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

[puttnforthe8]

4 hours ago, lurkinghobbit said:

Where would Sterling Grove rank among the courses?  I know its going private but it seems we can still get a group there until then.  Thanks for any feedback.

 

 

 I personally think it has jumped towards the top of the list - probably top 15.  Great design, fun greens, great facility, views ok and it is in a housing commty - but fine.  

 

[puttnforthe8]

16 hours ago, Phireside said:

Headed back to Scottsdale in a bit after a 2 year break. Looking to play one or two courses that I have not played in the past. I will be replaying some and already have my 2 at We-Ko-Pa booked. 

 

Here is the list of courses I've played. Please throw out suggestions for some to try not on this list. I'm thinking Wickenburg so far.

 

We-Ko-Pa - both

Boulders - both

TPC - both

Troon North - both

Grayhawk - both

Legend Trail

Gold Mountain - dinosaur

Eagle Mountain

Quintero

Wildfire - Faldo

Southern Dunes

Camelback - both

 

For sure:  Verrado(either or both), Wick Ranch, Los Caballeros (pair with Wick since your out there), Sterling Grove (New course, just not desert)  Next tier:  Estrella Mtn, Vistancia, Raven, Whirlwind (devils claw is better), Talking Stick North (not south), Longbow, Aguila 

 

You may want to also see if you can go up to Sedona - 7 Canyons may have their member for a day, Oak Creek and Sedona Golf Resort.

 

 

[Phireside]

On 6/2/2022 at 1:44 PM, puttnforthe8 said:

 

For sure:  Verrado(either or both), Wick Ranch, Los Caballeros (pair with Wick since your out there), Sterling Grove (New course, just not desert)  Next tier:  Estrella Mtn, Vistancia, Raven, Whirlwind (devils claw is better), Talking Stick North (not south), Longbow, Aguila 

 

You may want to also see if you can go up to Sedona - 7 Canyons may have their member for a day, Oak Creek and Sedona Golf Resort.

 

 

Finalizing my bookings. Of these three which one, Whirlwind Cattail (devil's claw is not available), Longbow, or Raven?

[chisag]

5 hours ago, Phireside said:

Finalizing my bookings. Of these three which one, Whirlwind Cattail (devil's claw is not available), Longbow, or Raven?

 

 

... When will you be playing? Raven is aerating their greens 7/12 and it should be at least 2 weeks before they are really playable but probably more like 3 weeks before they are rolling well again. 

[StudentGolfer4]

5 hours ago, Phireside said:

Finalizing my bookings. Of these three which one, Whirlwind Cattail (devil's claw is not available), Longbow, or Raven?

From a non local perspective I prefer Whirlwind the best. I’m guessing longboat is the cheapest and far from a bad option. I go back and forth on Raven. It has a lot of green grass and a decent number of trees. It’s definitely more of a parkland than a desert layout. I always feel like I would enjoy it more if it was somewhere I played on a daily basis at home. In AZ I’m usually wanting something a bit different. 

[azgolfer44]

5 hours ago, Phireside said:

Finalizing my bookings. Of these three which one, Whirlwind Cattail (devil's claw is not available), Longbow, or Raven?

I prefer Cattail quite a bit over Raven and Longbow, especially in summer conditions due to the water rights.   Whirlwind is typically at least 25% more expensive as well.

[chisag]

15 minutes ago, StudentGolfer4 said:

From a non local perspective I prefer Whirlwind the best. I’m guessing longboat is the cheapest and far from a bad option. I go back and forth on Raven. It has a lot of green grass and a decent number of trees. It’s definitely more of a parkland than a desert layout. I always feel like I would enjoy it more if it was somewhere I played on a daily basis at home. In AZ I’m usually wanting something a bit different. 

 

 

... I felt the same way when I moved here 2 years ago and wanted desert plants and mountains covered in rock. While it does have some native desert plants and plenty of sand, the trees reminded me of NC where I grew up. But as summer temps hit 110+ the shade from all those trees are more than welcome. 

... If visiting, I would also choose Whirlwind out of the 3. 

[Phireside]

Whirlwind won't take a single. Anyone free on Aug 2 around 8am? 😀

[YMark]

6 hours ago, Phireside said:

Whirlwind won't take a single. Anyone free on Aug 2 around 8am? 😀

You're going to fry. Get off about 2 hours earlier if you can.

[chisag]

25 minutes ago, YMark said:

You're going to fry. Get off about 2 hours earlier if you can.

 

 

... One of the reasons I play twilite in summer. I prefer the temps to be not only dropping but as the sun starts going down the temps seem to be a good 10* lower. I could not imagine finishing at the hottest part of the day. 

[hackeraz]

wrong spot

Edited July 28, 2022 by hackeraz

[Timbo Slice]

Michigan golfer here headed to Arizona in February with son and plan on playing Troon North and Southern Dunes.  I know Troon will be expensive in February, but is there a ballpark price I can expect?  Also my son wants to play Dinosaur Mountain because of the big elevation changes.  Is there a course in Phoenix area that is similar to DM?  Maybe Ventana Canyon?  I will be staying at Harrah's 2 nights so SD is right by us.  So really just curious about Troon price, and a fun elevated course to add. Thanks!

