2019 Phoenix Area Course Conditions

[MackDaddy480]

The ranch card is $29 for Mesa residents and $49 for Maricopa residents and it is good until 12/31/2020.

[Argonne69]

Las Sendas today, my 65th course played in the valley. That was a fun walk. Lol. Pace was 4 hours, but it could have been better. My group waited on practically every shot. I thought it was a good layout. The par 3s are bland, but otherwise it was a good mix of holes. Fair off the tee with some challenging greens. I payed $75. I don't think it's worth the standard rate of $120.

Conditions were excellent. The greens were rolling between 10 and 11. Best sand in the bunkers on any of the 20+ courses I've played in the past month.

[AzSuperHack76]

$38 for Wigwam Red, again this morning with the loyalty card, hard to beat.

[Bonneville85308]

TPC Champions course late morning today. Conditions were excellent. Some greens did look like they were a little worn from heavy foot traffic but putted great. Bunkers perfect as usual. Hole locations were in some very challenging yet fun locations on the Par 4 holes; the Par 3 hole locations were generally pretty easy. Range was mat-only today.

I was worried the pace was going to be bad because the parking lot was packed, but our foursome finished in a couple of minutes under 4 hours. I usually seem to get paired with really pleasant people to play with at this course compared to other courses, and today was no exception.

[OspreyCI]

You walked that?? Impressive! Keep it going man. Like reading your reviews.

[Argonne69]

Crummy weather today. Perfect day to check Ken McDonald off my list. Ho hum layout with more goose sh-- than one can imagine. Otherwise conditions were decent. Greens looked nice and were rolling at 9 to 10. No complaints there. There was a group that went out in the rain early in the morning. I teed off just as they finished, and I had the course to myself. 2:20 to walk. Don't love playing in the rain, but a quick round sure helps.

[GeorgeHWB]

I played Troon North Pinnacle on 12-23-2019 for the first time. The greens were in horrid shape. The worst I've played in memory. Nearly every green looked like the moon surface--just pelted with dead ball marks. Also, the greens were hard as concrete, which I can live with but good grief, I could not hold a green with a lob wedge.

 

I played with a couple that had played Troon North Monument the day before and they said the greens were not nearly as bad on the Monument.

 

The rest of the course was very nice though. Lush green grass in the fairways, tee boxes, and non-dormant rough.

 

Had I known how bad the greens were I would have played elsewhere. Very disappointing.

[DrSchteeve]

Shoulda played Kenny Mac.

[GeorgeHWB]

What's Kenny Mac?

[DrSchteeve]

PM'd.

[GeorgeHWB]

Thank you, sir.

[azgolfer44]

my same exact experience from Sunday. It’s really odd how bad and at the same time difficult the greens were. Total disappointment.

[az2au]

They are still relatively new on both courses so I’m not surprised they’re still rock hard. I am, however, a bit surprised that Troon North apparently continues to use the same variety of Bent that they used to. They get way too much play from tourists to do so but always have. Generally they tend to look far worse than they actually play but I still don’t get it. I know they don’t need to overseed them because they’re Bent but they’re are other choices that can be made to achieve that whether a different variety of Bent, some hybrid or just coloring Bermuda. Note: I’m not some super knowledgeable person on grasses. This is just what I’ve understood when talking to the supers at private courses in the immediate area that don’t have the same issues. I could be completely misunderstanding the whole issue.

[Argonne69]

Continental GC this afternoon. What can I say. I wasn't going to spend the afternoon watching college football, and with the rain clearing out I decided to wack a ball around this executive course. I figured most of the better courses would be quite messy, so I checked another one off the list. While sloppy, it was playable. Looking forward to a better track tomorrow.

[DrSchteeve]

So for obvious reasons not a question that gets asked often here, but what are the better draining courses in the Valley?

[OspreyCI]

Hoping Southern Dunes drains well. 8am tee time tomorrow.

[Bonneville85308]

 

I was supposed to play Cave Creek this morning, but it was not worth bothering with due to the falling rain and many areas of standing/ponded water in the fairway undulations and on some tees. A couple hours later I went out to Palmbrook, where they either didn't get as much rain, or the course drains very well. I had an enjoyable round in good conditions, the ball was still rolling well in the fairways and the greens retained some firmness and decent speed despite being wet still. It's still one of my favorite "value" courses in the NW valley, even though it's been $10-$15 more expensive than its closest competition this winter, and there is zero discount for walking this extremely easy to walk course.

 

[AzSuperHack76]

#2 I see. Palmbrook is decent track. Great value for sure and it's usually in decent enough shape.

[brianhorne8]

Let us know. I'm out there Sunday AM.

[brianhorne8]

Anyone know if it's possible for civilians to play Falcon Dunes this time of year?

[Argonne69]

Nice walk at Corte Bella today. One of the better courses I've played in this part of the valley. For a course routed through a housing development, it sure has some wide fairways. Never felt tight. Loved the bunkering. The big rectangular tee boxes were cool.

Conditions were excellent. Greens could have been faster, though. The four hour pace was OK, but the foursome in front of our threesome had numerous opportunities to let us play through, but didn't give it a second thought. We could have easily finished in 3:30.

[Bonneville85308]

If you want even wider fairways than those, wait until you play the Granite Falls courses in Sun City Grand on your "tour"...I think some of those fairways are 200 feet wide in spots. Probably the widest I've seen in the Phoenix area so far, though I haven't played a lot of the far east valley courses.

[cbbaron]

Kind of like the D@@@@ at Raptor that wouldn't let us play thru

[DrSchteeve]

My favorite part of that is when they won't even look back at you, just pretend like you aren't even there.

[OspreyCI]

 

Yesterday was CPO because of the rain over Christmas. The course drained really well. I have to say the greens were the purest I have putted on this year. The speed was constant between each green and rolled so true. I made a ton of putts become of this.

The rest of the course was also perfect... except the bunkers because of all the rain. That is normal after all that water. Otherwise, it was so good and just love that place every time I go there. Well worth the $70 we paid.

Very friendly staff too. Kudos to them.

[buckeyevalley]

Playing Corte Bella Sat/Sun. I agree it’s a fantastic course to play. Playing TPC Stadium this afternoon for the first time. I am from Ohio and feel the weather is better there than it is here in Phoenix.

[brianhorne8]

Love this. Thanks for replying! Definitely looking forward to our round out there Sunday.

[Argonne69]

A rainy day at Red Mountain Ranch. The layout felt tight standing on the tee boxes. Greens were challenging. I'd say I prefer Las Sendas to this.

I was planning to walk, but I'm glad I took a cart even though it was cart path only. It would have been a much tougher walk than Las Sendas. Let's just say that conditions were wet. There was standing water on many holes, cart paths, and in bunkers. Otherwise it was in decent shape, and it was quite playable. Greens looked good, but rolled fairly slow due to the wetness.

[OspreyCI]

Dude... you are playing them all! Love it!

[Schley]

Why not come up with a rating system to cut to the chase and easily categorize your courses. Use the Doak Scale 1-10, although his is intended for top courses as a 3 is average.