Phoenix Area Locals - Finding Reasonable Golf

[JimJam]

Fellow Phoenicians,

I've been in Phoenix since 2019, wondering if anyone else is getting fed up with how expensive it is to play golf here? Can't play anywhere decent on a Saturday right now for less than $120 (If you can even get a time before 2pm). Trying to shop golfnow hot deals every single week is getting really old, anyone have any course/booking suggestions that I may be overlooking/forgetting? I'm not asking for $40 rounds every weekend, just something that's affordable. 

 

I've been wanting to just join a club for a while now but don't feel like selling a kidney yet, lol. 

Edited November 16, 2021 by JimJam

[SilverBullets]

I've been here since 2016.  It's gotten more expensive each year and there are less and less options.  It's pretty brutal.  

[JimJam]

Very brutal. They're pricing normal people out of golf, but there's enough money out here to justify it. 

[Bonneville85308]

Lower your standards in terms of course layout/design/conditioning. Ignore anything with a Scottsdale address. Plenty of "value" golf in the far west valley (west of where Loop 101 runs north-south through Peoria/Glendale) for $75 or less. Figure out when the booking windows open and pounce on the tee sheet then. If you are the type of person who waits until the last minute to make plans, you will be left with the scraps.

 

That all being said, the increase in pricing is disappointing, and yes, they are pricing the regular working person out of golf. I can't believe how many people are willing to spend $125+ on a round of golf, and it's not all tourists or snowbirds.

Edited November 16, 2021 by Bonneville85308

[JimJam]

Any courses in particular I can look at? I've played a good bit of golf out west (Wigwam Gold, Estrella, Verrado, Sterling Grove) and have no problem with booking in advance. 

[Bonneville85308]

15 minutes ago, JimJam said:

Any courses in particular I can look at? I've played a good bit of golf out west (Wigwam Gold, Estrella, Verrado, Sterling Grove) and have no problem with booking in advance. 

 

Wigwam as you mentioned (they have an AZ resident rate that you can book 10 days out that is reasonable), Sun City/Sun City West courses (there are 8+ full length ones), Tres Rios, Sundance, Palmbrook, Sun City CC, Union Hills, Palm Valley, Coldwater, 500 Club, Copper Canyon, Hillcrest, etc.

 

Once again, these courses are basic golf with mostly forgettable architecture, but usually in decent condition. I can give this disclaimer 5 times but someone will still come along and say they are boring dumps and to be avoided...but to those people, I say, show me what else you would suggest for under $75?

 

Plus the usual Phoenix muni options - GCU, Cave Creek, Aguila et al.

Edited November 16, 2021 by Bonneville85308

[playit]

What is muni golf like there? Cost? Condition? Jammed up with people? Don't do it, or just how is it!

 

How does a single book a tee time? I mean do you just book to get added to a group or how?

[AzSuperHack76]

2 hours ago, Bonneville85308 said:

 

Wigwam as you mentioned (they have an AZ resident rate that you can book 10 days out that is reasonable), Sun City/Sun City West courses (there are 8+ full length ones), Tres Rios, Sundance, Palmbrook, Sun City CC, Union Hills, Palm Valley, Coldwater, 500 Club, Copper Canyon, Hillcrest, etc.

 

Once again, these courses are basic golf with mostly forgettable architecture, but usually in decent condition. I can give this disclaimer 5 times but someone will still come along and say they are boring dumps and to be avoided...but to those people, I say, show me what else you would suggest for under $75?

 

Plus the usual Phoenix muni options - GCU, Cave Creek, Aguila et al.

@Bonneville85308has pretty much hit the nail on the head. Tres Rios is under new ownership/management and has made big improvements to its conditioning. The Sun City West courses are a great value as well, just need to call them directly for tee times. Only thing to nitpick his suggestions are Copper Canyon, much better/higher tier course compared to the others, and more then just the basic with forgettable architecture. Hard to get Copper Canyon for less than $$ during the winter unless its a twilight time. 

 

For me I keep costs down by playing Wigwam, alot, they have an awesome Arizona residents rate along with rewards program, (Biltmore Links/Adobe has the same resident program). City Of Phoenix card helps big time, just need to start booking far in advance. If you're a veteran or first responder Falcon Dunes is a great option. 

 

I throw in Verrado, Vistancia, Corte Bella, Estella Golf Club and Sterling Grove in with afternoon twilight rates. I will make the drive to Los Caballeros in Wickenburg a few times during n the winter as well. 

 

Longbow in Mesa is a good value, especially if you sign up for their website and get on their discount tee time list. 

 

 

Edited November 17, 2021 by AzSuperHack76

[Bonneville85308]

59 minutes ago, playit said:

What is muni golf like there? Cost? Condition? Jammed up with people? Don't do it, or just how is it!

 

How does a single book a tee time? I mean do you just book to get added to a group or how?