We know about We Ko Pa, for some reason he'd rather play Troon.

[azgolfer44]

1 hour ago, Timbo Slice said:

Michigan golfer here headed to Arizona in February with son and plan on playing Troon North and Southern Dunes.  I know Troon will be expensive in February, but is there a ballpark price I can expect?  Also my son wants to play Dinosaur Mountain because of the big elevation changes.  Is there a course in Phoenix area that is similar to DM?  Maybe Ventana Canyon?  I will be staying at Harrah's 2 nights so SD is right by us.  So really just curious about Troon price, and a fun elevated course to add. Thanks!

We know about We Ko Pa, for some reason he'd rather play Troon.

I’d ballpark $400 for Troon, maybe slightly

less. Besides Dinosaur Mountain, another courses with big elevation change is Quintero. Harrahs at SD is pretty far from Troon and Quintero. Might be better off going to Tucson for someplace like Ventana which is really nice. Played there three times but don’t really recall huge elevation change. I’m sure the Tucson guys can give you good advice for there.

[cbbaron]

2 hours ago, Timbo Slice said:

Michigan golfer here headed to Arizona in February with son and plan on playing Troon North and Southern Dunes.  I know Troon will be expensive in February, but is there a ballpark price I can expect?  Also my son wants to play Dinosaur Mountain because of the big elevation changes.  Is there a course in Phoenix area that is similar to DM?  Maybe Ventana Canyon?  I will be staying at Harrah's 2 nights so SD is right by us.  So really just curious about Troon price, and a fun elevated course to add. Thanks!

We know about We Ko Pa, for some reason he'd rather play Troon.

Eagle Mountain for elevation change

[doc52]

20 hours ago, Timbo Slice said:

Michigan golfer here headed to Arizona in February with son and plan on playing Troon North and Southern Dunes.  I know Troon will be expensive in February, but is there a ballpark price I can expect?  Also my son wants to play Dinosaur Mountain because of the big elevation changes.  Is there a course in Phoenix area that is similar to DM?  Maybe Ventana Canyon?  I will be staying at Harrah's 2 nights so SD is right by us.  So really just curious about Troon price, and a fun elevated course to add. Thanks!

We know about We Ko Pa, for some reason he'd rather play Troon.

I'd play Ventana Canyon and Dove Mountain down in the Tucson area. Had a blast there a couple of years ago.

[Timbo Slice]

Yeah I was wondering about Dove Mountain, but I see so much love and hate.  I even read the PGA players hated Dove Mountain when they played there for the WGC.  Is Ventana Canyon better than Dinosaur? I'd probably just play 1 of those.

Edited August 2, 2022 by Timbo Slice

[Mrvelani]

Canadian Golfer here going down to Phx in October - 24th - 27th.  Doing a solo trip before a work retreat, staying near or close to the airport.  Looking to play 36 holes each day on the 25th and 26th and 18 on the 27th early morning.

 

Would you recommend any courses to play around the airport area and should I rent a car to be able to drive around the play the best courses.  Would prefer to not rent a car and just stay close to 4-5 courses which I can uber to and play them or better yet on a property with golf course there.  

 

Don't mind renting a car if it means I get to play some good golf courses, budget is around $80-$120 USD per round?  Any help is appreciated. 

 

Thank you.

[AzSuperHack76]

25 minutes ago, Mrvelani said:

Canadian Golfer here going down to Phx in October - 24th - 27th.  Doing a solo trip before a work retreat, staying near or close to the airport.  Looking to play 36 holes each day on the 25th and 26th and 18 on the 27th early morning.

 

Would you recommend any courses to play around the airport area and should I rent a car to be able to drive around the play the best courses.  Would prefer to not rent a car and just stay close to 4-5 courses which I can uber to and play them or better yet on a property with golf course there.  

 

Don't mind renting a car if it means I get to play some good golf courses, budget is around $80-$120 USD per round?  Any help is appreciated. 

 

Thank you.

Research the very first page of this thread, tons of good options. But......You are visiting at one of the worst times for golf in the Phx metro area. You will be in the peak of overseed season, course closures, restrictions and below average conditions. 

 

AGA releases a complete overseed list every year, usually comes out at the end of this month, it will give you all the information you need for maintenance and closure alerts. 

[chisag]

16 minutes ago, AzSuperHack76 said:

AGA releases a complete overseed list every year, usually comes out at the end of this month, it will give you all the information you need for maintenance and closure alerts. 

 

 

... Here is a preliminary and partial overseed schedule while we wait for the AGA:


http://www.arizonagolfvacations.com/news/2022-arizona-golf-overseed-schedule/

Edited August 15, 2022 by chisag

[Mrvelani]

15 hours ago, chisag said:

 

 

... Here is a preliminary and partial overseed schedule while we wait for the AGA:


http://www.arizonagolfvacations.com/news/2022-arizona-golf-overseed-schedule/

Thank you for this. I’m just there for work from the 27th onwards.  So figured I’d get there a few days early and get a few rounds in.

