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2020 Phoenix Area Course Conditions


azgolfer44

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A very pleasant day for a walk. It was only the 2nd round I've ever played on New Year's Day. I teed it up at Tuscany Falls East. 'Not the most interesting course. Honestly, in a week I will have forgotten every hole. For less than $50 it was acceptable. Fairways were in great shape. The greens looked great, and were rolling around a 9. Very nice. Bunkers were trash. Seriously, why bother having bunkers if one is not going to maintain them? Also, the bird sh-t on the water holes was disgusting. Overall I'd rate it a 3.

I should also mention the highlight of the day, playing with Bill, a 90 year old golfer. He is quite the inspiration. 'Hope I'm still out enjoying the game when I'm his age.

Ping G425 Max Driver 12 (0 Flat) - Aldila Ascent Red 50 Stiff (46")
TaylorMade AeroBurner Mini Driver 16 - Matrix Speed RUL-Z 60 Stiff
Ping G410 7wd 20.5 (0 Flat) - Alta CB 65 Stiff (43")
Ping G410 9wd 23.5 (0 Flat) - Alta CB 65 Stiff (42.5")
Ping G425 6h 30 (0 Flat) - Alta CB 70 Stiff
PXG 0311P Gen3 6-P (2 Deg Weak, 1 Deg Flat) - True Temper Elevate 95 S /

Ping i200 6-P Orange Dot (2 Deg Weak, 2 Deg Flat) - True Temper XP 95 S
Ping Glide 4.0 52-12 S, 56-10 Eye2, and 60-10 S Orange Dot (2 Deg Flat) - Ping Z-Z115 Wedge
PXG Blackjack 36" - SuperStroker Flatso 2.0

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Lovely day at Ocotillo. I played the White and Gold nines. Definitely a different experience out here. It felt like a Florida course with the water surrounding most of the holes. I basically liked the layout, but a few holes left me wanting. I didn't care for the par 5 2nd hole on White, as it forces you to lay up with less than driver. Not a fan of that type of hole. On the flip side, the 9th was a beast. I hit a solid drive straight down the middle, but still had 190 to carry the water. I imagine that hole sees a ton of doubles or worse. The Gold was the better nine. Conditions were good, although there were way too many unrepaired ballmarks on the greens. Greens were rolling with moderate speed. Bunkers once again sucked. Has the price of sand gone through the roof? I'd rate it a 5.

20200102_133502.jpg

Ping G425 Max Driver 12 (0 Flat) - Aldila Ascent Red 50 Stiff (46")
TaylorMade AeroBurner Mini Driver 16 - Matrix Speed RUL-Z 60 Stiff
Ping G410 7wd 20.5 (0 Flat) - Alta CB 65 Stiff (43")
Ping G410 9wd 23.5 (0 Flat) - Alta CB 65 Stiff (42.5")
Ping G425 6h 30 (0 Flat) - Alta CB 70 Stiff
PXG 0311P Gen3 6-P (2 Deg Weak, 1 Deg Flat) - True Temper Elevate 95 S /

Ping i200 6-P Orange Dot (2 Deg Weak, 2 Deg Flat) - True Temper XP 95 S
Ping Glide 4.0 52-12 S, 56-10 Eye2, and 60-10 S Orange Dot (2 Deg Flat) - Ping Z-Z115 Wedge
PXG Blackjack 36" - SuperStroker Flatso 2.0

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12/28 - Southern Dunes - Only played 9, just too cold and windy. Course was in nice shape. Greens rolled well but not real fast compared to others this week. Place gave me a rain check for the wind and temperature...unreal. Tremendous customer service here on top of a great golf course. I bought stuff in the pro shop because I felt bad.

12/29 - Verde River - Course was perfect but CPO from rains. Greens smooth and pretty quick. First time I’ve ever played here; was really impressed with the facility and generally liked the course. I haven’t played there much, but reminded me a bit of Wick Ranch, very pure. It’s now in rotation when I come to town.

12/30 - Wekopa Saguaro - Really nice overseed, didn’t look it but greens sneaky quick. I like this course more every time I play it; definitely among top in area. Walked it which was awesome. Something about the restaurant / pro shop / vibe is unappealing to me for some reason though.

12/31 - TPC Champions - Course was in nice shape, greens smooth and pretty quick. Paid like $85...just ok track but great bang for buck. If I was a local I’d play a lot here so I could walk and price is right.

