The Golf Club of Estrella opened in 1999 as Estrella Mountain Ranch Golf Club, a Jack Nicklaus II design in the foothills of the Sierra Estrella south of Goodyear. The land was first planned for development by Charles Keating's group and sat in foreclosure after the savings-and-loan collapse. New owners revived the project, and the course became the key amenity of the 20,000-acre Estrella community.