2019 Phoenix Area Course Conditions

[Argonne69]

Checked off another "special" course today, Pueblo El Mirage. Lol. It was a memorable round due to a) the endless sea of mobile and modular homes surrounding the course, and b) the pair of F-22 Raptors from Luke AFB flying endless loops around the course. Since this is the first time I've seen F-22s in person, they win the award for the highlight of the day.

The course itself was meh. Not the worst layout I've played, but definitely in the lower third. There are a few decent holes, but lackluster otherwise. Conditions were OK. It doesn't appear that they overseed, so it was a mix of green and brown. On the plus side the greens rolled with some decent speed. Not speedy, but at least I could get the ball to the hole.

[bmmonahan]

Played it last week. Course was in great shape but, to me, the greens are still a little slow.

[Argonne69]

Wigwam Gold today. If you're looking for a green course, this is it. The fairways were freshly cut, and looked great. I assume they overseeded the rough as well, as it was thick and green. First course I've played down here with actual rough. The greens looked great, but once again they were brutally slow. No idea how to putt on this stuff. I may have to start chipping on the greens. 

I liked the layout. It was quite generous off the tee, but the greens had some interesting shapes, and some hard to reach pin locations today. 

 

[vallygolf]

Often out of overseed, (especially at courses with less than ideal maintenance budgets) the green speeds will be super slow....like 5 on the stimp. Good news is even these courses (after the grass matures a bit) will speed things up. Until then just pretend you are a young Gary Player before the advent of modern green speeds.

[OspreyCI]

Keep the posts coming. I enjoy reading you golfing adventures. Enjoy and hit ‘em straight.

[AzSuperHack76]

Lookout Mountain today, usually never on my radar, but a buddy was in town and wanted to play it.

 

I have to say it was in perfect shape. Best I've ever seen it.

[puttnforthe8]

Raven was in superb shape, except for the bunkers - seems like they are redoing all the bunkers as they were scraped bare with holes throughout. Greens rolled very good, but a little slow.

Moon Valley in pretty good shape, some thin areas in the fairways and quite muddy. Greens were excellent. Bunkers were perfect. Had never played the course before, but will definitely go out there in the summer.

Padre course was excellent - greens were 12.6 :) vastly different when the ball doesn't roll out in the fwy, but it was great.

[buckeyevalley]

How late can you play this time of year. Playing the Stadium course around Christmas time and got the first twilight rate at 1pm. Is it light enough to play until 520?

[Argonne69]

Cutting it close. Sunset will be at 5:26 pm on Christmas Day.

 

[Argonne69]

Union Hills CC today. Decent layout for the price. Fairly generous fairways, but some tricky greens and tough pin positions. The course was in great shape. Fairways were recently cut. Sand in the bunkers was a bit thin, but playable. As expected green speeds were glacial.

[jatrain]

Grand Canyon today. Really good.

[Bonneville85308]

You are cutting it close. You might have a chance of finishing, and you might not. You get a cloudy day and a few groups of slow tourists in front of you, and then you might not finish 18. Sort of the luck of the draw that day. Without seeing their tee sheet myself, your hope should be that no groups book the tee times between 12:30 and 1:00, not wanting to pay full price that late in the day, leaving a gap ahead of you to save some time.

 

[Bonneville85308]

Try Palmbrook about a mile south of UH for one of your future rounds. Easy course to walk, usually in better condition than UH.

I'm enjoying your reviews of all the "value" courses as they are the ones I play most of my rounds on, and I've played all of them in the west valley.

[Argonne69]

 

Thanks for the recommendation. I booked a $48 round at Palmbrook on Thursday morning.

[fore_life]

Argonne where are based? Think I remember you saying you’re up by desert ridge?

[Argonne69]

Yes, Desert Ridge. 'Not a lot of inexpensive courses in this part of the valley, so I'm finding myself traveling more than I expected. Sun City isn't too bad of a drive, but the Chandler, Mesa, Goodyear, and Mesa courses are a bit of a hike.

[andersry]

Anybody have an update on Lone Tree?

