Smackatowa

It is August in AZ and it is HOT. The course was in good shape. Yes, there are a few burned spots in the fairway, but not terrible. The tee boxes were a bit thin, but I don't see this as a problem. The greens have recovered from the aeration and putted pretty good. The staff was very friendly. Joked around with the cart return guy after my round. Did not have one issue on the course to detract from my enjoying my round. I do, however, wish they still had the specials that they used to have a few years ago before all the Covid ruined the world. The course used to have an afternoon deal where you paid a couple dollars more for your round and they gave you a Hot dog, chips and a drink and a discount golf rate. Ah, the good ol' days.

This course is fairly open and pretty easy overall. I have not played this course for various reasons for a few years. I see that the summer price has gone up post covid and after renovating one of the other courses here. The course was very green for summer. The fairways had plenty of grass. There were a few burn spots but nothing drastic. The rough was very thick, long and dark green. You do not get much roll out in the fairways, but I would rather have plenty of grass under the ball than extra roll out. The only take away was the putting surface. They still have not recovered from aeration. They were bumpy, jumpy and lumpy. You had to hit a firm putt and just get close to the pin. The ball would sometimes turn harshly as it slowed down.

Nice course. A bit dry in spots, but still good for AZ in the summer. Played in the afternoon so pace was good.

The greens had been recently punched. There was no notification of this before booking the round. Drove over an hour to get here and was not pleased about not knowing this ahead of time. Would probably have made a different selection.
The pace was like a death march. It took over 3 hours to play the back 9. At this pace we could not enjoy the round at all. At 115° it felt more like a death march than a golf round. The ranger came around and told us that it was playing slow in front of us. No kidding, genius. We figured that out on our own. How about keeping the pace moving.
Here is a suggestion for the starters. Instead of telling us that there is 160 sand traps, tell the players which tee would best suit their game. If you are a high handicapper use "X" tees, Mid level use "Y" etcetera. If I had to guess why it was so slow I'd say it was that far too many players were playing from the wrong tees and ruining the day for every one behind them.
FYI. They are punching the fairways next week. I doubt there will be any notice of this. You have been forewarned.

The course was very wet. It must have rained pretty good out here the night before. There was no standing water, but lots of sodden areas. Most of the greens are raised so nothing rolls up. They have lots of algae spots throughout the greens. It looks like they roll the greens, but the grass is just mashed down flat. With the rolling and algae, it makes the surface kind of bumpy and inconsistent. I think they roll them too often to make them faster. They need to treat the algae and clear that up. Other courses like Copper Canyon have fast and lush greens almost like a carpet. The greens here were more like the cheap Sun City courses. The pace was OK. I caught up to a twosome who started 30 minutes ahead of me by the 4th hole. By the fifth hole we were packed solid and waiting. On the 10th hole we could see the 18th hole had three groups on it. Ranger drove by several times, but did nothing.

The greens have recently been aerated. We did not know this coming in. The fairways have some burnt spots and some really wet spots. Maybe the sprinklers are having some issues? Pace of play was slow. Seems a couple of early groups slowed down the entire day. The front 9 started ok, but started backing up before the 9th. The back 9 was worse. We had 2 groups waiting on the tee from the 10th out. I would have given 4 stars, but the starter tried to help us out and started us off early. Helping out the customer deserves another star.

The punched greens have not had time to heal yet. While the course layout is fun and challenging the punched greens lessens the experience. Charging full price in the heat with punched greens is not worth playing here. Pace of play was a 5 hour round. Now it is definitely not worth the price of admission. Sorry, but I'm going to have to give a hard pass on this one until the greens improve or the price drops.

I haven't played here in a long time. I read such good reviews that I thought I'd try it again. I was sorely disappointed. Fairways are hard packed and give you mostly thin lies. You can't slide a wedge under the ball. You have to chip every shot. Shots into the fairway are unpredictable. The ball may land and bounce 90 degrees sideways. Greens are hard and do not hold an approach shot. I fly my approach shots high and I could not keep a ball on the green. They would bounce and roll off the back. Even shots to the front of the green roll to the back. This happened to all of us, not just me. Greens have been aerated with the small holes, but not filled with sand. The result is a putting surface that bounces all over. I am a single digit handicap and I think that this course has a great layout and it could be an outstanding course, but the conditions make it ridiculous. It was like playing at one of the cheap Sun City courses. Their motto should be "DVR - Where good shots go to get punished".

My friends and I drove up from the valley to give this course a try. I am glad we did. We had a great time. The fairways have enough grass to actually slide a wedge under the ball, which was refreshing. No thin lies here. The greens were fast and mostly all raised with a lot of undulations. The grass was a touch bumpy, but it was actual grass and not painted dirt like some of the valley courses. The greens would receive an approach shot without bouncing off like a few other courses I could mention. The rough was long and thick. It was difficult to get out of, so don’t hit it there. This is not a fancy Troon course, so don't expect anything like that. However, the course is very playable and a lot of fun. We had a great time and will be back. We did not go, but the restaurant looked to be open and the snack shack was open. There is a outside covered patio that over-looks the course to enjoy.

