RKenH

Palmbrook is one of the few courses in Phoenix that does not use the cart path only rule after over seeding. The course is in great shape for this time of year with greens running a little slow out of necessity. A great range and a very nice staff, what's not to like?

Meadowcreek is one of the early Sun City courses designed for retired folks that enjoy a round of golf without a lot of punishment for imperfect shots. It's usually in quite good condition compared to its siblings. Scratch players will break par but high handicappers can still find them self in fairway and green side bunkers or in the creek that winds down the right side of many fairways. The homes that boarder the course are set back far enough unless you like hitting snap hooks. Greens run at about 8 usually but have enough slope to make you think. Give it a try but remember the green fees are one tenth of the more expensive Scottsdale courses so don't be expecting a similar experience.

They must have cleared a billion tons of huge bolders to build this course and they were all piled up along side the fairways. Go to the Victory web site and view the flyover feature to see what I mean. It's a brand new course so the condition was perfect. I didn't see one did divot or ball mark anywhere. Has a wide variety of hazards from bolders to water to huge undulations in the fairways. I'm sure you'll score much better the second time you play it. I didn't like the cart path routing. It wandered all over the place and didn't always end up near the green. Over all it's a very entertaining golf course and one you'll be talking to your friends about after you play it.

Played the front nine of each course. Greens were perfect. Fairways a little patchy. Lots of doglegs and other hazards. Miss the fairway and lose your ball. Many long rides from the green to the next tee. Played in 110 degree heat. The cart girl was great.

Playing Desert Springs completes my goal of playing all 30 full length courses on Golfnow in the NW valley. It's a pretty straight forward course in reasonable shape but doesn't offer much excitement or variety. One of the best club house and practice areas and staff are it's outstanding values. But the golf was somewhat boring with little trouble off the tee and around the greens. If you want to score well it should rank high on your scale.

Well designed course with few boring holes. Water comes into play on only a few holes but desert scrubs and bushes were very easy to find. Quite a few holes had a strip of desert either in front of the tee or further down the fairway where only long hitters could carry it from the tee. Greens are very undulating in places making putting a challenge. Very deep bunkers guarded many greens. I shot about 10 shots worse than my typical round but look forward to returning to give it another try.

Looked forward to playing the North as it was closed for one year to install a new water system. When I arrived for my 1:30 tee time the place was absolutely jammed with people. It was a zoo. The line of players waiting to sign in ran out the door of the pro-shop which was served by only one poor overtaxed employee. He was telling the guys ahead of me that they ran out of carts and didn't know when one would be available so I apologized to him for being berated by the guy ahead of me and told him to just ignore my reservation. On the way back to my car I stopped at their practice green to hit a few putts. That's all I hit...a few, the grass looked like an old carpet pounded into the ground. And putted worse. Don't think I'll try again, recent overhaul or not.

I've played almost every course in Sun City and Sun City West this year. In my opinion this course is the best of the bunch. Forget the cart staging area between the pro shop and driving range, it's a crowded mess. But once on the course this track ranks with any private club in town. Lots of variety, deep bunkers, elevated greens, good grass and some very difficult holes make Grandview a course I will play many times in the future.

This is a military course (officers have special parking spots) just north of Luke AFB. Using a small piece of ground (1/2 mile square) Gary Panks laid out a very interesting course with some water, dog legs, rough and lots of trees. Consecutive holes switch direction frequently, which I like because you are never hitting into the sun for a long stretch. The greens were a little slow (8 1/2 maybe) and the grass clippings were not all captured by the mowers, but all in all a very worth while round. Rolling fairways can provide some difficult lays.

Fairway turf was very good, rough was excellent length, greens ran about 9, so in all the course was in very good shape. Driving range aimed South, one of my pet peeves because it's hard to pick up the ball flight in the sun. Cimarron has an excellent set of par 5's and 3's. Most hazards are not too difficult to avoid so your score should fit your handicap.

I hit a few really bad pushes and still didn't leave the golf course on this wide layout. Homes are out of reach on most holes. Fairway turf was in good shape, greens were also good (running about 9). There are a few holes with water and bunkers that come into play off the tee but most holes are just straight and open. I hear the North course has more personality so I may try it the next time. All around a nice facility.

Course was in good shape and had no traffic. Played as a twosome in 3 hours. Wide fairways but many bunkers so it plays quite narrow. I had three "fried egg" lays in green side bunkers but it was my fault for hitting it there. Some greens have multiple tiers, making putting tough if you're not on the right level. Greens were fast so a misread could miss by 6 feet or more. I've heard that his club will be returning to private status soon so play it now while you can.

The more scenic of the two Westbrook Village courses, this course has more variety and is a little more difficult. I played in a threesome on Masters Sunday and we flew around in 3 1/2 hours. Greens were a little slow (maybe a 7 or 8) but very smooth and consistent. I could play this course frequently without getting bored.

Simple design, as all Sun City courses are, and relatively easy from the regular tees. But Pebblebrook has unusually good turf. The greens had few imperfections and the fairways were flawless. Pace of play was good and friendly ranger kept it that way. Definitely worth playing.

Bad things: tiny prefab club house, barely enough carts to fill the course, construction class entrance drive, no rangers, strange routing entangles cart paths around tee boxes from different holes. Good things; excellent turf, slow but good greens, many hazards (bushes, desert, bunkers, trees, water), quite scenic from many tees, excellent practice facilities.

Played on Saturday and it was totally backed up. Waited on every tee box. Rangers did nothing. Greens were very slow (maybe running 6 or 7). Fairways and rough were good except a little too long. Many holes ran close to another hole going in the opposite direction frequently putting players in the wrong fairway. Close fairways with sharp doglegs gave me claustrophobia.

Excellent chipping and putting practice area set the tone for a good round on one of the best maintained golf courses in the area. Greens ran about 10 and had enough slope to make you think. I normally don't three put that often but had 4 of them that day. The routing is not too spectacular, straight out and back on the two nines with typical mix of par 3, 4 and 5's. But a few dog legs and some water will keep you alert. .

Took a 1:45 tee time knowing the sun went down at 5:30 and we still finished in the daylight. South is not very exciting because most holes are pretty straight and most greens have little undulation. But it's a fair test at 6433 yards (gold tees) and let me hit my driver all day. All Phoenix area courses are in good shape this winter due to great over seeding weather in October and this course is no exception.

Straight out, straight back nines don't offer many much variety but this course is always in very good condition and is enjoyable to play. Although I couldn't describe but a couple of holes after playing it twice, I still look forward to playing it again. Paired up with nice people both times I've played it.

The John Jacobs golf school people have bought this course and are working hard to bring it back into good shape. The turf was fine thanks to good over seeding and the greens ran true. Their big problem is the cart paths are busted up pretty bad and they cost a fortune to fix. But his course has great routing, a lot of variety and some excellent par fives. Just ignore the ruts in the road.