[BUCKEYERBALL88]

How much was Wigwam gold?

[Argonne69]

I paid $48 + tax and the GolfNow "convenience" fee. It may have been a GN Hot Deal.

 

[fore_life]

 

 

yes! I played it Friday morning, greens rolling great!!!

[FlashNoonan]

How were you able to get on at Moon Valley this time of the year? I've only played it in the summer when they let the regular folk in. I've never tried to get on in the winter because I've always been under the impression that they won't allow non members in.

[Argonne69]

Dove Valley Ranch today. I thought it was a decent desert layout. No big complaints. They had the tees moved up on the par 5 15th, so one couldn't hit driver. Not a big fan of forced layups.

Fairways were in great shape. Greenside bunkers needed sand, which could easily be borrowed from the fluffy fairway bunkers. Greens looked poor with patchy grass, but hey, they rolled quickly even if they were bumpy. No problems whatsoever getting the ball to the hole. Yeah!

Certainly not the best desert course in the area, but I thought it was a reasonable value at $75.

[Argonne69]

Palmbrook CC today. Gotta tell you, these Sun City courses are really starting to blend together. Nothing particularly memorable about this one. A few green complexes had some character, but there were too many many that simply started where the fairway ended with no raised green. I do like the 3.5 hour rounds, though. Conditions were very good. Fairways were lush. A handful of tee boxes were a little ragged. Bunkers were fine. Greens actually rolled with some reasonable speed.

I walked the round, my 14th round walking in the last 4 weeks. Other than the munis, does anyone walk around here? The majority of the courses are flat as a pancake with tee boxes close to the previous green. I seem to be in a small minority.

[Bonneville85308]

I hardly ever see more than a token walker or two at the non-muni public full-length courses in the west valley, even during the winter at the ones with routings that are easy to walk. I occasionally see a few at TPC Scottsdale-Champions but that's probably due to the unadvertised "resident walking" rate. There are lots of walkers at the muni courses in the winter though, especially weekend mornings (I am often one of them). The muni courses seem to give the biggest break on the rates for walking; most of the non-muni courses either don't give a price break for walking, or (less common) won't discount it unless you say something. I suspect that is why the walkers tend to gravitate towards the muni courses.

[azgolfer44]

This is spot on. I am a walker but stick to the muni’s and TPC Champions in the winter.

[DrSchteeve]

Aguila in great muni conditions. Bunkers with nice sand. Green surrounds cut low giving lots of options. $45 with cart on a Friday without the city card. Nothing not to like.

[Argonne69]

Hillcrest today. Probably the most interesting west valley course I've played. Good use of water, and some actual elevation change. Whoa. The par 3s had some variety. Green complexes on a number of holes were excellent, with some serious tiering and slopes.

Conditions were hit and miss. The fairways were incredibly shaggy. Practically no rollout. I've played courses with lower rough than this. Greens were a very good speed. A few rough patches, but overall decent looking. Bunkers were trash. Conditions off the fairway were a combination of dormant Bermuda, weeds, cloverleaf, large bare patches, and wet mud. It was best to stay in the fairway. It's been a while since I've played a course with such a "natural" look off the "short" grass. Lol.

[AzSuperHack76]

Hillcrest is a really fun layout. It’s a shell of its former self though. It used to host, 30-40 plus years ago, an LPGA event and Sr PGA event. Conditions are usually terrible in general now. It hosted our high school team events back in the early 90’s and I remember it being immaculate back then. For 30 something dollars during the winter you can’t complain too much. Enjoy your winter adventures Argonne, if your looking for a playing partner sometime shoot me a PM.

[Bonneville85308]

I too think that Hillcrest is one of the more enjoyable everyday value courses in the NW side, but yes, the conditions other than the greens are usually pretty rough year-round. I'd say it consistently has the fourth worst conditions of any full length course on the NW side, worst being Great Eagle, second Legend at Arrowhead, third AZ Traditions.

[puttnforthe8]

Victory at Verrado was superb...so much fun playing it today. Greens were slower than they looked, but rolled well.