GolfLeo

The title says it all, no?

At least 16 of the holes at Wolf Creek could be signature holes at other courses, that's how great they look and play. The views at this course simply put it in a category of its own. I've played well over 300 different courses and I rank this one #1 out of all of them without hesitation.

Yes there are a few small negatives, some of which could be improved, but none that should deter you from playing:

The pace of play is slow; there is lots of driving involved both between holes and between the tee shot and 2nd shots. This is not something to be fixed by a ranger. Enjoy the time off, take pictures and drink a few since you have time after all.

A few improvements could be made to help bring the 5:15-ish play time to about 4:45 (anything shorter is unrealistic with this layout), such as reworking cart paths to allow easier passing, more on-course cart access (most notably #17), and more stairs to make greens easier to access (like #15).

Speaking of the carts, they are tired gas carts and the tires are ready to be changed. Driving downhill at 5mph with my foot on the brake, there were still times where the cart drifted slightly sideways. Tread carefully (pun intended).

And yes the driving range is irons only, but with the location, this is going to be a hard one to fix.

Play a side game where you count how many times someone in your group says "wow", and trust me, you'll say it a lot. If you're in Mesquite or passing by, do yourself a favor and play Wolf Creek!

Had played the Palmer course back in 2016, so when I came back in the area, decided to give the Canyons a go. The day started cold and windy but cleared out into a nice sunny day after the first few holes.

As opposed to many reviewers, we had no pace of play issue, starter put us on 1st tee a few minutes ahead, and it was all smooth sailing from there.

The conditions of the fairways and greens were superb, and the course layout is interesting and varied, with some holes easier and others more challenging. The course is mostly wide, with the exception of the very precise par 3s, making for a fun game overall.

The slight negatives: a few uneven teeboxes, houses in play on a few holes, and a bit on the pricey side (and range is not included).

The vistas are also less numerous/impressive than the Palmer course, so if you're only playing one, I definitely recommend Palmer.

Sky Mountain is overall a fun course to play, with a few caveats.

The scenery is beautiful, carts are GPS equipped, and the sandwiches at the turn (which you can order before #9) are delicious.

While the biggest views come at the end of the course, I found the front 9 more fun to play, starting right with the beautiful #1, and a few par 4s on the shorter side. The back 9 unfortunately suffers from way too many houses being build on the sides of holes, and blind/unclear shots on many holes.

The conditions were generally good, but some tee boxes were not level, and the greens had lots of unrepaired marks (from many weeks apparently), often making for bumpy putts. A bit of additional love could easily fix these issues.

The challenge level is generally moderate, despite the high winds on the day we played; only the par-3 16th hole was scary in those conditions, and it's still a fun hole.

All in all, it's still worth the play, and the rate is reasonable for this area.

When you arrive, the rustic style of the clubhouse and restaurant set the tone; this course has a minimalist approach with all the right elements, and no added fluff.

I got treated to amazing conditions considering it was still pre-season; if not for the yellow grass color and snowy mountains in the background giving it away, you couldn't really tell. Even the greens, while not fast yet, rolled nice and true.

All of the staff went above and beyond to make sure we had a good time, and the course itself did not disappoint, with gorgeous views all around, and interesting, varied hole designs.

There are some blind shots, but you usually know well enough where to go, and there is more room to miss than you might think at first glance; I had no problem finding balls that I thought may have been lost left or right. I also love that none of the holes or views are spoiled by houses; it's all golf and nature around you.

The biggest challenge comes from the par 3s, all of which are beautiful and quite long. The shortest club I hit on them was a 5 iron. Then again, if you're not used to play in this area, you might find, like I did a few times, that your clubs fly farther than expected due to the high (7000+ feet) elevation location.

All in all, a splendid experience, I can only imagine how great the course is in summer conditions. Thank you to all the staff at Black Mesa!

This course offers beautiful views, plays at a pleasant pace, and is a great value compared to the higher prices that other courses charge in the area.

The great: beautiful elevated tee boxes, wide fairways, excellent conditions, true-rolling greens, inspiring desert+mountain scenery.

Carts feature a GPS to help you figure out the right shots, and the beverage cart come around often.

Where your mileage may vary: this course is not beginner-friendly, with most holes carrying over an obstacle on the tee shot, on the approach to the green, or more often than not, both. You've been warned!

If that doesn't scare you, go ahead and enjoy the course, it's definitely worth it!

This course is, with reason, often mentioned as a great option in the PHX area, with all the standard things you would expect: gorgeous mountains and scenery, saguaro cacti and elevated tee boxes.

Don't let the shorter yardage fool you, this is a par-70 (so 6 par 3s) with several target-style holes, and nothing is over until you putt it in, with the greens having very difficult curves to read.

The service is excellent and courteous, the food options are good as well, and carts are fully equipped with GPS and club+ball washers.