1/1 - Grayhawk Raptor - Saw that it was closed for tourney the next few days and among my favorite spots so gave it a shot despite steep green fee...course was absolutely perfect, greens very quick. Severe green contours made it very difficult. I think people would be more impressed with the course if it wasn’t in some ho-hum housing development.

1/2 - Camelback Ambiente - First day with perfect weather. Course was in great shape. Only course this week with dormant (non overseeded and probably painted and rolled greens). Greens were true and quick. Can understand if some think this course is repetitive (it is), but given land to work with its great and a lot of fun if hitting the driver well. Never crowded here.

Giving Troon North Pinnacle a shot tomorrow and got Talon on Sat before heading home.

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Really like that you are rating the courses now to sum it up as we all have good/bad days and a score gives a good abstract if you know the scale. It is clear you aren’t using the Doak, which is probably better for public courses in general as most aren’t above average so lowing an average course to a 3 as Doak does isn’t necessary. How about a running total in your signature of your AZ tour with score..... Wigwam-5, Verrado- 4, etc.?

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Another beautiful day on the links. Lone Tree today. Another forgettable layout, although I did think the 9th and 18th were good final holes on the two nines. Not really reachable in two, though. The course felt fairly wide open.

Conditions were passable. Fairways were a bit thin in spots. Bunkers were OK. Greens picked up speed as the day wore on. Probably rolling 10 on the last hole.

I'd rate it a 3.5, but I could likely be convinced to make it a 4.

20200103_140950.jpg

Ping G425 Max Driver 12 (0 Flat) - Aldila Ascent Red 50 Stiff (46")
TaylorMade AeroBurner Mini Driver 16 - Matrix Speed RUL-Z 60 Stiff
Ping G410 7wd 20.5 (0 Flat) - Alta CB 65 Stiff (43")
Ping G410 9wd 23.5 (0 Flat) - Alta CB 65 Stiff (42.5")
Ping G425 6h 30 (0 Flat) - Alta CB 70 Stiff
PXG 0311P Gen3 6-P (2 Deg Weak, 1 Deg Flat) - True Temper Elevate 95 S /

Ping i200 6-P Orange Dot (2 Deg Weak, 2 Deg Flat) - True Temper XP 95 S
Ping Glide 4.0 52-12 S, 56-10 Eye2, and 60-10 S Orange Dot (2 Deg Flat) - Ping Z-Z115 Wedge
PXG Blackjack 36" - SuperStroker Flatso 2.0

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Last round of trip - Grayhawk Talon - Like Raptor course is perfect. Not real long but from back tees it’s tough enough. Real playable course with some fun and distinctive holes. Underrated in my opinion. Tighter than Raptor but feel like 90% of golfers should like this one more than the more popular Raptor.

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Haha. I have a “hole in 3” on 17. Spun a SW back into the water on my first shot. Second was almost exactly the same but hit the flag on the way back and went in. Hate that hole. Easily the worst of the 36. Agree on 11. That’s the best par 3 on Talon.

 

Also completely agree that Raptor’s new holes were a significant downgrade. From a fun and driveable par 4 and great par 3 to a ho-hum par 4 that doesn’t seem to go with the rest of the course and weak par 3.

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Wigwam (red) Heritage course - I had not played in ages, and wanted to take a drive on the new 202, so I went out yesterday. Stunningly there was an hour frost delay, apparently the west side was significantly colder overnight than other places in the basin.

I forgot how boring the course was - really nothing memorable except for a lousy 18th hole - just dumb actually.

Fairways in decent shape and greens rolled good, but slow. Bunker were horrid - some were just bare ground with rocks.

Definitely not worth the trip for me. ......with the exception that I got to try 8 Bit Brewery - 8 Bit makes some good beer and is a great place to hang out.

 

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Yea I agree with all this but long story short I am just surprised how generally people have a strong preference for Raptor... feel like they aren’t that far apart. People I play with tend to struggle around the greens a lot on Raptor to the point Id think they’d have more fun on Talon, not that it’s necessarily a walk in the park either but just not as severe around the greens.

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Played Talking Stick North in December. Course was fun and enjoyable for me since I was visiting. Greens were perfect, and fast. If I had to guess, they rolled about 11, maybe a bit faster. For the prices they charge, I am surprised they do not have GPS systems in the golf carts. The only thing I noticed that wasn't perfect were the bunkers. They seemed overfilled with sand, causing the ball to plug without the opportunity to bounce and roll. Everything else was enjoyable.