 

 There look to be some that will be open, so I’ll book my rounds in early.

 

 Appreciate the list.

[Kuhndogg8]

1 hour ago, Mrvelani said:

Thank you for this. I’m just there for work from the 27th onwards.  So figured I’d get there a few days early and get a few rounds in.

 

 There look to be some that will be open, so I’ll book my rounds in early.

 

 Appreciate the list.

 

To be clear, you do not want to play a course that has just opened after overseed.  Conditions will be terrible.  Drenched, cart path only, long long long shaggy greens, etc.  It unfortunately is our dead time to play here in Phoenix. 

[Mrvelani]

50 minutes ago, Kuhndogg8 said:

 

To be clear, you do not want to play a course that has just opened after overseed.  Conditions will be terrible.  Drenched, cart path only, long long long shaggy greens, etc.  It unfortunately is our dead time to play here in Phoenix. 

Thank you that helps! I'll be renting a car so I'll make sure to look for places around Scottsdale to go play there for a few days.

[RobDMB]

Generally, how are course conditions a few days prior to over seeding? I was planning to play We Ko Pa about 3 days before they shut down for the overseed and was wondering if the conditions would still be good. Thanks!

[Kuhndogg8]

1 hour ago, Mrvelani said:

Thank you that helps! I'll be renting a car so I'll make sure to look for places around Scottsdale to go play there for a few days.

 

Scottsdale and Phoenix are interchangeable.  No difference, just different boundary.  The overseed conditions are an issue at any course in AZ that's overseeding.

[Mrvelani]

1 hour ago, Kuhndogg8 said:

 

Scottsdale and Phoenix are interchangeable.  No difference, just different boundary.  The overseed conditions are an issue at any course in AZ that's overseeding.

Sorry I should have been more clear, was saying something maybe around 1-2 hr drive (ex. Tucson) . But looks like that won’t help. 
 

thank you. 

[AzSuperHack76]

8 hours ago, RobDMB said:

Generally, how are course conditions a few days prior to over seeding? I was planning to play We Ko Pa about 3 days before they shut down for the overseed and was wondering if the conditions would still be good. Thanks!

For me, those are honestly some of the best conditions to play. They usually stop watering, scalp/mow the fairways extremely tight and the courses usually play fast and firm, my favorite conditions so no complaints from me. 

[AzSuperHack76]

5 hours ago, Mrvelani said:

Sorry I should have been more clear, was saying something maybe around 1-2 hr drive (ex. Tucson) . But looks like that won’t help. 
 

thank you. 

Honestly if you're willing to drive 1-2 hours there will be plenty of options. Courses that have bent grass greens don't overseed their greens so at least the greens should be good. Copper Canyon on the west side has 3 9's, Troon North, Wickenburg Ranch(if still public), Los Caballero's, just a few that come to mind. Sedona is well worth the drive, Oak Creek Country Club, 7 canyons. I'm sure there are others that will chime in. There should be a few options in and around Tucson as well. 

[Mrvelani]

1 hour ago, AzSuperHack76 said:

Honestly if you're willing to drive 1-2 hours there will be plenty of options. Courses that have bent grass greens don't overseed their greens so at least the greens should be good. Copper Canyon on the west side has 3 9's, Troon North, Wickenburg Ranch(if still public), Los Caballero's, just a few that come to mind. Sedona is well worth the drive, Oak Creek Country Club, 7 canyons. I'm sure there are others that will chime in. There should be a few options in and around Tucson as well. 

Thank you, that’s a huge help! This is the information I was looking for. I def don’t mind driving a little further away.

 

Thank you. 

[jetsetter808]

Hi all, 

 

I just got in town for work, going to be here for a few months. I appreciate the list on the first page. Some questions, at this time which courses have the best greens? Not looking to spend $$$$ but a decent track. Coming from Hawaii so looking forward to playing desert golf. Also I have been looking online at some courses and see some really good rates you can pay online. If I pay for the resident rate are they actually checking ID at the time of checkin?

[chisag]

13 minutes ago, jetsetter808 said:

Hi all, 

 

I just got in town for work, going to be here for a few months. I appreciate the list on the first page. Some questions, at this time which courses have the best greens? Not looking to spend $$$$ but a decent track. Coming from Hawaii so looking forward to playing desert golf. Also I have been looking online at some courses and see some really good rates you can pay online. If I pay for the resident rate are they actually checking ID at the time of checkin?

 

 

... Some check and some don't and not even sure they are consistent. WeKoPa made me show mine. Right now most have recovered for aeration so greens should be good. Bunkers are a different story. 🤪  GolfNow or TeeOff are always useful to see course rates and availability. Mostly you will have summer rates before over seeding starts end of next month so it is a great time to play courses like Quintero, Southern Dunes, WeKoPa, Whirlwind, Camelback Ambiente, TPC Champions and quite a few others for under $100-75 when most will be well over $200 in season.