A few downsides, some fixable: the lightning fast and unspinnable greens; given the type of layout, they could be more receptive and a little bit slower. And several of the tee boxes that were not level. Some not-so-fixable: a few too many houses that can come into play on the sidelines of some holes.

But beyond that, it's all fun when you're out there. Go and enjoy!

We played this as the last of 4 games while in Cabo; saying we kept the best for last would be an understatement. The layout, the conditions, the views, this course has everything.

Yes, it's expensive, like most Cabo courses and possibly a bit more, but it's worth it for this type of experience; nothing is missing, you get electric carts with GPS, comfort stations every 3-4 holes with everything included. The shrimp tacos were excellent, and they even had Bloody Caesars.

We were paired with a slower duo, and were asked once (nicely) to speed up our pace, but eventually caught up to the group in front. Honestly, with the comfort stations and sometimes longer rides between holes, I feel 4:30-4:45 is an appropriate pace so you get time to enjoy the full experience; no point trying to rush it.

I'm happy to say this goes into my top-5 courses of all time, and if I'm ever back in Cabo, would love to play it again and try out the Nicklaus II, too. Go and play it, you won't regret it!

Club Campestre has great views all around and most importantly, is very fun to play. Carts have built-in GPS, which is quite helpful; fairways are wide, and sand traps had real, smooth sand in them. Greens were fast and tricky, but receptive and spotless.

Yes, this course does not have any ocean holes, but it has plenty of views, and overall felt like better value for the money than more expensive courses in Cabo.

A few small negatives, that should in no way deter you from playing: compared to the back tees, the forward tees (whites and reds) feel like an afterthought, sometimes literally placed on the side of the fairways. Oh, and the bag drop wasn't easy to find, maybe an additional sign or two would be helpful.

We played Mountain+Ocean on a windy day, it's a course with great views and was in great condition in general; the greens were very fast but receptive and rolled true.

Not easy by any means, there are several forced carries on tee shots as well as approaches, so bring your A game, and let the views of the ocean sink in.

All courses in Cabo are a bit overpriced, and this one is no exception. For the price of admission, we would have expected in-cart GPS; this was the only Cabo course we played that didn't have them, and it would certainly have helped. Also, the sand traps were hard as rock.

Still a fun day out, so if you're in the area, why not?

Our first round in Cabo was at Cabo Real. From bag drop all the way to pick-up, the staff was phenomenal in greeting us, directing us, with the service cart coming around often for timely snacks and beers.

The layout is interesting and features some good views, elevation changes, and a generally fun and fair layout, despite the heavy winds we had in our round. Carts are equipped with GPS, so no need to guess your distances.

Maintenance was perhaps the only weaker point, with some greens being spotty, and fringes being burnt out.

Overall, a good choice especially as part of the Questro package for better pricing.

Legend Trail is not a bad track or layout; it has some original and fun holes, and plenty of gorgeous saguaro cacti. The back 9 also features nice mountain backdrops on several holes, and you can definitely have a good time on the course.

But it does need improvement on lots of things to be up to par with the competition:
-Several tee boxes and greens were patchy and need better care.
-Distances in general are poorly identified, with pretty much nothing but the 150-yard pole to help you out.
-Several hidden obstacles (desert wash, sand traps, water!) that can be reached but are not visible off the tee.
-Carts are old gas models with no extras (no washers, no GPS); not a dealbreaker, but not up to date with the competition.
-Several sand traps were just hard sand with no hopes of getting under the ball.
-Lots of forced carries, so short hitters beware!
-Most desert areas are not tended to, and very dense with all types of spiny plants and trees ; forget finding that stray ball, much less playing it.
-Routes between holes were not always clearly indicated. How hard is it to add a few signs and avoid some back and forth?
-The staff didn't seem to care about customers very much.

All of those issues can be resolved, but until they are, Legend Trail simply does not stack up to similar priced courses in the area.

Possibly the best value course in Fountain Hills. A fun layout with great views, friendly staff, GPS-equipped carts, good service... even the golf shop had good choice swag at affordable prices.

We were advised when we started that the course was full, and were paired with 2 gentlemen as a foursome; yet the pace was very reasonable at 4:10 for the full round, so good job of managing players right there!

The teeboxes were recently reorganized into 4 sets plus combo options, providing proper yardage for all players.

A few small negatives:
-The course is close to the main streets of Fountain Hills so you do hear traffic noise on several holes.
-Some fairways are tight and houses come into play a few times.
-The cart path routing is showing its age and would benefit from a do-over; on one hole it is set up in the middle of the fairway.

None of those should prevent anyone from having a good time at a fair price, which Desert Canyon excels at!

Verde River is a fun course in the Rio Verde area; great mountain backdrops abound and the course conditions were impeccable.

The layout is great, wide, fun and the desert areas are clean and manicured.

