Most fun courses to play in Phoenix Area

[tcbringhurst]

Just now, puttnforthe8 said:

 

Maybe sooner - I just recently saw multiple advertisements for memberships.

They’ve been available for a while, since opening I believe. 

[puttnforthe8]

8 minutes ago, tcbringhurst said:

They’ve been available for a while, since opening I believe. 

Sure - but not the advertising push. 

[Bonneville85308]

The SG membership for non-residents of the community actually has very reasonable dues given the quality of the course and facility, but apparently comes with a risk that they will yank it from you if they get near capacity and want to sell your membership to a resident. I'd probably want to know how many residents are already signed up as members before taking the plunge, but if they are advertising I am guessing they are nowhere close to capacity. This may turn out like Wickenburg Ranch which has been "filling up and going private next year!" for like 5 years now.  If you get at least two years of membership out of the $7,500 nonrefundable initiation fee before they boot you, I'd be satisfied. I'm guessing the early AM tee times are reserved for members at this point because I never see anything open there before 9:30am-10:00am regardless of day.

Edited January 30, 2022 by Bonneville85308

[cbbaron]

2 minutes ago, Bonneville85308 said:

The SG membership for non-residents of the community actually has very reasonable dues given the quality of the course and facility, but apparently comes with a risk that they will yank it from you if they get near capacity and want to sell your membership to a resident. I'd probably want to know how many residents are already signed up as members before taking the plunge. If you get at least two years of membership out of the $7,500 nonrefundable initiation fee before they boot you, I'd be satisfied. I'm guessing the early AM tee times are reserved for members at this point because I never see anything open there before 9:30am-10:00am regardless of day.

I have a good friend who is a member there who doesn't live there Ill ask him

[puttnforthe8]

8 minutes ago, Bonneville85308 said:

The SG membership for non-residents of the community actually has very reasonable dues given the quality of the course and facility, but apparently comes with a risk that they will yank it from you if they get near capacity and want to sell your membership to a resident. I'd probably want to know how many residents are already signed up as members before taking the plunge, but if they are advertising I am guessing they are nowhere close to capacity. This may turn out like Wickenburg Ranch which has been "filling up and going private next year!" for like 5 years now.  If you get at least two years of membership out of the $7,500 nonrefundable initiation fee before they boot you, I'd be satisfied. I'm guessing the early AM tee times are reserved for members at this point because I never see anything open there before 9:30am-10:00am regardless of day.

Are you out on that side of town?   If so, that is not a bad deal if you are going to play it a lot ($590/month).  Plus you get Troon Prive which is access to a lot of other courses.

 

Also, it is worth looking into just so you have to get a tour by Hanna!!

 

[AzSuperHack76]

5 hours ago, Bonneville85308 said:

The SG membership for non-residents of the community actually has very reasonable dues given the quality of the course and facility, but apparently comes with a risk that they will yank it from you if they get near capacity and want to sell your membership to a resident. I'd probably want to know how many residents are already signed up as members before taking the plunge, but if they are advertising I am guessing they are nowhere close to capacity. This may turn out like Wickenburg Ranch which has been "filling up and going private next year!" for like 5 years now.  If you get at least two years of membership out of the $7,500 nonrefundable initiation fee before they boot you, I'd be satisfied. I'm guessing the early AM tee times are reserved for members at this point because I never see anything open there before 9:30am-10:00am regardless of day.

WR is finally closing their doors to the public this year. After overseed this year it's members only. 

[fore_life]

Had a few friends who were members at whirlwind, Troon Just did away with all the memberships there and told em to kick rocks.

[azgolfer44]

2 hours ago, fore_life said:

Had a few friends who were members at whirlwind, Troon Just did away with all the memberships there and told em to kick rocks.

Heard this as well.  No options to stay as a member.

Gainey Ranch essentially did the same thing to all of their junior members.  There was an assessment of $15,000 to $20,000 and membership fees doubled.  Memberships in Phoenix are complete mess right now.

 

Bummer about WR.  It confuses me how the membership there (I'd assume mostly retired) wants to play that course everyday.  It is not easy with forced carries and blind shots.  I heard another 18 was in the plans, but not sure where that is at right now.

[Bonneville85308]

The other bummer in Wickenburg right now is that Los Caballeros is now charging 30-50% more than this time last year. I really like the course but at ~$145 in that location it's not worth it to me anymore. Tee sheet is wide open though.

[fore_life]

2 hours ago, azgolfer44 said:

Heard this as well.  No options to stay as a member.

Gainey Ranch essentially did the same thing to all of their junior members.  There was an assessment of $15,000 to $20,000 and membership fees doubled.  Memberships in Phoenix are complete mess right now.

 

Bummer about WR.  It confuses me how the membership there (I'd assume mostly retired) wants to play that course everyday.  It is not easy with forced carries and blind shots.  I heard another 18 was in the plans, but not sure where that is at right now.

Mesa Cc did the same with all the JR exec memberships, and dues have gone absolute bonkers there as well

[azgolfer44]

32 minutes ago, fore_life said:

Mesa Cc did the same with all the JR exec memberships, and dues have gone absolute bonkers there as well

This is a little crazy since Mesa CC's greens last year never came in after over seed.  I assume they came back this year.  Now is not the optimal time to join a golf course, and my prediction is that this will all circle back.

[fore_life]

46 minutes ago, azgolfer44 said:

This is a little crazy since Mesa CC's greens last year never came in after over seed.  I assume they came back this year.  Now is not the optimal time to join a golf course, and my prediction is that this will all circle back.

 they are full with a waitlist! ive heard speculation that the dues are now approaching the 1k/month range, which is bonkers. 

