Solo January Golf Vacation in Scottsdale

sid85 · July 28, 2017

I've just booked to visit Scottsdale for a couple of weeks. I'll be arriving on Jan 24th and leaving on Feb 8th so it will be nice to get away from the cold English winter weather. I'm stopping in Scottsdale Old Town and I wondered what are the best closest golf courses to the Old Town and where the best practice facilities are? I'm going to go to the Waste Management golf tournament if I can get a ticket. Also I'll be travelling on my own so if anyone would like a game or 2 I'm always happy to meet new golf buddies, I currently play off a handicap of 8.

azgolfer44 · July 28, 2017

Should be a great time to come to Arizona!

Couple things that come to mind. First, are issues in getting a ticket to the WM Open. They never sell out. You may want to read up on what day to go (avoid Saturday), where to sit, and how to get there. It can be a circus.

Second, there are not a ton of options right in old town for golf. You'll have to drive at least 10 or 15 minutes to get to decent courses, and it really comes down to how much you want to spend. I would check out One Putt Blunder's threads in this forum for suggestions. For practice, Coronado Golf Course has a lighted driving range near Old Town, but the conditions are meh.

When the dates get closer, send me a PM with the dates you are looking to play. I play in a few weekend groups that are always looking for an extra player or two.

sid85 · July 31, 2017

Thanks for the help. It says Papago is around 3 miles from my hotel so I might play a few rounds there and use the range. I'll drop you a direct message closer to the time and hopefully we can sort a game out. Never been to Arizona so I'm looking forward to it.

ferrispgm · July 31, 2017

Papago is probably your best bet for affordable and solid golf but it most likely won't blow you away...it's a solid local course and one of the best for the price in the area and has a decent practice area. Depending on how much you want to spend, Ambiente at Camelback Golf Club, which will be close as well, is an awesome course and worth playing. The Padre course at Camelback Golf Club is a fun course and underrated in my opinion. It's a parkland style so it's wall to wall grass with water on several holes. A place where it's easy to score well or easy to blow up depending on how you are swinging that day. Talking Stick isn't too far and is normally in good shape but again, not a course that will blow anyone away.

For the open...I would recommend Thursday or Sundays if you want to actually watch golf....Saturday is definitely a little crazy unless you are there to party but tickets are easy to get.

I tend to play early morning on weekends but if you are looking to play, let me know closer to.

Thrillhouse · July 31, 2017

The great thing about Phoenix is it's really easy to drive all over the place to go to different courses, so don't feel limited to your immediate area.

The closest decent practice facility is McCormick ranch, it'll be a zoo in January and February but you can get big 150 ball buckets, the range is a grass tee, and they have putting and chipping greens. Another nearby range that is good is talking stick but they usually only allow you to hit balls later in the day (like after 2pm).

Camelback is close to old town, it's good but kind of expensive. Mccormick has two decent courses but I'd only play them if I got a deal. The courses at talking stick are also good. If you want to drive the courses worth the trip are Quintero, southern dunes, and we ko pa. My buddies have been going to wickenberg ranch lately, they say it's good. Also I don't mind Papago, it's good for a muni. Aguila is decent as well, but the neighborhood you have to drive through to get to it is pretty sketchy.

Get on the teeoff app for tee times, you can snag a lot of good deals on good courses and as a single you can often snag the dangling good deal if a threesome took the other 3 spots. I used to use golfnow and sometimes still do but I have better luck with teeoff.

Also check out the visiting Phoenix thread blunder and the rest of the boys keep going, they're really good at keeping up to date with course conditions and course reviews.

One_Putt_Blunder · August 1, 2017

I love Papago, but it is not a tremendous value for out of towners. Pushing $100 with cart and range balls for non residents. I always feel guilty playing there with my out of state/country friends and I am paying $50-60 and they have to shell out $110. If you need a course close to the airport etc fine but for daily play you can find other deals in the $100 range.