a Jack Nicklaus design that Pooley represented for 13 years. When he's home, he also likes to play the exclusive Stone Canyon venue. It's in tip-top shape and, since opening in 2000, the Jay Morrish signature course has been voted one of the best in the desert. For more sheer desert beauty, Pooley also cites The Gallery at Dove Mountain. The home of the World Golf Championships-Accenture Match Play Championship, The Gallery at Dove Mountain is a 7,466-yard course designed by John Fought and Tom Lehman.

3. Where to relax: There's no place like home, according to Pooley, who emphatically responded that he'd prefer his house over any other place to relax. But for out-of-towners, he suggests a hike in Sabino Canyon complete with a picnic by one of the streams in this southwestern oasis. While relaxing, however, keep an eye out for some of the canyon's creepy crawly critters. Tarantulas and several species of snakes make their home in this naturally soothing spot near Tucson.

4. Natural wonder you can't miss: Pooley says there's no place else like Saguaro National Park, where giant cacti stand tall against the expansive sky. The saguaro cactus, with its prickly base and ability to grow curvy arms, is undoubtedly one of the most well-known symbols of the American West. What makes these plants extraordinary, however, is the amount of time it takes the cactus to grow and eventually sprout branches. The average saguaro grows just one inch during the first eight years of life and doesn't grow the signature L-shaped arms until about 50 years of age. These cacti, which Pooley says are "unique to Arizona and spectacular", can grow as tall as 50 feet and truly are a sight to behold.

5. Favorite man-made landmark: The Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum is a one-of-a-kind museum, zoo and institution created to research and protect the local flora and fauna. "All varieties of Arizona plants and animals in the Sonoran Desert are found here," says Pooley. And it's true -- from wild animals in their astonishingly realistic natural habitats to exhibits filled with hundreds of beautiful plants -- the museum has something for everyone. Kids will even forget they are learning, especially if you take them to the cool cave exhibit that is just like a real-life spelunking adventure.