Mnorton28117

A usual stop in our foursome’s rotation… we like the course, but we have seen it in better shape. Keep in mind that it is approaching summer time in Phoenix so course conditions will not be pristine. However I expected a little bit better for the $68 green fee. Definitely some burnt out areas and areas of neglect… Some concern about the overall health of the greens as well. They did roll smooth, however had some brown grainy grass growing in some of the areas. Foursome in front of us made it almost a five hour round, but still enjoyable with our usual foursome. Will probably pass on this until the fall over seed when the course becomes really lush and a good value for the money.

Probably one of the top 3 courses I've ever played. Fairways manicured to perfection. Greens were hard and extremely fast. Enough sets of tees and combos to bite off exactly how much you want. We saw a ranger on our way to the 10th hole who said the back 9 should move quicker but the exact opposite happened. 2 hrs 45mins for 9 is not acceptable and caused by 2 groups who visited the desert often, looked for balls that they could not play, and did not play ready golf. Would definitely go back, and the 2 for 1 rate on Sundays after 1:30 in April made this an extremely good value.

Played the course on 3/24/18... sorry but not worth $65 greens fees. Course looks really nice from far away, but still have significant wear and tear on the fairways. The greens, as many others have pointed out, are what need the most attention. Bumpy, dead in spots, and inconsistent made for a long afternoon with the flat stick. Haven't played the course in over 10 years, and this round was a reminder of why. Will not come back until signicant improvement are made.

First, a little background. I was a Rancho El Dorado resident for seven years and played this course extensively from 2003 through 2009. Today was the first day back after seven years. I had read the reviews and for $23 I decided to take a flyer on playing an old friend.

When I arrive the cart attendant greeted me and handle my golf bag with efficiency. The practice range, once in pristine condition, needed some serious work. The reviews stating that the driving range was an open field with some bare spots and some weeds was spot on. The practice putting green and chipping areas were little bumpy and not as well-maintained as I had remembered. With that said, I have to be fair and say that they have had some heavy rain the evening before. However I think the practice area is a big opportunity and I think the Duke management knows this based on the responses to previous reviews. I was definitely underwhelmed with the practice conditions and hoping that I had not made a mistake.

We get out to the course and the conditions are better. The tee boxes were definitely a little long based on the rain and not being cut, but were in good to very good condition. I could clearly differentiate fairway from rough. Did the fairways look like pinstripe carpet and did the greens roll like pool tables? No, but the fairways did provide good roll on well-struck tee shots which was a nice surprise to both myself and my playing partner given the rain. The greens have been punched about two weeks ago and were still bumpy and slow, but a good rolling and some manicuring over the next week or two will have these rolling in fine shape. Overall, if the course Dries out and gets a little TLC from the maintenance crew, you will see a very serviceable course especially during the summertime. Most of the bunkers for hardpan or washed out due to the rain, so they get a pass on those conditions. My friend and I teed off at 6:36 and were done playing in three hours so A+ on the pace of play.

After play my friend and I went in and had breakfast at the Silverspur grill… Five star experience. The waitress we had was very nice and attentive, the food was excellent, and the bill reasonably priced. Definitely leave yourself some time for either breakfast or Lunch.

I have a soft spot in my heart for the Duke given the number of times I have played there in the past. I've seen the reviews over the past two or three years about the course going downhill. I would recommend those that have not been there in the past couple of years to give the Duke another chance after the course dries out and gets some more targeted TLC by rolling and cutting the greens. I think if they have a really good over seed, then that could get the duke back to its former glory of being one of the best golfing values in the valley. I think they can get there and so does my golfing buddy. So much so that he bought a Duke card before we left.

First time playing the GCU course and was excited based on the previous recent reviews. Experience was meh at best. Looks like most of the $8 million went to the clubhouse and grill which were both very nice. Course layout gave you many different looks and challenged me to position the ball on some holes while giving me room to hit driver on some. Overall some good holes on there.

Was disappointed in the course conditions... many bare spots but they are trying to make improvements. They need another $3-$5 million to bring fairways and rough areas up to par. Would I go back? Probably not, the $29'deal after 12 was about the max I would pay given current conditions. With some more money and further TLC, could become a really decent course. Keep trying guys, we can see the effort.

Pace of play was at 5 hours with backups at most par 3s... much too long, but they did have a tournament finishing up by the time I teed off. Course looks like it gets heavy play and possibly due to 72 degree day in May which probably brought some less experienced players out.