robert4300

Played early Sunday afternoon with another single in less than 3 hours despite the course being busy. Quick thinking starter helped me avoid an awkward pairing. Course conditions were good all around. Nothing to complain about other than unfixed ballmarks from lazy golfers. Enjoyable par 60 layout has some interesting greens and several par 4 driver holes. This is a steal for $37 right now.

It's not as bad as some of the other reviews would lead you to believe once you remember you aren't paying top dollar to play here. The course is in acceptable condition for the price in winter and represents a fair value. The condition/speed of the greens were a bit inconsistent from one to the next, and there were numerous small repaired areas, but the overseeded tees and fairways were mostly in good condition. We played early and the pace was great. Enjoyable Johnny Bulla designed course that can easily be walked.

Played El Rio for my first time on a Saturday morning. Course wasn’t busy, so pace was great. Conditions were better than I expected. Greens were great, fairways pretty good. Plush but not soaked with water, so the ball rolled out decent. Bunkers aren’t great as is typical on courses in this area (and understandable due to the wind), lots of small pebbles. The course layout strikes a good balance between giving some challenge while being forgiving for the higher handicapper. #8, 9, & 18 were particularly fun holes to play.

Overall this was an excellent value and an enjoyable round for $55 plus tax and including complimentary range balls. Way better conditions than nearby Los Lagos, not even a close comparison, El Rio is a better layout, way better kept, and cheaper too.

I played Rolling Turf for the first time on a Saturday afternoon, $20 to walk 12 holes. The course layout uses the terrain of the property well and is really fun to play. The two-tier green on #10 is a blast and worth the greens fee alone. Greens, rough surrounding the greens, and bunkers were in perfect condition. Fairways and tees were a bit hard/baked out from the drought the area has been experiencing recently, but were no problem to play from. The woman working the check-in window was very friendly and helpful with my first-timer questions about playing the course. Course was busy with a bunch of twosomes, so there was a little waiting on the tees but I was still finished in a little over 2 hours. Good value, a fun round, and I'd definitely go back. Also seems like the ideal place to bring kids or people new to the game.

Conditions were excellent, especially considering the recent drought. This course is very punishing to lesser skilled golfers who can’t control the ball, they will lose plenty of them. Holes 1 and 13 are extremely poorly designed in my opinion and detracted from the layout. Hole 14 tee could use leveling. Course played somewhat firm, which I like, but no problem getting an iron under the ball in the fairways.

We played in 4 hours with pretty much no waiting, we caught a good tee time with a gap ahead of us. I can see this easily being a 5 hour round on a busy day due to the difficulty, ease of losing balls, and “resort golfers”.

$60 regular rate and $40 for the seniors in the group was a good value given the conditions. Speaking of seniors, I would not recommend this course to people who don’t get around well due to the slopes and the fact that many of the cart paths aren’t close to the tees and greens.

All staff members we encountered were friendly, approachable, and helpful. Clubhouse has a nice little locker room with shower. Bar was closed but there was a snack window with patio seating.

Course is in excellent condition all around. Despite an early AM tee time, it wasn’t saturated and the ball was rolling well in the fairways. Bunkers had actual sand. Some greens had a minor top dressing that didn’t affect the roll much. Carts are almost new. Staff were all friendly and helpful. Our foursome finished in less than 4 hours. You can tell they pay attention to the details when maintaining this course which makes it aesthetically pleasing. Their rack rate is steep for the location but the conditions make up for it.

I decided to try this course for the first time on a Saturday morning. I wasn't expecting much from a housing development course along I-10 out in Buckeye, but the course was in great condition and I enjoyed the layout. Will definitely be back. Greens were smooth, only a few had minor imperfections around the outer areas, good rye grass coverage in the fairways, especially on the approaches to the greens. I was thinking ahead of time that the conditioning might be ratty given the time of year and this being a "value" course, but that was not the case at all.

This seems like a course that is probably easier to score on the second time you play it. There are numerous decisions that must be made during the round to lay up to or carry the washes, and now knowing the shapes of the fairways where they meet the washes will help me next time.

I walked the course, there are a few minor road crossings between holes but otherwise it's an easy trek.

Staff members working the check-in window were helpful and courteous.

The greens have recovered from whatever issue they had a month ago. They were on the slow side, but generally appeared to be in decent healthy condition, receptive to approach shots, and rolled fine.

Many of the fairways do have some burnt out spots, but so does every other "value" course in the area right now. Move the ball a foot or so and it will be in grass.

Orange Tree was a good summer value today, plenty of shade to pull off into for a moment. While the course is fairly easy, I do enjoy the "parkland" style layout for a change.

This was an enjoyable course in excellent condition. Well drained even with all the recent rain in the area. Despite being shorter than most courses in the area, I still used every club in my bag. Greens offered some interesting challenges. They had an outing the morning of the day I played (I was there on a Friday afternoon) but the staff was friendly and very helpful in getting me out first as a single as soon as the outing was done. Played in 2.5 hours for less than $30 with cart. This is also an easy course to walk. I will definitely give it a try again the next time I'm in the area. Note that they are cash-only for payment.

