Looking for a relatively affordable men's club option

silentcmh · August 28, 2023

LIke the title says, some friends and I are considering joining a men's club so we can get out throughout the winter when weekend tee times are harder to get, and to expand our circle of people we play with.

I'm thinking one of the munis would be a good option. I played in Dobson's one year and didn't enjoy it at all. I did Aguila's another year or two and liked it, but I believe that club dissolved. I need to look into it. I was also going to look into GCU's and Papago's.

Anyone have experience with GCU's or Papago's? Or can recommended another like that?

puttnforthe8 · August 28, 2023

Lone Tree has a pretty decent assc: https://www.lonetreegolf18.com/images/2023_Mens_Club_Packet_Info.pdf Problem is it's Lone Tree.

Personally, I would consider doing one of the leagues: Sat Golf League, Grint, or other (SGL - pricier) - that way you are not stuck with the same course.

Bonneville85308 · August 28, 2023

I was in Cave Creek's for a short while when I first moved to AZ but I wouldn't recommend it for various reasons I'm not going to get into here.

As @puttnforthe8 said, I'd look into some of the "traveling" leagues that play different courses every week or two. Some are more serious than others, some might cater more towards a certain age or skill demographic than others, all depends on what you are looking for.

puttnforthe8 · August 28, 2023

https://www.saturdaygolfleague.com/

https://thegrinttour.com/tours/phoenix2023

https://www.valleygolfers.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/2023-VGA-Q3-schedule.pdf

https://www.thepremiergolfclub.com/

https://www.scottsdalegolfleague.org/

From least to most competitive. (+/-)

azgolfer44 · August 28, 2023

I play Dobson and Papago mens leagues. Both are very busy and have a variety of skill levels. I enjoy them both and gets you access to good weekend tee times. PM with questions.

AzSuperHack76 · August 29, 2023

7 hours ago, puttnforthe8 said:

Lone Tree has a pretty decent assc: https://www.lonetreegolf18.com/images/2023_Mens_Club_Packet_Info.pdf Problem is it's Lone Tree.

Personally, I would consider doing one of the leagues: Sat Golf League, Grint, or other (SGL - pricier) - that way you are not stuck with the same course.

Played behind a Grint event at Falcon Dunes, walked off after 5 hours after finishing 14 holes.

silentcmh · August 29, 2023

5 hours ago, puttnforthe8 said:

https://www.saturdaygolfleague.com/

https://thegrinttour.com/tours/phoenix2023

https://www.valleygolfers.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/2023-VGA-Q3-schedule.pdf

https://www.thepremiergolfclub.com/

https://www.scottsdalegolfleague.org/

From least to most competitive. (+/-)

Thanks - I used to play in the Premier Club, but wasn't really my scene. I'm a Grint member but haven't checked out their tour events yet.

silentcmh · August 29, 2023

4 hours ago, azgolfer44 said:

I play Dobson and Papago mens leagues. Both are very busy and have a variety of skill levels. I enjoy them both and gets you access to good weekend tee times. PM with questions.

I was looking Papago's, too. Is there ever an issue with getting tee times for events?

I did Dobson's for a year but didn't enjoy it. Too many old-timers with a 'Get off my lawn!' vibe to anyone new or not in the club. And while I appreciate the pace of play guidelines, it got ridiculous with always having a group member sprinting off 9 and 18 to punch the time card. One time a guy behind us pulled up to eight green while we were nine tee and barked as us to hurry our asses up, despite the group ahead of us just having hit their second shots.

Edited August 29, 2023 by silentcmh

AZ_JHWK · August 29, 2023

I play in the Aguila Men's league. They play once a month usually on a Sunday morning with maybe 2 Satudays during the year. You'll need a GHIN as they flight you based on your handicap index. $40 get in fee each time above and beyond the green fee and cart fee. That covers gross and net skins and the top 3 scores in each flight. They usually have 72-84 spots to fill each time out. Not hard to get in if you jump in when the portal opens. No time clock punching at this point but the rounds are longer due to having to hole every putt.

silentcmh · August 29, 2023

7 minutes ago, AZ_JHWK said:

I play in the Aguila Men's league. They play once a month usually on a Sunday morning with maybe 2 Satudays during the year. You'll need a GHIN as they flight you based on your handicap index. $40 get in fee each time above and beyond the green fee and cart fee. That covers gross and net skins and the top 3 scores in each flight. They usually have 72-84 spots to fill each time out. Not hard to get in if you jump in when the portal opens. No time clock punching at this point but the rounds are longer due to having to hole every putt.

