I'm on vacation with the family in Arizona this week, and had time for 1 round here in Scottsdale. I played the O'odham course at Talking Stick on Sunday morning, and had a pretty good time. I walked ... Continue »

I'm on vacation with the family in Arizona this week, and had time for 1 round here in Scottsdale. I played the O'odham course at Talking Stick on Sunday morning, and had a pretty good time. I walked the gold tees, starting on time, just before 7:00 am. I was paired with one other player who was also playing the course for the first time, so unfortunately I wasn't getting any local knowledge to help me around the course. Overall that didn't seem too important, as the layout felt relatively straightforward, but still interesting.

Greens rolled great, a few looked like they get tons of wedges hit into them, but they still rolled nice and smooth. They were very firm, only holding really well struck shots. I found myself not making the pitch marks on these greens that I normally make back home in the Pacific Northwest. Fairways were perfect, if was in the short grass I had a perfect lie, lots of cushion but still lots of roll off the tee as well. They are very generous fairways here as well, a few holes have obvious hazards off the tee, but most fairways are pretty wide and you'll need to be pretty wild to get into real trouble off the tee. I did find one fairway bunker and it had a decent layer of sand over a firm base, definitely just fine to play out of. Tee boxes were all very flat with good coverage, except for some of the par 3s that had a bit of divot damage. The fairways don't have much rough to keep you out of the desert if you're way offline, but there was some short rough around the greens that wasn't much of an issue to chip out of.

I paid the rack rate to play, and it was worth it although if I lived in the area I probably wouldn't play here too much as it is a bit pricey. Conditions felt like they matched the price, and I feel like the design is solid, especially considering it is such a flat piece of land. I really did like how the course is a very nice walk, with the next tee box relatively close to the green you just finished up on. As a "splurge" vacation round, I'm really glad I did play here and I would play it again with that in mind.

Day two of my Phoenix trip last week earned a first-ever visit to the famed Talking Stick resort just east of the Scottsdale area and in a fairly secluded section of Phoenix with some nice views of th... Continue »

Day two of my Phoenix trip last week earned a first-ever visit to the famed Talking Stick resort just east of the Scottsdale area and in a fairly secluded section of Phoenix with some nice views of the surrounding mountains.

We had a delayed start thanks to a frost delay but the practice facilities are plenty good to kill the time. In fact, Talking Stick may have the biggest range I've ever seen before. Once we did get started about 45 minutes late, we played from the gold tees on the O'Odham 18 and away we went. First disappointment was the shape of the carts. Ripped up seats, no GPS and just plain old looking ... one would expect a little better from a 'premium' resort.

The course itself was in pretty great shape - no complaints about the conditions whatsoever with the one exception of some kind of substance put on the greens early because of the frost? I don't know exactly. Some of the bunkers were a little wet early, but fine later in the day. Greens were great, fairways were green and lush, and the tee boxes were in excellent shape.

For another Coore-Crenshaw design, Talking Stick is the first one that was 'fine,' but certainly didn't wow me in any significant way. I've played far more interesting and less pricey layouts in other places, but it's still a fun course I guess, just not one that matches the reputation of the designers in my humble opinion. Would I go out of my way to play it again? Probably not, but I would not have a problem playing the other 18 here to see what that's like.

All in all it was still a fine experience but I feel that the Phoenix area, so rich with great courses and weather, has more to offer if you take a closer look around.

Played here for my birthday round on July 1st around $40 at 1:42pm off GolfNow. This course (formerly North) is managed by Troon Golf which led to superb customer service and conditions as usual espec... Continue »

Played here for my birthday round on July 1st around $40 at 1:42pm off GolfNow. This course (formerly North) is managed by Troon Golf which led to superb customer service and conditions as usual especially during this COVID pandemic. The cart guys helped us when we approached bag drop and drove our cart up to the parking station after we checked in. The clubhouse/grille area is aging well since opening a decade(?) ago and still presents itself as open, lavish and welcoming. Once paid we hit the practice range which is split into two portions, one for daily fee players (about 15 stations) and another for instruction/practice members (triple the size of daily fee). I mention this because while the range balls are free for pre-round warmup the grass available is less than stellar. Very chewed up and not entirely level for your choosing of a station. The practice green is rather large but doesn't have a dedicated chipping area or bunker.

Onto the course, the conditions were rather prime just before this course closed for punching the greens and aerifying the course. The tee boxes were all green and pretty accepting of your choice of placement. The fairways were well manicured and WIDE across this track. The bunkers that are immensely spread throughout this track showed a little bit of wear across the edges and at times needed to be cleaned from desert debris but without rakes they were still playable. The greens were firm and fast, just the way this course was designed to play so difficult to get the pace right all day but the conditions were great. Loved hitting putts all day. The only downfall all day was there were some burn marks around the green's runoff areas, anyone who's played here know what I mean. The fringe was fine but some areas where your ball may trickle into or fall just short of due to your approach shot missing the green may end up in the browned areas. Still playable but sore to the eye for sure.

