This course has to be one of the prettiest courses I've played. The fairways were a beautiful, lush green. The "rough" was well manicured. They did a nice job with water hazards on the par 3's . . it's a beautiful course. That being said . . it's a pretty easy course. Very short par 4's and 5's. I would classify it as a "resort course" because the landing areas are huge, the "rough" is as playable as many fairways, and the course is pretty easily overpowered by a long hitter. I'm NOT a particularly long hitter, but this course made me feel like a PGA touring pro because of all the short irons I was hitting in to the par 4's. The course plays 6900 yards from the tips, but it feels a lot shorter. That may have been because of the quick fairways and always getting 20-30 yards of extra roll, but it never gave the feeling of being a long course. The par 3's are beautiful. They are "postcard" holes, and the designers should be proud that they can place such beautiful holes in the middle of the desert. This is not a "desert" layout. Your biggest problem for errant shots are the trees. The conditions were very good. Will I come back . . yeah, it wouldn't bother me to play this course again, but it's not on the top of my favorites in Vegas list.

This continues to be my favorite course in the Las Vegas area! Played it again the weekend of 12/5/2009 and it continues to impress me. There are so many ways that this course can be played! You can try to overpower it . . you can finesse it . . you can try a combination of the two and it's all good! As always, the service was first class, and the conditions were exceptional. One of the things that makes this course so special is that it's playable for everyone. From the 7600 yards from the tips, to the 5100 yards from the forward tees, this course is laid out to accommodate golfers of all skill levels. The greens are among the best I've ever putted on. They are quick . . but roll very true. There are some "sneaky" breaks and double breaks depending on where you leave your approach shot, but that just adds to the enjoyment. The bunkers (and they are numerous) are in great condition with nice fluffy sand. This course is the only one on my "play EVERY time I'm in Vegas list" . . and my most recent outing there only confirms and reaffirms that feeling. Play this course! You'll love it!

I was surprised! I was expecting a course in a Del Webb housing development to be a short, easy, relatively flat layout. I could not have been more wrong! Yes, the course runs throughout a Webb housing development. No, it is not short, not easy, and anything but a flat layout. This course plays 7100 yards from the tips, there are long forced carries and blind shots off the tees. It is not an easy layout, and is anything but flat. Elevation changes range from elevated tees, to elevated greens. The course winds it way through a development, but never do you feel like you are in a housing project. Instead, it appears as if they laid out a fantastic course . . and then put the houses down! The staff is very good, from the greeting when you arrive, to the starter (Jack was fantastic) . . to the kids that clean your clubs after the round. We saw the cart girl probably 5-6 times and she was always talkative and friendly. The course stands up well to any I've played. It's a desert layout complete with wildlife (saw a pair of bobcats on #2), and great views of the strip. The conditions were very good. The fairways were lush and green, but you did get some roll. The greens were quick but rolled very true. The sand in the bunkers was soft and fluffy. I'll definately put this course on my "play again when in Vegas" list!

Played this course 11/15/2009 shortly after the overseeding. The fairways are very nice, and carts are allowed again. The greens are pretty furry, and slow, but roll very true. The contrast between the rye fairways and bermuda rough is pretty stark, but the bermuda is very easy to get out of if you happen to find yourself in the rough. This is not an overly difficult course, fairways are wide, greens are pretty large. Most of the greens are pretty well bunker-protected, but there's almost always a route to the pin that doesn't require a long shot over a bunker. This is a very walkable course, and not particularly long. Some of the fairways are adjacent to each other, so there's always the danger that someone's errant shot is going to land next to you. This is part of the Tucson Muni Course system and is one of the nicer muni courses in the area. A MUST play? . . No, probably not . . but an enjoyable play? . . Definately!