 

For the City of Phoenix courses, once you get a login name/password, you just go online to the course's booking engine and a single can book into any open tee time whether it's just 1 spot open or 2-3-4 spots open. You can also just show up and hope to get out, but before doing that you should call and make sure there isn't an tournament/outing going on that has the place closed to everyone else. I know at least Aguila/Cave Creek/Encanto don't penalize anyone for no-shows or short-shows, so there are often open spots for a single literally at the last minute as people will book for 4 people and only show up with 3, or just completely no-show. 

 

[Bonneville85308]

I should also mention that while I don't spend much time or play much in the east valley (Tempe/Chandler/Gilbert/Mesa etc.), there are also numerous "value" courses there where you can get a halfway decent round for $75 or less. Ken McDonald, Dobson Ranch, Viewpoint, Painted Mountain, Western Skies, Toka Sticks, Bear Creek, etc.

[JimJam]

1 hour ago, Bonneville85308 said:

I should also mention that while I don't spend much time or play much in the east valley (Tempe/Chandler/Gilbert/Mesa etc.), there are also numerous "value" courses there where you can get a halfway decent round for $75 or less. Ken McDonald, Dobson Ranch, Viewpoint, Painted Mountain, Western Skies, Toka Sticks, Bear Creek, etc.

I'm over in the east valley (South Scottsdale) and have been playing Dobson Ranch a good bit recently. Definitely solid value for this time of year, has been in pretty solid shape as of late too. 

[vallygolf]

How times change.  Remember a few short years back when golf was dubbed a dying sport, and the only question was how many courses are going to close that year.  This is a nationwide phenomenon.  All of the regular locations I frequent are much harder to book, and prices have gone up everywhere.  Good for the industry, bad for easy access to a wide open course.  The course I joined in 2013 for 5k and $499/month is now 30k and 1K/month.  Private is no better, unless you are willing to pony up for the very high end (six figure initiations)

[jatrain]

On 11/16/2021 at 4:55 PM, playit said:

What is muni golf like there? Cost? Condition? Jammed up with people? Don't do it, or just how is it!

 

How does a single book a tee time? I mean do you just book to get added to a group or how?

To add, I think we have a great selection of Muni’s.  Papago, GCU, and Aguila all

are good to very good.  I enjoy Encanto and Cave Creek for what they are, lower tier courses.

 

[golfandfishing]

Need to lower your standards to be able to play a lot of golf out here for the most part. I’m considering the $3k a year “membership” at Ahwatukee CC now that my son wants to play. It’s not where I want to play but if we can go practice, play a few holes late afternoon, etc I’ll take it.  I’d like to think that I’ll play twice or thrice a month and hit balls that many times on my own and once a week each additional with my son.  Is 10 visits a month worth it?  I dunno for sure yet. It’s far less about the quality of golf and more about access, convenience and availability.  I’ve been mostly out of the game for 5+ years playing maybe 4 times a year in that time. I’ve gone from a very bad foot to having a baby to a bad sciatic nerve all while carrying too many extra pounds. I’m down 50 lbs, foot is fine, back is fine and my son loves TopGolf and the driving range. If he loves the course just as much I’ll want to make it easy as possible to do it. At 5 he isn’t interested in “shot values”, “architectural blah blah” or whatever we like to foam at the mouth about, so a beat up course that we drive by often is actually more serviceable than a We Ko Pa. Might do this in March. 

[fore_life]

Have you been to ahwatukee lately? Might want to take a look at the facilities now before you commit, it’s not what it once was 😞

[golfandfishing]

3 hours ago, fore_life said:

Have you been to ahwatukee lately? Might want to take a look at the facilities now before you commit, it’s not what it once was 😞

Yeah it’s bad like I mentioned- but it’s available, close and affordable. My son is 5, we aren’t going to drive 45 minutes to We Ko Pa, plunk down $375 for the 2 of us and admire the Coore Crenshaw bunkering and run off areas that pay tribute to the linksland of early century Scotland.  

[ChaosTheory]

Try Mission Royale in Casa Grande.  It has new owners and my friend there tells me it’s in good shape.  It’s got nice architecture and is fun to play.  But it had hit rock bottom last year before being rescued.

 

edit to add:  Just got an email.  They have a promo code for 15% off until 12/31:  holiday21e

 

missionroyalegolfclub.com

Edited December 19, 2021 by Snowman9000

[fore_life]

15 minutes ago, golfandfishing said:

Yeah it’s bad like I mentioned- but it’s available, close and affordable. My son is 5, we aren’t going to drive 45 minutes to We Ko Pa, plunk down $375 for the 2 of us and admire the Coore Crenshaw bunkering and run off areas that pay tribute to the linksland of early century Scotland.  

 I got ya! 

