Whirlwind or Gold Canyon

[cradd10]

got a March Trip to PHX.  We messed up and didn't book WeKoPA in time for 36 on Friday.  Looking at other places with 36.  WhirlWind and Gold Canyon stood out.  Which one should we pick.  Playing AK Chin and Quintero for other 2 rounds.  

[Bonneville85308]

I'd do Whirlwind. The lesser course at Gold Canyon (Sidewinder) is pretty meh.

[mstuewe]

Played whirlwind last year on Super Bowl Sunday.  Such a peaceful day.  Love that course.

[puttnforthe8]

Whirlwind; or Verrado.

 

 

[AzSuperHack76]

Whirlwind all day, just better golf courses, plus a casino and resort on property. Gold Canyon Dinasaur is scenic and has some massive elevation, but it's quirky and a forced layout, also Sidewinder is meh at best.

 

Puttnforthe8 gave a great suggestion as well, 2 solid golf courses with some of the better bang for your buck in the Phx area. 

[runningblind11]

3 hours ago, cradd10 said:

got a March Trip to PHX.  We messed up and didn't book WeKoPA in time for 36 on Friday.  Looking at other places with 36.  WhirlWind and Gold Canyon stood out.  Which one should we pick.  Playing AK Chin and Quintero for other 2 rounds.  

Agreed with the above that GC Dino was great, Sidewinder not so much. 

 

Also, I played Ak Chin Dunes last spring and it was in atrocious condition.  Bunkers were super rocky and greens were so hard it was comical.  Maybe someone can chime in with more recent conditions but I can't see myself playing there again. 

 

 

[1puttTUT]

I just got back from a Whirlwind stay and play trip with our lodging being at the Sheraton at Wild Horse Pass. One thing they didn't tell me, and was a pleasant surprise is that with the stay and play package you get one voucher per day for free golf, but the vouchers are all available up front at the course so you could double up on 36 holes one day and not do any golf the next day.

 

Having known that in advance, we would have done exactly that and played Southern Dunes the last day since it's quite close.

 

Whirlwind was in great shape btw. Greens were flawless, as was pretty much everything else. The food at the course was also really good. 

[SilverBullets]

On 1/5/2024 at 3:21 PM, runningblind11 said:

Agreed with the above that GC Dino was great, Sidewinder not so much. 

 

Also, I played Ak Chin Dunes last spring and it was in atrocious condition.  Bunkers were super rocky and greens were so hard it was comical.  Maybe someone can chime in with more recent conditions but I can't see myself playing there again. 

 

 

I've never seen Southern Dunes in atrocious condition... I havent seen it even close to being 'bad' let alone atrocious.  

 

The bunkering at SD is a much more natural type of sand (similar to what you would see at WeKoPa Saguaro).  That's kind of the intent.  Once in a while they'll get thinner but historically they have done a good job staying up on them.  

 

Idk that I've ever seen rock hard greens.  Firm, yes, it's the desert.  They're supposed to be firm and frankly most every course here has overly soft and wet greens to things 'lush' and pretty for visitors.  Everything seems to get even more soft each year. 

 

The only time I've played SD with firm greens was early summer when they are transitioning it back to bermuda or the week before overseed (which makes the course a blast).

 

When did you play it?  Was it like late may/early June?  That could explain some things. 

[runningblind11]

3 hours ago, SilverBullets said:

I've never seen Southern Dunes in atrocious condition... I havent seen it even close to being 'bad' let alone atrocious.  

 

The bunkering at SD is a much more natural type of sand (similar to what you would see at WeKoPa Saguaro).  That's kind of the intent.  Once in a while they'll get thinner but historically they have done a good job staying up on them.  

 

Idk that I've ever seen rock hard greens.  Firm, yes, it's the desert.  They're supposed to be firm and frankly most every course here has overly soft and wet greens to things 'lush' and pretty for visitors.  Everything seems to get even more soft each year. 

 

The only time I've played SD with firm greens was early summer when they are transitioning it back to bermuda or the week before overseed (which makes the course a blast).

 

When did you play it?  Was it like late may/early June?  That could explain some things. 

This was very end of March.  I do get desert conditions, I have lived most of my life out west.   The guys I played with talked it up as being great, loved it, and they were appalled at the conditions that day also.  One lives in Phoenix so I was taking his word basically on past conditions versus that day.  This was one of 5 rounds in 3 days, and that course was in much worse shape than the rest we played that weekend.