mattborys

Where to begin...
I've been making trips down to Gilbert, AZ for the last dozen years and have never plated this course. Driving by on the highway and peering down onto what looked like a fairly flat and hilly course had my mind made up that there was nothing to see here. Boy was i wrong. For this years trip,, being Canadian, we were seeking some economical choices as we're paying an additional 30 cents on the dollar. We found Karsten offering $53 green fees for a friday morning at 8:14 and 8:22am. Standing on the first tee, all previous impressions I had conjured up melted away. Playing from the second furthest set of tees (forget the color), you're greeted with a downhill, dogleg right. Bunkers guard the corner on the left, but also line the right side of the fairway for any errant shots. I could tell immediately that, while the bunkers pose a challenge off the tee, they also give the casual golfer a bit of a buffer so as not to lose a ball on the first tee (assuming a big banana doesnt take you above and beyond). It was apparent that Gary Panks had designed this course with the casual golfer in mind, but not neglecting the things that make this course a tournament caliber track. I could go on an on, so i'll summarize as best i can. Greens were table-tops that held short to mid-irons easily. Fairways were narrow but well kept. Hills border many of the holes to give you the feeling that, your're not in the middle of the city. Staff were very friendly. 2 thumbs up and an absolute steal at $53 dollars. As reference, we also plated Ocotillo and Longbow this trip, but found we couldn't stop raving about ASU Karsten. Just hope it stays open long enough for our next trip down!

We played the Blue 9, followed by the White 9. Course is just transitioning into the summer grasses, but another week should remove all traces of that. I'm from up North and I always seem to find myself returning to Ocotillo. If you don't like forced water carries from the tee or on approach, target landing areas or house lined fairways, then maybe this course isn't for you. I however love looking at the majestic homes situated all along the course. Also, Ocotillo has water on 3/4 of the course, so holes and houses are usually seperated by long water-ways that the residents park their pontoon boats. This course can reward the long ball, but conservative play off the tee will yield opportunities to score. Greens run true and slightly above average speed(not sure what the stimp reading was), and they hold well. Overall, another enjoyable golf experience. Better yet, the off season value of a $65.00 green fee was sweetened by a dozen Pro-V1's. Great course with great staff.

A fun, risk/reward type of course. While its not purely target golf, if you're hitting the big stick off the tee more than 260 yards, you'd better be dialed in. Playing from the second furthest tees (white), lots of the par 4's will yield birdies with a 220-230 yard shot off the tee, usually leaving you anywhere from 170 to 130 into the green. Greens were a surprise! We played at 7am but it was still 90 degrees when we teed off, so I was expecting hot, dry greens. Not so! These greens must have pine tar as a base, as anything from 200 yards to greenside was checking up beautifully. This made for a lot of aggressive shot making and nearly yielded 2 aces in our foursome! Green speeds weren't posted when we tee'd off, but they were average speed and true. To help navigate the course, we were paired up with a local, and his knowledge of the landing areas helped. Having said that, all his info can be found in the yardage book as well (worthwhile investment and keepsake). Aesthetically, the course is a beautiful desert course, punctuated all over by its name sake, the Boulders. To summarize, this isn't a gimmicky course with blind shots and huge elevation changes. Its a fun yet challenging layout and was definitely worth our drive from Gilbert.