You have to keep in mind that this is not Troon North or TPC Scottsdale, nor are you paying for it, so expectations need to be set correctly. That being said, this course offers an enjoyable layout, wall-to-wall green grass with no "desert" areas, clean facilities, and a friendly staff. I thought it was an excellent value even for the west valley where courses tend to be cheaper already. As other reviewers mentioned, some of the greens do have some minor imperfections but generally putted just fine. One thing I really liked about the course is that it plays firm and fast, not overwatered and soggy like some others in the area.

There was a pace of play problem caused by one specific group ahead, but the ranger successfully resolved the issue halfway through our round, and the back nine was played at a more normal pace.

I would definitely play it again!

Played this course for the first time today, and it is my new favorite of the Sun City West area courses. I played the Gold tees at about 6,000 yards, and this length gave me a good variety of shots and the chance to get on every green in regulation. Sets up for an enjoyable round for a lower handicap player like myself who just doesn't get a ton of distance on drives. The greens are big so you need to really take the depth into consideration when selecting a club for your approach shot.

All playing surfaces were in excellent condition. Really nothing I could nitpick. Not soaking wet like Corte Bella was last week with mudballs on every shot, instead Cimarron was playing fairly nice and dry for a Sun City course.

Played on a weekday afternoon, course was pretty empty, our twosome finished in less than 3 hours.

Would have been nice to have coolers on the carts, but most of the other courses in the NW valley don't have them either.

I've played here probably 5 times now and it's always a great experience. I prefer this course much more than its competitor just down the road in Oakcreek. This is a traditional, wooded/parkland style layout that is easy to walk. It reminds me of a course from the northeastern US, but with the beautiful red rock scenery all around.

Conditions were excellent all around. Nothing I can complain about.

The starters are all excellent, friendly guys and do a great job of getting everyone ready to tee off on time, introducing players to those they are paired up with, etc.

The course has usually been busy when I've played it. My weekend afternoon rounds here have been in the 3:50-4:15 range which is good for a course full of foursomes with a lot of tourists.

This course is not cheap but I feel it's worth it. I'll be back many times. It is a far better overall value than the "other" course in town.

I played here for the first time on a Saturday morning. Walked the course (course is easy to walk), paired with 3 other guys. The pace was great and we finished in a little less than 4 hours.

The greens are small, quick, and are challenging yet fair. The layout, while nothing out of this world, has a good variety of hole yardages and difficulties, including several 400+ yard par 4 holes that I struggled with but still enjoyed. Hard to lose a ball on this course unless you yank one into the woods on one of the holes along the outer perimeter of the property. The sand in the few bunkers my ball found was of good consistency. One point I must make is that compared to a lot of other public courses I've played within the last month in NJ and PA, the conditions at Mattawang from tee to green are probably the best around, and it seems like the staff has done a phenominal job at removing leaves from the course.

I don't know how crazy busy it gets during the warmer months but I'd definitely come back.

I played here on a Saturday afternoon. This course used to be private years ago, but I heard that in recent years they have gone public, and I thought I'd give it a try. It seems to keep a low profile as not many people I know have heard of it.

The layout is fairly short by modern standards (around 6,000 yards from the tips) but very interesting. Many of the par 4 and 5 holes do not require length off the tee, but accurate iron play with the small-ish well guarded greens. There are two long par 3's (#8 and #17) that are probably some of the most difficult in the area, requiring extremely accurate tee shots to have a chance at par. #5 through #9 are on the other side of the road, accessed through a tunnel. #5 is a tough hole where you have to decide whether to carry the wide creek or lay up to a small "pod", followed by an uphill shot to a narrow green complex.

Course conditions were excellent, especially for this location and the price paid. The only thing I could fault it for is that a couple of the bunkers had poor drainage and had mud spots, but this was only a few of them. The greens are not lightening fast, but this is necessitated by the fact that these are old style small greens with bold contouring; any faster and they might be extremely difficult to putt.

Course was busy but not packed, mostly twosomes and threesomes, I was finished in less than 3.5 hours. I showed up as a single, a foursome was teeing off right then and the cart guy (Dave, very helpful) suggested I tee off on #4 to get ahead of them. This worked out great, I later ended up pairing up with a twosome I caught up with, and the overall pace was good even when we caught up with larger groups. Then came around to play #1-3 and the front nine was empty.
I did not check out the food and beverage offerings but they did seem to have sort of a halfway house you could stop at after #9 along with some water jugs on the course.

Not sure what the walking policy is, but everyone I saw was riding, and a cart was included in the $45 fee I paid so I rode. I'm guessing they don't want people walking in the tunnel underneath the road, and it is a bit of a hike from #4 green to #5 tee and from #9 green to #10 tee.