The O'odham (formerly North) course is my preferred choice between the two here at Talking Stick. The variety of shots you can hit off the tee and into the green is always a proponent of great fun. The fairways are so wide that you can layup with an iron off the tee, play your natural 50 yard slice with your driver or whatever you may be hitting that day and still have a chance. Of course there has to be some defense you ask? The hazards aren't water or crazy out of bounds (though there are property lines deemed to be OB) but much rather slopes, large bunkers and the green complexes. The lines you take off the tee determine your fate of where you can attack but once on the green you have to be sharp with the flatstick to score.

This course is always one I keep my eye on to play when the rates are right and in the summer I feel in my opinion, the course shines the brightest. Fast and firm with great customer service is always a fun day.

Prices have begun to drop here from the winter highs. I went out and walked at 3:00 for $55 through their website. I really do love the North side.

The course is in awesome shape. Tee boxes wer... Continue »

Prices have begun to drop here from the winter highs. I went out and walked at 3:00 for $55 through their website. I really do love the North side.

The course is in awesome shape. Tee boxes were perfectly level, minimal divots, nice and lush. Fairways and around the green are lush and perfect. Bunkers were perfect. They use a lighter finer sand here. Nice and fluffy. Always consistent shot.

Only demerits were the greens show some time of prep work on the edges. The greens were a tad dried out and had some dried out ballmarks. Were slightly dinged up. A few had some small needle like holes around them. Also red spray paint marking around some of the greens. The rough and natural shrub in front of a lot of tee boxes and some of the natural hazard had been given a buzz and didn't look the most natural.

Mostly some cosmetic things but really nice conditions right now and weather for a nice walk at Talking Stick N.

Shout out to Mrkich's recommendation I was finally able to score a round at the North side of Talking Stick. Since these two course are owned by the resort and maintained year round, or maybe the loc... Continue »

Shout out to Mrkich's recommendation I was finally able to score a round at the North side of Talking Stick. Since these two course are owned by the resort and maintained year round, or maybe the location, whatever it is the prices are always higher here comparatively speaking. I was able to get out on a Monday morning by random chance and scored a $45 hot deal. Pure winter conditions. I would give fairways 8.5/10 only because a 9 is tough but they were close to carpet just a little played. Greens had divots from play but were the perfect firmness to roll really true. The speed was the perfect medium fast. Really finally maintained fringes and green areas. Top notch desert winter conditions. The practice facility here is quite impressive. They do make an attempt to make it a more full resort like golf experience but it's a miss IMO due to the heavy hitters in the area who know what they are doing. IMO the clubhouse architecture is blocky cold and gives an uninviting vibe. Stark contrast to the modern architecture of the resort next door. I love the North south. It has soul is the best way to describe it. Talking Stick is located on probably the absolute worst plot of land in the US. It is literally a flat square plot in the desert. Instead of going the Fazio approach Coore and Crenshaw really did make a minimalist masterpiece of out it. I was never a big fan of We Ko Pa and especially not of the Talking Stick S. because of the artificial nature of the them. A scottish links style course carved out in the desert makes no sense to me. What the North is, is a smooth flowing golf course that seems to flow out of the natural terrain. The course is routed back and forth inside a box, with holes next to each other. There's a barbed wire fence running along one side and a ginormous casino/hotel phallus shooting up out of the desert on the other. In spite of these limitations the course has my top 5 course flow ever for me. Start with a nice but no pushover par 4. Then one of the most uniquely designed and defended par 5's I've ever encountered. It's pure genius. Then a bunch of quality adult big boy par 4's that require solid drives and quality shot making into elevated protected greens. There's no cute desert short 4 pars that can get monotonous. Then you don't come into a par three until the 6th hole. I love it. My group broke off at 9 and versus waiting I re walked the front 9. It was serene golf pureness. It's good here. The bunkers are a unique contrast being being overly flowing and artificial. Versus having mounds breaking apart most holes, C&C placed these cavernous bunkers to break apart holes. Very unique and visually impressive. The greens aren't a true links but have smoothly trimmed collars allowing Texas wedging. The green side bunkers are a stark contrast than you find here. They flow into undulations with minimal lips. The main defense being the slop away from them that is carried onto the greens. Really fun subtle sloping greens. I loved them. I can't wait to get back out and play the full 18.

