Need help planning a trip to the PHX area

[BamafaninKY]

I'm currently at the very beginning stages of planning a trip in mid-April for me and my son (age 12). Last year we went to Pinehurst, and while I love Pinehurst so much and it was a great trip, the weather could have been better. So this year, I want to make sure of that and obviously PHX is an area without many weather concerns in April.

 

I've been to the area once and played Troon North Monument, TPC Stadium and We-Ko-Pa. I'm looking for some advice for courses to give him a great desert golf experience, without breaking me too much. Fortunately, any course run by Troon Golf offers free rates to juniors after 3:00. That will help, but I know I won't want to wait until 3:00 to play each day, and I'm not sure what time sundown is in that part of the country in April, but I would guess we would be pushing to finish.

 

Any advice on courses that are reasonably priced and/or offer good junior rates for that time of year? I've done some reading on here already and honestly, the amount of information and number of courses in the area is a little overwhelming.

 

Thanks.

[Arizonalefty59]

Club West is a hidden gem IMO, very "deserty" and cheap. A lot of very fun holes.

[poppyhillsguy]

Quintero GC in Peoria, Ak-Chin Southern Dunes in Maricopa, The Boulders in Carefree (might break the bank), Golf Club of Estrella in Phoenix, the two Grayhawk courses (might break the bank), staying and playing at Talking Stick would be fun for a kid.

We-Ko-Pa has a pretty good deal for 36 on their website. I don't know if they are junior friendly.

Troon North would also give him the desert experience. It might be worth it to wait until 3. You might spot a coyote!

Sunset ranges from 6:48pm to 7:10pm in April.

[Brocktoon]

If you are willing to drive a little there are some better values outside of Phoenix and Scottsdale. My picks would be Dinosaur Mountain, Southern Dunes, Raven Verrado, and Vista Verde. Not saying they are cheap but just very nice desert courses at a fair price.

Our general rule is to tee off by 2:30 that time of year. A couple times we have finished 18 in the dark.

[puttnforthe8]

[quote name='Brocktoon' timestamp='1389290423' post='8428811']
If you are willing to drive a little there are some better values outside of Phoenix and Scottsdale. My picks would be Dinosaur Mountain, Southern Dunes, Raven Verrado, and Vista Verde. Not saying they are cheap but just very nice desert courses at a fair price.

Our general rule is to tee off by 2:30 that time of year. A couple times we have finished 18 in the dark.
[/quote]

Dinosaur Mountain is not much of a real "value" as it is one of the more expensive courses........the others are for sure.

[Brocktoon]

[quote name='puttnforthe8' timestamp='1389303049' post='8430287']
[quote name='Brocktoon' timestamp='1389290423' post='8428811']
If you are willing to drive a little there are some better values outside of Phoenix and Scottsdale. My picks would be Dinosaur Mountain, Southern Dunes, Raven Verrado, and Vista Verde. Not saying they are cheap but just very nice desert courses at a fair price.

Our general rule is to tee off by 2:30 that time of year. A couple times we have finished 18 in the dark.
[/quote]

Dinosaur Mountain is not much of a real "value" as it is one of the more expensive courses........the others are for sure.
[/quote]

Tee times for Dinosaur that time of year should be down around $120 in the afternoon unless things have changed since I last played it. I think I only paid $100 on Golfnow a few years ago. It definitely has the WOW factor. Compared to TPC, Troon, WeKoPa, Grayhawk etc that's actually quite inexpensive.

[fore_life]

100 is still overpriced.

[puttnforthe8]

[quote name='Brocktoon' timestamp='1389304691' post='8430469']
[quote name='puttnforthe8' timestamp='1389303049' post='8430287']
[quote name='Brocktoon' timestamp='1389290423' post='8428811']
If you are willing to drive a little there are some better values outside of Phoenix and Scottsdale. My picks would be Dinosaur Mountain, Southern Dunes, Raven Verrado, and Vista Verde. Not saying they are cheap but just very nice desert courses at a fair price.

Our general rule is to tee off by 2:30 that time of year. A couple times we have finished 18 in the dark.
[/quote]

Dinosaur Mountain is not much of a real "value" as it is one of the more expensive courses........the others are for sure.
[/quote]

Tee times for Dinosaur that time of year should be down around $120 in the afternoon unless things have changed since I last played it. I think I only paid $100 on Golfnow a few years ago. It definitely has the WOW factor. Compared to TPC, Troon, WeKoPa, Grayhawk etc that's actually quite inexpensive.
[/quote]

Thanks for advising me about the course down the road from me that I have played dozens of times. As Fore said, $100 is way overpriced and not a "value".

[Brocktoon]

[quote name='puttnforthe8' timestamp='1389318965' post='8432007']
[quote name='Brocktoon' timestamp='1389304691' post='8430469']
[quote name='puttnforthe8' timestamp='1389303049' post='8430287']
[quote name='Brocktoon' timestamp='1389290423' post='8428811']
If you are willing to drive a little there are some better values outside of Phoenix and Scottsdale. My picks would be Dinosaur Mountain, Southern Dunes, Raven Verrado, and Vista Verde. Not saying they are cheap but just very nice desert courses at a fair price.