Played this course for the 2nd time ever on 10/26/2009 and enjoyed the course just as much as I did the first time I played it a couple of years ago. This course is like a roller coaster on steroids! Elevation changes galore . . blind shots around every corner, uphill and downhill greens, forced carries on nearly every hole and an adrenaline rush on every shot you hit! Pay attention to the GPS on the carts, because course knowledge is very helpful. There are holes where you need to keep the driver in the bag, and others where you might think you need to, but the green could be reachable with a well placed driver. This is very much a risk-reward course. If you execute the shot, then the payoff is great! . . If you don't . . then start digging through your bag for another ball because you're not gonna find that last one you hit! I like this course a lot, and if it weren't for the fact that it's nearly 5 hours away, I'd play it much more often. As it is . . I look forward to at least 1 trip to Prescott every year now so we can put Stoneridge on our "must play" list. I think 18 is the hardest hole I've ever played. I'm still not sure that there's a "right" way to play it. It's a double dogleg par 5 that starts with a forced carry, a tricky decision on whether to blast a fairway wood over another "lost ball canyon" or play it safe with a blind 2nd shot to a very narrow fairway that you can't see. But if you score well on this hole (which I haven't) then you'll know you earned your par! Have already made plans for another road trip to Prescott to play this course again this summer!

If there is a more beautiful 9 than the front 9 at Oak Creek Country Club in the state of Arizona . . then I have yet to play it! The views on the front 9 of this RTJ course wind their way threw the cathedrals of the Sedona red rocks and are nothing short of fantastic! The course lives up to the views, the conditions were exceptional on the day we played (10/24/2009). The fairways were lush, the greens soft and quick and held shots magnificently. The course is not exceptionally long, the landing areas are plenty wide, and the greens very smooth. The rough can be somewhat of a bear to hit out of, it is a very thick green grass that swallows errant shots. The bunkers were full of sand, some were a little damp, but still very playable. The back 9 is a little more pedestrian than the front 9 (with its views), but plays pretty tough, particularly coming back to the clubhouse staring into the late afternoon sun. The wind came up in the afternoon, and affected a couple of shots, but nothing awful. This course is located about 120 miles north of Phoenix, and is well worth the daytrip up to the Verde Valley to play. I know that I'll definately make my way up there to play it again!!

Played this course on 10/11/09 for the first time in about 15 years. Really enjoyed the round. Played the "Conquistador" 18 the week prior to playing the "Canada" 18 . . and I have to say, of the two . . I prefer the "Canada." There were more risk/reward opportunities on the Canada side of the resort, and the course makes much better use of the natural terrain, with trips through valleys, over hills, and around dry washes. Four sets of tee boxes allow you to choose one that's right for your game. Typical of a resort course, the landing areas are pretty roomy, and there are very few blind shots. You might find yourself blinded by some of the natural beauty of the Catalina Mountains as you stare off several of the tee boxes though. The course was in very good shape, especially considering the recent overseeding to winter rye. A diagram of the holes, or GPS on the carts could have helped on several of the holes, but there was always a "safe" alternative to firing blindly at where you think the green may be. I love the elevation changes, particularly the elevated greens. The par 3's were reasonable, several of the par 4's give you the opportunity to fire at the green from off the teebox, with considerable consequences if you don't make it . . and the par 5's were anything but pedestrian. I like courses that give you plenty of risk/reward opportunites, and you can bet it won't be another 15 years before I head back to El Conquistador and play "Canada" again. The service was top-notch, although the driving range was closed due to overseeding.

Played this course 10/4/2009 right before they get ready to overseed. The course was in surprisingly good shape. The tee boxes were nice, the fairways were very playable, and the greens, while being a little bit bumpy, rolled quick and true. It had been a while since I played this course, and I had forgotten how fun it can be. There is a nice mixture of short and long par 4's to challenge you. There are some elevated tee boxes, and elevated greens on the par 3's. There is a nice combination of straight and dogleg holes to put a value on shot placement. The customer service was very friendly and helpful. I'd rate this course as a nice pleasant outing course. It's not bombs away, but it's also not so tight that you have to leave the driver in the bag. The greens have different levels, so make sure you're aware of pin placement before planning your approach.

