Traveling to Phoenix.....Some course info for you

[JMATHEEENS]

Heading out in late April/early May and have quite a lineup.

 

Thursday - Ak Chin Southern Dunes with maybe short course at sunset

Friday - We Ko Pa Saguaro AM and Cholla PM

Saturday - Boulders South

Sunday - Greyhawk Raptor 

 

The trip can't come soon enough.

 

[cbbaron]

Have stayed at Orange Tree prolly close to 20 times used their range and shortgame area but never played more than likely never will

[Miker20890]

Finally got a trip Booked. Mid April and staying a full week. 3 rounds definitely maybe a 4th if the wife lets me. 
 

Planning on playing wekopa sagura, grayhawk raptor, and debating between talking stick, Papago or troon north. Any suggestions or recommendations to change to? Plan on staying at Marriott dessert ridge or McCormick ranch. Thanks. 

[Chanceman]

Talking Stick is inexpensive and an education to play. It does not look much but there are a lot of things going on if you look for them.

[puttnforthe8]

1 hour ago, Chanceman said:

Talking Stick is inexpensive and an education to play. It does not look much but there are a lot of things going on if you look for them.

$115 - $170 (depending on when rates drop this year) is not really inexpensive, nor is the course worth that $.  

 

And if travelling here, Troon North Pinnacle is the far better choice.

[cbbaron]

21 hours ago, puttnforthe8 said:

$115 - $170 (depending on when rates drop this year) is not really inexpensive, nor is the course worth that $.  

 

And if travelling here, Troon North Pinnacle is the far better choice.

Anyone suggesting Talking Stick over Troon North should be sued for advice malpractice

[MTgolfer]

On 2/12/2021 at 4:33 PM, sethdavidsdad said:

Review of my trip courses:

We didn’t want to play $250-$400 for courses. We were supposed to go to Palm Springs like we have in the past. Switched last minute due to lock downs. Of course we didn’t know this was prime rates being week of Waste Management Open. 9 courses 7 days good trip.  

Papago was best I think. Excellent course and greens were really good(Well I made lots of birdies haha) $89

Sterling Grove really good for the money the place will just get better as they finish it out. $74

Verrado both courses great. Founders better views but Victory better condition $119 & $69

Orange Tree was a nice surprise. Could a course like that being my home course if I lived there. Lots of nice houses with excellent bag yard areas. Modest course with a good layout and pretty views of mountain. $70

Longbow was pretty good. We went there to ride the golfboards. $70 

Lone Tree good cheap option. $50

McCormick ranch not bad didn’t think it was a bad as people said. It was a add on, condition not perfect. If you can get a good price it’s ok $90

Talking Stick was the worst. Course was good overall but management was horrible. We were supposed to tee off at 1:10 they held us to 1:50. Got to 3 hole and caught the groups ahead of us. 4-5 holes we got to tee boxes and would have 3-4 groups waiting on the tee. We finished in the dark at about 6:50 only because I refused to wait that long and not finish. $129 knocked Down to $100 for wait. 

Wanted to play Greyhawk and Wickenburg just didn’t fit it in. We stayed in Scottsdale area. Daily Dose breakfast nachos were awesome and we loved Old town Tortilla Factory for you foodies. 

 

This is a helpful post. I honestly get tired of playing north Scottsdale courses and paying $300 a round. Last year we played orange tree to fill in a day. The course was not impressive at all, but we had a great time and then sat on the patio drinking beers in the sun afterwards. When you’re heading down there in the middle of winter from the frozen north, anything is improvement. I left here and it was -25° and got there at 65°. Any course I played at that point was going to be fantastic. Ha

[Chanceman]

On 2/19/2021 at 1:37 PM, cbbaron said:

Anyone suggesting Talking Stick over Troon North should be sued for advice malpractice

Well I guess you better start proceedings against Planet Golf and Top100Golf Courses. And I guess I enjoyed the subtlety of TS/oodham at least as much as the in your face style of TN.

[bvan]

On 2/13/2021 at 8:03 PM, JMATHEEENS said:

Heading out in late April/early May and have quite a lineup.

 

Thursday - Ak Chin Southern Dunes with maybe short course at sunset

Friday - We Ko Pa Saguaro AM and Cholla PM

Saturday - Boulders South

Sunday - Greyhawk Raptor 

 

The trip can't come soon enough.

 

Same Timeline and similar schedule actually. See you there. I have a group of 8

 

Thur-Boulders South

Fri-Quintero

Sat- WeKoPa Sag

Sun- Greyhawk Raptor.

 

Wondering if we should put Troon North in here instead of one of these....Thoughts?

 

 

[puttnforthe8]

On 2/21/2021 at 5:14 AM, Chanceman said:

Well I guess you better start proceedings against Planet Golf and Top100Golf Courses. And I guess I enjoyed the subtlety of TS/oodham at least as much as the in your face style of TN.

 

 

LOL.  Come on now.  Those rankings are beyond garbage.  They have Troon Monument over Pinnacle.  They bloody put Wigwam Gold above Pinnacle, Grayhawk, Mirabel and countless others.

