Golf in Scottsdale - late October

[philfrance]

Beed your advice on choices.....

I'm travelling with 4 golf buddies to Phoenix (from Europe) from 20-27 October 2009.

We plan on playing five rounds of golf.

Our course selection is set to :
1. The Boulders South ( North closed due to overseeding at that time)
2. Troon North - Monument
3. We-ko-Pa Cholla ( Saguaro closed due to overseeding)
4. Las Sendas
5. Eagle Mountain

We plan on staying at the Hyatt Summerfield Suites in Old Town Scottsdale.

Any mistakes in these choices? Is Eagle Mountain worthwhile, should we consider replacing with another course not too far away? Is the Hyatt in the heart of the action of downtown Scottsdale?

Thanks.

[jtoddaz]

I think you have some great choices. If you are already playing WeKoPa (and you should!) I would skip Eagly Mountain. I would sub Grayhawk. There is actually a PGA tourney there in late Oct, but if you miss it, it will either be prepared for the pros, or they would have just finished. Good luck.

[snapier]

All great choices although I may suggest Grayhawk over Las Sendas given its location to Scottsdale. Try to schedule courses prior to overseeding rather than a week or so after. The greens will be in better shape.

The Scottsdale Hyatt is very well situated in Old Town. You won't need a car...plenty of great restaurants/bars in short walking distance or 5 minute (max) cab ride.

I live in N. Scottsdale, about 2 miles north of Grayhawk. Let me know if you need any more details.

[SPY ZINGER]

WeKoPa is one of the best experiences in golf in my opinion. It's a must play.

[philfrance]

Thanks for the feedback. We're a group of guys in our early 40s - where are the fun places to go out for drinks? Meet girls?

I've already played Grayhawk, so am skipping that option. Is Las Sendas far out of the way? (we're renting a van for getting around)

Tks.

[snapier]

Las Sendas is probably a 15 minute longer trip than WeKoPa.

Drinks and meet Girls -- Try these three...Ocean Club (Kierland), Barcelona N. Scottsdale (should be reopened after remodel), Blue Martini (City North). You will have fun, you will meet girls!

There are many others within walking distance of the Hyatt

[bucks9395]

I would definitely skip Las Sendas. I played Las Sendas about 8 years ago. It felt like I was playing down someone's driveway through half the course because the houses were so close to the fairways. I've been back to Phoenix probably six times since then and have never had the urge to go back to Las Sendas.

I like the We-Ko-Pa courses a lot...can't go wrong with either one of them. I played the Troon courses last month for the first time since Weiskopf rerouted both. I was really impressed with both courses, particularly the Pinnacle course. Both were in pristine condition and are must-plays. I would definitely substitute Las Sendas for Troon Pinnacle...you will not be disappointed.

The Boulders South course is one of my favorites in Scottsdale...the boulders behind a few of the greens on the front side always provide a neat backdrop for your approach shots.

Both Grayhawk courses are impressive layouts and always in good shape. The Legacy and Gold Canyon Dinosaur Mountain are two other courses I always try to play. The Legacy, in particular, is normally in pretty good shape and the rates are usually reasonable.

Can't help you with Eagle Mountain...that is one of the only highly-rated valley courses I have never played.

[TML]

do you need to stay at the Boulders to play there? Can you just play the course for the day?

[bucks9395]

It is open to the public. I think we paid $45 to play in August and $100 to play in early January.

[One_Putt_Blunder]

[quote name='snapier' post='1937611' date='Sep 7 2009, 08:51 AM']All great choices although I may suggest [b]Grayhawk [/b]over Las Sendas given its location to Scottsdale. Try to schedule courses prior to overseeding rather than a week or so after. The greens will be in better shape.[/quote]

Thats the week of the Frys open so Grayhawks as no go

My Personal Top 5 at this moment
Wekopa Saguaro
Troon Pinnacle
Boulders South
Wekopa Cholla
Troon Monument

An honorable mention is Vista Verde very resonable on the price and a great test of golf at 7200 yards with some tricky green complexes been one of my favorites over the summer and there are a bunch of pics on here as well. TPC Champions is another very good seldom talked about track aswell and could very easily replace Eagle MTN or Las Sendas.

[sabram]

The Boulders, Troon and We-Ko-Pa are great choices. I like Boulders South better than North. We-Ko-Pa Saguaro is my favorite, but Cholla is pretty good. Eagle Mtn and Las Sendas are okay. However, if you want to upgrade those two, consider Troon Pinnacle, Dinosaur Mountain or Gold Canyon. Eagle Mtn is nice and a bit more forgiving than the others. Other good choices are Talking Stick and Rancho Manana.

Here are links to my photos of these courses to give you an idea:

[url="http://sports.webshots.com/album/557662043DmPEmD"]http://sports.webshots.com/album/557662043DmPEmD[/url] (Boulders South)

[url="http://sports.webshots.com/album/563720024mtsCgK?start=24"]http://sports.webshots.com/album/563720024mtsCgK?start=24[/url] (Troon Monument, We-Ko-Pa Saguaro & Rancho Manana)

[url="http://sports.webshots.com/album/557662452fZmNcM"]http://sports.webshots.com/album/557662452fZmNcM[/url] (Dinosaur Mtn @ Gold Canyon)

[url="http://sports.webshots.com/album/557661553IzfCwd?start=24"]http://sports.webshots.com/album/557661553IzfCwd?start=24[/url] (Eagle Mtn, We-Ko-Pa Cholla, Talking Stick & Grayhawk)

Enjoy the trip

[puttnforthe8]

Many private facilities have opened to the public. If you want to try something different....call Ancala or Gainey Ranch and try to get on a Private course.

Kierland is also in the area as a replacement for Eagle Mountain, or Las Sendas.

I personally enjoy Wildfire(2 courses).