Yeah to be fair it looks like a cute course and is probably the absolute most they could make out of it given the land constraints. Would like to play it sometime because from the road at least the condition always looks pretty good, particularly the greens.

Oh, and to be more clear, my rage towards Karsten has only worsened since they converted the 5th and 10th holes to par-4s. Awful decision.

I know I already mentioned it in the other thread, but figured I would try here too.......is anyone available/interested in heading out to the WM Open tomorrow? I'd really like to go, but I'm not crazy about going solo since I've never been. It would be nice to have someone with me who is somewhat familiar with the whole experience.

tuq, yeah I wasn't a big fan of those huge par 4's at all and yes I was bugged more than a few times by the hills and rough lies in the traps that turned par/bogey into double/triples...

Then #9/#18 are just flat out beasts and you have to hit two great shots or you are making bogey. I imagine those college kids go fairly low out there but I wouldn't be suprised at all if 73-75 wasn't a bad score at all during competition out there these days espeically if there's any wind.

but then again...those college guys are stunners so maybe I am way off base

ec, if I was headed out there I'd definitely let you know but I'm not. If you're just there to watch golf solo is totally fine. And with alcohol as the great social lubricant there will be tens of thousands of people looking to chat you up.

durango, 9 and 18 at Karsten are excellent holes, I have no ax to grind with those. Actually, 15-17 are good too. I probably told this story before but I went to an NCAA tourney awhile back and on the 16th hole, playing the full 250 or whatever, every player but two missed the green to the left. On purpose, obviously, because hitting into the water is effectively a two shot penalty since they would have had to re-tee from nearly the same spot. So they played to that large bailout area to the left of the green and tried to get up and down from there (many, if not most did). I assume the two that hit the green pushed their drives. Don't recall anyone hitting into the water.

tuq, yeah we played 16 at about 240 yards in a slight drizzle and into the wind. I choked up on a 3 wood and aimed way left. Hit it dead straight into the bailout little fairway in the back left and chipped up to a few feet for the par. Definitely the way to play the hole.

Was in Phoenix over the weekend for the WM Open and played Ocotillo, Whirlwind and Karsten.

Ocotillo Blue and White 9's- TONS of water and not in the best of shape but overall a pretty good experience. Luckily we played with a couple of guys who had played there before, as many holes you had to hit less than a driver off the tee to keep it short of bunkers/water. Strong drinks and great Hot Dogs/Sandwiches.

Whirlwind Devils Claw-Twilighted this with a 2:30 tee time and didnt quite finish. Very nice track. Fairly open/forgiving with true greens that were quicker than Ocotillo. It was for sure in better shape than Ocotillo, and probably better than Karstan. May not be worth $150 or whatever they normally get out there but I would recommend it if you can get some sort of deal. Played the 2-100 spread game at the Casino just up the street (they have shuttles that will take you over, and offered to put our clubs in the bag room). Pretty soft game, though they rake $1 for BBJ and promos even without a flop which may be normal, but something I am not used to.

Karsten-I enjoyed it, and it was in slightly better shape than I had heard. Some really tough holes including 9, 15, 16, and 18 (Tho on 18 I luckboxed 4 cart path bounces and had sand wedge to the green with a great angle). Id recommend checking out the bar/restaurant with all the trophies and awards of the ASU golf team.

rube, whirlwind is definitely the best course out of those 3...still a good lineup though.

today I got super lucky and got comped at Blackstone which is semi private out at Vistancia . I had played there before in the summer but right now this course was fantastic! the greens were just about as perfect as you could expect and some of those greens out there are so wild with the slopes and how narrow it is. I played my best round in a long ass time and ended up shooting even which was great except I was 3 down after 13 and just pissed away a special round. I would rate this course 10/10 condition as it was playing firm and fast which is nice this time of the year

well if I wasn't the thread golf snob I might have just locked it up with this one. after my buddy hooked up blackstone earlier this week, he somehow got us set up at silverleaf for sunday afternoon comped.

tuq or anyone else ever been out there? obviously it should be pretty sick but just wondering what to expect other than a **** ton of desert.

silverleaf was nothing short of spectactular yesterday...that's the only way I can describe that place. Everything was absolutely perfect. Golf Course - 10/10, Conditions 10/10, Weather 10/10, Scenery 10/10, Company 10/10...can't say enough great things about that place. I wish I had $125,000 for the initiation fee lololololol









also this place had some of the biggest houses I have ever seen in my entire life...a couple of these places had to be 10 million bucks

Great pics, although it seemed too damned cold to play yesterday, and was probably windy up there as well.

There is a house that was being built, I think it's close to the 16th green, that was one of if not the largest in AZ. 200K square feet with a zip line and all sorts of crazy things. The problem is, the guy building it was a shady businessman whose primary source of income was a company (Jawa) who scammed people out of money on their cell phone bill so I'm not sure it ever got completed.

it wasn't bad at all yesterday, just pants and a little under armour and when the sun was out it was perfect. it wasn't too breezy up there actually because it's up in the canyon that seemed to block the wind for us.

yeah I think I saw that house....that place had a bridge to the guest house lol. those houses were a joke all day.

also, for a $25 dollar cart fee at Silverleaf I would play in the snow if I had to

the quality of the turf in that first pic is just sick

clark, it was!!!! it was absolutely special like pga tour

have you ever played Whisper Rock or Golf Club of Scottsdale by chance?

