Traveling to Phoenix.....Some course info for you

[AZBRONCFAN]

I like Cave Creek even though it is scruffy around the edges. 

[AZBRONCFAN]

Hey guys, Have any of you ever done the 87 Club membership at TPC for the practice and play? I'd love to hear the pros and cons. 

[puttnforthe8]

10 hours ago, AZBRONCFAN said:

Hey guys, Have any of you ever done the 87 Club membership at TPC for the practice and play? I'd love to hear the pros and cons. 

I’d be interested to know as well.  I have a couple of friends that have it, I will ask them. 

 

from reading the 87 is $17500; it used to be TPC membership for $4500 with more perks.

 

walking rate is $8 now and the round fee is higher than before.

Edited March 25 by puttnforthe8

[AZBRONCFAN]

4 hours ago, puttnforthe8 said:

I’d be interested to know as well.  I have a couple of friends that have it, I will ask them. 

 

from reading the 87 is $17500; it used to be TPC membership for $4500 with more perks.

 

walking rate is $8 now and the round fee is higher than before.

That is correct. They will prorate it for the rest of the year.

Edited March 25 by AZBRONCFAN

[teejaywhy]

17 hours ago, AZBRONCFAN said:

Hey guys, Have any of you ever done the 87 Club membership at TPC for the practice and play? I'd love to hear the pros and cons. 

 

Cons:  $17,500

 

Is that serious?  One year?   What am I missing?

 

 

 

 

[puttnforthe8]

47 minutes ago, teejaywhy said:

 

Cons:  $17,500

 

Is that serious?  One year?   What am I missing?

 

 

 

 

My thought too—especially when it used be $4500!

 

you would have to play every single day of the year and  many 36 hole days to make that worthwhile imo.  

 

 

[AZBRONCFAN]

1 hour ago, teejaywhy said:

 

Cons:  $17,500

 

Is that serious?  One year?   What am I missing?

 

 

 

 

Plus I bet the make you practice at Champions course most of the time.

[AZBRONCFAN]

1 hour ago, puttnforthe8 said:

My thought too—especially when it used be $4500!

 

you would have to play every single day of the year and  many 36 hole days to make that worthwhile imo.  

 

 

How long ago was it 4500?

[azgolfer44]

13 hours ago, teejaywhy said:

 

Cons:  $17,500

 

Is that serious?  One year?   What am I missing?

 

 

 

 

$1,500/month is less than many privates in north Scottsdale. No wait list or initiation and two courses.

[teejaywhy]

9 hours ago, azgolfer44 said:

$1,500/month is less than many privates in north Scottsdale. No wait list or initiation and two courses.

Forgot the smiley face.

 

[Bonneville85308]

The TPC deal would make sense for a well-off retiree who plays at least 4x+ a week year-round, is on a waiting list at a club (or doesn't want to join one at all), and would otherwise be paying rack rate 4x+ a week to play TPC or other high end courses around N. Scottsdale and refuses to play lesser quality/further away from N. Scottsdale/cheaper courses. How many of those folks are actually out there, I don't know, but I suspect there are some.

Edited March 26 by Bonneville85308

[AZBRONCFAN]

12 hours ago, azgolfer44 said:

$1,500/month is less than many privates in north Scottsdale. No wait list or initiation and two courses.

Yeah that was my thought too but you will be still searching for tee times. I bet they close the stadium track to for a decent amount of it and it still costs you 32-37 per round. 

[teejaywhy]

1 hour ago, Bonneville85308 said:

The TPC deal would make sense for a well-off retiree who plays at least 4x+ a week year-round, is on a waiting list at a club (or doesn't want to join one at all), and would otherwise be paying rack rate 4x+ a week to play TPC or other high end courses around N. Scottsdale and refuses to play lesser quality/further away from N. Scottsdale/cheaper courses. How many of those folks are actually out there, I don't know, but I suspect there are some.

 

Well-off and a moron.

 

[GolfGuy321]

Good deal for a guy entertaining corporate clients etc.

[Shilgy]

On 3/25/2025 at 9:11 PM, azgolfer44 said:

$1,500/month is less than many privates in north Scottsdale. No wait list or initiation and two courses.

Do those privates have full tee sheets with hackers from up north slowing play and tearing up the course?  Other than Scottsdale National do they charge a daily fee on top of that?

 

Doesn't sound like a deal to me. If there was no additional daily fee and was limited to members it sounds logical.  To charge that to play a public, albeit expensive, course sound ludicrous.

 

Does that extend to all TPC courses?  For someone that travels extensively to the areas with a TPC that could be made to work. 

[AZBRONCFAN]

36 minutes ago, Shilgy said:

Do those privates have full tee sheets with hackers from up north slowing play and tearing up the course?  

