Budget players in 2024 - Troon Card? Arcis? Purely city card?

[Baraethon]

Curious what those of you on a bit more of a budget are doing for golf here. I try to stay below 75, ideally below $50 for a round and it seems like city courses are the only real option for that. I'd join Arcis or get a troon card if it would work out similarly, but it seems the average price per round would still be quite a bit higher than the city courses. 

 

The daily range privileges for the Arcis clubs seem nice, but unfortunately none of them are convenient enough to me for it to be worth it.

 

The Troon card seems to only be worth it if you were already paying the top rates for Troon courses, and with narrow booking window it seems tough to get your moneys worth.

 

City card, of course, is a fantastic deal and the only reasonably affordable golf I've found, just sucks to play the tee time lottery every weekend.

 

Anything else I'm missing? 

[Bonneville85308]

Roughly what part of the valley are you in, and how many rounds per year are you playing? Are you OK with basic lower end courses or are you wanting a higher tier?

[Baraethon]

I live in the middle (close by Encanto), and probably play 30-40 rounds a year (just started playing again last summer so haven't even hit a full year yet!)

 

I don't need super high tier, but I like playing places like Aguila or Papago - good layout, decent conditions, not top of the line but not just 18 holes of straight, flat meadow.

[puttnforthe8]

19 hours ago, Baraethon said:

Curious what those of you on a bit more of a budget are doing for golf here. I try to stay below 75, ideally below $50 for a round and it seems like city courses are the only real option for that. I'd join Arcis or get a troon card if it would work out similarly, but it seems the average price per round would still be quite a bit higher than the city courses. 

 

The daily range privileges for the Arcis clubs seem nice, but unfortunately none of them are convenient enough to me for it to be worth it.

 

The Troon card seems to only be worth it if you were already paying the top rates for Troon courses, and with narrow booking window it seems tough to get your moneys worth.

 

City card, of course, is a fantastic deal and the only reasonably affordable golf I've found, just sucks to play the tee time lottery every weekend.

 

Anything else I'm missing? 

 

Troon can provide some "budget" options as long as you are willing to drive.  The Troon card provide plenty of value and the booking window has been a non-issue for me except for a handful of times over the last few years.  

 

But otherwise, there is no other real alternatives.  

[Baraethon]

Are you usually playing on weekdays to be able to use the booking window?

[puttnforthe8]

40 minutes ago, Baraethon said:

Are you usually playing on weekdays to be able to use the booking window?

Nope - 90% of my rounds are Sat/Sun.  

[hackeraz]

I've found my best budget option moving into 2024 is going to be only playing when a vendor is in town and buying. Other than that option I'm going back to pursuing other interests and hobbies. 

[DrSchteeve]

Troon card isn't useful if you are a single.

[puttnforthe8]

2 minutes ago, DrSchteeve said:

Troon card isn't useful if you are a single.

Disagree - I use it often as a single.  

 

Saturday:  Poston and Copper = $65ish; Southern Dunes $100, Estrella $70; Wick Ranch = $120ish

Edited January 17, 2024 by puttnforthe8

[AzSuperHack76]

3 hours ago, puttnforthe8 said:

Disagree - I use it often as a single.  

 

Saturday:  Poston and Copper = $65ish; Southern Dunes $100, Estrella $70; Wick Ranch = $120ish

Just curious, what time are those tee times? Prime or afternoon? 

[puttnforthe8]

15 minutes ago, AzSuperHack76 said:

Just curious, what time are those tee times? Prime or afternoon? 

Some starting at 8-9.  

[AzSuperHack76]

11 minutes ago, puttnforthe8 said:

Some starting at 8-9.  

I’ve thought about picking up a troon card but have seen/heard the value isn’t there compared to what it once was. I’d be happy to pay those prices for those courses. 

Edited January 18, 2024 by AzSuperHack76

[puttnforthe8]

36 minutes ago, AzSuperHack76 said:

I’ve thought about picking up a troon card but have seen/heard the value isn’t there compared to what it once was. I’d be happy to pay those prices for those courses. 

