Dove Mountain, Arizona National, or Vetnana Canyon

My dad and I are heading to Tucson oven spring break at the beginning of April. We're going to play one budget round, which we have already decided will be at The Preserve because my grandparents like 2 minutes away from it. We are looking to splurge on a round at one of the 3 courses in the title. Right now I'm really torn between Dove Mountain and Vetnana Canon especially but all 3 seem like good options. What's your guys' favorite's? We're open to other options of high level curses with the only catch being they have to be ~ 1 hr from Saddlebrooke.

Thanks, Ben

Look in the southwest sub forum

http://www.golfwrx.com/forums/forum/143-southwest/

Ventana canyon isn't close to dove mountain in my opinion. Dove is a step or three above. Skip them both and play either course at the gallery

Agree with the sentiment above. Dove or the Gallery courses. I'm a rare bird who really likes Dove Mountain, but the Gallery tournament course (can't remember which one) is a great course, too

Just don't let Dove throw you out on the Tortalita 9. It's not the same as the tournament course Some of the wildest greens I've seen on any course, anywhere.

[quote name='jptruck' timestamp='1425733339' post='11095757']
Agree with the sentiment above. Dove or the Gallery courses. I'm a rare bird who really likes Dove Mountain, but the Gallery tournament course (can't remember which one) is a great course, too

Just don't let Dove throw you out on the Tortalita 9. It's not the same as the tournament course Some of the wildest greens I've seen on any course, anywhere.
[/quote]isnt Wild Burro the 9 they did not use for Match play

The Tournament 18 was the Tortolita and Saguaro. I just came back from Tucson and played both Ventana and Dove. IMO your just looking at two totally different courses. Dove Mountain is very generous off the tee, longer, and was designed by Jack. Dove is all about playing the angles depending on pin locations, false fronts, and a lot of double and triple breaking putts. Ventana is narrower, tree lined, shorter, and flatter greens. Two weeks ago the greens at Dove Mtn appeared to be recently top dressed, very sandy and not rolling all that true. Ventana was in fantastic condition on the MTN course. I can't speak to the gallery since I haven't played there, but when I drive by the course always appears to be in great shape.

Thanks for the feedback.Can I even get on the gallery? it says it is accepting limited play, so how would I go about getting a tee time.

[quote name='cbbaron' timestamp='1425738358' post='11096091']
[quote name='jptruck' timestamp='1425733339' post='11095757']
Agree with the sentiment above. Dove or the Gallery courses. I'm a rare bird who really likes Dove Mountain, but the Gallery tournament course (can't remember which one) is a great course, too

Just don't let Dove throw you out on the Tortalita 9. It's not the same as the tournament course Some of the wildest greens I've seen on any course, anywhere.
[/quote]isnt Wild Burro the 9 they did not use for Match play
[/quote]

Correct. Brain fart. Don't like it.

Stayed at gallery twice. Played the ritz this year on day one . Gallery either course blows,away the ritz.

I dunno about "blows away." Really different and both very good

What about Starr pass?

Dove Mountain is great - Very tough greens.

[quote name='ZonaWho' timestamp='1425935847' post='11110391']
What about Starr pass?
[/quote]

Not a fan. Every time I played there it was windy as hell, though.

I guess I'm in the minority, but AZ National was my favorite. A really fun course to play.

If you do end up at Ventana, play the Mountain course. I was not impressed by the Canyon course, best described as a nice cart ride, interrupted on occasion by golf holes.

I've been to Tucson a number of times because I have a brother who lives on the Ventana Canyon course. I have to admit I haven't played Dove Mountain but want to (it looked great on TV). However, the Mountain course at Ventana Canyon from the Black tees is really fun. Don't be fooled by the "appearance" of flat greens at either Ventana course. That entire course is on the side of the Catalina Mountains and what looks flat is not. If you are not paying attention to where the mountains are, be prepared for a lot of 3-putts. I have played Arizona National and would rate it below Ventana. As said in an earlier post, Ventana fairways are fairly narrow with misses into the cactus penal. Some of the climbs and views from the black tees are really fun.

Enjoy your trip. Lots of good course options. FYI, I have found a lot of really good last minute deals of Golfnow in Tucson.

Ventana is one of my favorites, mountain a bit better than the canyon. Dove is just fun to play, long and tough to putt. You wont go wrong with either one.

I've yet to play Dove Mountain or Ventana Canyon (plan to this summer when prices are hopefully low), but I played Arizona National for the first time on Sunday, and I really enjoyed it.

Pulling a lot of this from my Yelp review ....

This Robert Trent Jones Jr. is quite good. I would definitely recommend it.

Random thoughts:

-generally pricey, but I recently played at 2:30pm on a Sunday afternoon for $34 total (taxes included). The course was full but not particularly slow.

-greens were fairly fast, and conditioning was rather good for a public course. not quite as immaculate as at the ultra-pricey tricks, but still very very nice.

-you'll have a lot of sidehill lies from the fairway. tricky!

-only a few staff members there, perhaps due to the virus. hard to give a fair judgment to an overall experience during these tough times. there was no starter on the first tee, and this led to confusion about who is teeing off when. staff was friendly. the bathroom was locked when we finished. that was annoying, but I didn't complain, given the times that we're in.

-the app for this course is excellent, giving the golfer terrific GPS data.

-some absolutely stunning views on this course.

-due to space constraints, the "practice area" is rather lame. a small driving range, and a basic/small putting green. the turf on the range is good.

-I hate courses that "play through a neighborhood", but that's not really the case here. there are houses scattered, but the golfer is much more playing the mountain than playing through a neighborhood.

-some excellent risk/reward holes. you'll often be wondering "how much risk do I want to take here?"

-like many desert courses, you can easily lose a ball if you're a few yards off line of a green.

-I look forward to playing it again. this is definitely a course where local knowledge is very valuable.