2022 Course Conditions - Phoenix Area

[jatrain]

Papago this morning.  Great conditions, greens have speed up since the report last week.  Pace of play right at 4 hours.
 

Guys I played with from out of town said they payed $160 which is crazy.

[Double K]

Heading down Feb 17-27. 

 

Any thoughts on Johnson Ranch in Queen Creek? My dad's group added it to the rotation to replace Papago, guess it's been tough to get on with the city card this year. 

 

The other courses they play are Aguila, Dobson and Kenny Mac. 

 

 

[fore_life]

4 minutes ago, Double K said:

Heading down Feb 17-27. 

 

Any thoughts on Johnson Ranch in Queen Creek? My dad's group added it to the rotation to replace Papago, guess it's been tough to get on with the city card this year. 

 

The other courses they play are Aguila, Dobson and Kenny Mac. 

 

 

It’s fun, read some reviews on golf advisor, they have issues with slow play, running out of carts etc.

 

aghila Dobson Kenny Mac are all hard to get a tee time for these days and the pricing all across the board is getting pretty stupid, $60 to walk Dobson makes my blood boil

#shrinkthegame

[Double K]

1 minute ago, fore_life said:

It’s fun, read some reviews on golf advisor, they have issues with slow play, running out of carts etc.

 

aghila Dobson Kenny Mac are all hard to get a tee time for these days and the pricing all across the board is getting pretty stupid, $60 to walk Dobson makes my blood boil

#shrinkthegame

 They all old so are able to call the moment the course opens, but ya they have been having a heck of a time getting on the tee sheet. 

 

I must admit, teeing it forward with these guys is a lot of fun and exposes major flaws in my game. 

 

 

 

[puttnforthe8]

1 hour ago, Double K said:

Heading down Feb 17-27. 

 

Any thoughts on Johnson Ranch in Queen Creek? My dad's group added it to the rotation to replace Papago, guess it's been tough to get on with the city card this year. 

 

The other courses they play are Aguila, Dobson and Kenny Mac. 

 

 

 

Johnson Ranch has one good 9 and one terrible 9; and they did the worst possible thing for the course - they switched 9s, so the good 9 is now the front.  It used to be the back 9 made the front 9 tolerable.  Conditions are inconsistent.  POP is probably the worst in AZ because they have 8 minute tee times and will fit random groups in often.   It has below average practice facilities.

 

You would be better off going an extra few miles to Poston Butte.

Edited January 30, 2022 by puttnforthe8

[azgolfer44]

5 hours ago, jatrain said:

Papago this morning.  Great conditions, greens have speed up since the report last week.  Pace of play right at 4 hours.
 

Guys I played with from out of town said they payed $160 which is crazy.

Papago was great today? $160 ain’t that bad for out of towners right now. Greens are best I have played this winter anywhere. 

[LBattaglia93]

Just got back from a trip where we started in Tucson and finished in Phoenix. Played Southern Dunes on 1/21 and the course was in impeccable shape as usual. The following day we played Verrado Founders. Good shape, greens were a bit slower but still smooth. Green speed could have been attributed to our early 8am tee time coupled with colder weather/rain. 

[AzSuperHack76]

Sterling Grove today. Absolutely pure, just sooo good. Hour frost delay, 3:50 minute round even with the frost delay. 

[puttnforthe8]

1 hour ago, AzSuperHack76 said:

Sterling Grove today. Absolutely pure, just sooo good. Hour frost delay, 3:50 minute round even with the frost delay. 

wow, an hour.  I guess technically that is a higher elevation and being wide open would lead to a long delay.  

[AZ_JHWK]

GCU today. They were running 35 minutes late due to frost. The first couple of fairways were soaking wet. Maybe they ran the sprinklers to clear the frost? The 2nd green is struggling a bit on the back left quadrant. The rest of the course was in good shape. Greens were pretty speedy. This is a good value at $46 walking with the PHX Card. Throw in a bucket of balls and tax and I was out the door for $56. Pace of play was about 4:20.  

[sub150]

On 1/26/2022 at 9:03 AM, azgolfer44 said:

Saguaro was really good yesterday, except some of the bunkers need sand. Two of us were in the right bunker on 9 which had maybe 1/4” inch sand. Impossible to get it on the green. 
 

