marshwj49

I've played this course perhaps a dozen times over the past few years, and it has ALWAYS been muddy. How can it be muddy in the midst of a terrible drought? Are they simply overwatering? The greens were good, but the fariways were not - many had huge bald patches, perhaps a real reflection of the drought. Virtually every shot that ended up in the fairway grass produced mud on the ball.

The bunkers were a disgrace - dirt and water pooled in the bottom. No sand whatsoever. It was as if it had been raining for days. Our group took the balls out of the bunkers and played from the adjacent rough.

I'm a member of Arcis Golf, which includes Kokopelli. I don't see myself going back. The course is attractive enough and certainly challenging, but the conditions are subpar, to say the least.

Apart from the first hole - very long and around a lake - the course is reasonably easy, without much water or excessive bunkering. Fairways were in decent shape considering recent rains, and greens were running well.
An easy course for skilled golfers - challenging enough for others.
Pace of play in New Year's weekday was fantastic.

First visit to Western Skies wasn't memorable. The course is very flat, with few distinguishing features or memorable holes. There is some water, but little desert - housing surrounds each hole. Still, the fairways and greens were in good shape, and the fairways are mostly generous. Pace of play for a Monday was a tad slow.

The Short Course is just that, with only par 3s - a change from years past. The course plays shorter and easier, the result of development in the area, but it's no pushover. The greens are tricky, with lots of slope, and the rough (at least in November) is lush and thick. Indeed, anything on the green is no guarantee of par.
Pace can be an issue - I was behind a slow couple and lost an hour overall waiting on them on every hole.

Beautiful little 9-holer tucked into a lovely residential area in Oak Creek. Some elevation change, a little water. Holes are mostly straightforward and greens ran true, if a little slow... went around twice in 2 1/2 hours on a Saturday! Will be back!

Wigwam has a lot going for it - it's spacious, and it was lush even in the midst of a months-long drought. But the courses are old-school parkland tracks that just don't too much for the eye. They're flat and open, and Patriot may be particularly so. A few of the greens are somewhat elevated, but there's very little that's memorable about any hole apart for the short island hole, No. 15. It may be the flattest course I've played in the valley, and that's saying something. Good golfers would eat this course up. It's easy to leave the driver in the bag on several of the shorter par 4s.
That said, Wigwam has a friendly staff and excellent lunch opportunities. And it was unusually empty on the cusp of Thanksgiving, which may bode well for tee times throughout the year.

Very fond of the course, which was in good shape, and greens were rolling well.
But... a cautionary tale about service and scheduling. Unknown to us, there was a huge shotgun tournament that was still going on when we arrived - and there were no carts! All were being used by the tournament.
A staffer curtly told us we simply had to wait. And one showed up 15 minutes later - and our tee time was pushed back at least 20 minutes.
This was not a happy experience. Also, remaining rounds that day were apparently shoved into smaller times slots, and we waited for 15 minutes at one par 3 on the front before things loosened up later.

While the course was generally in good shape, there were some fairway spots that were very wet and muddy. Also, while the greens weren't super fast, they were very hard, and it was practically impossible to hold anything. We realized as we finished that we had seen no ball marks on the greens. I had a half-dozen approach shots that hit the greens and rolled off - a little watering should have slowed them down.
Still, this is a very nice course with lots of variety and plenty of challenges for any golfer.

The course was in terrific shape, and with a perfect mild day, the views were wonderful, as usual.
Desert Canyon is worth a drive from Phoenix, with some of the best views to the east from anywhere and a challenging course with a lot of up and down and quick greens. The rates are as high as they will be all year, probably, but still a fair value.

Encanto is an old course, and shows its age and pedigree at this time of year. Fairways are thin and patchy, sand in the bunkers is too sparse, rough is all dead Bermuda. Even the driving range is chewed up, with no grass in many spots. But greens were fast and basically true. Pace of play was fine for the most part with foursomes ahead and behind.

Ambiente is an intriguing track with open space all around and full sight lines - but that doesn't make it easy. Course was in great shape, especially the greens. Only downside to the round was a very slow foursome ahead of us - but the ranger assured us they were on schedule and holes were full ahead of them. Third time on the course - like it a lot, though some of the holes look very similar, especially on the back. Broad landing areas in general, but some deep bunkers guard a number of greens.

Superstition Springs exceeded my expectations. The golf clubhouse/cart facility are modest, but the course was tougher and more interesting than I expected. There's lots of water - not as much as at Ocotillo, but more than just about any other local course. And much of that water is running, even as summer neared - it was pretty, and the water comes into play on several holes where I wasn't aware of it, adding to the degree of difficulty. There are some nice short par 4s, and some challenging 5s. I'll be coming back.

Legend Trail offers a lot, and especially at current rates. The fairways and greens were in really good condition; the latter are a little tricky, especially with pace. The course is scenic and challenging, with some target golf, especially on the back, and puts a premium on accuracy. Pace of play was excellent for a foursome - just over four hours.

Maybe the convoluted entrance to Tegavah (a product of a huge construction project) gives you a clue to the facility: it's challenging, and it still feels very unfinished.
That's not to slight the course or the conditions. We found the fairways and greens generally in great shape, and there are plenty of tee choices. But this is a course for better golfers. There is desert everywhere for wayward shots, a number of forced carries, and very difficult greens (some quite large) that are often perched at the top of a rise and are almost all well-guarded by deep bunkers. My buddy mused that it would be hard to interest women in playing the course unless they were virtually scratch golfers.
The scenery of the Verde Valley, Four Peaks and all is terrific, but the course seems ramble all over the place, usually on dirt cart paths that sometimes are hard to follow from one tee box to the next, since signage is minimal.
Our foursome followed a twosome - seemed to be father and son - that was achingly slow, but no marshal was there to speed them up. Maybe he got lost along the way...
Bottom line: this is a scenic wonderland if you're new to desert golf, but it's long and difficult and requires a substantial drive for most people in the Phoenix area.

San Marcos was apparently among the first golf courses in Phoenix, just over 100 years old. She's showing her age. The fairways and some of the greens are bare in spots - can't image what's it's like in summer. And though it's been dry, most of the dirt (sand?) in the bunkers was very wet and heavy.
The course is flat, flat - and many of the holes are set up very similarly, straight away. The challenge is the greens, which are small. But they rolled pretty true and were generally well kept.
Though there are holes with an attractive array of mature trees, the overall challenge isn't higher than local munis.
San Marcos is inexpensive, and it should be. It's arguably a decent value for the money, but doesn't make for a compelling round of golf.

Kokopelli suffers from a common problem in the Phoenix area - it's shoehorned into a residential community, with houses all around on literally every hole. So it feels a bit claustrophobic, with mostly narrow fairways. Mounding is everywhere, even where it seems to do little for the hole. There is dirt at the extremes right and left on most holes, and there was casual water and spongy turf in the rough. While the fairways and especially greens were in good shape, it's not a very interesting course visually. Moreover, on the day I played, there was no one to check in with at the bag drop and I literally loaded my own cart. The driving range is also small and cramped.