brianhorne8's WITB, Course Photos, and Other Crap

brianhorne8 · January 3, 2017

Two days before Ak-Chin, I played Wickenburg Ranch. AZ had been hammered with rain and snow a few days before, so the course was predictably soggy. Some bunkers were lakes, and the ones that weren't were a bit firm (as expected)...but aside from that, this place lived up to the hype about its conditioning. The practice facilities are some of the best I've seen as well, and the staff were super friendly.

I'd originally set out to play this one with my dad, as many of you said that the fairways here would be a little more open and friendly to those of us who can't hit a straight ball. I found that to be very true, even if Dad wasn't around to put it to the ultimate test (weirdly, I found the center of the fairway on all but one hole). I don't know if it was the frost delay that threw me off a little bit or what, but I personally didn't have a great day as far as ball striking with my irons went, so I'm not so sure how I feel about the layout on the whole. A lot of forced carries and tricky blind shots wait for you out there. There are some really pretty views all around, but there's construction everywhere building up the community that'll eventually enclose the course, which is a major drag. Conditions-wise, you're going to have a really hard time finding a better place in the Phoenix area, especially at their current $79 before 9AM rate, but I don't know if there was a particular hole or stretch of holes that really knocked my socks off in any way. I played Cherry Hills CC here in Denver this summer and felt the same way right after the round, but a few days set in and I knew that what I'd played was really good. I'm a week removed from this round and can't say I feel the same way. It wasn't bad at all, it just didn't feel special.

That said, if you're looking for a great round of golf in the Phoenix area, do yourself a favor and give this place a go. I suspect that in a month or two during peak golf season, it'll be fantastic. I'll definitely be back hoping that I was just in a fog from lackluster play and a frost delay. I suspect that's might be the case. Until then, I'll let the photos do the talking.