El Rio dates back to the 1930's and was the original site of the PGA's Tucson Open. n 1945, Babe Didrikson Zahairas Monday qualified for the Tucson Open (PGA Tour Event). The course was operated as a country club until 1968 when the City of Tucson acquired it for public use. The course layout features tight fairways, small greens, relatively flat terrain, two lakes, and many trees. El Rio's layout is over 6,400 yards from the back tees, and nearly 5,400 from the fronts. The course also features Junior tees measuring just less than 4,700 yards.