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First time golf trip planner in Scottsdale area - what a cluster.


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First time trying to plan a golf trip for four dudes and there's just too many options. I would like to keep it simple and play the best golf courses I can in the Scottsdale area, or just in Scottsdale. Three days, three courses, 36, 36, and 18 holes would be ideal. Can anybody throw out some great choices, plans, ideas, etc. Or any excellent resources I could call?

 

Thanks

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First time trying to plan a golf trip for four dudes and there's just too many options. I would like to keep it simple and play the best golf courses I can in the Scottsdale area, or just in Scottsdale. Three days, three courses, 36, 36, and 18 holes would be ideal. Can anybody throw out some great choices, plans, ideas, etc. Or any excellent resources I could call?

 

Thanks

 

You could call a golf packager to put together the trip for you. If you just want to know where to play you are going to get 12 different guys here telling you to play 30 different courses. My suggestion: 36 at Troon. 36 at TPC Stadium/Champions. 18 at We Ko Pa Saguaro. Rent a house. Enjoy.

 

Disclaimers: We Ko Pa is not in Scottsdale. TPC isn’t the “best” but if you have never been here I’d play it.

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The two at Grayhawk (NCAA championship), the two at Troon, and one of the two at Wildfire (LPGA).

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If you want to stay real close in to Scottsdale then my 5 would be Troon North Monument and Pinnacle, Boulders South, Grayhawk Raptor and TPC Stadium. If you dont mind a little drive then We Ko Pa Saguaro is the one not to miss and then drop any one of the others. But look at the Troon Card if you are going to do this and you might be very surprised at what value you can get with short notice tee times.

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Wonderful, thanks all. I'm very surprised to hear TPC stadium is not that great, but again I don't know much about Arizona golf.

 

I think the point is that there are many better courses in that area.

 

The "Scottsdale area" courses are really spread out. Some might be 45 minutes to an hour drive from the others, so be careful with your geography.

 

I suggest you play two courses that are together on the days you play 36 to avoid long drives. For example, Boulders and Troon North both have 36 holes and both are wonderful courses.

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I don't know if Boulders has changed its policy as I haven't played there in several years. They used to keep one course each day only for guests of the resort and the other course was open to the public. The next day they switched. So, if that is still the policy, you won't be able to play both the same day. Check with the course. I suggest playing both courses at We-Ko-Pa and Troon North.

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WeKoPa both courses one day. Troon North both for the other 36. Then drive 45 minutes south and play Southern Dunes.

 

That gives you the 3 best public plays in the area (WeKoPa Saguaro, Southern Dunes, and Troon North Pinnacle) and 2 other good desert courses.

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WeKoPa both courses one day. Troop North both for the other 36. Then drive 45 minutes south and play Southern Dunes.

 

That gives you the 3 best public plays in the area (WeKoPa Saguaro, Southern Dunes, and Troon North Pinnacle) and 2 other good desert courses.

 

I like this

 

As much as I think TPC Stadium is at absolute best mediocre (and I mean absolute best, I think it kinda sucks) I still think you play it. I’d do Grayhawk Raptor over Champions. Raptor is a much better course than either TPC course and is less than 10 minutes away.

 

Agree on Troon North and We Ko Pa Saguaro.

 

Is raptor as easy of a walk as Tpc champions?

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WeKoPa both courses one day. Troop North both for the other 36. Then drive 45 minutes south and play Southern Dunes.

 

That gives you the 3 best public plays in the area (WeKoPa Saguaro, Southern Dunes, and Troon North Pinnacle) and 2 other good desert courses.

 

I like this

 

As much as I think TPC Stadium is at absolute best mediocre (and I mean absolute best, I think it kinda sucks) I still think you play it. I'd do Grayhawk Raptor over Champions. Raptor is a much better course than either TPC course and is less than 10 minutes away.

 

Agree on Troon North and We Ko Pa Saguaro.

 

Is raptor as easy of a walk as Tpc champions?

No but it is quite possible. It is a significantly better golf course however.

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Wonderful, thanks all. I'm very surprised to hear TPC stadium is not that great, but again I don't know much about Arizona golf.

 

I think the point is that there are many better courses in that area.

 

The "Scottsdale area" courses are really spread out. Some might be 45 minutes to an hour drive from the others, so be careful with your geography.

