EC I can give you an update Sunday night on course conditions lol

You need to grab your buddy and come on out for a 3:00 tee time on Monday. Especially if he's got hookups.

it's my buddy who works at Quintero every once in a while and just asks the guys in the shop to call courses where they know people and then the web of people just goes on and on, it's wild. This guy is pretty busy and only plays with us on Sunday so he gears almost all of these hook ups for Sunday afternoon. He doesn't really play too much during the week unfortunately

Even without the freebie, can you make it out? Even though I can see where it would be hard to pay 39 Monday after playing for free on Sunday?

not sure if I can play on monday, have a few conference calls in the middle of the afternoon unfortunately

So, what do I have to look forward to this afternoon?

sorry forgot to post a report last night or early this morning.

played troon north - monument course

it was in fantastic condition and is worth every bit of $39...greens are receptive and rolled fast and true. the wind was blowing pretty good and I played terrible yesterday so didn't have that much fun golfwise but other than that it was pretty damn sweet. i think the pinnacle course is a little harder than monument from talking to a few of the guys that worked there but both are solid tracks

How was it EC

Ok. Now I see why you guys have given me so much crap over some of the other courses I talked good about. They indeed suck compared to Troon North. By far the best track I've played since I got out here last September. The course was in great shape. The greens were pretty receptive, but not too soft. They weren't quite as fast as I'm used to, but easily the quickest I've played out here. And they rolled very smooth. The layout was challenging but fair. Definitely a premium on hitting the fairway off the tee. The views from around the course were awesome.

Didn't play from the tips because I haven't played in over 2 months, and the guy I was playing with is about an 18 hdcp. And I'm glad we didn't. I struggled to an 81 from the middle tees. Wedge game was mediocre at best and couldn't sink a putt. Oh well. The weather cooperated and we faded all the rain showers that were in the area. It was a nice overcast afternoon. All and all, probably the most value I've ever gotten out of a $39 round of golf.

ec - nice to hear, yeah troon north is always in a pretty solid shape but it's a major tourist trap in the winter imo $225/person lololololol.

I am getting out at Quintero again today late, like 3:30 PM so we finish right at dusk...praying for no monsoon action tonight but not sure if my luck is going to hold

Clouds were looking super dreary yesterday afternoon on the NW side. Good luck though!

Maybe, but the monsoons are definitely upon us, and I can only imagine the corners of town e.g. Quintero are even more likely to get hammered.

Mostly I'd be worried about (and then annoyed by) cart path only because of the wet conditions the days after.

Anyway, Kierland again last Saturday and Papago again on Sunday.

Kierland, normally in Troon North-quality condition, has lost the greens a bit, at least on Acacia. Or maybe they just weren't back from the aeration but regardless they were sandy, soft, and like PLINK-O. It was quite annoying and more obvious than last week because they flipped the order of the nines: Mesquite first this time, which were smoother and firmer, then Acacia, which left a lot to be desired.

One of the guys who played with me at Kierland also joined me for the Papago twilight round (completed in about 2:20 with no rushing), and we both agreed the greens there were the better of the two courses. By a lot. Again I read them like crap and left a lot of strokes out there but at least they rolled true.

We survived Quintero and got our round done in 3:45 which is great for that course...got some pretty decent rain and wind for 4-5 holes and then calm and perfect for back 9. Conditions were brutal for those holes uphill into the wind/rain to say the least...

If you ignore a few brown spots in the fairways here and there...the course is immaculate. The greens out at Quintero right now I would put up against the Pine Canyon/Forest Highlands quality...they are that good

Hey Durango, do you like Quintero? Can't seem to get a straight answer out of you...

I've had some severe allergies lately so I've barely been outside. But I'm feeling better and expect to play tomorrow.

I love Quintero it's just a really tough track from the tips...feels like even when I play good I can't shoot much better than 74-76.

I have just been playing some really tough courses lately so I am looking forward to getting back out on something with a little more room out there lol..prolly need to get back out to Aguila/Legacy or something

Also Quintero for $50 on golf now is 1000000% worth it if any of you guys haven't been out there

Hoping to take advantage of that deal real soon.

played vista verde yesterday morning at 8:30 for $30 bucks...overall good value. I have seen the course in better shape but it was still worth it. I think they are punching the greens again on monday so probably need to give it a good 3 weeks before we play there again.

heading out to quintero today at 2:30 for the epic greens

so ASU is going to partner up at Papago and looks like that will be their new home course....but it will still technically be a municipal course?

Sounds like a killer deal for the public IMO. ASU would likely build a sick clubhouse, make a bunch of other improvements and get Papago back to epic levels

what do you think tuq

I have probably already bitched about it itt, but I am super unstoked about the Papago/ASU marriage as is just about everyone I know - albeit they come from the Papago side of things, not the ASU side. It's basically ASU leveraging Papago's past fiscal woes to their advantage. I see not literally one improvement coming out of it from a player's perspective. Not course condition, not cost, certainly not availability. Clubhouse? OK, they will build one, but I could not care less about that. It's like Vista Verde: I don't mind paying in a trailer, can always go somewhere else for the 19th hole. It's about the golf.

Anyway - played Antelope Hills (North) on Tuesday, a rare weekday round. Went with a friend who like me knows and likes the course and two other friends who are country club snobs of sorts. These last two weren't impressed because the greens were really slow due to not being mowed from the day before. It could have even been two days. They were slow. The fast greens are the course's primary defense and not only were downhill putts not scary at all, short irons that would often spin 10-20+ feet were mostly stopping where they landed, which at least for me is a huge advantage. Managed to fade rain and get around in about 3:30. Always a good value up there.

Nice, why not play stoneridge??? Stoneridge has always had lightning fast greens but goofy design obv....

Just played talking north with my buddy who works there and it was okay at best. Tee boxes and fairways awesome but greens were slow sandy and had been punched quite a few weeks prior and still sucked. Would not play again anytime soon even for free #golfsnobhere

Interesting comments about Papago...I thought it would be a good thing but I see your points for sure

I used to live in Phoenix (I moved away in 2000 so it's been a while) and I liked playing Papago. Is it considered a dump now by the locals?

also, is there still an 18 hole executive par 3 course just right along Camelback Road somewhere east of Scottsdale Road? we used to play that after work a lot but for the life of me I can't remember the name or exact location now.

Papago underwent a massive renovation a few years ago. I was playing it quite a bit before they shut it down and have played it even more since. It's like a totally different course. A ton of trees were removed (something I'm not necessarily a fan of) which changes the look and significant changes were made to a few holes, most notably #1 and #9. Mostly though the changes involved bunkers, tees, and greens. It's massively improved in most ways.

It was good enough to be emergency host of the yearly LPGA event a few years ago when Superstition Mountain went into BK and apparently pulled out at the last minute. At 7300+ yards it's plenty of course.

The course you are thinking of in Scottsdale is presumably Continental, which runs alongside Hayden between Indian School & Thomas. It's still around although I haven't played it in years. There used to be a weekly skins game out there which would attract a pretty sizable number of scratch golfers.