2021 Phoenix Area Course Conditions

[BirdieRoll]

Wondering if The Legacy is walkable?

 

Conditions?

 

Thanks in advance.

[puttnforthe8]

52 minutes ago, BirdieRoll said:

Wondering if The Legacy is walkable?

 

Conditions?

 

Thanks in advance.

 

Simple....like walking to get a beer from the fridge.  I walk it 4-5 times a month (9hole special).  Fine conditions almost always.  The rain may have it soaked though...so I would let it dry up a bit.

[Argonne69]

Arizona Biltmore Links today. Conditions were passable. A few wet spots, but overall fairly fry. Bunkers needed grooming. Greens were slow (8 to 9). Typical resort speed. Pace was fine at 3:50. Not a particularly good course for $90. 

 

[Bonneville85308]

2 hours ago, Argonne69 said:

Arizona Biltmore Links today. Conditions were passable. A few wet spots, but overall fairly fry. Bunkers needed grooming. Greens were slow (8 to 9). Typical resort speed. Pace was fine at 3:50. Not a particularly good course for $90. 

 

 

I admit I play it a few times in the summer when I can get it for ~$25 for early on a weekend AM with their summer pass if nothing is available elsewhere, but otherwise it's universally regarded as a junky, crammed-in afterthought layout and probably one of the worst golf values in PHX metro (probably in top 5 with Kierland, et al). Difficulty-wise, even a short hitter like me can tear that course apart if my approach shots are accurate to some of those tiny greens, length certainly isn't really needed to score except maybe #13.

 

Sort of an annoying layout for walking, particularly from the parking lot to #1, #9 green to #10 tee, #15 green to #16 tee, #18 green to parking lot. It's one course I don't even bother trying to walk.

 

At least you got to check another box of courses you've played; I don't remember you posting about this one last year.

Edited January 28, 2021 by Bonneville85308

[Argonne69]

13 hours ago, Bonneville85308 said:

 

I admit I play it a few times in the summer when I can get it for ~$25 for early on a weekend AM with their summer pass if nothing is available elsewhere, but otherwise it's universally regarded as a junky, crammed-in afterthought layout and probably one of the worst golf values in PHX metro (probably in top 5 with Kierland, et al). Difficulty-wise, even a short hitter like me can tear that course apart if my approach shots are accurate to some of those tiny greens, length certainly isn't really needed to score except maybe #13.

 

Sort of an annoying layout for walking, particularly from the parking lot to #1, #9 green to #10 tee, #15 green to #16 tee, #18 green to parking lot. It's one course I don't even bother trying to walk.

 

At least you got to check another box of courses you've played; I don't remember you posting about this one last year.

 

I played the course 6 or 7 years ago. I've been playing with a family member on Wednesdays for the past 3 weeks, and given that he's an occasional golfer, I've been trying to pick courses that are fairly close to Deer Valley that aren't going to beat him up. The resort certainly wouldn't be high on my list. If we continue in the following weeks we'll probably play the Adobe course (a little more open), and Talking Stick (South).

 

[rochestergolfer36]

Played 36 at Vistancia Tuesday. Not much roll on fairways after all the rain. Bunkers were maintained well. Wish they could do something about goose/duck poop cornering the entire 18th hole. 
 

Walked 36 at Talking Stick yesterday. First time out there for me.  Finally had some sun so morning cool temps weren’t bad at all being used to MN weather. Wind wasn’t that enjoyable. 
 

First group out on Piipaash and I didn’t get paired with anyone so played in just over 3 hours. Pretty blah off the tee. Every green raised and the only guard to scoring.  Greens were smaller and more penalizing. Without wind it’d be more fun. Back nine was better than the front. 
 

Played O’odham in the afternoon with two other singles. Solid 4 hr pace. Got lucky with great pairing and 1 other guy walking so that was nice.  I liked this course better. Green complexes were bigger and not as raised. I felt like it had a little more going on from tee to green but still wide open. 
 

Overall thoughts would be definitely not worth $160 rack rate. Good warm up courses on a trip as both are wide open off the tee except a few holes.   If short game is bad Id avoid Piipaash. A few nice views of mountains in distance.  I booked on GolfNow for walking rates of $65 and $45 which I was extremely happy to find. Only reason I went out there.  I’d put it in same category as TPC Champions, mid level.
 

Greens were firm and fast. Similar to my home private club in mid summer. Bunkers perfect. Without those conditions course would be not worth it at all.  Fairways were so so grown in but firmer and cut lower so that made bare spots worth it. 
 