Was up in the Phoenix area and played this course again on 9/21/2009. For once, I was very disappointed in the customer service. No one to unload or load bags. No one to put bags on the carts. It was a Monday, and seemed as if the course was operating on a skeleton crew with very few people around to help. The course was in good shape with the exception of the bunkers. Very thin sand and an explosion shot was next to impossible with any bounce on your SW. Ended up using the PW on the back 9 with better results. I like the layout of this course (see earlier reviews for more specifics), but was for the first time very disappointed with the lack of customer service.

Played this course 9/19/2009 for the first time. It is a Phoenix muni and is one of the nicest muni courses I have ever played! Was recently renovated after years of apparent neglect and they did a superb job on the renovation. There are still some parts that are rough . . the pro shop is a trailer, and many of the cart paths have yet to be completed, but the course itself is very nice. Probably had some of the nicest sand in the bunkers that I have ever hit out of . . it was a treat, let's hope they keep it that way! The course layout is a little bit confusing, and there were a couple of times we had to ask the cart girl for directions to the next hole, so that could be improved. They had punched the greens a few weeks ago, but they were still very nice. The par 3's are long, the par 4's a nice mix of long and straight combined with short and doglegged. The bunkers are very strategically placed, forcing you to think more than most muni courses do. The staffers were very friendly and helpful, and the location is very convenient for travelers in and out of Phoenix. This is a muni I will definately play again when visiting the Phoenix area.

Played the course on 9/13/2009 and was surprised at how good a shape it was in! Even though this is a City of Tucson muni, it was in much better shape than some of the country club courses I've played around here recently. The rough has been mowed to about 2", so it isn't an automatic lost ball if you miss the fairway. This is a more traditional tree-lined course than the majority of the courses in the Tucson area, so it's nice to take a break from your typical desert golf. The course is not overly difficult, particularly if you can keep it straight off the tee, but there are some challenging holes. #9's second shot is a risk/reward shot over water, as is the 2nd shot on #18. The course is pretty straightforward, "what you see is what you get" type of golf, but there are a few slight dogleg holes that keep you thinking whether or not it's smart to try and drive it over the trees. The greens were soft (rained the night before) but were very slow. They did putt very true with some tricky hidden (at least to me) breaks. The only area where the course was lacking was in the quality of sand in the bunkers. Granted, it rained the night before, but even the dry bunkers were very thin and badly in need of more (and softer) sand. The customer service was very good, and while waiting for our turn, laughed a lot with Gilbert (the starter) who was full of stories about his experiences on the course during his 60 or so years in Tucson. Always a fun course, and it's in really nice shape right now.

Played 9/6/2009 as a 4-some. This resort has 3 different 9's for 27 holes. We played the Wild Burro and Tortolita 9's. The Wild Burro is said to be designer Jack Nicklaus' favorite of the 9's, but it was not in play for the Match Play championships. It is the more scenic of the 18 holes we played. The Dove Mtn course is about 15 minutes from the freeway, north of Tucson. Very easy drive. There is a nice driving range, and a great putting green complete with bunker for warmup before your round. The fairways are wide, but shot placement is necessary because of the bunkering that's designed to catch misguided tee shots. I swear Nicklaus is a bit of a masochist because it seems as if all the fairway bunkers are 240Y out from the regular tees. There are a number of holes with split fairways, but for the most part, trouble in those areas is easily avoided. A yardage book is a necessity because the carts are non-GPS and there are some tee shots (semi-blind) where the driver should stay in the bag. The greens are large and undulated. Somewhat slow, but they'd have to be due to some of the undulation on them. The bunkers are the white fluffy sand that I equate to Florida courses, not the gravel that is most often called sand at most Tucson area courses. I really enjoyed the round, and look forward to playing the course again so I can get the Saguaro 9 played. Greens fees are a bit higher than most Tucson area courses, and although I wouldn't pay it every day . . it's well worth the trip out to Dove Mtn to play this course at least once . . and then it'll suck you in and you'll want to make the trip out to play it again . .and again . .