And yeah, in the short time I was in Phoenix, right after Labor Day was always my favorite time to play. Maybe catch a day under 100 with a dry breeze and play cheap golf and nice, fast courses.

if you notice that article is dated June 2010...the pictures are from much earlier in the year when they had a water problem and just 2 or 3 of their fairways started to die. I played there about a month ago and it was back in very good shape and I only expect it to get better. There was no dirt areas like shown on that picture and the greens were smooth and lightning fast as usual.

yes they are having problems financially, but the course is still the BOMB.

I have played there about 15 times and it has never once been in anything less than 8.5/10 shape.

I think they are offering rounds on golfnow.com for like 50-100 bucks which is a steal imo for that course and definitely worth a day trip to play there if you never have. Besides ocean views, I don't know what's more awesome than being surrounded by red rock canyons.

awesome, have fun!

The Canyon Course is the stone cold nuts. A kid on my highschool team lived on the 5th hole? (short par 3 with water in front). Easily one of the sickest courses I've ever played.

4th hole. 5th hole is a short dogleg par-5 that would probably make a fantastic par-4 in competition. Decent as a par-5 for members, but that hole and the 13th must be really easy par-5s for pros and I assume at least one of those is converted for events.

The 4th hole starts a stretch in which every other hole is a par-3. 4, 6, 8, 10, 12, 14.

Still my favorite course I've ever played.

yeah, my buddy has a cabin (5 bedrooms, 5 bath) on the 14th hole on the Meadow Course. It's pretty damn sick to stay at for 4-5 days straight with a bunch of friends playing golf all day and grilling up food then poker late night obv.

Also, there's a lake on the 14th hole that is stocked with rainbow trout who hit anything that moves so we go down there at dusk right outside my buddy's place and catch like 15-20 trout for ****s and giggles.

http://www.fhgc.com/golf.php FOREST HIGHLANDS IS DEF THE STONE COLD NUTS

my favorite hole on the course has to me #9...it's such a cool hole, you can rip driver or 3 wood and the ball stays in the air forever.

last time we played my buddy drove it to like 5 feet on #17 which was pretty impressive imo. obv he missed the eagle because he sucks at putting

Lots of good holes. When the course came out I was in high school with Weiskopf's son and he told me they hated the 18th and planned to redo it, but I'm pretty sure they haven't, or I don't notice the changes. The hole is fine as is, not really sure what they didn't like or what they planned to do. It's a very good risk/reward hole even if it has a slightly different feel than the rest of the course.

I haven't played Meadow and imagine that anywhere else in the state it would get mad props but it doesn't stand a chance alongside Canyon.

to be dead honest I don't like number 18 at all...it's too narrow up by the green to really go for in 2 most of the time.

imo the meadow is just barely a notch below the canyon course, no joke. Hence the name (Meadow) the course is out in the open a little more, everything plays a little more firm and fast. I am so pumped about going up I keep checking this thread while i am at work hahaha

tuq did you play high school golf or anything in the valley? I played for shadow mountain all 4 years from 98-02. We got runner up in state in 2002 which was pretty cool. We almost upset Red Mountain who was DOMINATING back then with Charlie Beljan, Mueller brothers, etc....

Brophy in the late 80s/early 90s. We won two 5A titles, one at Ocotillo and the other at Arrowhead CC. Shadow Mountain was in our conference at that time.

I just ate at Uncle Sam's with my brother for the first time a couple of weeks ago although I've lived in the area all my life and went to grade school with the guy whose father started it. A+ wings, ok pizza.

nice, yeah brophy was still in our conference when I was at Shadow Mountain.

Brophy was going down hill in regards to golf when I was there. We routinely beat them up pretty good, but I'm not sure what it's like these days.

High school golf was definitely a blast. Getting out of class to go play golf tournaments was pretty damn fun. We even had our cheerleaders/pom team come out to a bunch of our tournaments and follow us around. Pretty funny to have a few hot girls following your group and watch the opponent melt and lose their focus lol

Nice thread guys, just read it all.

I am moving to Phoenix on October 25th to work on my game for the winter. Got an apartment in Glendale.
I am a + 2 handicap competitive amateur that is thinking of turning pro, but have to get better first

Any advice on the best courses near glendale that have good practice facilities - would let me play/practice for cheap?
I've looked at arrowhead, wigwam, estrella, raven at varrado - these look like the closest to my place.