 

They have Apache Stronghold at 37...wile a nice design, it is the worst condition golf course in AZ.

 

To publicize the Talking Stick North (oodham) is the 3rd best public golf course in AZ is both wrong and irresponsible.   It is not even in the same class as Southern Dunes, Wickenburg Ranch, Grayhawk, but yet ranked above?  LOL! Chance, you've played enough golf to understand this is utter bollox!!  

 

 

[puttnforthe8]

53 minutes ago, bvan said:

Same Timeline and similar schedule actually. See you there. I have a group of 8

 

Thur-Boulders South

Fri-Quintero

Sat- WeKoPa Sag

Sun- Greyhawk Raptor.

 

Wondering if we should put Troon North in here instead of one of these....Thoughts?

 

 

 

Short answer yes...if you can play Troon North Pinnacle - that is a far better course than Boulders.  The others are fine.  

[Chanceman]

3 hours ago, puttnforthe8 said:

 

 

LOL.  Come on now.  Those rankings are beyond garbage.  They have Troon Monument over Pinnacle.  They bloody put Wigwam Gold above Pinnacle, Grayhawk, Mirabel and countless others.

 

They have Apache Stronghold at 37...wile a nice design, it is the worst condition golf course in AZ.

 

To publicize the Talking Stick North (oodham) is the 3rd best public golf course in AZ is both wrong and irresponsible.   It is not even in the same class as Southern Dunes, Wickenburg Ranch, Grayhawk, but yet ranked above?  LOL! Chance, you've played enough golf to understand this is utter bollox!!  

 

 

I am not rating TS at #4 in AZ - I just think it's worth a play at the price given its architectural merits which are considerable. A plain jane course. And Planet Golf is hardly garbage, one of the most respected (and reliable, in my experience) assessors of golf courses globally.

[Bonneville85308]

4 hours ago, puttnforthe8 said:

 

 

LOL.  Come on now.  Those rankings are beyond garbage.  They have Troon Monument over Pinnacle.  They bloody put Wigwam Gold above Pinnacle, Grayhawk, Mirabel and countless others.

 

They have Apache Stronghold at 37...wile a nice design, it is the worst condition golf course in AZ.

 

To publicize the Talking Stick North (oodham) is the 3rd best public golf course in AZ is both wrong and irresponsible.   It is not even in the same class as Southern Dunes, Wickenburg Ranch, Grayhawk, but yet ranked above?  LOL! Chance, you've played enough golf to understand this is utter bollox!!  

 

 

 

Agreed. Maybe it's because I'm not some golf architecture wokester, but I don't think Talking Stick North should even crack the top 10 in any list of best public courses in AZ. I'd probably rate it somewhere in the low 20s. Sure, they did a good job with the most bland piece of land for golf ever, but still...

[Argonne69]

27 minutes ago, Bonneville85308 said:

 

Agreed. Maybe it's because I'm not some golf architecture wokester, but I don't think Talking Stick North should even crack the top 10 in any list of best public courses in AZ. I'd probably rate it somewhere in the low 20s. Sure, they did a good job with the most bland piece of land for golf ever, but still...

 

I'd play the Piipaash Course four times out of five. 

 

[puttnforthe8]

3 hours ago, Chanceman said:

I am not rating TS at #4 in AZ - I just think it's worth a play at the price given its architectural merits which are considerable. A plain jane course. And Planet Golf is hardly garbage, one of the most respected (and reliable, in my experience) assessors of golf courses globally.

 

 

 

Planet golf:  Rated it higher than Estancia, Whisper Rock Upper, Desert Highlands, The Rim, Desert Mountain.  I would not call that reliable.

 

 

This price?  No sir. ..not worth it.

 

[Chanceman]

Not even Wekopa is worth that. We played TSO for well under $100, in December that is. Very glad we played it. And dont hang it on me for my opinion. 

[puttnforthe8]

1 hour ago, Chanceman said:

Not even Wekopa is worth that. We played TSO for well under $100, in December that is. Very glad we played it. And dont hang it on me for my opinion. 

Never bro.  I'll meet you at Arcadia Bluffs and we can banter more! 😜

[Chanceman]

2 hours ago, puttnforthe8 said:

Never bro.  I'll meet you at Arcadia Bluffs and we can banter more! 😜

Just bring a six pack!!

[fore_life]

[whatsupwithgolf]

Thank God for the munis

[StudentGolfer4]

Any tips for playing as a single? Of course I expect to be paired with another group but some courses, Verrado for example, don’t even allow you to book online as a single. 

[Argonne69]

1 hour ago, StudentGolfer4 said:

Any tips for playing as a single? Of course I expect to be paired with another group but some courses, Verrado for example, don’t even allow you to book online as a single. 

 

Yeah, a couple of courses make it difficult to book as a single, but otherwise I've had no problems getting on. I've played 74 rounds as a single since arriving in early November.