[puttnforthe8]

10 hours ago, golfandfishing said:

Need to lower your standards to be able to play a lot of golf out here for the most part. I’m considering the $3k a year “membership” at Ahwatukee CC now that my son wants to play. It’s not where I want to play but if we can go practice, play a few holes late afternoon, etc I’ll take it.  I’d like to think that I’ll play twice or thrice a month and hit balls that many times on my own and once a week each additional with my son.  Is 10 visits a month worth it?  I dunno for sure yet. It’s far less about the quality of golf and more about access, convenience and availability.  I’ve been mostly out of the game for 5+ years playing maybe 4 times a year in that time. I’ve gone from a very bad foot to having a baby to a bad sciatic nerve all while carrying too many extra pounds. I’m down 50 lbs, foot is fine, back is fine and my son loves TopGolf and the driving range. If he loves the course just as much I’ll want to make it easy as possible to do it. At 5 he isn’t interested in “shot values”, “architectural blah blah” or whatever we like to foam at the mouth about, so a beat up course that we drive by often is actually more serviceable than a We Ko Pa. Might do this in March. 

You would probably be better off just doing Bear Creek based on your use case - plus you'd get the short course play with your son.  Practice facilities are not bad and you can always find balls on the chipping green to practice chipping with.

[golfandfishing]

Bear Creek is a solid 40 minutes away if we’re lucky and in a part of town I’m never in. 
 

Raven S Mountain is an option but they are a bit tedious- collared shirt on the range, no walking, the fee for my son varies from $0-$25 depending on who is in the shop, etc.  Legacy is also close but is a s-show. Aguila is inexpensive and decent and is where we have been going for the range and have played a few holes on the short course for now. All of these are “players club” type of cards, not an annual fee though so picking him up from school, hitting some balls and playing a few holes is not an option unless I don’t mind paying the full rate and eating it when we’re done after 3 holes.  As is the point of this thread by the OP - golf out here is not the same as other parts of the country. There are few to no mid level private clubs and public courses are just churning out rounds, they have no reason to accommodate the type of play I described. 

[puttnforthe8]

14 hours ago, golfandfishing said:

Bear Creek is a solid 40 minutes away if we’re lucky and in a part of town I’m never in. 
 

Raven S Mountain is an option but they are a bit tedious- collared shirt on the range, no walking, the fee for my son varies from $0-$25 depending on who is in the shop, etc.  Legacy is also close but is a s-show. Aguila is inexpensive and decent and is where we have been going for the range and have played a few holes on the short course for now. All of these are “players club” type of cards, not an annual fee though so picking him up from school, hitting some balls and playing a few holes is not an option unless I don’t mind paying the full rate and eating it when we’re done after 3 holes.  As is the point of this thread by the OP - golf out here is not the same as other parts of the country. There are few to no mid level private clubs and public courses are just churning out rounds, they have no reason to accommodate the type of play I described. 

Gotcha - my bad, when you mentioned Ahwatukee CC, I thought you were on this side of town.  

 

Yeah...not much conducive to what you need.   

 

I am curious about your experiences at Raven...I almost always walk, when I hit balls I may or may not have a collared shirt; I am not a fan though because of such a horrid short game area.

 

What happened at Legacy that caused you to sour on it?  I would have said that works well - especially because they have a really good afternoon rate most of the year.  

[golfandfishing]

Raven admittedly has been a few years but I had their players card in about 2015 and they required a collared shirt on the range and with the free play that was included after 3:00 they required a cart. I was willing to still pay the $20 fee, no problem, but I wanted to walk and it was a firm no. Fast forward to last year and when I inquired about fees for my son to play a hole or two along with me I was told some guys charge for kids, some don’t so just get to know the staff and when they work and that is a recipe for being disappointed a lot. I’m actually considering getting him his own players card so there isn’t a gray area that is dependent on whether or not the assistant pro got a HJ from the bartendress in the range picker during lunch. 
 

Raven is definitely better than the Tuke but they almost intentionally leave some things up to chance.  Their commitment is month to month though so might try them again, staff changes frequently so my above experience is likely outdated. 

[timothy.d.moore]

On 12/20/2021 at 10:30 AM, golfandfishing said:

Raven admittedly has been a few years but I had their players card in about 2015 and they required a collared shirt on the range and with the free play that was included after 3:00 they required a cart. I was willing to still pay the $20 fee, no problem, but I wanted to walk and it was a firm no. Fast forward to last year and when I inquired about fees for my son to play a hole or two along with me I was told some guys charge for kids, some don’t so just get to know the staff and when they work and that is a recipe for being disappointed a lot. I’m actually considering getting him his own players card so there isn’t a gray area that is dependent on whether or not the assistant pro got a HJ from the bartendress in the range picker during lunch. 
 

Raven is definitely better than the Tuke but they almost intentionally leave some things up to chance.  Their commitment is month to month though so might try them again, staff changes frequently so my above experience is likely outdated. 

Have you tried the Tempe city courses?  $5 junior rate for 18 holes walking after 2 PM, adult rates are good too. Ranges are beat up but decent short game facilities, good course conditions for the price. Certainly not exciting designs, but if you're not worried about that I think they would be a good fit.  Rolling hills is a very short course too.