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Planning golf trip to Scottsdale

BagBoy
jfrigo1003 said:
oh ok so the Troon card lets you book Troon courses for cheaper? Seems like its only worth it if we do twilight....for me personally id be fine with that bc I wanna play 36 a day haha. doubt my buddies would be up for that but would be smart if we do that. Or play both Troon courses
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Wekopa has a 36 hole package that you may want to consider since you want to do 36. Your buddies could head over to the resort next door with a casino and bars while you play the second round on Cholla.

Troon North sometimes puts a 36 hole package and other times don't offer it - it seems inconsistent.

The Troon card is only 4 day advance times - so you need to be flexible and may not get the times you need/want.
 
Pinche Baboso said:
These days McCormick Ranch is $100 for a course with virtually no grass, always a muddy mess, bad greens, boring and slow play.
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Yes McCormick is on my do not play list. 5 -6 hour rounds, and not a great course.
 
If you want to budget your rounds then here is an option.

If you can schedule it around your flight. Raven and Legacy are close to the airport. Both are similar and both are welcoming for 18 cappers. This is your cheap round for trip.

2 of the best courses on everyone's list is WeKoPa Saguaro and Southern Dunes. They are far apart. You need to figure out which one you want to play. Wekopa has a casino but is pretty far out the way for other activities. Southern Dunes is way far away as well. Both of these courses can be difficult but I would say that Southern Dunes is easier to find a ball in the desert. No houses on these courses so swing away. These would be in the mid range.

Your splurge would be either Troon North or Quintero. You will take a lot more pictures at Quintero.

That being said your best golf takes you away from typical bachelor party activities. Well Legacy and Raven have some fun close by. Also of note if you drink on the course (Wekopa, Troon North, Southern Dunes, Quintero) are all far away from Scottsdale so Uber can get pricy as can a DUI. Just keep that in mind.

If you want around Scottsdale for ease then Grayhawk (36) and Camelback (Ambiente over Padre) come into play. The other resort courses you will be disappointed in (Kierland, Biltmore, etc)
 
From my experience (which is a bit limited):

Quintero is a really good course, but found it to be hard as heck for my group of hacks and it was a haul to get to from Scottsdale.

We Ko Pa was in fun, preferred Cholla to Saguaro if I remember correctly.

Wildfire Golf Club was the best value, think we played both courses for $200 and change (this was in May, so rates will be higher peak season) but Marriott had just taken over so wouldn't be surprised to see it increased.

I found the Stadium Course to be overpriced for what it was, not a bad course just not a good value. Didn't play the Champions course, but hope to hit it up next time I go there.

Talking Stick are fine course, just not super memorable. Fun location especially with Top Golf right there.
 
echico said:
If you want to budget your rounds then here is an option.

If you can schedule it around your flight. Raven and Legacy are close to the airport. Both are similar and both are welcoming for 18 cappers. This is your cheap round for trip.

2 of the best courses on everyone's list is WeKoPa Saguaro and Southern Dunes. They are far apart. You need to figure out which one you want to play. Wekopa has a casino but is pretty far out the way for other activities. Southern Dunes is way far away as well. Both of these courses can be difficult but I would say that Southern Dunes is easier to find a ball in the desert. No houses on these courses so swing away. These would be in the mid range.

Your splurge would be either Troon North or Quintero. You will take a lot more pictures at Quintero.

That being said your best golf takes you away from typical bachelor party activities. Well Legacy and Raven have some fun close by. Also of note if you drink on the course (Wekopa, Troon North, Southern Dunes, Quintero) are all far away from Scottsdale so Uber can get pricy as can a DUI. Just keep that in mind.