 

I try to avoid booking as a single in an open four-slot, as I don't want to risk going out alone on a packed course. You should be able to find a slot with an existing twosome or threesome. If you can't find a time using the course's website, check GolfNow. GN grabs blocks of tee times, and allows singles to book. 

[loc]

7th trip to AZ in 7 years.....if you needed to rule out the worst one in this group;

Wigwam Gold

Long Bow

AK Chin southern dunes

Dove valley

 

[AzSuperHack76]

4 minutes ago, loc said:

7th trip to AZ in 7 years.....if you needed to rule out the worst one in this group;

Wigwam Gold

Long Bow

AK Chin southern dunes

Dove valley

 

Depends on what you're looking for. Southern Dunes is in a class well above the other courses you have listed, myself and others tend to put it as one of the best layouts in the state. 

 

I wouldn't consider playing Dove Valley at all, to me it's a terrible layout, the back nine is just awful. 

[puttnforthe8]

33 minutes ago, AzSuperHack76 said:

Depends on what you're looking for. Southern Dunes is in a class well above the other courses you have listed, myself and others tend to put it as one of the best layouts in the state. 

 

I wouldn't consider playing Dove Valley at all, to me it's a terrible layout, the back nine is just awful. 

This.  But Wigwam is not far behind on the sheer boredom of playing it.  Is there a reason you need to include either of those?  

[loc]

6 minutes ago, puttnforthe8 said:

This.  But Wigwam is not far behind on the sheer boredom of playing it.  Is there a reason you need to include either of those?  

In 7 years we played allot of courses so i'm working on the line up this year for April 10th week.(we try to keep golf to $775 max)

Wigwam $80

Quantero $145

long bow $75

AK Chin southern dunes $80

boulders south $200 after 2pm

dove valley (looking to change this as you suggested not a good choice) ?

 

What we played in the past.

Visti verdi

longbow

southerndunes

legends trail

sunridge canyon

eagle mountain

lookout mountain

tps stadium and champions

dinosur and sidewinder

stone creek

wekopa saguaro

asu karsten legacy papago wikenburg

raven south mountain 

raven verrado (now called verado)

talking stick

club west

trilogy

troon monument and pinnacle

 

[Bonneville85308]

2 hours ago, Argonne69 said:

 

Yeah, a couple of courses make it difficult to book as a single, but otherwise I've had no problems getting on. I've played 74 rounds as a single since arriving in early November.

 

I try to avoid booking as a single in an open four-slot, as I don't want to risk going out alone on a packed course. You should be able to find a slot with an existing twosome or threesome. If you can't find a time using the course's website, check GolfNow. GN grabs blocks of tee times, and allows singles to book. 

 

I'll add, as a person who plays a zillion rounds per year with the majority of them as a single paired with randoms, that if you play early in the day during peak hours, other people almost always seem to completely understand and expect that their twosome or threesome is going to get paired with a single(s) and are 100% fine with it. Particularly on the muni and lower priced courses. 

 

It's only been later in the day that I've experienced some people, always less experienced golfers and/or "bro" types, weirded out or hesitant to have a single join their group. To the point that they've sometimes told me to just go ahead of them after the first hole even if the course was jammed ahead.

 

There are a handful of courses in the Phoenix area that don't let singles book times (I think Verrado recently took this stance with the onset of COVID) and they just don't get any of my business unless I have a group to bring.

 

 

[loc]

Not worried about a single or twosome joining........no problem at all....

[Austincountyag]

any tips for a May trip would be appreciated..

 

fly in thursday at lunch time so looking for something decently close to the airport I suppose (staying in scottsdale)

 

Thur:????....maybe Phoenician? Legends? Raven?

Fri: 36 at we ko pa

Sat: quintero? ak chin southern dunes? eagle mountain? troon north?

 

looking to keep rounds around the $150 price range or lower. We are traveling May 20th weekend which is the date of the NCAA championships so I am assuming grayhawk will be closed. 

Edited March 1, 2021 by Austincountyag

[puttnforthe8]

56 minutes ago, loc said:

In 7 years we played allot of courses so i'm working on the line up this year for April 10th week.(we try to keep golf to $775 max)

Wigwam $80

Quantero $145

long bow $75

AK Chin southern dunes $80

boulders south $200 after 2pm

dove valley (looking to change this as you suggested not a good choice) ?

 

What we played in the past.

Visti verdi

longbow

southerndunes

legends trail

sunridge canyon

eagle mountain

lookout mountain

tps stadium and champions

dinosur and sidewinder

stone creek

wekopa saguaro

asu karsten legacy papago wikenburg

raven south mountain 

raven verrado (now called verado)

talking stick

club west

trilogy

troon monument and pinnacle

 

 

 

Well if you are going to the side of town, you should play Verrado Victory (the new course - because I assume you have not played it since you refer to Raven at Verrado which is years ago) or Estrella Mountain.  Both will be in an acceptable price range and both will be WAYYY better than Wigwam or Dove Valley.

 

Plus we now have Sterling Grove - which I would play, over either as well.