I have heard Tatum Ranch does but only a rumor of that. It kept me from joining there talking to a few people.

[Shilgy]

Just now, AZBRONCFAN said:

I have heard Tatum Ranch does but only a rumor of that. It kept me from joining there talking to a few people.

It’s eased a bit…especially on weekdays where the younger members seemingly have been forced back to office. Yes, our tee sheet is rather busy on weekends  but I’d rather have fellow members on the course than a sheet full of those that don’t care about the course at all.

[MattSTL88]

not to derail the thread and I know everyone's heat tolerances are different, but mainly looking for either some reassurance or caution on being in Scottsdale/PHX on Labor Day. I'm used to Midwest heat/humidity, but just seeing 100+ on the average temp is alarming. Would obviously golf in the morning, but are temps typically too hot to even do dinner/drinks outside at night? Would be looking to play We Ko Pa, which looks like overseeding is October.

[chisag]

1 hour ago, MattSTL88 said:

not to derail the thread and I know everyone's heat tolerances are different, but mainly looking for either some reassurance or caution on being in Scottsdale/PHX on Labor Day. I'm used to Midwest heat/humidity, but just seeing 100+ on the average temp is alarming. Would obviously golf in the morning, but are temps typically too hot to even do dinner/drinks outside at night? Would be looking to play We Ko Pa, which looks like overseeding is October.

 

 

... After living 42 years in Chicago, yea it is hot on Labor Day and it could easily be 105-115*. I'll say this about the heat after living in Phoenix 5 years. When you are in the intense AZ sun during the day it feels very nice when the sun sets and even at 99* with low humidity it feels comfortable dining outside. Most nice restaurants have fans and/or cooling mist. Even in 110* heat, being in the shade seems to drop the temperature about 10*. Now that's coming from being in the heat all summer long so not sure how someone visiting would feel about a nice meal when it is 100*. Living here and ramping up slowly to 115* is quite different than just flying in from someplace with a more moderate temperature though. WeKoPa is such a beautiful and fun to play course because it has no trees and is a true desert experience, but it will be hot. 

[MattSTL88]

1 hour ago, chisag said:

 

 

... After living 42 years in Chicago, yea it is hot on Labor Day and it could easily be 105-115*. I'll say this about the heat after living in Phoenix 5 years. When you are in the intense AZ sun during the day it feels very nice when the sun sets and even at 99* with low humidity it feels comfortable dining outside. Most nice restaurants have fans and/or cooling mist. Even in 110* heat, being in the shade seems to drop the temperature about 10*. Now that's coming from being in the heat all summer long so not sure how someone visiting would feel about a nice meal when it is 100*. Living here and ramping up slowly to 115* is quite different than just flying in from someplace with a more moderate temperature though. WeKoPa is such a beautiful and fun to play course because it has no trees and is a true desert experience, but it will be hot. 

Thank you for the very thorough post!

[AZBRONCFAN]

On 3/28/2025 at 11:41 AM, MattSTL88 said:

not to derail the thread and I know everyone's heat tolerances are different, but mainly looking for either some reassurance or caution on being in Scottsdale/PHX on Labor Day. I'm used to Midwest heat/humidity, but just seeing 100+ on the average temp is alarming. Would obviously golf in the morning, but are temps typically too hot to even do dinner/drinks outside at night? Would be looking to play We Ko Pa, which looks like overseeding is October.

Dinner and Drinks are perfect at night just avoid patio. A lot of them have misters but they are annoying to sit under. Pool after golf too. You will probably be cold with AC cranking in the restaurants/bars. 

Edited April 4 by AZBRONCFAN

[MattSTL88]

17 hours ago, AZBRONCFAN said:

Dinner and Drinks are perfect at night just avoid patio. A lot of them have misters but they are annoying to sit under. Pool after golf too. You will probably be cold with AC crabking in the restaurants/bars. 

Thanks! Booked the trip for second week of September. Staying at JW Camelback and plan is to play We Ko Pa Saguaro, Mountain Shadows with the wife, and maaaaybe one more if I can talk her into it lol

[Baraethon]

Inquired at Moon Valley because i recently moved nearby, figured I'd share. Current initiation is 25k, then monthly of 900 and a food/bev minimum. Guess I won't be joining a club anytime soon

[teejaywhy]

Canoa Ranch Golf Club - Green Valley AZ.

2003 - Schmidt & Curley

 

OK, not Phoenix-area proper, but this thread is a discussion of courses (vs. current conditions) and it's a sticky, so imma put it here.

 

This week, wife and I and a couple we travel with went down to Green Valley to hike Mt. Wrightson.  Since my knees would not appreciate the 12 mile, 4000 foot vertical elevation gain hike, I decided it best to stay behind...   and play golf!