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Beautiful day, but I had the most unpleasant round of my stay today at Bear Creek. For starters, the course is as dull as a 3 year old razor blade. I would have preferred to play a course routed through a housing complex. At least there would have been something to look at. The so called "native" areas were basically dirt and rocks. There was a 90 minute frost delay, so to catch up they send out groups a few times apart. On the surface this sounds great, as you get to tee off closer to your scheduled time than 90 minutes, but in practice it simply means the course is over packed, and you wait. On. Every. Shot. I'm not talking 30 seconds or a minute. Try 2 to 5 minutes. On. Every. Shot. To make matters worse I was in the first group following the Monday morning leagues. We got to watch everyone putt out everything. Oy. Finally, if I'm not mistaken, it's the only course I've played in the valley that doesn't have drinking water on the course. WTF. How does a desert course not have water?

Conditions were decent. The fairways were a bit brown, but playable. Greens were bumpy, but rolled with moderate speed. I'd rate the course a very generous 2.5.

Ping G425 Max Driver 12 (0 Flat) - Aldila Ascent Red 50 Stiff (46")
TaylorMade AeroBurner Mini Driver 16 - Matrix Speed RUL-Z 60 Stiff
Ping G410 7wd 20.5 (0 Flat) - Alta CB 65 Stiff (43")
Ping G410 9wd 23.5 (0 Flat) - Alta CB 65 Stiff (42.5")
Ping G425 6h 30 (0 Flat) - Alta CB 70 Stiff
PXG 0311P Gen3 6-P (2 Deg Weak, 1 Deg Flat) - True Temper Elevate 95 S /

Ping i200 6-P Orange Dot (2 Deg Weak, 2 Deg Flat) - True Temper XP 95 S
Ping Glide 4.0 52-12 S, 56-10 Eye2, and 60-10 S Orange Dot (2 Deg Flat) - Ping Z-Z115 Wedge
PXG Blackjack 36" - SuperStroker Flatso 2.0

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I am usually just a lurker around here, but I can’t help myself on this one. You have quite an interesting strategy to seek out and play the worst courses available. I can’t believe you are dedicating an entire winter season away from wherever you came from to play these courses. Hope you are at least enjoying some off the course entertainment/fun to make up for the “Worst Course Tour”. It’s fun to read your recaps though, to be honest.

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Lol. On a fixed income, I can't afford to spend $500 to $1000 a week playing the top courses. I've played most of them in the area on previous trips. At the end of the day I get to hit my driver, use my wedges, and make putts. I was originally going to spend time working on my game on the range, but I realize I'm not a range rat. For me the best practice is out on the course hitting off of uneven lies, out of dormant rough, and putting on actual greens. No doubt it would be nicer to be playing on a top track, but the lesser courses serve their function here.

I'll play a few better courses before I leave. My long term plan is to by an RV and travel the U.S. and Canada for a few years playing the best courses. I'll get plenty of quality courses down the road.

Ping G425 Max Driver 12 (0 Flat) - Aldila Ascent Red 50 Stiff (46")
TaylorMade AeroBurner Mini Driver 16 - Matrix Speed RUL-Z 60 Stiff
Ping G410 7wd 20.5 (0 Flat) - Alta CB 65 Stiff (43")
Ping G410 9wd 23.5 (0 Flat) - Alta CB 65 Stiff (42.5")
Ping G425 6h 30 (0 Flat) - Alta CB 70 Stiff
PXG 0311P Gen3 6-P (2 Deg Weak, 1 Deg Flat) - True Temper Elevate 95 S /

Ping i200 6-P Orange Dot (2 Deg Weak, 2 Deg Flat) - True Temper XP 95 S
Ping Glide 4.0 52-12 S, 56-10 Eye2, and 60-10 S Orange Dot (2 Deg Flat) - Ping Z-Z115 Wedge
PXG Blackjack 36" - SuperStroker Flatso 2.0

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Interesting you assess BC like this - I think the holes are actually good designs with a great mix. The property and the appearance are absolute garbage - no disagreement there. But I think if you were to place the holes on a real property with a bit of elevation, they would make a really good course. I think all the par 3s are good and require a different club/play for each one, unlike others in the valley. The Par 5s could be better, but not terrible - 18 is probably the worst of the bunch. The 2 short par 4s make for good risk reward plays. #10 is a really good hole. #9 is a challenging hole that requires a couple of good shots.

 

 

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