Last round of my trip at Blackstone CC this afternoon. 

[Argonne69]

Talking Stick O'odham today. Conditions were very good. With a nice breeze the fairways dried nicely, and we were getting some roll. Bunkers were good. Greens were fine, and rolling at least 10. Pace was a bit slow at 4:15, but I teed off a fewer hours later than I normally wood.

 

I've played each of the two courses three times now, and definitely prefer Piipaash. I'd like to blow up the 2nd, 3rd, and 12th holes on the north course. With all that land they had to put the green complexes less than 10 yds from the OB fence? The left edge of the 12th's putting surface is actually 10 feet from OB. I paced it off today. There are just too many look alike holes. The 13th, 14th, and 15th are good examples. 

[Bonneville85308]

4 minutes ago, Argonne69 said:

Talking Stick O'odham today. Conditions were very good. With a nice breeze the fairways dried nicely, and we were getting some roll. Bunkers were good. Greens were fine, and rolling at least 10. Pace was a bit slow at 4:15, but I teed off a fewer hours later than I normally wood.

 

I've played each of the two courses three times now, and definitely prefer Piipaash. I'd like to blow up the 2nd, 3rd, and 12th holes on the north course. With all that land they had to put the green complexes less than 10 yds from the OB fence? The left edge of the 12th's putting surface is actually 10 feet from OB. I paced it off today. There are just too many look alike holes. The 13th, 14th, and 15th are good examples. 

What are they getting for walking rate now? Last time I tried a month ago, their website mentioned something about it, then you go to book the time and you get this big warning saying "Please confirm the rates chosen are correct for your preferred mode of play (walking, sharing a cart, taking your own cart) as the rates vary".....then after that there is no option to actually select walk/ride/solo ride etc, just full rack rate...so I just said screw it and played somewhere else.

[Argonne69]

21 minutes ago, Bonneville85308 said:

What are they getting for walking rate now? Last time I tried a month ago, their website mentioned something about it, then you go to book the time and you get this big warning saying "Please confirm the rates chosen are correct for your preferred mode of play (walking, sharing a cart, taking your own cart) as the rates vary".....then after that there is no option to actually select walk/ride/solo ride etc, just full rack rate...so I just said screw it and played somewhere else.

 

It's now $90 to walk, up a few $$$ from December. I think TPC Champions is a much better course for more or less the same rate. I booked by calling the pro shop. They definitely go out of their way to make it difficult for the locals to book that rate. No surprise given the amount of play they're getting this time of the year.

 

 

 

[rochestergolfer36]

Played Blackstone CC today for last round of this trip. Couldn’t have been more opposite setup compared to Talking Stick. Again my first round playing there.
 

Unplayable desert with huge mounding around the greens that  bounced everything onto the greens at times. Intimidating off the tee at times but opened up much more. Thankfully I had a Decade yardage book to help me trust how wide fairways were. Some huge greens with big undulation. Was fun but also gimmicky at times. Paired with 2 single members who were very nice. 
 

Conditions were very nice and what you’d expect for a private club. Lush fairways, nice bunkers, smooth but not too fast greens. Conditions wise couldn’t ask for much better. 

[rochestergolfer36]

4 hours ago, Bonneville85308 said:

What are they getting for walking rate now? Last time I tried a month ago, their website mentioned something about it, then you go to book the time and you get this big warning saying "Please confirm the rates chosen are correct for your preferred mode of play (walking, sharing a cart, taking your own cart) as the rates vary".....then after that there is no option to actually select walk/ride/solo ride etc, just full rack rate...so I just said screw it and played somewhere else.

 Check out GolfNow too, I walked for $65 morning and $45 afternoon on Wednesday. Booked 2 weeks ago. Appears to not have those rates much anymore in February but always worth a look. First time I’d used GolfNow before. 

[BirdieRoll]

19 hours ago, Argonne69 said:

Talking Stick O'odham today. Conditions were very good. With a nice breeze the fairways dried nicely, and we were getting some roll. Bunkers were good. Greens were fine, and rolling at least 10. Pace was a bit slow at 4:15, but I teed off a fewer hours later than I normally wood.

 

I've played each of the two courses three times now, and definitely prefer Piipaash. I'd like to blow up the 2nd, 3rd, and 12th holes on the north course. With all that land they had to put the green complexes less than 10 yds from the OB fence? The left edge of the 12th's putting surface is actually 10 feet from OB. I paced it off today. There are just too many look alike holes. The 13th, 14th, and 15th are good examples. 

 

The par 4 12th definitely belongs on Scottsdale's "Worst 18" scorecard with the OB so needlessly close to the hole. 