 

 

[cbbaron]

These places are cashing in when they can. Stock Market crash or Real Estate crash will do them in

[Shushwap]

12 hours ago, cbbaron said:

These places are cashing in when they can. Stock Market crash or Real Estate crash will do them in

Take the money and run as its not going to last... All this chaos has to come back to earth at some point 

[BEND OF THE RIVER GC]

How many of these private courses (not the elitist type ones) allow publib play in June when it is hot? When do the high end publics drop prices for summer? Wife wants to go in June....

[gosaints]

3 hours ago, BEND OF THE RIVER GC said:

How many of these private courses (not the elitist type ones) allow publib play in June when it is hot? When do the high end publics drop prices for summer? Wife wants to go in June....

Been there 3 times in June.  Have had success getting on many privates by calling to request afternoon play.  I am crazy though and can handle the heat to about 115.  Last june the afternoon dynamic pricing courses gave me lower rates than showed up online when I called as well.  Who knows this year though

[BEND OF THE RIVER GC]

Oh nice. I have played in high humidity Florida heat to access some privates, dry heat, although still HOT, is easier to manage without terrible humidity. Especially in a cart.

[Bonneville85308]

5 hours ago, BEND OF THE RIVER GC said:

How many of these private courses (not the elitist type ones) allow publib play in June when it is hot? When do the high end publics drop prices for summer? Wife wants to go in June....

 

For private courses, I know Moon Valley CC would allow some public play on weekday afternoons in summer during 2019-2020 but I believe they did away with it in 2021. Alta Mesa CC was also allowing public play last summer. I'm not aware of any others that allow public daily-fee play during summer. The Arcis-owned clubs (Tatum Ranch & Arrowhead) have historically offered a cheap summer-only membership, not sure if they plan on doing that anymore. I believe that membership didn't allow you to play before 9am though.

[jjr]

W.R. is wonderful, too bad it's going private. Southern Dunes is at the top of the list as far as I'm concerned.

 

I played Moon Valley years ago while it was private in a skins game and had a blast! Most of the guys AZHack and puttinfor know the best courses well

[jjtour]

Hey Guys,

 

Just back from Phoenix and thanks to the suggestions of this thread, really enjoyed the time down there.  A quick review of courses we played.

 

Thursday got in late and by time got the rental car, scooted over to Mountain Shadows for 4 pm tee time. We were basically the last ones off to get done before sunset but what a bit of fun that course is. I would make it a must play on travel days if you have limited time. I think we played 18 in about 2.5 hours even with a bachelor party in front of us enjoying themselves, understandable! Course is filled with fun little holes, some replica holes of famous par 3's like the Barriatz green and Dell hole. Holes range anywhere for 200 to 75 and probably the scaries shot is the 75 yard 7th hole all over water, not wanting to look foolish dumping it short into the agua, ha. Greens are very challenging and overall the vibe was good. Cant go wrong with Mountain Shadows.

 

Next day, we went out to the northwest area to play the new Sterling Grove. Its a Jack Nicklaus design and in typical Jack fashion it can play very tough if you get in the wrong spots. Greens are very tough, lots of little sections you need to be on the right side of or else look out. Although I dont really remember any standout holes, overall the course is a good test and for the money, $130, would play again if up in that area. They are still building the housing development around it and even the course infrastructure isnt completely finished with some cart paths still under construction and no bathrooms to speak of on course (tough for the ladies we played with). Overall though, worth the experience.

 

Saturday we headed central Phoenix to play the revamped Grand Canyon University Course (formerly known as Maryvale). I had never played the track previously but again for what it was, great value. For a muni, greens and course was in excellent shape. The course is maintained by the university it seems like as all the employees were younger college students, ALOT of eye candy co-eds running around which definitely helps with the service side of things :). Course can be challenging if you get on the wrong side of the pin as the bunkers are deep and easy to find. We tipped it out as much as we could, but due to firm conditions the ball was running and plays much shorter than the yardage.  It seems like a fairly busy course but dont let that stop you from going out for some enjoyment. Just grab an extra margarita and have a day in the sun

 

Sunday was the gem of the trip, playing We-Ko-Pa Seguaro. All I can say is WOW. I had always heard good things, and mostly courses dont live up to hype but Seguaro certainly did. Picturesque views  of the valley on every hole, no real homes around so all you have to worry about is cacti gobbling your ball up, which will happen! A great mix of holes everything from long par 4s, short par 4s, good par 5's and a variety of par 3 lengths. Probably the most underrated hole is the par 3 9th, which doesnt look like much at 130 yards until you get up to the green and if you arent right underneath the hole you're done. Quite a few holes similar to that but not over the top, just very enjoyable. At $275 a round it was the most expensive we played, but value wise probably the best of the trip

 

Finally we flew out Monday but not before playing Talking Stick Oddamn (formerly North). Another Coore Crenshaw course, same as We-Ko-Pa Seguaro. Again a really nice little track, not too difficult off the tee but around the greens can be challenging if not in the right spot, a good variety of holes again, short and long of all pars. The course is flat as pancake which apparently was a former wash but what they had to work with there a very enjoyable course. 

 

Usually for my trips down to the area I try to play something new atleast one of the days. We played all new courses this time and enjoyed them all, would play any again in a heartbeat if the price is right. Cant wait to go back, especially since there is about 6 inches of snow on the ground at home.

 

Until the next one.

 

Justin

[whatsupwithgolf]

On 1/31/2022 at 2:53 PM, fore_life said:

Mesa Cc did the same with all the JR exec memberships, and dues have gone absolute bonkers there as well

Initiation fees at the private clubs are blowing up, last year Mesa CC and Alta Mesa CC were 5k, now they are 22k and 15k respectively