This is a fun course. I enjoy it every time I come here. We played Lakes-Mountain. Both 9's were in great shape. The greens putt true here. BTW to all you golfers who use this phrase in your other reviews, you need to come here to find out what that phase actually means. Most of you use it wrong and the courses you are ascribing it to do not putt true. Play here and find out what it really means.

Very disappointed in this course. A very average course with a Scottsdale price tag. Biggest issue: PACE OF PLAY. 5 HOUR ROUND. After several hole of waiting it was like being at the dentist with no Novocain. You just wanted it to be over. How can people in carts play this slow? Firm, fast and hard greens made putting ridiculous. Approach shots would bounce off or roll to the back. Raised greens so short shots stopped dead. You had to land on the green and hope the pin was in the back. Three foot putts would roll out 12 feet past the hole. Fairways varied. Some were ok and other were very thin. The rough was dead dormant grass. It was like hitting out of straw.

I had my range finder stolen while at the range/putting green before my round. Even if someone picked it up thinking it was lost they should have turned it in to the Pro Shop. Nope.
The course is in decent shape. Fairways are a bit dry and thin. The greens are hard and the pin placements were difficult. The pins were on slopes or rises so that the ball would break harshly when it slowed down. The pace was fairly good. We finished around 4 hours.
It's a good thing golf isn't a game about integrity or anything. Sad that you can't trust anyone.

Course was in decent shape. Had kids behind us hit into us once. Greens seemed a bit off. Some were very fast and others less so. Had to guess which was which. Ball did not seem to stay on line while putting.

I haven't played here in a few years. Friends decided to go back and give it a try. I will say it has somewhat improved, but still not great. Greens are still very hard. The ball bounces and rolls off. I generally hit high and my ball will usually stop very close to my ball mark. Not here. Greens do not putt true. The ball almost wobbles to the hole. Maybe it is from all the cleat marks from shoes as the course is very busy. Fairways vary. Some are ok, but others are dry with the grass cut too close so the ball just wanders around as it looses speed. Most times towards the edges near the hazards, so good shots are punished. Sand traps are just traps. No sand. Mostly just dirt and rocks. Bird droppings are everywhere. Be careful of the 14th hole par 3. The birds use this place as their toilet. It was almost completely covered in droppings.

Pace was slow. After the first couple of holes we got backed up with 3 groups on the tee. No Rangers to keep pace. We moved at a crawl after that. This course and all Sun City courses try to book for groups of 5 which just slows down play for everyone else. If you are booking on golf now for a tee time be aware that any time you see an opening that is not 1-4, you are filling in for a 5 some. Listings for 1,2 and 3 are fill out for 5 people for the round. Subtract one person and that is what is really available for a four-some.

Since it was cold and windy we had a fairly open course for our foursome as hardly anyone else was as crazy as us. We played in under 4 hours. Just a little over 3 and a half, actually. We were walking and playing in harsh weather conditions so there is no excuse for slow play here. It had rained the night before so it was a little damp in areas, but seemed to have drained nicely as there was no standing water. The wind was brutal and cold, but we played through. The greens putted fairly well, but some of the pin placements were just evil. They were on slopes or on the edge of a break. I could just hear the greenskeeper cackling and tenting his fingers like Mr. Burns in a Simpson Halloween episode. Okay. Maybe that last part was the cold effecting my brain. We had fun even in the less than ideal weather conditions. We will be back.

This course has excellent practice facilities. They have a couple of very large putting greens, a chipping green and a large range all of which was in excellent condition. We played after it had rained the night before so the course was a wet. The tee boxes and fairways were very green and in great condition. My only issue was that if you rented a cart you must return it by 5:00 PM. The Pro shop and Cart guys were very insistent about this. Since the course plays longer than 4 hours it means that any tee time after 12:15 pm may not be able to finish. There were plenty of extremely slow players out there who do not care what-so-ever if they are causing a slow down behind them.

The course has been improved recently. The fairways and tee boxes are a lush dark green. I understand that the greens have been redone on some holes. I think they need some time to mature as the greens were very hard packed. The apron around the green was usually very soft, but the greens were very hard. If you landed on the apron the ball would stop suddenly leaving a deep ball mark. If you landed on the green, the ball tended to roll all the way to the back no matter where on the green you landed and no ball mark. Putting was difficult as the greens were extraordinarily fast and did not hold a line very well at all. Once the greens grow and mature a bit more the course will be perfect.

Course is still excellent. Today was cloudy and cold, First day of winter. What are ya gonna do, right. Fairways are in excellent condition. The first cut of the rough is dark green and thick. You will want to avoid this if you can. You can get out its just much tougher. Second cut is dead winter grass just like everywhere else in the valley. Not surprising. The greens were a tad bit fast to me. I had a few shots roll off. Maybe because it was cold the ball was harder and didn't bite as quick. Not sure.

Had a decent time. Lots of golfers cancelled due to the day being cold and windy. Pace was OK. Mostly because so many golfers did not show up. The greens were interesting. Seems very few people fixed their ball marks. The other odd thing was that the ball would not stay on line. It would bounce along or take sudden turns as it slowed down. (More than normal) Fairways were in pretty good shape.