2021 Phoenix Area Course Conditions

[JMATHEEENS]

On 4/15/2021 at 11:12 AM, bvan said:

Heading to play the following in a couple weeks, anything to know on course conditions, greens, restrictions etc?:

 

Boulder South

Quintero

WeKoPa Saguro

Greyhawk Raptor

 

Thanks all

 

 

 

 

We have a similar lineup. I’m headed out with some friends on Thursday morning.  
 

Thursday PM - Ak Chin Southern Dunes

Friday AM - We Ko Pa Saguro

Friday PM - We Ko Pa Cholla

Saturday AM - Boulders South

Sunday AM - Greyhawk Raptor

 

I’m stoked to get out there. Looks like it’s going to be a hot one though. 

[Soloman1]

12 hours ago, Olson12 said:

Anyone play Whirlwind lately?  I haven't played in years and don't remember if Cattail or Devils Claw is the better of the 2.  Only Cattail available on the day I want to go. 

 

Played Cattail today. I thought it was in great shape. Greens and fairways were both good.

[oneunderbogey]

Heading out at the end of May for a week.  ClubCorp member so trying to save a few bucks playing a few rounds at those courses along with a few of the top publics:

 

No one knows of any course maintenance at these courses do they?

 

Friday 5/21 - Fly in stock up on supplies / get checked in

Saturday - We Ko Pa Cholla 

Sunday - We Ko Pa Saguaro 

Monday - 36 at Gainey Ranch (I know its not super popular but location works well and the price is right)

Tuesday - Anthem Ironwood

Wednesday - 36 at Greyhawk Talon (Raptor closed)

Thursday - Anthem Ironwood (Couldn't get on the other course)

Friday - Fly Home

[YMark]

On 4/28/2021 at 4:31 AM, oneunderbogey said:

Heading out at the end of May for a week.  ClubCorp member so trying to save a few bucks playing a few rounds at those courses along with a few of the top publics:

 

No one knows of any course maintenance at these courses do they?

 

Friday 5/21 - Fly in stock up on supplies / get checked in

Saturday - We Ko Pa Cholla 

Sunday - We Ko Pa Saguaro 

Monday - 36 at Gainey Ranch (I know its not super popular but location works well and the price is right)

Tuesday - Anthem Ironwood

Wednesday - 36 at Greyhawk Talon (Raptor closed)

Thursday - Anthem Ironwood (Couldn't get on the other course)

Friday - Fly Home

 

With all the great courses in Scottsdale/Phoenix playing the Talon twice and Ironwood twice leave a lot of courses that could be played.  How about Verde River, Wildfire, or Legacy?

[Bonneville85308]

Some updates from the lower priced end of the spectrum during this past week:

 

Encanto - A few greens, particularly #1, still having turf issues. Dormant rough, particularly around the greens has become rock-hard to the point where if you miss an approach shot left or right, it's going to roll 50 yards beyond what you wanted. Same result if you land an approach shot with anything more than a wedge on the back half of the green. I know the wokesters love firm conditions but this is around the time of the year that I find it gets too ridiculous at Encanto and cross it off my list until the bermuda fully takes over. I only play there if I can't get a dewsweeper tee time anywhere else affordable anyway. Great pace and paired with good folks but just wasn't a fun round.

 

Aguila - Just about perfect. Firm fairways that still "give" when you hit down on an iron, greens were smooth and receptive to approach shots. It's been said many times here but they've been doing such a great job with this course the past couple of years. 

 

Sun City Riverview - Good conditions all around. Firm fairways but didn't find any thin fairway lies.  Greens slow but rolled smoothly. My only minor complaint is that the bunker sand is really deep and fluffy, which means it is an uneven mess full of big footprints since they don't have the rakes out. This is my favorite of the original Sun City courses. 

 

Sun City Lakes West - Even more dried out and firm compared to Riverview. Greens were much faster, but had a topdressing on them and had some odd breaks/inconsistencies as a result. Bunker sand on the thin side. A few thin fairway lies but nothing terrible. I'd skip it next time and play Riverview instead. They are verticutting the fairways at Riverview and Lakes West late this week/early next week anyway.

 

 

[azgolfer44]

Played Papago a bunch over the last month. Course is getting a lot of water which has slowed everything down. I think they were close to to the edge after the Thunderbird so they have dialed it back. Greens are more lush and not as fast, but still putt well. Practice green was punched in the last week, so it is pretty much worthless for any practice.  Still a great deal and I honestly don’t get sick of playing this course.

[El_Nino_AZ]

On 4/27/2021 at 1:26 PM, puttnforthe8 said:

TPC Champions - They have punched the fairways and the grass has started to yellow up; They are watering to try and keep it green and it ends up with a lot of drenched areas, including in front of the greens which prevent bouncing up.  Rough was very inconsistent  - looks like they are not cutting it often.  There were multiple lengths at any given spot.