Played on December 29th. Cold morning. One hour + frost delay. So we teed off around 930-945. We were the first group out after a junior girls tournament (27 players) and there was half hour betwe... Continue »

Played on December 29th. Cold morning. One hour + frost delay. So we teed off around 930-945. We were the first group out after a junior girls tournament (27 players) and there was half hour between their last group and us (a 4some). We caught the girls on the 3rd hole, where there were 4, yes 4 groups including us. One group on the green, one on the fairway, and 2 on the tee. We got to the 6th hole and we had been on the course for 2 hours....bye bye. Left the course. What we saw of the course it was in very good condition, well at least 6 holes were! Greens were a bit firm, but would hold, they were fast. Wide and forgiving fairways in very good condition. Can't comment on the sand as I wasn't in any bunkers. Tee boxes were good, a few divots on a couple of boxes. Service was good.

Played Mon. 06/24. Course is drying out. The tee boxes are in good shape. The fairways are thin and very dry. Lots of roll. The greens are in the summer transition period. They are very hard, but th... Continue »

Played Mon. 06/24. Course is drying out. The tee boxes are in good shape. The fairways are thin and very dry. Lots of roll. The greens are in the summer transition period. They are very hard, but the speed is semi slow. Was in 2 bunkers and the sand was ok but starting to get crusty.

Played the newly renamed course O'odham (formerly North) for $31 at 2:18 pm on a packed Sunday 05/27. First things first is we called and booked to play the Piipaash (formerly South) because that cour... Continue »

Played the newly renamed course O'odham (formerly North) for $31 at 2:18 pm on a packed Sunday 05/27. First things first is we called and booked to play the Piipaash (formerly South) because that course is easier and the one my dad wanted to play. Pulling up before the tee time and speaking with the starter Scott, he mentioned to us that Piipaash will be playing slow all day because of the amount of people and O'odham is open, as we looked over at the first tee of Piipaash and there were 2 foursomes waiting. So we took him up on the offer and changed courses. I didn't mind and I think it showed awareness that the starter gave us the choice. What Scott mentioned was Piipaash was just host of the Scottsdale Open about a week ago and the course was in "peak" condition. This links course was definitely that. Every tee and fairway was firm and made every shot sit up. The greens were amazingly pure and running around an 11+, really fast compared to most courses pre-summer heat. The bunkers were free of debris and texture good enough to play the shot you wanted regardless of bunker location (there is a lot of them, not Ak-Chin Southern Dunes a lot but there are some tucked away and placed in the fairways). The strategy and design of this course is difficult enough to make you grind all day. Not a course per say where you'll have a lot of triple or bigger for bogeys but it seems like you can never get your footing to score. The first hole is easy and straightforward, however right after you have the hardest hole par 5 second according to women's handicap and the following par 4 is the hardest hole according to men's handicap. The first par 3 is a mid-iron bunker guarded green at the 6th. Every shot needs to be calculated (can be thanks to on cart touchscreen GPS) and every 4 foot putt lined up. The holes seems to play off each other well and by the end of the day you realize it's been an incredibly wearing 18 holes, without any water. HUH, crazy...a course can be difficult without water. The pace of play (below 4 hours and 10 minutes) and customer service provided makes this course pleasant, while the challenge of the design and landscape makes this a must play in the summer when most won't drop $150 come Winter/Spring peak.

Played on the 25th of June with a tee time of 2:01 pm as a single for $23. The driving range was pleasantly well kept. The service was great, I showed up about an hour early and they let me head out w... Continue »

Played on the 25th of June with a tee time of 2:01 pm as a single for $23. The driving range was pleasantly well kept. The service was great, I showed up about an hour early and they let me head out when I felt like it after I warmed up to my pace. The course (North) plays like a links course, and during the summer boy does it really play like one. The tees boxes were beautiful, the fairways were plush (sure...a bit dry but c'mon we just surpassed a 118 degree weekend), and the greens were great even though they are coming up upon an aerating schedule. The greens were the star of this course, I've never played a course with greens as true and fast at this time of the year...and I played TPC Champions a month ago and the Stadium course last summer. These greens were difficult, fast, and true as a video game. The strategy isn't crazy, but as players who shoot regularly in the 80's and every once in a while in the 70's do I need a crazy hard Pete Dye course? No. I always see this course get dinged for its quality due to its lack of pizzazz. But the links course shines in summer, as you can hit a 3 iron 280 yards and still struggle getting it close with your sand wedge. This course is fun, and to be honest... a breath of fresh air away from your cliche reachable island par 4's, 200+ yard par 3's, and copy cat holes. The greens make you line up a 2 foot putt, and the waste areas around the greens are mowed tightly enough to make you miss on the right side on the green...because you NEED to hit greens in regulation. This course is too often snoozed on, but the challenge is fair and the conditions present them self as what you would expect from a Scottsdale Arizona course. And for me, there is a premium on a course that brings complimentary range balls with a tee time. The value is way worth it and I'll definitely be back.