Thanks for the info. I called the course then emailed Fred earlier today. Sounds like a good deal.

And I recently got my buddies out to Aguila for the first time and they liked it, so I'm hoping I can talk them into joining the league. Getting weekend morning tee times in season is my big selling point.

AZ_JHWK · August 29, 2023

2 minutes ago, silentcmh said:

And I recently got my buddies out to Aguila for the first time and they liked it, so I'm hoping I can talk them into joining the league. Getting weekend morning tee times in season is my big selling point.

I drive 40 minutes to play at Aguila each time because I really appreciate what they have to offer. Fred runs a good league. Winnings go into an account that you can use for greens fees or merchandise. Not a true cash payout if that matters.

azgolfer44 · August 29, 2023

1 minute ago, AZ_JHWK said:

I drive 40 minutes to play at Aguila each time because I really appreciate what they have to offer. Fred runs a good league. Winnings go into an account that you can use for greens fees or merchandise. Not a true cash payout if that matters.

I occasionally play Aguila as well. Fred does a good job with limited resources, but there are two major issues. First, they don't use a clock, and the rounds can get close to 5 hours. In my opinion, it has nothing to do with "holing every putt" but people just not being considerate of pace of play. Second, there is no incentive to actually join the league because you either pay $60 for the year or $5 extra per event if you are a guest. Doing the math, it makes no financial sense to join the league, so you get a bunch of non-league players filling up the tee sheets. Maybe this will change as more people join the club, but I was annoyed with being a "member" with no preference over "non-members." They pay gross and net overall as pro shop script, as well as gross and net skins in checks, both within flight, so no significant pots.

Dobson does use a clock but it is totally reasonable to play within the 4:12 allowed considering you are playing a 6,500 yard course that is completely flat. I have played 30+ rounds there walking and never had an issue with the time clock. I don't see many time penalties overall. You pay one fee for the event and tee time, $65 summer and $75 winter. Gross and net skins are $10 optional each. Event money is Dobson bucks and skins are cash. The drawback of Dobson is the course is not as nice as Papago or Dobson, but they have big skins games and run really nice two man events. They also do not allow guests to play in events so you know it is just members playing. You can sign us up a foursome so you know who you will be playing with. Events fill up quickly.

Papago also has a clock policy which is a bit more lenient that Dobson. Very few time penalties like Dobson. If you sign up within the first couple days of the event opening, you shouldn't have an issue getting in the event, but the winter and two man events fill up. PMGA runs a variety of events for individual and two man. There are two yearly away events (Antelope Hills and Los Caballeros) and they usually try to add a couple more. There is also a weekly Wednesday game that is mostly older/retired guys. Papago pays everything in Papago bucks which can be used for tee times, food, Lou's or pro shop. No cash payouts. You can sign up and list your "preferred partners" in the notes. Mark does a good job of putting together the pairings and tee sheets.

Honestly, they are all really good leagues in my opinions, just depends what you are looking for and how close you live.

whatsupwithgolf · August 29, 2023

I'd recommend Papago I loved it there

silentcmh · August 29, 2023

22 minutes ago, azgolfer44 said:

Second, there is no incentive to actually join the league because you either pay $60 for the year or $5 extra per event if you are a guest. Doing the math, it makes no financial sense to join the league, so you get a bunch of non-league players filling up the tee sheets. Maybe this will change as more people join the club, but I was annoyed with being a "member" with no preference over "non-members."

That's a good point to consider, and I noticed that in the info Fred sent. Seems odd to not have any sort of club membership fee. There are pros and cons to that, I suppose.