 

The greens are rolling nice, but slower than normal.  It felt like they had sanded them recently and there is still some residual sand and longer grass.

 

All in all it was still good and I enjoyed myself and played well.

 

Couple of side notes:  they are now allowing carts on hole 1 and 15 and on #5 left fairway.  They did some assessments of the holes and found there were a lot of delays because of the CPO.  They are also moving the tee boxes up on #5 'more often - during the assessment they noted that hole led to significant time delays because of the length and the CPO on the left fwy.  By moving them up and allowing carts the rounds were improved a lot.  I would have to agree with the changes - POP was 3:55 Sunday morning.

No CPO on #1 spells disaster for my drop kick, snap hook left haha. The carts will hammer that fairway & left rough into a landing pad! I've never noticed long delays due to CPO on #5. I'd argue that it's more caused by people looking for lost balls after they try to hit the shortcut fairway. Bring your range finder, an extra ball, and an option of clubs to swing. That area was always low lying and usually wet. That area will get dragged by cart traffic now too. 15 is always going to be a slow hole. You have people over estimating their ability to drive it on the green and another split, goofy fairway. With 16 being a par 3, you're always going to backup there on a busy day. If it leads to faster rounds, I guess that's a good trade off though. Thanks for the info!  

[parkleo]

Cattail at whirlwind will be closed from 6/14-9/6. I saw this when looking at their summer play pass.

[AzSuperHack76]

1 hour ago, parkleo said:

Cattail at whirlwind will be closed from 6/14-9/6. I saw this when looking at their summer play pass.

Bunker renovations. 

[oneunderbogey]

On 4/29/2021 at 11:40 AM, YMark said:

 

With all the great courses in Scottsdale/Phoenix playing the Talon twice and Ironwood twice leave a lot of courses that could be played.  How about Verde River, Wildfire, or Legacy?

 

The Greyhawk 36 I'm committed to because I'm going to get dropped off / picked up and won't have a car. I could swap one of the anthem rounds but those were also my cost savers so I'd want to keep it under 100 for sure. 

[YMark]

5 hours ago, oneunderbogey said:

 

The Greyhawk 36 I'm committed to because I'm going to get dropped off / picked up and won't have a car. I could swap one of the anthem rounds but those were also my cost savers so I'd want to keep it under 100 for sure. 

 

All of the ones I mentioned should be be below $100 this time of year.  Especially Verde River and that will test you.

[Bonneville85308]

...

Edited May 10, 2021 by Bonneville85308

[AzSuperHack76]

Whirlwind Golf Club, Devils Claw, overall it's in decent shape, greens are a little on the slower side and slightly inconsistent but not terrible by any means. 4 hours POP, waited behind a 4some on most shots on the back. We had a couple of old ladies hit into us while we waited on 2 different occasions, including on hole 18, just a couple of clueless old bats. 

 

 

[puttnforthe8]

Significant warning:  Eagle Mountain has lost their greens and the course in general is not in good condition.   Some sort of fungus. I don't understand why they are even keeping the course open...but they are.  

[Bonneville85308]

Some updates from the NW valley cheapo courses over the last week:

 

Sun City CC - Just aerated the fairways on Monday (besides the couple they aerated a couple weeks ago) so it's sort of a mess right now and probably should be avoided. However, the greens are probably in the best condition they've been in months. 

 

Sun City South - Playing fast and firm but can still get an iron under the ball easily, a few burnt out/compacted areas in the fairways but nothing major, greens in nice shape but slow.

 

Grandview - Was completely drenched by irrigation overnight, 18 holes of mudball and little roll, standing water on teeboxes, surfaces were in good condition besides the wetness.

[AzSuperHack76]

1 hour ago, puttnforthe8 said:

Significant warning:  Eagle Mountain has lost their greens and the course in general is not in good condition.   Some sort of fungus. I don't understand why they are even keeping the course open...but they are.  

Last time I was out there, a week and a half ago they still had winter grass on their greens with no signs of fungus. Is it just transitioning? 

[puttnforthe8]

33 minutes ago, AzSuperHack76 said:

Last time I was out there, a week and a half ago they still had winter grass on their greens with no signs of fungus. Is it just transitioning? 

No...it is dead/dying badly - our league has a tourney there in 2 weeks and they just informed us that the contract can be rescinded or take s significant discount.  The board is trying to find another course right now.

[AzSuperHack76]

26 minutes ago, puttnforthe8 said:

No...it is dead/dying badly - our league has a tourney there in 2 weeks and they just informed us that the contract can be rescinded or take s significant discount.  The board is trying to find another course right now.

That’s a shame to hear. Eagle Mt usually has good conditions, played it a bunch this past winter and spring. 

[sarmis2]

14 hours ago, puttnforthe8 said:

No...it is dead/dying badly - our league has a tourney there in 2 weeks and they just informed us that the contract can be rescinded or take s significant discount.  The board is trying to find another course right now.

