Troon Card - AZ

CDNMIKE · September 12, 2022

I realize that there probably isn't a lot of love for the Troon Card overall, but going to be in Scottsdale from mid-Nov to right before Christmas. I'm going to have a pretty flexible schedule, so can play whenever and looking at around 15-17 rounds. Would it be better to go with the Troon Card or wing it on Golfnow, last minute, etc?

puttnforthe8 · September 12, 2022

1 hour ago, CDNMIKE said:

I realize that there probably isn't a lot of love for the Troon Card overall, but going to be in Scottsdale from mid-Nov to right before Christmas. I'm going to have a pretty flexible schedule, so can play whenever and looking at around 15-17 rounds. Would it be better to go with the Troon Card or wing it on Golfnow, last minute, etc?

The Troon Card primary value lies in the 2 for 1 where the savings is 50% versus the 20% or so that comes using the discounted "Troon" rate. That rate may be better or worse than Golfnow type sites.

I would say you are going to come around break even, assuming you use a couple of 2-1 with someone and save some money.

Also - you do have to take into consideration that the booking is 4 days; the 2-1s are generally after 10/11a (which is not bad in the winter).

CDNMIKE · September 30, 2022

Yeah that's a good point and advice, thanks for that. I have someone visiting during the time to play 3 rounds one week - would a preferred lineup be Troon North, Boulders, Eagle Mountain (assuming not wanting to venture out too far ie. Wickenburg, Southern Dunes)

SilverBullets · October 12, 2022

I've found the Troon card to be immensely valuable... but in your case I'm not sure you'd get the value out of it. As a local phoenix resident, I can be flexible with where I play. So the 3 day booking window isn't an issue because I'll just select one of the courses that has an opening around the time I want to play. If I want to target a specific course (like a guest is in town) I will normally just book in advance and not get the discounted troon card rate (although you still get 15% off).

I put together a spreadsheet to track my spending to see if I was getting value out of the card. In 2022 I've saved around $1900 with the card (that's factoring in the cost of the card too). Now thats spread over 40ish round, 15 or so of which my wife was my guest so my savings that day doubled. I also havent used any of the 2 for 1 deals just because I prefer to play early AM, can only play on weekends, and don't want to deal with the 24 hour booking window to use it.

The biggest savings typically wont be at places like TN or Boulders. Whirlwind seemed to the spot this year where the card really helped. During peak season they had something like a $200-$225 rack rate and the card rate was $99-$115. Typically at TN or Boulders is like 20-30% off.

My guess is you would probably end up a little bit ahead if you played 15-20 rounds. But I don't think it would be enough to justify losing the flexibility of playing the courses you want at the time you want by booking outside of the window.