2019 Phoenix Area Course Conditions

[Argonne69]

On a scale of 1 to 10, these courses probably fall into the 2 to 5 range. Anything under a 5 I'd probably be not play again. There are only a handful of courses in the area that I'd play regularly.

[Argonne69]

Was the Founders course at Verrado originally called the Raven at Verrado?

[az2au]

Yes

[brianhorne8]

Verrado Victory was SOGGY today. Greens ran pretty quick, still. Cold and windy, which with the wetness made it play longer than it probably would normally. I liked the layout and would love to go back, but CPO rounds are absolutely abysmal. Looking forward to a walk tomorrow at Southern Dunes.

[teejaywhy]

I hate the new format quoting...

Anyway, why does that suck (Gil Benevedez)?

 

[teejaywhy]

Longbow for sure. The waste areas fill up but the fairways and greens shed water like you wouldn't believe. I remember it raining hard all night and into the morning of a scheduled men's club tournament. A few of us hard cores showed up but they cancelled the tournament, we waited around an hour, the rain stopped and went out to some remarkably firm conditions, only soggy in a few spots.

 

 

[jatrain]

Dove Valley yesterday. Conditions were meh, especially the greens, even giving them credit for all the rain. No cart path only, which was nice, even though honestly they should have been.

[fore_life]

aZlefty and I know him from when we played tukee, Matt might too, but he’s just kinda like a greasy used car salesmen, just not a big fan from what interactions we’ve had

[puttnforthe8]

Ambiente in super condition with only positive effects from the rain. greens were quick!! Huge fun today.

[ferrispgm]

Played Encanto on Saturday and froze....but the course was in really good shape considering the rain which surprised me given how flat it is....There were a couple areas that were fairly wet but it was mostly good and didn't have any mud balls. Greens were rolling well...probably 9.5ish and pace has been great the last 3 times I played....all 3 under 4 hours walking and getting held up a bit....Saturday was a 3some and we got around in 3:30 despite waiting a couple minutes on most holes from 8-15.

[puttnforthe8]

one spot open at the Duke tomorrow 12/31 at 748am(prob a frost delay of an hour) - $25 if anyone is interested??

 

 

[Skydiver22]

Played We Ko Pa Saguaro with Chris last weekend... it is in great shape. Greens had a good pace on them and the fairways were pure.

[Skydiver22]

They instituted a Dobson Ranch card that gets you a better rate for playing and food... I've started playing more out there again... considering its two blocks away. Still has two great Men's clubs, The Men's Club and the Dobson 50 club for players over 50. The Men's club has some players... yikes.

[MackDaddy480]

Yes, I just recently joined the Men's Club and they have some great players. There are a couple guys with +4 handicaps. If anyone is looking for a well run club with good competition it is a good place to join.

[FlashNoonan]

Raven yesterday. Not sure how long the frost delay was in the AM but tee'd off on 10 about 30 minutes after my regular start time. Course wasn't wet, few bunkers had standing water though. Greens seemed to be cut fairly short. Greens rolled pretty good minus a few holes where people still can't seem to fix their ball marks. Surprisingly wasn't CPO. Abysmal 5 hour round though. I'm sure the 5 hour round had something to do with the mid 40's temp and people playing tees outside of their skill level.

[OspreyCI]

Last two rounds at Raven guys wanted to play tees one up from tips and can only hit it 250 off the tee. Golf is hard hitting woods and long irons into Par 4’s.

Kind of wish starters would not worry about hurting people’s feeling and force them to play the appropriate tee boxes.

[Argonne69]

A nice day walking Cimarron, my 30th round on this visit. I enjoyed the layout, especially the tiered greens. Fairways were fairly generous, but the greens were somewhat tricky. A few too many short par 4s. With the low temperature I decided to play the Whites, but the Blue/White combo probably would have been better. Pace was good at 3:45.

The maintenance crew was cutting the fairways, so some were shaggy, and others were freshly cut. Greens were fairly slow, and a number of them had some patchy turf. I didn't fund a bunker all day, so I can't comment on their condition. I did like the look of them with the high faces.

Overall I'd rate it a 5.

[AzSuperHack76]

I really enjoy the Sun City Grand courses Cimmaron being my favorite, Granite Falls North second, then Desert Springl/Granite Falls south are just meh in my opionin. Although Granite Falls South and Desert Springs have the widest fairways you could ever imagine, nice if your struggling off the tee. I only play the SCG courses in the summer though due to the price, really good value in the summer at $20.

[Bonneville85308]

I have very similar thoughts. Cimarron is by far my favorite of the SC Grand courses, I'd even rank it higher than Corte Bella over in SC West. They are all good courses for their target market, and cheap/empty in the summer for the rest of us.

[HercNav]

Southern Dunes was in pretty decent shape today given the amount of rain. There was about a 90 min frost delay...pace of play 3:30 or so. Very quick round.

[gators2k]

Leaving for Phoenix on Sunday with the girlfriend. Only playing 2 rounds, Aguila and Southern Dunes.... any updates on how those courses are looking right now? thanks

 

[Bonneville85308]

I played Aguila this past weekend and it was in great shape all around, really nothing non-frivolous I could complain about.

[Argonne69]

Last round of the year at Trilogy GC at Vistancia. Overall I thought it was a good layout, but I was somewhat disappointed. I saw a few photos, and they made the course look like a wide open links style course. Instead it's your typical desert course in a housing development. Not bad, but no different than the other courses out this way. The bunkering was well done, but no hole really shined. The par 3s were fairly meh.

The greens were very quick, probably rolling 11+. Am I mistaken, or are the greens dormant Bermuda with green coloring sprayed on? They certainly didn't look overseeded. Fairways were in nice shape. The greenside bunker on the first hole had some of the best sand I've played on this trip. A few holes later the bunkers were hardpan with more rocks than sand. A few others had a little sand. A real head scratcher that they were so inconsistent.

Overall I'd give it a rating of 5.

[az2au]

I wouldn’t call anything you’ve played other than maybe Grayhawk Raptor a 5. I’d go 3 at best for most and 2 on many. Vistancia, for example, is barely a 3. 5 is “well above average” on the Doak scale IIRC.

I may be a hard grader but I’ve played over 1000 different courses and less than half are 5 or above. I try to hit a lot of name courses and most are 3-4.

[puttnforthe8]

Played the Duke today - 25 bucks using Idealgolfer - it was actually in decent shape - greens rolled good (2 or 3 were bumpy); fairways decent. Wouldn't pay what they are asking, but for 25 it was a great way to end the year - no frost delay and 2nd out we finished in 3:15.

[Argonne69]

I'm using my 1 to 10 scale, not Doak's. His scale if simply goofy for a typical course. I've played close to 600 courses, and I agree that using his scale less than half are 5+.

[avguy]

Toka on Tues. 12/30 @ Twilite rate wasn't bad. $30. My bud & I got paired with a worse player than us, and there were alot of players on the course, but we still finished in 3:40 with one group only behind us.

Wet and soft greens where tree shade is.....if you don't want alot of dormant rough - this is one green course.

I'm a heat lover - never have I felt a cumulative effect in our summers as a runner/biker but in a cart with that cloudy 55 day and too many layers - I just like summer golf better and play better in it!

By the last 4-5 holes, I couldn't concentrate on chips/putts anymore as it caught up to me.

I Wish I had walked.

[AzSuperHack76]

The overseed didn’t take on the greens, I think it's just dormant Bermuda that has been sanded, painted and rolled.

[Argonne69]

Edit: Moved to 2020 thread.