Possible improvements: a few more elevation changes and/or elevated teeboxes so we can see more of the mountains around. Also a few holes (notably 18) could use more distance markers.

Worth the detour if you get the change to play it!

SunRidge has a fantastic layout set in an actual canyon, with spectacular views. Nearby houses are setup higher on the mountain flanks, meaning even errant shots won't reach them.

Course conditions were great and the setting itself is very peaceful. The sandtraps looked like they were undergoing a transformation with grass setup on the sides; they still had great sand and were playable, so that did not deter us from having a good time at all.

Some minor gripes: no ball washers to be found anywhere, and the back 9 could use a few more elevated teeboxes so the uphill layout feels less daunting and... prettier.

Green fee rates seem to vary a lot, if you find it under $100, it's a great bang for your buck.

To top it all off, when you're almost done, you'll be rewarded with perhaps the best golf hole view in the valley on #17, riding a spectacular land bridge on your way to the green.

All in all, an absolute must-play!

Quintero is always a must play when in the Phoenix area. The layout is spectacular, the course is very peaceful and the staff is fantastic. The carts come fully equipped with GPS and ball+club washers, the holes are varied and fun, with lots of tee box options for all players.

Minor con: some teeboxes were damaged and/or not level, and a few greens were patchy.

But don't let that stop you, go and play Quintero!

We had passed on Wickenburg Ranch in previous years because it's quite a long way out of Phoenix, but decided to finally go for it this year. Our expectations were high, and in the end our experience was mixed.

On the upside, the views are fantastic throughout, with elevated teeboxes allowing you to soak it all in; the conditions were superb from tee to green, showing great care is taken to keep the course in top shape, and the staff was very friendly from bag drop all the way to the end.

The biggest caveat was probably the noise level; unfortunately the course is setup such that you hear all vehicles using the nearby service roads, as well as ongoing construction of houses; not sure how much can be done about those, but it does make the experience less peaceful, which is what you would expect when going this far out of the city.

Another thing of note is design issues on a few holes, creating several blind or semi-blind shots along the way. The biggest offender is probably the par-5 9th, where you won't see the green until you are about 70 yards in; with a great view looking back from the top, it feels like a wasted opportunity for this hole to be somehow turned around.

Short of some major rework on those holes, an in-cart GPS seems like it would be a welcome addition, especially given the price of admission, and would help alleviate these issues.

We really wanted to like the course, and we still had a great time; but considering the aforementioned issues, the trek and price, we probably won't go back.

The course plays as a nice desert links; the fairways are wide and the sand and rocks around the course make for easy ball finding for those errant shots.

Conditions were good and the hole layouts are varied and fun.

We arrived a bit tight for our tee time but the staff was very friendly and accommodating, guiding us to the 1st tee and coming back later to tell us our pace was good.

A few more elevated teeboxes would probably go a long way in making the course more scenic without having to change anything else. With how clean the desert is around the course, a little bit more height would let you see for miles. Currently, the 17th island green is the only real standout visually.

It's a long drive from Phoenix (a little over an hour), but worth it if you're looking for something outside of the city.

We had previously played the South course and absolutely loved it; this time we tried the North, on what was probably the coldest day ever in Arizona.

The overall layout is good and the holes are varied; however, we found the North course lacked the spectacular views of the South; it had less boulders, less elevated tees, less mountain views.

The course conditions were great considering the recent downpours, so Boulders is undoubtedly a top notch facility. We also saw more wildlife than the entire rest of the trip, with several deer, a lynx and a wild boar all showing up during our round.

Is Boulders a good choice of a course to play? Yes. But if you must choose, definitely go with the South course.

This was our 4th time playing Rancho Manana; as usual, it's great value for your money: the views are fantastic and the holes are fun to play.

The course may seem short with the tips at just under 6100 yards, but keep in mind it's a par-70 and some of the par 3s are fairly challenging, especially on a windy day like we had. It does play like a target golf course with a mountainside setting; the par 3s are mostly forced carries to the green, and most of the fairways are narrow.

A few caveats this time around, some of the teeboxes were extremely patchy, and there was no service cart going around the course.

That being said, Rancho is always a good value; if you haven't played it, go!

My dad and I had played the Founders previously and found it quite enjoyable, so this year we went out to try the newer Victory Course.

This course is quite different, being set in more of a quarry setting with rocks and desert being the main, pleasant scenery throughout. Fairways are wide, and the holes are fun to play. Greens were in impeccable shape.

A small negative to point out: a few holes have houses being built quite close to the teeboxes, prone to errant shots; hopefully this doesn't set a trend for further developments.

All in all, Victory has less elevation changes than Founders, and a few more elevated teeboxes could potentially improve its visual appeal; that being said, the setting and fun factor are amazing, and the signature 18th hole is spectacular. Both courses are great, but we give a slight edge to Victory, and we'll be back!