Course is pruning back the desert and trees. It looks a lot different and you can actually find balls in the desert. 

 

Lot of snakes out there. Saguaro is a course I simply don't look for a ball. 

[puttnforthe8]

Adding here since many have played there.  Pretty funny....

 

 

[tcbringhurst]

8 hours ago, puttnforthe8 said:

Adding here since many have played there.  Pretty funny....

 

 

Who here hoseled it past the 17 tee box?

[AzSuperHack76]

Solid day out at TPC Stadium, conditions were fast and firm, pace was a little slow though, some stupid event went out ahead of us. 
 

Only big complaint was 16 green was pitted, and for some odd reason it smelled like stale beer. 
 

Other than that it was a good day. 
 

Better value at other courses for sure. 

[Argonne69]

6 hours ago, AzSuperHack76 said:

Solid day out at TPC Stadium, conditions were fast and firm, pace was a little slow though, some stupid event went out ahead of us. 
 

Only big complaint was 16 green was pitted, and for some odd reason it smelled like stale beer. 
 

Other than that it was a good day. 
 

Better value at other courses for sure. 

 

I bet you were able to shag a few near-mint Pro V1s out of the pond on the 17th.

 

[FlashNoonan]

Tres Rios this past weekend. 2nd time playing it and got around much better. Greens are firm and roll pretty well. Got around in 4:15. Should have been no more than 3:45 but I got paired up with someone who would hit multiple mulligans and then act like they were putting for the win at the Phoenix open on ever green. 

[AzSuperHack76]

Wigwam Gold is in near perfect shape. Greens are the best I’ve seen out there in some time. 

[Double K]

Welp my dad was asleep at the switch so the first round on Friday is Greenfield Lakes. 

[vallygolf]

3 hours ago, Double K said:

Welp my dad was asleep at the switch so the first round on Friday is Greenfield Lakes. 

Perfect place to shoot 5 under.  Before the great golf boom, I would play a quick nine there during my lunch at least once a week (its very close to my office).  Nice thing is it helped me practice my shots from the rough and junk (every lie is from the rough and junk:).

[Double K]

12 hours ago, vallygolf said:

Perfect place to shoot 5 under.  Before the great golf boom, I would play a quick nine there during my lunch at least once a week (its very close to my office).  Nice thing is it helped me practice my shots from the rough and junk (every lie is from the rough and junk:).

 

My post was a bit in jest, but I am looking forward to it. It's the last course I played with my mom, so it will be memorable. 

[Double K]

Greenfield Lakes was surprisingly good today. We had to wait for our tee time for about an hour due to a frost delay in the morning that pushed everyone back. 

 

Greens were on the slow side, but very lush, green and smooth.  I found them to be quite firm which made it challenging to hold the green from the tees. Being an entry level-type course, I don't think they could get them much faster due to the slope that they have on them. 

 

The nines have been flipped, the long par 5 along Greenfield is now #9. 

 

Final verdict: It's far from the best course in the valley, but a great place to knock off the rust and work on the short game at a decent price. 

 

 

[Double K]

Viewpoint range today. Had a BOGO coupon, which meant two range tokens for $5. I didn't count but felt like 60-70 balls. 

 

The range was very busy, had to wait about 15 minutes to get a space to hit. Range balls looked newish, a mix of Volvik, Strata and something called Power Range (which were exceptionally hard). Grass was nice, they had the ropes up near the front which made for mostly downhill lies. Hit some putts on both putting greens. They were nice and smooth and the one across the road by the executive course was lighting fast. 

 

Encanto tomorrow, Aguila Wednesday (weather looks not great, might be cancelled) and Arizona Golf Resort for Friday. 

 

Finding teetimes is complete horsefeathers. I feel for you locals, this really sucks. 

[FlashNoonan]

GCU yesterday. Shaggy and wet fairways. Some were pretty soaked. Greens are the normal firm. Sand was ok. One day I'll figure the place out and finally play decently there. 

[Double K]

Encanto today. Very windy which made for a fun round. One of the flattest courses I can remember playing anywhere. Don't think there is more than 10 feet of elevation change on the entire course. 

