Whirlwind Golf Club - The Devil's Claw Course

Most golf experiences start when you pull up to the club house and unload your clubs. Usually you unload them yourself. At Whirlwind, you are greeted by a young man that immediately warms your heart for being there. Any business starts with who is the face or first representative you encounter.. this continues thru check in, your warm up facilities to on the course. The courses are always in prime condition and very enjoyable to play. As usual we have some scores to settle at the end of our round of golf, and the staff in their bar and grill is the best. For the money, Devils Claw is more than a five star golf course. Every golfer should make Whirlwind part of their golfing experience.

We played through a good rain storm, but other than that it was perfect. Great layout and conditions, greens rolled true, and staff were good. This is a must play course.

I had played Devil's Claw a few days earlier and loved it so much I just wanted to experience it again.
This time...the experience was EVEN BETTER. The weather was superb, the course was magnificent AND on hole 4 I scored my first ever hole in one!!! Whirlwind Golf resort gave me a commemorative flag from the 4th hole with details of my achievement written on the flag!!! So great!!

I’ve played here over the years and conditions are consistently good. Very playable course that lets you let loose the driver

So the course is great and the staff are friendly. My biggest complaint is that the ranger at the start forced every group to play as a 4 some. I've been asked before if I was willing to play with a stranger when a course is busy and sometimes yes and sometimes no. But when I'm forced to take an extra person to a 3some, I'm gonna be displeased. If your course is overbooked that is your problem not mine. I should not be required to add to my teams just because your wanting to maximize your profit. So, unfortunately, even though the course was gorgeous and the staff friendly, I will probably not play here again. Your supply demand issues are yours not the players.

First day that Devil’s Claw course was opened after overseeding & redoing the sand traps. The course, as anticipated, was in perfect condition. The sand traps had loose sand at least six inches deep in all of the bunkers. The only thing that I could find fault with was that their large putting green at the clubhouse was kind of burnt out and fast compared to the actual course greens that were lush and not tightly cut. Therefore it took a few holes to determine the actual speed of the greens.

Devil's Claw is a very challenging layout and plays quite long from the gold tees. Probably too difficult for a higher handicap player. Several of the par fours play uphill and long, and a fairway wood or hybrid will be needed, even for a better player. Par threes are very reasonable and shouldn't be a problem. Par fives are very enjoyable. This is a course that the player needs to think his or her way around, and can't be taken lightly. I would recommend it for a better player, but a short hitter will have a long day. This is a Troon Management course, and as such is well done.

Both of these courses (Cattails and Devil's Claw) are outstanding layouts. Miss the fairway, pay the price! Don't go looking for your ball because there are snakes out there! Great desert tract, kept in great shape most of the year 'round. The staff is always helpful. The practice facilities (putting green is huge and range is good) are good. The grill/restaurant is a hidden gem with outstanding food (go for the Philly sandwich - on a pretzel roll - yummy!).

I have reviewed this course and its sister course--Cattail--on prior occasions. The fairways, greens and amenities are all top notch even in the hottest days of summer in Arizona.

8/11/2019 - All sand traps are being redone and are considered grounds under repair. Most of tee boxes and large sections of fairways and areas around the greens have been resodded and are not recovering well. But from booking to check-in to the send off from the starter, not a mention of the poor conditions (other troon courses have called me after a booking when greens were punched to let me know the course is not up to the typical quality standards-not so here)
Furthermore pace of play was the worst I've ever experienced, not because of slow play but rather management overloaded the course by stuffing 25 foursomes in front of our 6 AM group. Our round was 5 1/2 hours with 1 1/12 of that just in that last 3 holes! Management should have never sold these morning tee times if they were going to do this. While this could have been an Isolated miscalculation, the Members we were playing with indicated it has become more common lately.
I would recommend passing on this course until you see some turnaround in these reviews. I know I'll be taking my money elsewhere for now.

Whirlwind (Managed by Troon Golf), is typically always in very good to great condition. Yesterday was no exception, tee boxes, fairways and greens were in great shape. Will be back soon to play again.

Bunkers are deep, great course will be back a again

I have played here several times over the years, Course is always in good, to great shape. Just depends on the time of year and over seeding or aeration. This was one of those times but, it did not effect play or the beauty of the course.

Great condition! Staff and facilities are excellent!

I realize the title may be a bit high given all of the high quality golf courses in Phoenix. It may have been that stars aligned but what a great track. I enjoy courses with generous hitting areas and big, smooth greens. The course was in immaculate condition, so the rate was great for a course of this quality. I played with some fun people (Jim, Lexi and Emily) that made it even more enjoyable. Supposedly the rates are really good in the summer and the conditions stay solid, so I am going back for sure. My only critique is that I sensed the golf shop staff may have a bit of a tude., which unfortunately happens at high echelon courses. That's only a few minutes of the experience, so don't let it stop you.

The combination of fairways, greens, and weather made this for the absolute best condition I have ever seen at Devil’s Claw. There was a large tournament in the a.m. of the day I played, yet there was virtually no divots in the fairway, which is a tribute to the quality of golfers as well as the quality of the course.

Excellent salad for lunch and just an overall impressive day at Whirlwind Golf Club

What a nice place to play. Top notch facilities and staff was great. Fairways were an appropriate width and bunkers were well placed.