Scottsdale/Phoenix rec's

[Aimee]

golf courses for average hackers

Husband and I are going to Scottsdale in late October, I have a sales meeting and we are staying at Gainey Ranch. I think there is a golf outing one day after the meetings on their course. We've been to Scottsdale/Phoenix/Tucson a couple of times, but not for about 7 years. I'm a 16 hcp, he's probably closer to 25 these days. Give me some ideas of decent, affordable courses not too far from the resort. Slope under 130 from whites would be best. Probably looking for 3 rounds/courses.
Also, I know there's overseeding in the fall, so that could mess with course availability.
Thanks in advance!

[puttnforthe8]

Kierland is close and fits your needs...they have 3 9's so they close one while they overseed and keep the other 2 open. October will be the first increase in rates so this will be on the higher end.

Phoenician is close by as well and is a good choice...again 3 9's like above. Better views on this course.

Talking Stick as 2 courses which from the forward tees are easier...I like the South course better.

Camelback Padre course is a decent parkland course that is not hard.

If you can I do recommend trying to get up to the Boulders...its not that far away and you could enjoy dinner up in Cave Creek after the round. Beautiful courses and not that hard. Will be slightly higher cost.

Have fun!

[fore_life]

calling arizona travel adviser one_putt and turf-overseed expert tjy!

[One_Putt_Blunder]

Your choices will 100% depend on the overseed schedule. Most will be complete by then, what you will want to find are the ones that have been completed the longest.

[dlam]

Just got back from scottsdale 2 days ago
early morning temps was a cool 85-90 then got to 110 by 10 am
so go early.

played 3 courses there
played kierland mesquite 9 hole which was a nice short wide course very easy.
then 18 holes as phoenician oasis and desert course, really nice elevation change, lots of water on oasis course...tougher course but challenging.
next played legend trail which was about 30 min drive north, was easier course as well.

the last time I was at Scottsdale, I remember playing TPC stadium and championship course.
The championship course is much shorter and easier to play
The camelback at Indian bend is flat and easy as well.

the rates are all low during the summer. costing between 29-60 dollars per round.

[teejaywhy]

And they are coming in late October, which will have completely different temps than two days ago.

One_Putt said it best, try to find the courses with the longest grow-in time. Overseed is such a mess. Check azgolf.org for the schedule which usually shows up by the end of August.

[azerndt]

As others have mentioned - Kierland is nice for your needs...wide fairways, some that are almost like half-pipes where everything funnels back to the middle. I think you can play Gainey Ranch if you stay there. I played there about a week ago, the Lakes 9 is closed because they are redoing the greens, the other two 9s are open though. You may find it too penal however, as many of the greens are pretty guarded.



Enjoy your trip!

[Aimee]

does anyone use the AZGolf Access card? They seem to offer decent discounts and if I play 4 rounds it will pay for itself plus some. I can't see out to mid October yet to know if all the "good stuff" stops once the summer season is over. I really need to keep cost/round well under $100 without having to resort to twilight rates.

[puttnforthe8]

[quote name='Aimee' timestamp='1314970334' post='3537062']
does anyone use the AZGolf Access card? They seem to offer decent discounts and if I play 4 rounds it will pay for itself plus some. I can't see out to mid October yet to know if all the "good stuff" stops once the summer season is over. I really need to keep cost/round well under $100 without having to resort to twilight rates.
[/quote]

Very few cards are of good value here in AZ. As mentioned, the best route is to use the Tee Time Sites.

Most cards always quote % off the rack rate. Rack Rate is an inflated number. Or don't include cart fee.

The AZ Access is like that and is just not worth the amount. Plus I noticed some rates end Sept 30.

You will be more than able to stay under $100 using the sites and will get some good courses. Again October is overseed, so check out the schedule on azgolf.org and plan accordingly.

[jzona]

http://www.azcentral.com/sports/golf/articles/2011-arizona-golf-course-overseed-schedule.html

Overseeding in Phx is our own silly season it S_CKs

[silentcmh]

[url="http://www.scottsdalesilveradogolfclub.com/"]Scottsdale Silverado[/url] should fit your needs.

[One_Putt_Blunder]

[quote name='silentcmh' timestamp='1315027074' post='3538902']
[url="http://www.scottsdalesilveradogolfclub.com/"]Scottsdale Silverado[/url] should fit your needs.
[/quote]
Silverado while not the most memorable of tracks is home to my personal best of 68 and is an overall fun place to play on occasion. But it does meet all the criteria. The big downside is no range to warm up but they do start you off with a short par 5 that is usually a birdie hole/eagle chance.

[Aimee]

Yep, we hit that on our last trip out, good place to go for the "warm up" round on arrival. I remember it being short but in good condition, and the people who worked there were really nice.

[Aimee]

We played 3x on our dime, last round was a business group outing at Gainey Ranch. All of the rounds were around $50/pp with cart-weekdays.
Everything was CPO except Silverado, which was 90 degrees.
Round #1 - ASU Karsten. Was probably in the best shape of all of the courses this week, but the greens were really slow. Enjoyed the layout.
Round #2 - The Foothills. Back 9 better than front, but not a great course.
Round #3 - Silverado. As expected...it was in pretty decent shape, greens rolled OK. We played there because it was 10 minutes from the hotel, needed to stay local.
Round #4 - Gainey Ranch, Dunes and Arroyo. I think I liked Arroyo better. Dunes was not in good shape, seeding still growing in, kind of messy.
Anyhow, had a great trip out again, love my trips to the desert!