 

C&C should have moved the green to the other side of the ditch and made the hole shorter. From that location, have the green face the left side fairway to reward the player willing to take on the OB left with their tee shot.

 

For the player who takes the "safe" route to the right, the green would be offset. In addition to the left-side ditch, you could add a front right bunker. Now the player has a wedge in hand but is facing a shallow green with trouble front left and front right.

 

And then it's maybe even drivable for a long hitter as the right side of the fairway would support a draw in to the green. Now one has potentially three choices off the tee on a short par 4. Strategy and choice.

 

 

[Argonne69]

A pleasant morning at Union Hills. Conditions remain spotty, but playable as long as you stay in the fairway. That dead/dormant rough is nasty. Bunkers need sand. Greens were pretty quick at 10 or so. Pace was excellent at 3:25.

 

I know it's not much of a course, but at $39 I'm curious why the place is so empty. Cave Creek is packed to the gills, but there was nobody teeing off or hitting balls on the range when I finished the round at 11:40 am. You'd think the place would be busy on a Friday. Is the course on track to close? Last week I saw two maintenance workers moving rocks to shore up one of the rock walls near the 6th hole. I can't imagine that a course that was going to close in the near future would be working on a wall. 

 

[AzSuperHack76]

4 hours ago, Argonne69 said:

A pleasant morning at Union Hills. Conditions remain spotty, but playable as long as you stay in the fairway. That dead/dormant rough is nasty. Bunkers need sand. Greens were pretty quick at 10 or so. Pace was excellent at 3:25.

 

I know it's not much of a course, but at $39 I'm curious why the place is so empty. Cave Creek is packed to the gills, but there was nobody teeing off or hitting balls on the range when I finished the round at 11:40 am. You'd think the place would be busy on a Friday. Is the course on track to close? Last week I saw two maintenance workers moving rocks to shore up one of the rock walls near the 6th hole. I can't imagine that a course that was going to close in the near future would be working on a wall. 

 

Any time there is rain in the forecast all the old folks in Sun City and Sun City West stay at home. 

[YMark]

5 hours ago, Argonne69 said:

A pleasant morning at Union Hills. Conditions remain spotty, but playable as long as you stay in the fairway. That dead/dormant rough is nasty. Bunkers need sand. Greens were pretty quick at 10 or so. Pace was excellent at 3:25.

 

I know it's not much of a course, but at $39 I'm curious why the place is so empty. Cave Creek is packed to the gills, but there was nobody teeing off or hitting balls on the range when I finished the round at 11:40 am. You'd think the place would be busy on a Friday. Is the course on track to close? Last week I saw two maintenance workers moving rocks to shore up one of the rock walls near the 6th hole. I can't imagine that a course that was going to close in the near future would be working on a wall. 

 

How did you get on Union Hills for $39? I played there a couple weeks ago for $60 and that was a ripoff. Course going down hill fast in the maintenance department. There's a ton of courses in Sun City and if UHCC doesn't get there s*** together, maybe they will close. 

 

Cave Creek (da dump) has a huge men's club and the place turns some traffic.

[Argonne69]

12 hours ago, YMark said:

How did you get on Union Hills for $39? I played there a couple weeks ago for $60 and that was a ripoff. Course going down hill fast in the maintenance department. There's a ton of courses in Sun City and if UHCC doesn't get there s*** together, maybe they will close. 

 

Cave Creek (da dump) has a huge men's club and the place turns some traffic.

 

GolfNow has $39 walking rates on Fridays pretty much every week. 

 

[puttnforthe8]

New Troon course - Sterling Grove open for play starting the 11th.   $89  https://sterlinggrove.ezlinksgolf.com/index.html#/search

 

 

 

 

[Bonneville85308]

17 minutes ago, puttnforthe8 said:

New Troon course - Sterling Grove open for play starting the 11th.   $89  https://sterlinggrove.ezlinksgolf.com/index.html#/search

 

 

 

 

 

Thanks. I've got a tee time booked two weekends from now and will post my review afterwards.

 

[AzSuperHack76]

20 hours ago, puttnforthe8 said:

New Troon course - Sterling Grove open for play starting the 11th.   $89  https://sterlinggrove.ezlinksgolf.com/index.html#/search

 

 

 

 

Thanks for the heads up. Booked a couple tee times for my birthday! 

[puttnforthe8]

Longbow is superb shape today.  The greens were fairly receptive.  They were pretty slow for Longbow - I could never get used to the speed and kept leaving the ball short.