 

Greens are perfect on the front, nice speed and very, very smooth. They would hold a well struck iron shot. They recently punched the back nine, I took a picture not sure how well it shows the holes, no top dressing so they still rolled pretty nicely. Good amount of sand in the bunkers and decently firm giving good lies. 

 

Looks like Wednesday is going to be a washout, probably won't get to play Aguila this trip. 

 

 

[AzSuperHack76]

Palmbrook Country Club this morning. No other tee times available on the west side, like literally nothing today, this is getting crazy. 

 

Fairways and tee boxes were in great shape. Bunkers had a bit too much sand in them but were consistent so that's good. 

 

Greens were awful, easily the worst I have putted on in a very long time, just dreadful. Slow, and insanely bumpy. Although I am exaggerating by saying this, I'm not too far off. If you were to dump a truckload full of broccoli on to the green surfaces that's what it was like putting on them. Putting on broccoli. Palmbrook used to have really good greens, especially for a Sun City course. It appears as they have not been rolled in months. After the round I went back and looked at the reviews on golf advisor and it looks like the problem started about a month ago. I'd stay away for a while. $75, just awful, zero value with the given conditions. 

[Bonneville85308]

53 minutes ago, AzSuperHack76 said:

Palmbrook Country Club this morning. No other tee times available on the west side, like literally nothing today, this is getting crazy. 

 

Fairways and tee boxes were in great shape. Bunkers had a bit too much sand in them but were consistent so that's good. 

 

Greens were awful, easily the worst I have putted on in a very long time, just dreadful. Slow, and insanely bumpy. Although I am exaggerating by saying this, I'm not too far off. If you were to dump a truckload full of broccoli on to the green surfaces that's what it was like putting on them. Putting on broccoli. Palmbrook used to have really good greens, especially for a Sun City course. It appears as they have not been rolled in months. After the round I went back and looked at the reviews on golf advisor and it looks like the problem started about a month ago. I'd stay away for a while. $75, just awful, zero value with the given conditions. 

 

That's a shame, that course did indeed used to have greens that were in great condition year-round. I played there quite a bit in 2018-2020. 

 

The course sold to a new owner in spring 2021 ($2.45 million) and the rates promptly went up 25-50% year-round. The value isn't there anymore, even ignoring the current condition of the greens. I haven't been back since that sale and rate change happened.

[AzSuperHack76]

27 minutes ago, Bonneville85308 said:

 

That's a shame, that course did indeed used to have greens that were in great condition year-round. I played there quite a bit in 2018-2020. 

 

The course sold to a new owner in spring 2021 ($2.45 million) and the rates promptly went up 25-50% year-round. The value isn't there anymore, even ignoring the current condition of the greens. I haven't been back since that sale and rate change happened.

First time being out there in a year or so and obviously first time hearing about the sale. Makes sense, new owner is probably squeezing every last drop out of it while probaly cutting back on everything and increasing prices. Seems to be the new norm. Do/charge as much as possible with as little resources as possible. 
 

 

[Double K]

Guessing nobody is golfing today. Holy jumping is it pouring rain. 

[Double K]

Beauty day at Aguila. I can't imagine there being a better Muni in the state. It's such a good course, great variety of holes and really puts your game to the test. 

 

Course is immaculate tee to green. Fairways are lush and firm, with a decent amount of roll out. Greens were quite receptive to the point I'd call them soft, extremely smooth, with the exception of 13, and decently speedy. Bunkers, and I was in most, if not all of them, were exceptional, nice sand that was packed nicely, giving good lies. We were off the course in just over 4 hours. 

 

Played like a helmet, hit it all over the joint and have developed a nice pull hook with my irons. I think I was +6 on the par 3s alone. 

 

Thanks very much to @fore_life for the teetime, shame you couldn't make it. We will have to get out in the fall. 

 

[tcbringhurst]

Sterling Grove today. Greens are still firm, and they almost had a “purplish” hue to them. Rough is short and very playable almost anywhere. 
 

POP was 4:25, on top of the tee sheet being 30 minutes behind due to a tournament earlier today. Teed off at 2:10, finished about 10 minutes after sundown. 
 

I wish the putting course was included in the green fee.