I had some friends play Legacy back in July for $19 or whatever and said exactly the same thing - that it was a great value and that the greens were rolling really smooth. Good to hear.

Maybe we can organize a group outing there ASAP - I really need to get out and play before mid-October, because I plan/hope to shut it down until the new year after that as my game has been disappointing enough that I didn't renew my GHIN this year, although I plan to next year.

I played Troon North on Thursday -Pinnacle - the old back nine from each course - evidently the Monument has already shut down for overseeding (, it got to 111 today, good luck with that), but the greens were ridic good so I recommend if you can get a rate.

yeah I played troon north a few weeks ago....I prefer legacy to be honest. Just more fun, a little easier off the tee, cheaper beers lol

bump for an epic golf trip this weekend. Seven Canyons, Forest Highlands both courses and staying in Forest Highlands....most excited I have been for a golf trip in a while!

Very nice looking courses! Hopefully I'll get here at some point when I get down to Phoenix

Was out at Sunridge Canyon yesterday (spectating, not playing) and found out that SunCor got out of golf course management and that Troon Golf picked it up along with Sanctuary and Stoneridge. Decent news, gives Troon pass holders more options, which is helpful since Talking Stick has pulled a Kierland and jacked up their rates upon completion of the adjacent hotel, which seems to be an amazingly bad idea in this economy and lousy tourism industry. Prior to the Westin being finished we played Kierland several times a year. In the years since maybe twice, total.

Also, played TPC Champions/Desert on Friday and got the good news that they're not overseeding until November 1st, which is very good news. Course is in good shape too.

Hey Scottsdale/Phoenix area golfers, I could really use some advice:

I'm moving to Scottsdale (Optima Camel View in Old Town) at the end of this month and am pretty clueless when it comes to Scottsdale/Phoenix golf, but I plan on playing at least 3-4 times a week. A friend of mine recommended getting the Troon Pass which sounded like a pretty cool deal. Do you guys recommend this? Otherwise I guess I was wondering if there are any nice tracks close to where I'll be living (or just in general I suppose) that you guys recommended? I looked around on google but a lot of times places that people recommend end up being too resort-ish for my liking.

Thanks for any help and if anyone ever wants to play during the week or has a regular game and needs a 4th or w/e hit me up. I'm down to play pretty much anytime.

edit: Durango those pics are awesome

yeah those places that I have been playing up north are super private and pretty hard to get on........BUT THEY ARE AMAZING.

If money is no issue, the troon pass is a decent deal and almost all of the courses on there are nice. Most of the courses are overseeding the grass right now to winter rye so the conditions will be suspect for the next month AT LEAST.

Best courses for your value that are within a 30 minute drive for you will be: Legacy Golf Resort, Aguila (best city course, good condition, cheap rates), Talking Stick (two courses, casino right there, Troon course)

I can give you my other favorites but most of them will be in the $90-$120 range here pretty soon which I refuse to pay. Glad I have a bunch of buddies still working in the industry

The head pro at the club I'm at now said he could probably get me on most courses in the area so its possible I'll be able to play some of those north courses although they sound pretty exclusive so maybe not. Thanks a bunch for the advice.

I've played Talking Stick before and thought it was pretty nice. Only other course I've played is Camelback and thought it was one of the worst courses I've ever played. I will definitely look into Legacy Golf Resort and Aguila. Would love to hear your other favorites too.

Too bad you are moving here at exactly the worst time, what with courses overseeding or reopening with their ****ty, slow greens and cart path only and jacked up rates. Optima Camelview is cool though, I have a friend who lives there and it's super sick. And it's an absolutely perfect time to be a renter who can afford something like that because of the ridic condo bubble.

As already noted by me, Talking Stick just started jacking the rates and it went from a very good value - the layouts are ok but not very memorable, but as a Troon Golf property it's always in great shape - to awful value. On Golfnow right now they want $70 twilight, and that rate doesn't appear to be discounted. I'm not sure what magical tourists they think are showing up to fill their large new hotel and pay for golf, but the pricing has taken that course of my rotation. It's worth it at a better rate though.

