Arizona Golf

[joshmoser93]

Help me plan my trip

I am planning on taking a week long golf trip at the end of February. Here is my list of courses I am thinking about:

We-Ko-Pa (36)
Troon North (36)
TPC Stadium
Talking Stick (36)
Ritz Carlton GC @ Dove Mountain
Southern Dunes
Superstition Mountain (Not sure which course)
Boulders Resort (Also not sure which course)

I am finishing my trip with three days at my Grandparents house at Ventana Canyon.

Let me know what you all think of my list and in what order I should play them (considering I am finishing in Tucson). Also, if there is anything I left out that is worth playing, let me know. There are just too many good courses in AZ.

Thanks for the help

[Olson12]

Gold Canyon The [b]Dinosaur[/b] Mountain is great and in Tucson you can play the Arizona National Golf club thats where the UofA team plays and from what i remember it is a great course!

[jamesons]

[quote name='joshmoser93' timestamp='1292397571' post='2841722']
I am planning on taking a week long golf trip at the end of February. Here is my list of courses I am thinking about:

We-Ko-Pa (36)
Troon North (36)
TPC Stadium
Talking Stick (36)
Ritz Carlton GC @ Dove Mountain
Southern Dunes
Superstition Mountain (Not sure which course)
Boulders Resort (Also not sure which course)

I am finishing my trip with three days at my Grandparents house at Ventana Canyon.

Let me know what you all think of my list and in what order I should play them (considering I am finishing in Tucson). Also, if there is anything I left out that is worth playing, let me know. There are just too many good courses in AZ.

Thanks for the help
[/quote]


+1 AZ National. I enjoyed it but it has been a couple of years since I've been there.

In Phoenix/Scottsdale area -- 36 at We-Ko-Pa you will really enjoy. I think the same at Troon. Can't say much about the others. TPC and Talking Stick are not really high on my list, but realize they are not bad. Boulders you want to play South IMO. It is a wild course that weaves through...well...boulders! LOL. It is surrounded by housing so you won't get the views like a Dinosaur or some others, but it is nice. Played it once in 2009 and the conditions were a solid "B" IMO. The others are new to me. Dinosaur Mountain is not one of my fav's but you will get dozens of people that rave about it. I think the views are great, but the course layout is different. It is too tricked out for me with elevation changes I've never seen before anywhere else. I played it last year for the 2nd time and half of our trip loved the course and the other half said it was so-so. It is all personal. I would play Dinosaur before TPC and Talking Stick. You can also think about Eagle Mountain, Sun Ridge Canyon, Raven at Verrado (pretty far west), Legend Trail, Grayhawk amongst others.

I just started thinking about our annual trip which is in April. Have fun -JS

[SnapFade2]

i would say if u can star pass here is the link for it i played it once it is awsome

http://www.jwmarriottstarrpass.com/Arizona-Golf-Resort/Starr-Pass-4.html

[One_Putt_Blunder]

If possible you should try and play Talking Stick first, it would be a nice lead in to the trip. While I like both of the courses (North better) they are built on a very unispiring piece of land and will not have the stunning views/surroundings as the some of the others, and if you play it last you may be dissapointed after playing the other courses on your list. I also agree about playing the South Course at the Boulders over the North.

[Skydiver22]

Just looking at the courses that you have put down, in February.... you are looking at about a thousand dollars in green fees. A couple of the courses are in the 200+ dollar range a round. Bottom line is they are all nice, especially in February.

[slaveofthegov]

[quote name='joshmoser93' timestamp='1292397571' post='2841722']
I am planning on taking a week long golf trip at the end of February. Here is my list of courses I am thinking about:

We-Ko-Pa (36)
Troon North (36)
TPC Stadium
Talking Stick (36)
Ritz Carlton GC @ Dove Mountain
Southern Dunes
Superstition Mountain (Not sure which course)
Boulders Resort (Also not sure which course)

I am finishing my trip with three days at my Grandparents house at Ventana Canyon.

Let me know what you all think of my list and in what order I should play them (considering I am finishing in Tucson). Also, if there is anything I left out that is worth playing, let me know. There are just too many good courses in AZ.

Thanks for the help
[/quote]

From your list, I've only played Troon North, TPC Stadium, Superstition Mountain, and Ritz Carlton. I would say that in Feb, you will be paying some pretty hefty greens fees (but I have a hint...more later) and that IMO TPC Stadium is not worth it....to me the course was OK but nothing special....unless you just like to play where the pros play. I would defenitely play Troon North! As for the others up in Phoenix, it has been a while since I played them so I cannot opine about those courses.

However, for the Tucson area (since this is my stomping ground) I would say that the list of courses you should consider are: Ventana Canyon, AZ National, Vistoso, and Starr Pass. Of those I really like Starr Pass as it is a tight and challenging course. Vistoso had some financial problems but a group came in and took over both AZ National and Vistoso and put in some money to get them back into shape...AZ National looked good last time I played.

Now for the greens fees.....if you don't mind waiting until 14 days before your trip, you can get some pretty good deals off of [url="http://www.ezlinks.com"]www.ezlinks.com[/url]

When using ezlinks, I check the "tee time specials" tab to see what courses are offering tee times. I figure out which one I want to play, see how much they want for the greens fee, then go to the "name your own price" tab, select the tee time and # of players then throw in bid lower than the "special" price offered. The bid cannot be too low or it will not be accepted and you will have to wait two hours to bid again. If you are a single, it can be difficult to get a tee time b/c they don't sell single tee times on ez-links (you have to wait until a twosome or threesome books a time, then they open it up to singles). Of the courses you listed, I found the following on ezlinks (searched on 17 December for 18 December tee times):

Phoenix Area
Troon North - Monument
Talking Stick - North and South
Southern Dunes

Tucson Area
Vistoso
Starr Pass
Dove Mountain (Ritz Carlton - Saguaro to Tortolita - this is the track they play for Accenture)

BTW they are playing the Accenture Match Play from 23-27 Feb so I don't know if they will close the course to get it ready.

Hope this helps!

**edit to add ezlinks search dates**

[GoHawks]

Look at Tucson National Sonoran. I take a trip to Tucson every year and the guys I play with always say that is their favorite course of the trip.

AZ National and Starr Pass are tougher tracks and I enjoyed Starr Pass more because it is usually in better condition.

[hittingitdeep]

We-Ko-Pa (36)
Troon North (36)
[s]TPC Stadium[/s]
Talking Stick (36)
Ritz Carlton GC @ Dove Mountain
Southern Dunes
Superstition Mountain (Not sure which course)
[s]Boulders Resort (Also not sure which course)

[/s]Both TPC Stadium and Boulders are not worth it only to say that you've played them. Southern Dunes is a drive as well as We-Ko-Pa but both of those are some of the best courses in the states. You also can't go wrong with Troon North. I too would add Gold Canyon The [b]Dinosaur[/b] Mountain it's a sweet course in the middle of nowhere too but nice small green with tons of elevation change!