Our general rule is to tee off by 2:30 that time of year. A couple times we have finished 18 in the dark.
[/quote]

Dinosaur Mountain is not much of a real "value" as it is one of the more expensive courses........the others are for sure.
[/quote]

Tee times for Dinosaur that time of year should be down around $120 in the afternoon unless things have changed since I last played it. I think I only paid $100 on Golfnow a few years ago. It definitely has the WOW factor. Compared to TPC, Troon, WeKoPa, Grayhawk etc that's actually quite inexpensive.
[/quote]

Thanks for advising me about the course down the road from me that I have played dozens of times. As Fore said, $100 is way overpriced and not a "value".
[/quote]

Hey, no problem. Glad to be of assistance.

[cristphoto]

[quote name='BamafaninKY' timestamp='1388504029' post='8373687']
I'm currently at the very beginning stages of planning a trip in mid-April for me and my son (age 12). Last year we went to Pinehurst, and while I love Pinehurst so much and it was a great trip, the weather could have been better. So this year, I want to make sure of that and obviously PHX is an area without many weather concerns in April.

I've been to the area once and played Troon North Monument, TPC Stadium and We-Ko-Pa. I'm looking for some advice for courses to give him a great desert golf experience, without breaking me too much. Fortunately, any course run by Troon Golf offers free rates to juniors after 3:00. That will help, but I know I won't want to wait until 3:00 to play each day, and I'm not sure what time sundown is in that part of the country in April, but I would guess we would be pushing to finish.

Any advice on courses that are reasonably priced and/or offer good junior rates for that time of year? I've done some reading on here already and honestly, the amount of information and number of courses in the area is a little overwhelming.

Thanks.
[/quote]

I was in Phoenix 2 years ago in March. We stayed at the Sheraton Wild Horse Pass Resort on the southern side of Phoenix. There is 36 holes there (Whirlwind Golf Club) which was pretty nice. The buy.com tour plays a tournament there. Good desert golf. I don't know if they have special deals for juniors but they do have special golf packages.

[fore_life]

Buy.com isn't even a tour anymore, it's web.com. They haven't played in AZ for years.

It's a troon course.

[cristphoto]

[quote name='fore_life' timestamp='1392490692' post='8674551']
Buy.com isn't even a tour anymore, it's web.com. They haven't played in AZ for years.

It's a troon course.
[/quote]

They should have stuck with the Hogan Tour. I can't keep up with all the changes. Same with Senior Tour. Calling it Champions Tour when some golfers were club pros versus actual champions.

[steverinoarizona]

[quote name='BamafaninKY' timestamp='1388504029' post='8373687']
I'm currently at the very beginning stages of planning a trip in mid-April for me and my son (age 12). Last year we went to Pinehurst, and while I love Pinehurst so much and it was a great trip, the weather could have been better. So this year, I want to make sure of that and obviously PHX is an area without many weather concerns in April.

I've been to the area once and played Troon North Monument, TPC Stadium and We-Ko-Pa. I'm looking for some advice for courses to give him a great desert golf experience, without breaking me too much. Fortunately, any course run by Troon Golf offers free rates to juniors after 3:00. That will help, but I know I won't want to wait until 3:00 to play each day, and I'm not sure what time sundown is in that part of the country in April, but I would guess we would be pushing to finish.

Any advice on courses that are reasonably priced and/or offer good junior rates for that time of year? I've done some reading on here already and honestly, the amount of information and number of courses in the area is a little overwhelming.

Thanks.
[/quote]How good is your son? How far does he hit it? Some of the courses people are describing are very hard (Quintero, Southern Dunes) so I don't think they would be appropriate for a 12 year old unless he can really hit it far and well.

[BamafaninKY]

[quote name='steverinoarizona' timestamp='1393029729' post='8718940']
[quote name='BamafaninKY' timestamp='1388504029' post='8373687']
I'm currently at the very beginning stages of planning a trip in mid-April for me and my son (age 12). Last year we went to Pinehurst, and while I love Pinehurst so much and it was a great trip, the weather could have been better. So this year, I want to make sure of that and obviously PHX is an area without many weather concerns in April.

I've been to the area once and played Troon North Monument, TPC Stadium and We-Ko-Pa. I'm looking for some advice for courses to give him a great desert golf experience, without breaking me too much. Fortunately, any course run by Troon Golf offers free rates to juniors after 3:00. That will help, but I know I won't want to wait until 3:00 to play each day, and I'm not sure what time sundown is in that part of the country in April, but I would guess we would be pushing to finish.

Any advice on courses that are reasonably priced and/or offer good junior rates for that time of year? I've done some reading on here already and honestly, the amount of information and number of courses in the area is a little overwhelming.

Thanks.
[/quote]How good is your son? How far does he hit it? Some of the courses people are describing are very hard (Quintero, Southern Dunes) so I don't think they would be appropriate for a 12 year old unless he can really hit it far and well.
[/quote]

He's good. We've played some very good courses together and he's done fine. He's still growing obviously and getting longer, but his short game is excellent. And he plays a lot of tournament golf so he's used to pressure.

[BamafaninKY]

Just made my first tee time for the trip. $129 total for both of us to play Troon North.

I'm getting pumped now for sure!