If you want around Scottsdale for ease then Grayhawk (36) and Camelback (Ambiente over Padre) come into play. The other resort courses you will be disappointed in (Kierland, Biltmore, etc)
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Transportation is covered since he'll have some sort of huge SUV. playing right off the plane could be fun if our flights allow for it which they should since we're traveling west. Distance really isn't a big deal as long as its within an hour. im planning on teeing off around 7:30 so we have the rest of the day to do whatever we want and not get held up at the course for 5+ hours
 
ok so general consensus is Wekopa is one to play for sure. Troon Pinnacle is a great option as long as my buddies dont have a problem with the price. I personally would be the one wanting to play Troon the most but the other 3 probably prefer Quintero if its more scenic

my coworker played gray hawk and Troon the same day which sounds pretty fun too
 
time4tim said:
IMO, Quintero is overpriced and overrated. I would drive another 30 minutes NW to Wickenburg Ranch. Has a great par 3 course and championship 18. Verrado in Goodyear is another great course that won’t break the bank. AK Chin(Southern Dunes and WhirlWind are south in Maricopa county but are good plays at decent prices. Most courses are overpriced for non residents in the spring but GolfNow and a few other sites can help get the price down.
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Agree with this. Southern dunes gets talked about as one of the best for the price in the metro area. If I'm splurging I'd do both courses at We Ko Pa and raven or southern dunes for three rounds. Enjoy!
 
Not much to add to this. We Ko Pa Saguaro should be in your list.

you can’t really go wrong. Unless you book TPC stadium, Talking Stick and the Biltmore.
 
livegolf said:
Agree with this. Southern dunes gets talked about as one of the best for the price in the metro area. If I'm splurging I'd do both courses at We Ko Pa and raven or southern dunes for three rounds. Enjoy!
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Southern Dunes is not really the metro area. It west of Maricopa.
We Ko Pa is at least close to scottsdale 25-30 min away from old town.
 
time4tim said:
IMO, Quintero is overpriced and overrated. I would drive another 30 minutes NW to Wickenburg Ranch. Has a great par 3 course and championship 18. Verrado in Goodyear is another great course that won’t break the bank. AK Chin(Southern Dunes and WhirlWind are south in Maricopa county but are good plays at decent prices. Most courses are overpriced for non residents in the spring but GolfNow and a few other sites can help get the price down.
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wow just goes to show how different opinions are. I absolutely loved Quintero and thought it blew both of the Troon Norths out of the water.
 
Lions81 said:
wow just goes to show how different opinions are. I absolutely loved Quintero and thought it blew both of the Troon Norths out of the water.
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Visitors enjoy Quintero because of the isolation and dramatic elevation changes.

Residents do not care much for it because it is repetitive, design lacking course. The par 3s are all the same; the par 4s are almost all the same and the par 5s (one in particular) are generally regarded as the worst collection of par 5s in AZ.

So once you have played it a few times, you start to see these things. Play it once and people think it is spectacular. From a design perspective, it does not hold a candle to Troon Pinnacle. Pinnacle has so many fantastic design elements from Weiskopf and the renovations were fantastic. From a playing experience, it provides different elements and strategies from any tee box with the expectation that you play different shot types throughout your round. You have to draw, fade, layup, go for it, be aggressive, be conservative.
Sadly, Quintero, for as beautiful as it is out there, you need only one shot - straight. Nothing more or less. I have been playing it since it opened and initially was wowed by the course (plus there was supposed to be a second course there) that I had a membership in the works (it was supposed to be private - until the economy tanked).
 
Probably about 12-15 years ago we played 2 man match play at Troon North from the tips. Boy, was it long and did you have to be accurate. The guys I were playing with were either scratch or + and I was about a 5 at the time. Was a lot of fun but very challenging. If I had my choice I would have definitely liked to have played it slightly shorter but the other three guys were big hitters and were playing for money at the time. Lucidly me and my stud partner came out on top….whew!

I did play a few other courses later in the day but nothing that I would call memorable. With higher handicaps it is important to play fun courses where they can keep it in play. There’s no fun losing balls in the desert.
 
this will be (by far) minority opinion but...

you asked about Kierland North. That is where we stay with the inlaws, played it a few times. Nothing memorable but a fun track that can be played pretty quick.