 

I suggest you play two courses that are together on the days you play 36 to avoid long drives. For example, Boulders and Troon North both have 36 holes and both are wonderful courses.

1. No, I really mean it isn't very good. The front 9 is as boring of golf as you will ever play and the scenery isn't even very good. Also, it is in crappy shape a lot of the year. I honestly believe that people only like it because they see it on TV and it is so ridiculously easy that most people shoot decent scores. I've played a lot of TPC courses and most of them are impressively mediocre or outright bad so this shouldn't surprise anyone. Oh, the back has 5 good holes but the rest are like the front. If you consider both public and private I sincerely don't believe it makes the top 50 courses in the area. Which brings me to my other point...

2. You really mean PHX area, not Scottsdale. Scottsdale courses aren't that far apart in most cases and virtually all of the really solid ones are at most 20-30 min from each other. We Ko Pa for instance isn't in Scottsdale. I was trying to think, worst case scenario, what are the two courses actually in Scottsdale that would take the longest to get between (public only because Desert Mountain itself can take 20 min to get out of and it is in Scottsdale technically) and I think it has to be The Boulders and Camelback. If I'm motivated I can get between those two in 30-35 min max and that's a "making no lights" kind of deal.

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I consider the "PHX area" and the "Scottsdale area" to be identical. I don't think anybody visiting the area cares what city the courses are actually in. They are visiting the area, not the city and they pick from the 185 courses in the entire area.

 

BTW, Google says Gold Canyon to Boulders is 59 minutes.

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To me, when someone specifically says “Scottsdale” I take that as a specific request to stay in the Scottsdale limits for golf. “Phoenix” would indicate to me the metro area including Scottsdale and other suburbs, basically Maricopa County. It’s odd to specify Scottsdale when the metro area is Phoenix. I wouldn’t ask for advice on courses in Oceanside, CA if I were looking for anywherein the San Diego area for example. Specifying a suburb like that indicates to me an aversion to driving substantial distances.

 

Thats just me.

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I consider the "PHX area" and the "Scottsdale area" to be identical. I don't think anybody visiting the area cares what city the courses are actually in. They are visiting the area, not the city and they pick from the 185 courses in the entire area.

 

BTW, Google says Gold Canyon to Boulders is 59 minutes.

That’s my exact point. Gold Canyon is barely Phoenix metro area and is nowhere near Scottsdale. If someone asks about Scottsdale then I think they actually want to try to stay there. Pretty much what golfandfishing is saying above. That’s the same reason people aren’t suggesting Quintero, Wickenburg Ranch or Verrado in this thread. We Ko Pa at least keeps you in the immediate area even though you go through Fountain Hills and potentially Rio Verde depending on which way you go.

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For simplicity I would go: Wekopa 36, Troon north 36 and grayhawk. If you are into playing courses you see on tv then substitute TPC scottsdale for grayhawk. As mentioned above the course at grayhawk is better golfwise, but TPC is kind of a golf culture thing (depending on when you play). If you gave a timeline for travel it may help a bit. IMP TPC scottsdale isnt worth even a cultural experience unless the stadium is still up. It actually stays up for quite a long time after the tournament.

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Wonderful, thanks all. I'm very surprised to hear TPC stadium is not that great, but again I don't know much about Arizona golf.

 

I think price comes into it, too. If they charged the same price as Grayhawk/Wekopa/Troon, there might not be quite so much hate. That said, the only of those 6 courses that I like less than the TPC is Raptor.

 

IMO, I'd even look at Talking Stick before TPC. It's not unique to AZ, so I typically wouldn't recommend it as a travel destination (too flat), but it's soundly designed and fun. If you're an architecture nerd, O'odham is a great case study.

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For simplicity I would go: Wekopa 36, Troon north 36 and grayhawk. If you are into playing courses you see on tv then substitute TPC scottsdale for grayhawk. As mentioned above the course at grayhawk is better golfwise, but TPC is kind of a golf culture thing (depending on when you play). If you gave a timeline for travel it may help a bit. IMP TPC scottsdale isnt worth even a cultural experience unless the stadium is still up. It actually stays up for quite a long time after the tournament.

 

Would the stadium and stands still be up in Mid March?