 

Fairway bunkers were concrete; greenside bunkers were great.

[Bonneville85308]

Grandview in Sun City West this morning. Just about everything was in perfect condition, only exceptions would be that both the rye apron and bermuda rough surrounds on hole #3 green were completely saturated/muddy (wouldn't have been an issue if my tee shot had hit the green), and a ton of goose crap on 13th and 14th fairways. Typical slow-ish SCW green speeds, but they were very smooth with hardly any ballmarks to be found, impressive.

[glenva]

Played Southern Dunes yesterday.  Course was in great shape.  Greens were very firm, and fast.  This is a great track and always delivers.

[rochestergolfer36]

On 1/30/2021 at 3:45 PM, Bonneville85308 said:

 

Thanks. I've got a tee time booked two weekends from now and will post my review afterwards.

 

 Same here. Saw an article about it opening up last week when I was down in AZ abd it’s only 20 minutes from my parents place. Booked 2 rounds on my next trip down for the 18th and 20th. 
 

Weekend morning times took no time to fill up, $89 morning time is tough to find for a non local. 

[Argonne69]

Fun day at Cave Creek. Conditions were fine. The majority of the storm damage from last week has been cleared. Greens were rolling 10 to 11. A handful of downhill putts were pretty dicey. Pace was 4:10.

 

[Argonne69]

I'm running out of regulation length courses to play. I'll check off Tuscany Falls West tomorrow. Links at Queens Creek is on the short list, even though it only plays to 5800 yds. Westbrook Village Vistas and Granite Falls South are on the to-do list, but are closed for public play this winter. 

 

That basically leaved the Casa Grande and Florence areas. Is Poston Butte worth the drive? Francisco Grande, Palm Creek, or Robson Ranch?

 

[Bonneville85308]

2 minutes ago, Argonne69 said:

I'm running out of regulation length courses to play. I'll check off Tuscany Falls West tomorrow. Links at Queens Creek is on the short list, even though it only plays to 5800 yds. Westbrook Village Vistas and Granite Falls South are on the to-do list, but are closed for public play this winter. 

 

That basically leaved the Casa Grande and Florence areas. Is Poston Butte worth the drive? Francisco Grande, Palm Creek, or Robson Ranch?

 

 

Did you play Wickenburg CC yet? I don't remember you mentioning that one before. Goofy course overall but some fun holes out there.

[AzSuperHack76]

17 minutes ago, Bonneville85308 said:

 

Did you play Wickenburg CC yet? I don't remember you mentioning that one before. Goofy course overall but some fun holes out there.

I could never make the drive to Wickenburg and play Wickenburg CC over Los Cab or WR. I know Argonne69 is looking to play them all, so just to say you played the course would be the only reason I guess. 

[Bonneville85308]

14 minutes ago, AzSuperHack76 said:

I could never make the drive to Wickenburg and play Wickenburg CC over Los Cab or WR. I know Argonne69 is looking to play them all, so just to say you played the course would be the only reason I guess. 

 

Yeah the only reason I mentioned it is because I know he is looking to play everything on the spectrum. I only play it if I'm passing through Wickenburg and want to play somewhere, but can't get a decent tee time at Los Cab or Wick Ranch for under $100.

[puttnforthe8]

6 hours ago, Argonne69 said:

I'm running out of regulation length courses to play. I'll check off Tuscany Falls West tomorrow. Links at Queens Creek is on the short list, even though it only plays to 5800 yds. Westbrook Village Vistas and Granite Falls South are on the to-do list, but are closed for public play this winter. 

 

That basically leaved the Casa Grande and Florence areas. Is Poston Butte worth the drive? Francisco Grande, Palm Creek, or Robson Ranch?

 

I like Poston - worth the drive, well that is relative.....short answer is no...but if you are thinking of going to Casa Grande, it is far better.

 

Robson is a super blah course, like the SC courses.  Not worth the drive, except for the cost.  Francisco is about the same.  

 

Considering your location, you are better off driving up to Prescott (prob only an hour-20)and playing Prescott CC and Antelope Hills (both courses).  PCC has new management/owners and have done a good job bringing it back.  Antelope are muni courses, but are not bad.  You also have Stoneridge for the quirkiest of all AZ courses.   

 

Heck...since you are even considering Casa - you are 1000 times better off going to play in Sedona.  Sedona GR, Oak Creek, Canyon Mesa, and 7 Canyons. 

Edited February 2, 2021 by puttnforthe8

[robcha]

Was able to snag some Quintero tee times at $160 so hopefully it's in great shape this weekend!