Above the courts at Seven Clubhouse there is a new railing, with seats set behind it. From there a Member can follow a match below with a drink in hand, keep an eye on the scoreboards, and look out past the players to the No. 7 course and the mountains beyond. Desert Mountain Club announced the setup on October 14, 2026, as its fall bocce league got underway. Two new courts were added at Seven, bringing all four to a uniform size that matches regulation dimensions.
The courts are the obvious upgrade. The seating, railing, scoreboards, lighting and sound tell you more about what the Club built. Bocce at Desert Mountain now has a venue designed for an audience. Sonoran Clubhouse, one of the clubhouses within a short walk or drive of Mountain Skyline, keeps its two courts. Fall evenings now offer a real choice between the two.
Four Courts Built for the People Not Holding a Ball
According to the Club's announcement, spectator seating and a railing above the courts let Members "watch the action while dining or stopping by." Court seating and scoreboards were placed so players can follow teammates from either end. The sides of each court are kept clear for game management and officiating.
Expanded lighting and sound systems complete the setup. Lighting matters most once the sun sets, and a sound system matters most when there is a crowd. With officiating space and regulation sizing in the mix, the Seven courts work as both a league facility and an evening gathering place.
The restaurant above the courts fits that design. Seven, the restaurant at Seven Clubhouse, is described by the Club as a family-friendly indoor-outdoor gastropub with comfort food, shareable plates, cocktails and craft beer. The Club's No. 7 page also lists live entertainment and group activities there. Shareable plates and a railing overlooking a scoreboard make a natural pairing.
Why the Club Needed the Room
The expansion follows the numbers. Desert Mountain's first bocce league season, in fall 2018, drew 96 players. The Club now reports about 830 players in the fall season, which it calls an increase of nearly 765 percent over that first fall. Spring is larger still, at roughly 1,100 players.
The spring league runs about a third larger than the fall league that just started. The Club's Platinum Club awards submission, published in September 2026, already described the Seven bocce complex as expanding to keep up with a fast-growing program. The new courts opened in fall, so they have a full season of use before the larger spring field arrives.
There are three ways to play. The Club runs a competitive league and a social league during the main seasons, plus a summer league for Members who keep playing in the off-season. Several hundred players across two leagues is a lot for any one set of courts. Spreading play across six courts at two clubhouses gives the program room for that.
In the same feature, longtime Member Anita Wallace described what the game offers in the evening:
"Bocce you can play at night. So, we can either sit home, and drink wine and watch TV, or we'll come here and have a glass of wine and play bocce with our friends together."
That account comes from Desert Mountain Club's own feature on the new courts. The Club presents bocce there as an option for Members who don't play golf or racquet sports, and as a social hub where teams formed among strangers can turn into lasting friendships.
Two Settings, Side by Side
The two clubhouses come at bocce from different directions. Seven is a golf-and-gastropub setting at the front of the property. Sonoran is Desert Mountain's wellness hub, where bocce shares space with a long list of other activities.
| Seven Clubhouse | Sonoran Clubhouse | |
|---|---|---|
| Bocce courts | Four, all regulation size, two of them new as of October 2026 | Two |
| Built-in spectator features | Railing, spectator seating, scoreboards, expanded lighting and sound | None described in the Club's announcement |
| What the courts overlook | The No. 7 course, with mountain views | Not described in the Club's announcement |
| Dining on-site | Seven, an indoor-outdoor gastropub with shareable plates, cocktails and craft beer | Café Verde, counter-order breakfast, lunch and dinner |
| What else is there | No. 7, an 18-hole, par-54 course | Fitness, Pilates, heated pools, spa, tennis, pickleball, croquet |
Seven's setting
No. 7 opened along with Seven Clubhouse in 2019, which makes it the newest course in the set. It is a full 18 holes at par 54, measuring 3,114 yards, designed by Bill Brownlee and landscape architect Wendell Pickett. The clubhouse is at 37102 N. Cave Creek Rd. It anchors the Seven enclave, where the Club says homes are walkable to the course and clubhouse. For a Mountain Skyline household, getting there is a drive to the front of the property. In return you get four courts, a scoreboard and dinner overlooking the course.
Sonoran's setting
Sonoran is a 42,000-square-foot facility. It includes a fitness center with personal training, physical therapy and group classes, along with heated pools and a spa with six treatment rooms. The Club's guide map lists bocce under Sonoran together with croquet, pickleball, Pilates, tennis and youth activities. Café Verde serves breakfast, lunch and dinner from a counter, with smoothies, poke bowls, flatbreads and salads. The two courts there sit inside a day that may already include a class or a swim, a few minutes from home.
Where Mountain Skyline Fits
Mountain Skyline sits near the core of Desert Mountain, along the front nine of the Geronimo Golf Course, with several clubhouses a short walk or drive away, Sonoran among them. That location lets one household use both settings for different purposes.
- For a quick game after a Sonoran workout or swim, the two Sonoran courts and Café Verde are the closer option, and dinner is counter service.
- For an evening built around bocce, whether that means a league match, following friends' teams, or a table of shareable plates at the railing, Seven's four courts are designed for it, with lighting and sound for after dark.
- For bringing guests who don't play, Seven's spectator seating gives them a place at the match without picking up a ball.
Each clubhouse's bocce schedule, league slots and dining hours come from the Club itself. Check those directly before planning an evening around either one. The fall league is underway, and the new courts at Seven are open for their first season.
At Power+, we live on-property and follow how Club amenities like the Seven bocce complex change daily life in each village. If you're weighing how far your own village is from the clubhouses you use most, schedule a private consultation with Desert Mountain experts.