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First time trying to plan a golf trip for four dudes and there's just too many options. I would like to keep it simple and play the best golf courses I can in the Scottsdale area, or just in Scottsdale. Three days, three courses, 36, 36, and 18 holes would be ideal. Can anybody throw out some great choices, plans, ideas, etc. Or any excellent resources I could call?

 

Thanks

You'll get lots of good (and conflicting) advice about courses, I won't pile on there. But I have organized a bunch of trips, and I have a bit of advice. Learn what you can, make the best choices you can, and then move on. Do NOT second-guess yourself. More important, do not let the OTHER guys second-guess your choices. In almost every case, they're going to be very happy they're not shoveling snow, that they're someplace warm, and they're playing golf with buddies, and they didn't have to do a thing except pony up some cash.. And when the first guy complains, assign HIM the chore of planning the next trip for your group.

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For simplicity I would go: Wekopa 36, Troon north 36 and grayhawk. If you are into playing courses you see on tv then substitute TPC scottsdale for grayhawk. As mentioned above the course at grayhawk is better golfwise, but TPC is kind of a golf culture thing (depending on when you play). If you gave a timeline for travel it may help a bit. IMP TPC scottsdale isnt worth even a cultural experience unless the stadium is still up. It actually stays up for quite a long time after the tournament.

 

Would the stadium and stands still be up in Mid March?

 

 

I have played mid march when the stands were still up. I think they move at snail speed due to the boost in play with the stands up. That has been a few years, others may have more updated information.

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For simplicity I would go: Wekopa 36, Troon north 36 and grayhawk. If you are into playing courses you see on tv then substitute TPC scottsdale for grayhawk. As mentioned above the course at grayhawk is better golfwise, but TPC is kind of a golf culture thing (depending on when you play). If you gave a timeline for travel it may help a bit. IMP TPC scottsdale isnt worth even a cultural experience unless the stadium is still up. It actually stays up for quite a long time after the tournament.

 

Would the stadium and stands still be up in Mid March?

 

 

I have played mid march when the stands were still up. I think they move at snail speed due to the boost in play with the stands up. That has been a few years, others may have more updated information.

 

They can probably charge more... "Play the TPC while the stands are up!" They should even have an open-to-the-public bar on the 16th so you can get heckled by drunks. I'd pay extra for that!

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First time trying to plan a golf trip for four dudes and there's just too many options. I would like to keep it simple and play the best golf courses I can in the Scottsdale area, or just in Scottsdale. Three days, three courses, 36, 36, and 18 holes would be ideal. Can anybody throw out some great choices, plans, ideas, etc. Or any excellent resources I could call?

 

Thanks

You'll get lots of good (and conflicting) advice about courses, I won't pile on there. But I have organized a bunch of trips, and I have a bit of advice. Learn what you can, make the best choices you can, and then move on. Do NOT second-guess yourself. More important, do not let the OTHER guys second-guess your choices. In almost every case, they're going to be very happy they're not shoveling snow, that they're someplace warm, and they're playing golf with buddies, and they didn't have to do a thing except pony up some cash.. And when the first guy complains, assign HIM the chore of planning the next trip for your group.

 

Great advice Dave. When I do the planning I don’t even tell them the course itinerary. Each day I’ll say OK, tomorrow’s round is here at this time. I’ve had very little griping (and we’re not playing high end tracks). Although like you said, just the fact that we’re playing this time of year goes a long, long way towards keeping everyone happy.


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  • 8 months later...

I was looking at this thread for a trip we are doing in Feb 2020. This thread is extremely helpful. Thanks to everyone that contributed!

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> @davep043 said:

> (Quote)

>

>

> You'll get lots of good (and conflicting) advice about courses, I won't pile on there. But I have organized a bunch of trips, and I have a bit of advice. Learn what you can, make the best choices you can, and then move on. Do NOT second-guess yourself. More important, do not let the OTHER guys second-guess your choices. In almost every case, they're going to be very happy they're not shoveling snow, that they're someplace warm, and they're playing golf with buddies, and they didn't have to do a thing except pony up some cash.. And when the first guy complains, assign HIM the chore of planning the next trip for your group.

 

You're a nicer guy than me. He'd be out of the next trip if he complains but did nothing other than pay....

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