All in all, a great round, I hope to return to this hidden gem soon.

I love Tumblebrook. I usually play it about 5 times per year. This is a Donald Ross design that was originally built as an individual's own private golf course, now the Township owns it. The course features very small greens, some with severe undulation and slopes, that are always in excellent condition. Holes 1-3 are a little boring, but then the fun begins. 4 and 5 have extremely challenging greens. 4 is domed and 5 is sloped from side to side. Holes 6 and 7 are good ones playing over the creek. 8 is a long hole where you need to stay out of the woods to set up your approach to a tiny green. 9 is a cool hole over a bit of a gully.

The course features two sets of tees for each tee color. If you are playing 18 and playing copper for example, you play the second set of coppers on the second nine.

Rates are dirt cheap, especially if walking. I paid $15 to walk nine on a weekend afternoon most recently. The pro shop building has very inexpensive basic food and booze. Friendly staff. Play it in the afternoons and its pretty much dead, you can get in a real quick nine. It just has a low-key vibe that I really enjoy. Easily walkable. It offers the beginner a chance at a decent score except for greens 4 & 5 as I mentioned. There are only 3 bunkers on the entire course and the only water hazard is the creek on a few holes, and its kinda hard to get into it.

Is this a 9 hole version of Saucon Valley Weyhill? Certainly not. But for $15 and the vibe of this place, you can't go wrong.

They are serious about maintaining a quick pace of play here AND THAT IS A GOOD THING. Even though this place is usually packed and it takes an act of congress to get a morning weekend tee time, I've never had a round take more than 4 hours 15 minutes.

The layout is nothing spectacular but it's enough to keep your interest and is in good shape.

Course seems to have a good walking culture among the clientele and is an easy walk.

Price is reasonable, they didn't sting me too hard for being an out of state non-alumni on a weekend.

They also have snazzy port-a-potties with running sink water.

A few tips I thought might be helpful to readers, some of which have been mentioned by others. I play here several times per month. All in all it's an unexciting but somewhat challenging Gordon design in good condition that I enjoy playing.

-No depth to the bunker sand. This course is infamous for this. My group plays a "rake and place" rule. Very easily to blade the ball especially if they are wet.
-This is an easy course to walk.
-Beverage cart and snack shack hours are very inconsistent. One day they are open, the next they are not. You can buy drinks to go in the restaurant.
-For the daily pin position number, read the sign in the pro shop, not the one next to the first tee, that one is usually not updated often.
-Greens usually in good shape, rest of the place looks great given we haven't had rain in a month.
-Clubhouse restaurant is very good but packed weeknights.
-No drinking water on the course but they give you fair warning with several signs in the pro shop.
-Course plays very long from the blue tees. Don't bother unless you are a single digit handicap and drive 260+.
-Course is jammed with leagues going off both nines Monday through Thursday so don't bother playing after 2pm or so on those days.
-The bushes on the sides of the fairways are 150 yard markers.
-They do have rangers but you get the best results by calling the pro shop to complain. They've always taken immediate action when I've had to do that.
-If they have a 1pm outing on the weekend, they send the early morning players off both nines. This causes a pace of play disaster and when you make the turn there will be a big pileup. If you try to book a tee time and they are cut off after 9am with none available until like 5:30pm, that's what's going on.

I play here once or twice per year. It's very expensive weekend mornings (too much for me, their target market is people coming from east of Phillipsburg) but the rate drops considerably at 2pm. Each hole is supposed to represent the style of a different course architect and I think it's very well done. A lot of really cool holes. It seems to get a lot of play so some of the greens had a ton of ball marks but in general the course is in great shape. Food and drinks in the restaurant were good and reasonably priced. I did not walk the course but it looks like it would be a more difficult than average course to walk. PA residents get a price break on Tuesdays. Not a lot of trees on the course so leaves are not an issue in the fall. Pace is usually 4.5 hours which is acceptable for the layout of the course.

This course is known for smooth greens. It's home of the Lehigh Valley Amateur which is a major local tournament. Play in August or September to experience the greens at their best.

The first 5-6 holes are pretty easy and it ramps up from there. Only water hazard is a small pond on the back nine.

We played early on Monday and did not have any issues with pace of play, it wasn't busy.

Easy course to walk but they require carts on weekend mornings. Not sure if they will let you walk if you pay the riding price.

My only real pet peeve is that they do not do online tee times. Impossible to look at the tee sheet to figure out a time to play when it's not busy. Ask the pro shop and they'll just say "don't worry we'll get you out" which isn't helpful. It's 2016, get with it!

Great greens, they are certain to challenge you. The back nine especially offers some awesome views of the countryside. Friendly members, doesn't get a ton of play, pace of play is no issue.

The club has a simple low-key vibe that is refreshing and enjoyable for a private club.

My only complaint would be that the fairways were extremely overwatered. Some of them squished under my feet. Some drives rolled a foot. If you like "fast and firm" this isn't your place.