Troon Pass is great. So many solid courses on it, although even with the 50% discount they can be pricey.

If you will be here and ready to golf before November 1st, play TPC Champions if you can get the resident rate. You may want to look into a membership there too - a few friends have joined and it gives them unlimited range and basically $10/cart fee to play at a lot of times.

Aguila is supposed to be great but don't count out Papago. It's close to Old Town and is legit at 7400 yards or whatever. Condition is a crapshoot but when it's good it's a great track.

I have connections over at Kierland, Biltmore, Orange Tree, Pinnacle Peak CC so if you want to pm me your phone number or email I can add you to list of potential people to round out a foursome if you are interested.

TUQ is dead on, right now is the absolute worst time of the year for golf in Arizona. I am lucky enough to have some connections up north so I typically go up there for a few rounds as you can see from my brags above. The best move this time of the year is to stick to the driving range/crackerjacks and work on your game a little bit. I would plan on the courses being in reasonable shape sometime toward the middle-end of November and even then it's not as good as you probably expect.

CART PATH ONLY SUCKS SO BAD WHEN IT'S BUSY THAT IT'S NOT EVEN WORTH IT....TRUST ME

Damn that sounds pretty terrible. Guess I should have waited until the 1st of December to move. Thanks a lot for the advice. Looking forward to getting settled in.

I am also moving into the area on the 28th of October.
Looking forward to practicing alot then instead. Where abouts are you moving to? I am in Glendale, planning on doing lots of playing/practicing at Estrella, Raven@Verrado, Wigwam, Papago, Coldwater. This is all based on research, want to play them all and see where I can get the best deal for practice facilities before buying anything..

Wednesday Razz from Papago Mens club for those interested

RAZZ

The RAZZ is open and ongoing. We are rotating playing the public courses every Wednesday starting at Noon.

http://www.papagomensgolf.com/

I'm moving to Old Town in Scottsdale. Let me know which ones you like and don't like and I'll do the same about any I play.

I must be a total newb, but what type of golf game is RAZZ?

Just tee it up and hit it - stroke play

I think they have a skins game, so make some birdies

If you are a birdie machine, then you can make some money in the skins game.

bump for that Sedona course

to think I was in Sedona this year and we didn't even play it/know about it

beautiful - next time in AZ hitting this for sure just for the scenery alone

Played Prescott Lakes on Saturday for the first time in a few years, since it went private. Was only $35 + tax, perfect weather so just ridiculous value. It's in really good shape and I highly recommend if you can find a way to get on there. The course accepts reciprocity from many other country clubs so it can be done. The downside is that the weather is going to start turning and it could be chilly to cold for most of the next five months or so.

Sedona Seven Canyons has unmatched views, but as far as upstate golf courses go it's 1. Forest Highlands (Canyon), 2. Prescott Lakes, 3. Seven Canyons, with Prescott Lakes imo clearly being the most difficult of the three from the back tees (although not sure if the AGA bears this out). I haven't played The Rim or Torreon though, although doubt they would displace the top two for me.

whats up man, i was in ur same a year ago when i moved out here. i was home in montana for the summer caddying, jus got back to phx a couple weeks ago. the courses u mentioned are all decent public tracks, nothing amazing but they have a range and thats all u really need.

the mountain shadows skins game is still running and still solid. played lastweek for the first time in awhile and they had about 40ish guys. itll cost u 72 bucks for the skins, gross and cart. usually 5 or 6 under wins gross for a couple hundred and u basically have to make a hole in one for a skin. those 500ish unless theres a carry over. very good value imo and a fun track to go play with ur buddies.

