Phoenix - West Valley Course Reco's

[cal93]

I am going to be in Phoenix next week and looking to play some golf with my brother.

 

I need some reco's for some courses in the West Valley that are a little more on the wide-open side. My brother is a relative beginner and tends to spray the ball, so we are looking for a course that has fewer houses and is more open.

 

Thanks!

[puttnforthe8]

WigWam, Hillcrest, Estrella Mountain Ranch(golf club of Estrella now), Falcon Dunes(not bad), Raven At Verrado(may be too tough though), If you can both Anthem courses are worth the trip!!

[silentcmh]

Tres Rios and Hillcrest and both cheap and easy. I'm sure most courses in Sun City are open and easy since its target audience is retirees.

[teejaywhy]

I would echo the Wigwam and Hillcrest recommendations. Both offer all-turf, traditional style core routings. The Wigwam has three courses.

Raven @ Verrado is the best of the west-side offerings. It is a real-estate routing, however, the corridors are generous and much of the property is yet to be built out. It is a desert style course so off target shots usually end up in the native, rather than back yards. It can be a challenging course, but very interesting from a design standpoint.

More spartan would be the city of Phoenix muni Aguila. A core routing with some native areas but room to roam generally speaking.

[teejaywhy]

[quote name='silentcmh' timestamp='1289281438' post='2781663']
Tres Rios and Hillcrest and both cheap and easy. I'm sure most courses in Sun City are open and easy since its target audience is retirees.
[/quote]

As a golf course nerd, I thought I was familiar with pretty much every course in town, at least by name. "Tres Rios" I had never heard of. I just checked it out and discovered it is the new name for the former Estrella Mountain Golf Course. Not to be confused with The Golf Club at Estrella, the upscale development up the road a few miles, Tres Rios is part of the Maricopa county operated Estrella Mountain park. A sadly neglected Red Lawrence layout that dates back to the 60's. It offers budget golf for the less discriminating local golfer. A wonderful, walkable core layout with great views of the nearby mountains, it is in sore need of some renovation money and a crew of chainsaws.

[ping97]

Tes Rios just reopened after another group took over, close it for amonth and actually put some money in the course, it's in great condition right now

[silentcmh]

Yeah, I discovered Tres Rios several years ago when I took a P.A.T. out there. I haven't been out there since, but I was pleasantly surprised by the layout. If I lived on the west side of town, I'd be curious to check it out under the new management.