Damn...... We have a big a** group tee time booked there for Saturday, too late now to try and make other plans. 

[MUNIGRIT]

On 5/11/2021 at 4:26 PM, puttnforthe8 said:

Significant warning:  Eagle Mountain has lost their greens and the course in general is not in good condition.   Some sort of fungus. I don't understand why they are even keeping the course open...but they are.  

I second this. Course completely dead and greens look like USO at Chambers and is basically mud/dirt painted green. I heard a rumor course sold and they have just let it go because they DGAF! Avoid for the next while as it will take a major renovation and costly. Its too bad it was a good course to take out of towners on that didn't want to spend a small fortune.

 

I played with a group of 16 guys on April 30. Everyone was pissed for what they paid for it and the horrific conditions.

Edited May 12, 2021 by MUNIGRIT

[MUNIGRIT]

7 hours ago, sarmis2 said:

Damn...... We have a big a** group tee time booked there for Saturday, too late now to try and make other plans. 

Depending on how many guys you have all I can say is good luck finding several tee times grouped together. As you know everyone is teeing it up these days. There were 2 other large groups at Eagle Mountain when we played there. 

[Poser]

I'm heading out this weekend.  I've played TPC , wildfire courses, and Troon.  Anyone have any other recommendations?

[Soloman1]

I thought Quintero was in great shape yesterday.

[Bonneville85308]

40 minutes ago, MUNIGRIT said:

I second this. Course completely dead and greens look like USO at Chambers and is basically mud/dirt painted green. I heard a rumor course sold and they have just let it go because they DGAF! Avoid for the next while as it will take a major renovation and costly. Its too bad it was a good course to take out of towners on that didn't want to spend a small fortune.

 

I played with a group of 16 guys on April 30. Everyone was pissed for what they paid for it and the horrific conditions.

 

Troon Golf quietly bought Eagle Mountain this past January.

[MUNIGRIT]

42 minutes ago, Bonneville85308 said:

 

Troon Golf quietly bought Eagle Mountain this past January.

They will need to spend some coin to get those greens back to playable. They should reconsider their managing of the place then because it has been managed by Troon for a bit.  When we were warming up all of us were like eeks I hope this is just the practice facility and they starters had all sorts of excuses that it just looks bad but they play well.  There were a couple greens you couldn't keep the ball on if you putted downhill. Number 1 and 4 I remember off hand. Never seen so many 4 putt bogeys in 1 round.

Edited May 13, 2021 by MUNIGRIT

[jayrod79]

On 4/15/2021 at 8:01 PM, Mr. Clean said:

Played Sterling Grove again this afternoon and the wind was up again 15+ mph winds.  Playing lots of shots short to chase up and it’s still hard and fast, it’s tournament conditions and I LOVE IT 😍

 

This was in the pond by the round about😂

@Mr. Clean Wanted to check in on the Sterling Grove conditions. I’ve been out a couple times and may head out tomorrow late afternoon. I’d imagine it’s still in great shape, but just wanted to check since I’m coming from Gilbert. Thanks!

[puttnforthe8]

13 hours ago, jayrod79 said:

@Mr. Clean Wanted to check in on the Sterling Grove conditions. I’ve been out a couple times and may head out tomorrow late afternoon. I’d imagine it’s still in great shape, but just wanted to check since I’m coming from Gilbert. Thanks!

Yellowing out - but still good as of a few days ago:

 

[Mr. Clean]

17 hours ago, jayrod79 said:

@Mr. Clean Wanted to check in on the Sterling Grove conditions. I’ve been out a couple times and may head out tomorrow late afternoon. I’d imagine it’s still in great shape, but just wanted to check since I’m coming from Gilbert. Thanks!

We lowered the rough mowers to 1/2” to help transition back to Bermuda, greens and the course are perfect!!

[AzSuperHack76]

21 hours ago, MUNIGRIT said:

They will need to spend some coin to get those greens back to playable. They should reconsider their managing of the place then because it has been managed by Troon for a bit.  When we were warming up all of us were like eeks I hope this is just the practice facility and they starters had all sorts of excuses that it just looks bad but they play well.  There were a couple greens you couldn't keep the ball on if you putted downhill. Number 1 and 4 I remember off hand. Never seen so many 4 putt bogeys in 1 round.

It happens unfortunately. Vistancia lost their greens a couple years ago, Dove Valley Ranch a couple years before that. They usually make a good recovery, just takes time, I believe both recovered after an overseed. What really makes me angry is when they continue to charge their normal rates for garbage conditions. Can’t imagine wanting to play on Eagle Mt’s greens with the slope on some of those. 

[robcha]

Thankfully I took the time to read this since I have a tee time in 2 weeks for Eagle Mtn. Going to go ahead and cancel that and book somewhere else.