ive played about 20 or so pepsi tour events thus far and to be honest they are nothing special. the buyins add up after awhile and u have to go pretty low to win. the only way to make any money is booking wins. but theres nothing gets u better than playing tournaments so id say if ur feeling good about ur game go ahead and give some a shot. u def get the chance to play some sweet courses vs. solid competition.

if u get here and find urself on ur A game id suggest looking into the arizona series on the gateway tour. 100k g prize pools so if u can put it together for 3days then ur looking at a very nice pay day. they have a qualifier to get free entries in january at troon north, i would def recommend playing. well hope i helped u a little bit and if u have any other questions ill try to help. also if u ever wanna tee it up i can get on some nice tracks let me knw

yellow

Awesome man, yeah sounds good.

I really haven't touched a club in about 3 weeks now because the weather has been so bad up here, courses are closed. I drive down on Monday get there about Thursday.
Im basically gonna have to practice for a few weeks to get my game back in shape, planning on playing the Pepsi tour events in Phoenix area before Christmas.
I don't see myself playing the gateway events though because they are just a bit outta my price range. I am not good enough (hopefully yet) to make money on that tour so I would be throwing away 1200 or so per event which is alot. Pepsi-tour, skins games, practice practice practice, we'll see.

Maybe if I feel really good about my game in the spring I'll try one. See how the funds are doing. Maybe if I go deep in the sunday million one of these days I'll be able to afford haha. But like you said, looking for the competition and just looking to get alot better.

I'll be posting on here next few weeks when I get down and try out these courses.

theres a handful of decent 2 day pepsi events then the pepsi tour championship is out in the palm desert in december. i would recommend that because the strength of field is def one of the weakest around. theres also a players pool and skins during each tourney, so theres some side money to made.

u said in ur pm that ur a poker grinder. mtts or cash? casino az is awesome. they have good 2/3 nl and 3/5 nl running at all hours and decent tournies throughout the week. saturdays usually have a bigger buyin and much better stucture than the weekday ones. plus talking stick is right there so its always to play in the morning then grind in the evenings. thats what im doing right now but think i might look into picking up some loops somewhere jus for more playing privlidges/extra cash

oh and 3/5 in a 22 nlo8 on tilt. if i win its going to the pepsi tour event at asu this weekend

Just arrived in Phoenix. All settled in and ready to get good at this game.
Going to check out some of the courses nearby this week, and see if I can get a home base. I mostly play tourneys, if I play cash I like it to be live cash - drove in through Vegas and stayed there Wednesday night - man those live games are soft!!
Plan to play the first pepsi event on the 14th, game has to get in shape before then, havent touched a club in a month!

Bump

So I have arrived in Phoenix and played 3 courses so far. I hit a tonne of balls last weekend at a range close by, and got a little feel back. Also got some blisters on my hands. Shout out Moe Norman!
Monday I played at the Wigwam - played the Golds, which is 7400 I think, but I didn't actually find it played that long. Greens were verrry slow, over seeding. Shot 75 which wasn't terrible I guess.

Tuesday played at Papago, greens a bit faster but still not very fast. Thought it was a decent layout, pretty wide open though, but 7300 so I guess it's understandable. Also shot 75, putted terrible and started to spray the driver a bit :P

Today I played at Stonecreek, which was my favourite course of the 3 so far. Nice variety of holes and it meanders nicely through the houses. Wasn't great shape, fairways shaggy, from overseeding also, greens also pretty slow. Played a bit better today shot 70 and hit some really good shots. Putted a bit better since I worked on it for 2 hours before the round, but putting still has to be much better.

I sent emails to all 3 Head Pros/GMs to ask what a membership rate would be for the winter, but haven't heard anything back. Anyone have any advice for courses that offer good rates for good players trying to work on their game? I would love some inside info..

Gonna take tomorrow off and let the blisters heal and workout a bit. I wish I had some place close to my apartment where I could go and putt in the late afternoons...

Also, any skins games in the area that someone knows of? Would like to be involved...