 

Been wanting to visit this course for a while because I'm a fan of Lee and Brian's work at Southern Dunes and Wildfire.  Tee sheet was wide open and I was sent off as a solo at 7:52 AM.   $60 with cart.  Place was empty save for a two ball in front of me.  They were playing quickly so I didn't wait much.  Ended up finishing in 3 hours even.

 

Course is part of a residential development, but routed mainly through barrancas away from the housing.   The layout provides fairly generous turf areas, but off-turf was definitely dense native such that really bad shots would usually be a lost ball.  Front nine had no houses at all, offering a remote, isolated feeling, almost the way Apache Stronghold was.  Back nine had houses, however all the houses were sited on the hillsides far away from the course corridors.   The routing would be a difficult walk, lots of long tee to green distances and some up and down hill climbs.

 

Plays ~6700 yards from the tips (71.7/139), I played the one-ups at 6127 (68.6/131).   Course is very interesting with five par 5's and six par 3's.   Each hole makes really good use of the topography, a few elevated tee shots, and good mix of hole lengths.  The bunkering, though strategic, was quite sparse compared to what we see at Southern Dunes or Wildfire.  Greens were mostly flat with some subtle breaks on longer putts but very flat within 10-15' of the pins.   

 

Conditioning was very good.  Bent grass greens which I did not expect.  Soft and receptive as one might suspect, it took a few holes before I figured out I needed a little extra club to get anything to the back of the greens.   While not crazy fast, they just putted so pure, I was feeling like a pro rolling in everything inside five feet.   Tees and fairways in great shape, bunkers however, were trash.  More like gravel pits than sand traps.   

 

The only fault I would have would be that the setup for me yielded par threes at 200, 180, 197 and 185 yards.  Papago-like lol.  At least the other two played under 140 yds.

 

I would highly recommend this course if in the vicinity.  Green Valley is a retirement area with several golf communities so it would be easy to plan a trip to include multiple courses.  

 

Thanks for reading.   A few pics:

 

#2.  A cool par 5 that goes up and over a rise and down to the green.  View from the green back up the hill:

 

#3.   200+ yard Par 3.  Bunker left, right side of green obscured by a hillside . A bit intimidating!

 

 

#4.  par 5, generous tee shot, gorgeous backdrop of the Santa Rita mountains. Wife and friends are hiking to the highest point you can see in this photo.

 

#6.  par 4 dogleg left

 

#7.  Short uphill par 4

 

#11.  Par 5 from the tee.  Gives an idea of how the housing is sited up and away from the playing corridors.

 

 

#17.  Short par 3

Edited May 5 by teejaywhy

[Fedor Emelianenko]

Need some advice..

 

Going to be visiting in the dead heat of summer.  Already have a couple courses booked, but need to choose between these 2

 

Camelback Padre vs Wildfire Palmer

 

We will be visiting late July and ALOT of courses are aerating.  Most of the good courses are aerating until 7/11 which puts us at 16 days post aeration.  Don't think this is enough time for the greens to fully heal.

 

Please let me know which course we should play between those two.  

[puttnforthe8]

20 minutes ago, Fedor Emelianenko said:

Need some advice..

 

Going to be visiting in the dead heat of summer.  Already have a couple courses booked, but need to choose between these 2

 

Camelback Padre vs Wildfire Palmer

 

We will be visiting late July and ALOT of courses are aerating.  Most of the good courses are aerating until 7/11 which puts us at 16 days post aeration.  Don't think this is enough time for the greens to fully heal.

 

Please let me know which course we should play between those two.  

Well…Palmer from the course aspect…it’s far better.  However, Padre has lots of shade…so in some cases that could tilt it in favor.  So up to you on what you value more.

[chisag]

2 minutes ago, puttnforthe8 said:

Well…Palmer from the course aspect…it’s far better.  However, Padre has lots of shade…so in some cases that could tilt it in favor.  So up to you on what you value more.

 

 

... Right there with you, although I really dislike Padre even with the shade. Especially on the same grounds as Ambiente. Just a strange course with homes then out of homes and no real personality. Almost like several courses melded into one. 

[Fedor Emelianenko]

27 minutes ago, puttnforthe8 said:

Well…Palmer from the course aspect…it’s far better.  However, Padre has lots of shade…so in some cases that could tilt it in favor.  So up to you on what you value more.

 

 

The shade issue may be a little bit of help, but we will be first out on either course and play fast.   Just want to know which course is better

[Bonneville85308]

4 hours ago, Fedor Emelianenko said:

 

 

Camelback Padre vs Wildfire Palmer

 

 

Having played both several times, I think Wildfire Palmer is the better course.

[Fedor Emelianenko]

Wildfire it is..thanks boys