I have not. Some of my good friends have played there though and they obviously enjoyed both of them.

Whisper Rock is just about as exclusive as it gets so little to no chance of playing there unless you are playing with a member basically. Golf Club of Scottsdale I have a buddy that says he can get me out there no problem so we will probably play it in the next couple of months.

also how funny is it that I am going from Silverleaf on this last Sunday to Aguila this Sunday lololololol, completely different worlds but I love golf so I enjoy them both.

The ritz is amazing, played there last yr. was around. $120 for a round In the summer. Great course, love the desert golf

fishy, yeah I have been wanting to get out there for a while. My buddies played down there last year as well. I think they said they only played 9 holes of what's used for the match play but they said it was sick.

there's some quality golf down in tucson that doesn't really get talked about at all. I might have to start trying to get down there (or up there in reality).

okay all...we've talked about it for a while now but I think it's time to just officially make this happen here in the next couple of months when rates go down for an official 2+2 phoenix golf outing.

my suggestion is that either play Aguila (nicest city course, best value imo) or wait until May/June when rates go down and get out at somewhere like the Legacy, Triology at Vistancia or somewhere else that's under $50 so anyone that wants to play can get in.

Tuq said he has a troon card but I don't know if we can get 4 guys that would spend 75-100 to play right now but I may be wrong. Also, if anyone wants to pm me their number and info (age, estimated handicap, etc) I could save your info in my phone as someone to hit up if we have an extra spot somewhere and vice versa.

I'm up for pretty much anything within reason. Not interested in paying 200 for golf, but I'll pay up to 100 if it's believed to be worth it. That side, the 50 range seems to be the most realistic target range I would think.
I know we haven't even had one meet up yet, but I like the idea of setting up something like a quarterly meet up. Have 1 weekend every few months picked out well in advance. That would give people plenty of time to plan ahead, and could turn into a large group. But I guess we need to crawl before we walk and get the first one done.
I'll PM you my info to get on your list of wannabes hoping to play with the thread snob or however it was you had referred to yourself.

The "best" part about golf in Tucson is that pretty much all the good courses are up north so you don't need to ever actually enter that craphole city.

Yeah, I have a Troon foursome pass and the prices are all peak right now and generally more during the weekend. Here is a quick rundown of notable tracks, prices will drop from these highs in early April:

Ocotillo: $69 weekday / $79 Fri-Sun
Quintero: $110
Talking Stick: $85
The Boulders: $109 / $145
Troon North: $119 / $149
Kierland: $89 / $99
Whirlwind: $75 / $85

So we could probably agree that courses >$100 are best left for summer, when they're usually in good shape anyway and half that price or less. Best value on that list is Whirlwind, although Talking Stick, Ocotillo, and Kierland (mostly because it would be in great shape) are considerations as well.

Rates drop roughly $20 across the board on those courses through April, and then much lower again in May. Troon and Boulders both drop to under $100 from April on as well.

Also, Golf Club of Scottsdale is pretty damned sweet but their stated initiation fee was pretty hilarious. It's another place like Vista Verde that was built at exactly the wrong time, so I hear they've gotten more flexible out of necessity.

Lot of blind shots there, and while it's probably their "signature" hole, the 15th is an embarrassment of a par-5 from a fairness standpoint that should be redone completely. It's an inverted version of the 8th at We-Ko-Pa Cholla, it runs uphill the whole way and requires a couple of layups and was kind of jammed into the hillside.

Beyond that though there is some great golf and the lack of homes - pretty sure the layout dictates there will never be any except on the perimeter - is obviously a huge plus.

tuq, yeah using your troon pass during the summer seems like the best deal.

Also, vista verde drops their rates down to $30 or less in the summer and is a really fun course with awesome views for the price. that's the place we play all summer long basically.

so should we preliminary shoot for May/June for this to happen unless someone finds a great deal somewhere. Saturdays are my best day to play with you guys as Sunday I pretty much have an established group that includes my buddy who gets us out everywhere so I can't really ditch that

Well it depends how busto (or tight) we are. I'm totally fine paying the rates listed for the sub-$100 courses since I know 1) they'll be in great shape and 2) prices are inclusive of cart and range balls. ec_outlaw said he'd be fine sub-$100 too.

I do realize though that getting a lot of comp golf makes it hard to pay much for it, ever. Being spoiled has its drawbacks.

Also, playing Ahwatukee C.C. (lol) next Monday since my client surprised me with the news that they're closed that day for President's Day. It's something of a business round though and probably won't be paying more than $30 - which is about what that course is worth. Then out to Blackstone next weekend for the first time, comp.