Also would be very interested in those weekly skins games yellowjaket was mentioning. Those still up and running and how easy is it to get in those games? I was thinking of playing a few Pepsi tour events too.

eezzee if you are a +2 handicap you should probably be basically nationwide tour material

Well a +2 handicap at my home course and the nationwide tour are 2 extremely different things. I'm not under any illustions of hopping on the nationwide tour. Let's just say that I'm a scratch golfer then?
Played college golf for 5 year until this year when I graduated - now just saved up my money for the past year working and grinding online poker to come down and chase the dream. Phoenix was the best spot from what I could see, just looking for some inside info on courses in the area, skins games etc

All the skins games I've heard of or have taken part in only require you to show up and bring money. No connections, no advance notice needed. That may have changed, although I can't imagine why, so hopefully you'll get better/more qualified answers, including an up-to-date listing of where the games are.

I guess I'll just have to wait to get down there before I can get hooked up with a regular skins game. Thinking of playing the pepsi tour event at camelback in Scottsdale - what's that course like??

Camelback consists of two courses which are quite different from each other.

Padre - a lot of holes that wind back and forth, generally considered slightly harder (not sure if rating/slope will verify this) and usually in better shape and the pricier of the two.

Indian Bend - nine holes out, nine holes back, the way the course is laid out you can miss way, way right on most holes and be fine, it's the slightly offline shots that are the most punished. Easy course and condition is often a factor, especially in the summer. I think it's over 7000 yards so at least it's not short.

It dawned on me after I made the post above that google may not even be your friend in identifying weekly skins games since most of those are word of mouth from what I've heard. Although I suppose I could answer this easily enough by trying to google it, but I'd rather type about googling it instead.

course brag again...hitting up Pinnacle Peak CC tomorrow afternoon, HOLLER for personal days off work

There used to be a decent skins game at Papago every week. Strong group of players there. Some local Gateway tour players and others. Would be a good place to tee it up if they have anything going still. Check out their website. papago mens golf to see if they have a weekly razz

Thanks for the info
Looked it up online - Papago has a "players club" membership type thing for about 2grand for unlimited range balls and play after 12pm.
Looks prety good, and I might look into getting it if I can have it for $1000 instead of 2 since I'll only be there half the year.

wouldn't spend 1000 to play and practice at papago sir........

there's much better places to practice and play. My suggestions if you are out on the west side would be Triology at Vistancia, Palm Valley, Raven at Verado.

Papago is alright, but you will get bored pretty quick and the conditions aren't that good most of the time imo.

My favorite place to play in phoenix that is public is Legacy Golf Resort. Always in great shape, good practice facility and great rates during the summer/spring.

FWIW the Papago skins game was always on Monday and as indicated was absolutely loaded with talent. I seem to remember 40-50 guys on the times I donated. They used to schedule their aeration and overseeding schedule specifically to accommodate this group, so wouldn't do it until Tuesdays. I'm not sure if it's started back up since the redesign though.

Agreed though that as much as I love Papago they have mismanaged it so badly that I'd sadly advise against investing any money there - or doing it with caution - because I can't say with confidence that it will be in good shape in the near future, until the finances get worked out. Besides, EVERY course in town wants your money so you have a million choices. Definitely recommend Papago to check out and play a round or two from the tips though.

Thanks for the info - I have heard about Raven and Palm Valley and I will be checking them out for sure. I'm not going to invest any money in a course until I get down there and check everything out - but the reason I am posting on here is to try and get a good feel of stuff. I just saw advertised on Papago's website of their 'players club' promotion and when I read about the skins game, I figured it might be a good spot.

Thanks for the info guys, I appreciate it.

Just an FYI if anyone is looking for an awesome deal and value go play Legacy golf resort right now on 32nd street and baseline. We played today at like 1:00 PM for 19 dollars and the course is absolutely FLAWLESS and greens are lightning fast and smooth.

They overseed later than most courses in phoenix so it will be in awesome shape for like another one.

No joke, I would rate the course conditions are like 9.5 out of 10 for a public course