There is big value in the 2-4-1.  I just got back from Palm Springs and I and my friend paid $63 for Mission Hills while the rest of the groups paid around $200.  I took another friend to Troon a couple weeks ago for $85 each.  I have a  national card, so get 10 241s -savings in prime season takes 3 or 4 rounds to cover my card and then the rest is extra.  
 

Additionally, i am always collecting Troon points for free rounds.  Then discounts rest of the time.  
 

there are a few nuances of course and pain with the 1 day for 241, but It is workable. 
 

All this Troon talk and I booked 9am tee time Southern Dunes 

 

 

Edited January 18, 2024 by puttnforthe8

[AzSuperHack76]

17 hours ago, puttnforthe8 said:

There is big value in the 2-4-1.  I just got back from Palm Springs and I and my friend paid $63 for Mission Hills while the rest of the groups paid around $200.  I took another friend to Troon a couple weeks ago for $85 each.  I have a  national card, so get 10 241s -savings in prime season takes 3 or 4 rounds to cover my card and then the rest is extra.  
 

Additionally, i am always collecting Troon points for free rounds.  Then discounts rest of the time.  
 

there are a few nuances of course and pain with the 1 day for 241, but It is workable. 
 

All this Troon talk and I booked 9am tee time Southern Dunes 

 

 

Thanks for the info Joe! I’ll look into getting one.

[rpina77]

The value of the Arcis card for me is getting the free range time.  I work close to Ocotillo so that is where I spend most of my time on the range.  The other nice thing is that from Oct to May you get a voucher for a meal that day.  I only pick times where I can get lunch pretty easily.  It has a rate for guests but they are not very good.  There is a 2 week booking window as well so that helps out a lot.  I mainly got it for the range time and to play ok clubs during the winter time at ok rates.

 

They do have Grayhawk twilight tee times at a discount but still over $200.  I will wait until the summer to see what Grayhawk benefits really looks like.

 

Rates right now all with meal included.

 

Raven, McDowell - $129

Legend at Arrowhead - $84

Ocotillo, Stonecreek - $79

Palm Valley, Superstition Springs - $69

Kokopelli, Continental - $44

[Baraethon]

Yeah, if I lived or worked in a convenient spot the range membership would be huge. I wish the city courses had a range pass or something, I spend too much money on buckets

[parkleo]

I would say the Troon Card is easier to use if you are booking for a 2some or a single. Having 3.25 days ahead for booking is what can make it difficult for a prime 4 some IMO. Last year I really did not have any problems booking what I wanted but did not play enough with two young ones to warrant getting it again in 2024.

[SilverBullets]

On 1/17/2024 at 2:53 PM, DrSchteeve said:

Troon card isn't useful if you are a single.

The Troon card is very useful as a single. 

 

I had the 2some card for the last few years and it paid for itself multiple times over each year.  I play a lot of golf (probably played 40 or so rounds per year on the troon card) so I easily get enough value out of by pure volume of use.  

 

I only play golf on weekends, I refuse to tee off later than 9am, and I didn't use a single 2 for 1.  It's actually a lot harder to get 4somes and even a struggle to get good 2some times on the card on weekends... but solo?  Not really a problem

 

The courses are still expensive with the card but it's significantly better than the rack rate

[cbbaron]

I go out there from Boston 3 times a year Troon Card pays for itself 

[AZBRONCFAN]

On 1/17/2024 at 1:53 PM, DrSchteeve said:

Troon card isn't useful if you are a single.

It is the opposite in my opinion. You can always find twosome or single spots. Hard to get use on the weekends for the foursomes. I have a fairly large group so I'm always needing 4. It is pretty tough if you want am tee times.

[ephraim909]

The Player Development Program at Talking Stick is a decent deal as long as you are ok with less-than-18-hole rounds this time of year.