One I have seen nobody mention, but one of my personal favorites, there is a place called Camelback that has two tracks. I am the only one you will hear say this, but I vastly preferred Padre. It was a super fun track for me, is very cheap (i got it on golf now for like 45 bucks when it was running 119 regulation I think, although it has been a couple years) and if you are looking for a couple cheap, fun courses, might be an option.

I concur with many that Talking Stick is a forgettable course. It is fine, I cannot recall a single hole and that is not a good sign.

Another one that I have not seen mentioned is Wildfire...it has something like 108 sand traps that made it kinda fun and different.

Note, these are not "oh yeah, this is a highlight course", these are "this is a nice, very inexpensive but fun course to wrap around the centerpiece" but thought I would mention them. Monument North, Whirlwind, either one blows any of these away, but for cheaper options might be worth looking at.
 
darthweasel said:
this will be (by far) minority opinion but...

you asked about Kierland North. That is where we stay with the inlaws, played it a few times. Nothing memorable but a fun track that can be played pretty quick.

One I have seen nobody mention, but one of my personal favorites, there is a place called Camelback that has two tracks. I am the only one you will hear say this, but I vastly preferred Padre. It was a super fun track for me, is very cheap (i got it on golf now for like 45 bucks when it was running 119 regulation I think, although it has been a couple years) and if you are looking for a couple cheap, fun courses, might be an option.

I concur with many that Talking Stick is a forgettable course. It is fine, I cannot recall a single hole and that is not a good sign.

Another one that I have not seen mentioned is Wildfire...it has something like 108 sand traps that made it kinda fun and different.

Note, these are not "oh yeah, this is a highlight course", these are "this is a nice, very inexpensive but fun course to wrap around the centerpiece" but thought I would mention them. Monument North, Whirlwind, either one blows any of these away, but for cheaper options might be worth looking at.
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Camelback is no longer cheap - both courses are over $200 for prime tee times. Same for Wildfire.
 
To echo a few others, the We Ko Pa courses are my favorites in the area. I loved the Troon courses (Pinnacle AND Monument) about 20+/- years ago, but there's been quite a bit of development around them in the last 20 years and while I still like them, I don't find them as aesthetically pleasing as they once were.

I'm going to disagree with a few people and say for a 1st time visitor to the area, Quintero is a must play. It's beautiful and has some spectacular elevation changes. It does have some repetitive design features, but the first couple times you play it, you'll likely never notice them because of the wow factor.

Grayhawk is not my favorite design out there but it typically stays in good shape and I had my first hole in one on the Talon course so I will always hold a favorable view of it. :)
 
I have not played the area in 20+ but a key question I'd ask is what courses don't have houses crowding them. Nothing worse for a 18 handi then seeing a narrow fairway and multimillion dollar houses on both sides where desert should be.
 
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Riggs from Barstool Sports does a review of courses in the Scottsdale area. Check them out on the Fore Play YouTube channel. Here is a screenshot of the first page of his rankings leaderboard.
 
Another vote for We-ko-pa… the stay-and-play 36 hole deal is good. Saguaro > Cholla.

Papago is a fun (less expensive) track.
 
Depending where you're staying, Wickenburg Ranch won't be much further than Southern Dunes. I'd play WR or Verrado or Sterling Grove over SD.

There are some fun, easier and budget friendlier courses in the west valley as well. A couple of those would be Palm Valley and the Wigwam.
 
5150 said:
Another vote for We-ko-pa… the stay-and-play 36 hole deal is good. Saguaro > Cholla.

Papago is a fun (less expensive) track.
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I'll second Papago. Have some friends who live in the area and it's one of their favorites.
 
Pinche Baboso said:
Camelback is no longer cheap - both courses are over $200 for prime tee times. Same for Wildfire.
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Yikes. I need to hitch my pants up well towards my armpits and start talking about prices when i was a kid...that is...not cheap.
 
IT's been a couple of years but I have played both We-Ko-Pa and both of the Boulders tracks and really enjoyed them all.
Kierland was a borefest, McCormick Ranch was a decent track.
 
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