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Played this course on 4/7/17 for $15 at twilight which included a $6 cart fee. This is definitely a walking course. I'd say 90% of golfers walked with a push cart or carry bag. I was the odd man out on an electric cart.

This course is easy to walk with short distances from the green to the next tee, and a bench at almost every hole.

Pace of play was about 1 1/2 hours for 9 holes.

There is a variety of expected beverages, including beer, in the small clubhouse, but no beverage cart. You could easily quickly walk to the clubhouse mid-round if you needed a drink.

The course was in decent condition for a municipal course. This is a short, 1,730 yard, 9 hole course with 6 par 3s and 3 short par 4s. The longest par 4 is 312 yards. It is good for a beginner, or for someone looking to walk and get in a quick paced round and practice the short game.

There was one attendant in the clubhouse, and the customer service was excellent. The attendant even knew the names of regulars coming out to play.

I will definitely play here more frequently.
10 Likes.
Played 3/29. Online rate is $19 at 7 am.

Course was wet/soggy. I think they had just run the sprinklers. There was standing water in some fairways. Maintenance workers continued to work throughout the round. Almost no one else on the course. Workers were very nice and would wait for you to tee off before proceeding.

Course conditions were fair, but nothing to write home about. This is a great course for a high handicapper to get a practice round in without disturbing "real" golfers.
14 Likes.
Played this course 2/17/17. Found a deal for $30 at 3 PM. I played as a two-some and hoped to cruise through the course in 2-2 1/2 hours. This was not to be as the course was backed up. They had groups packed together like sardines. I don't know if the pace of play is always like this, or if it was because there was a large group of players from Iceland who were just finishing up an event.

There is no starter after about 2:30, which didn't help matters much either. The course is a traditional parkland style course with wide fairways, and accommodating rough areas, not the typical desert-punitive-rock found elsewhere. I had never visited the course, so I did not see it pre-renovation. I enjoy these traditional courses because they suit my meager golf abilities, and don't penalize me for rolling the ball along the ground, or hitting errant shots left and right.

The course conditions were fair, about what I would expect for a muni, or budget option. The sole knock on the course was the sand, which was non-existent. It was just hard pack. There was no getting a club into the sand and under a ball.

I saw the beverage cart once in the round. Due to time constraints, the pace of play, and the setting sun, I only got through 12 holes. The weather was windy and superb. All in all, an enjoyable round.
9 Likes.
Played this course at 8 am on 7-23-15 for $35 in a golf outing arranged by JohnnyGK. Thanks Johnny for setting this up!

By the by, Southern Dunes has an awesome special going on, where you get six rounds for $129, or $21.5 a round. You also get an additional 6 rounds on their Mini Dunes course, six beverages, six Pro V1’s, and 20% off dining at the Arroyo Grille.

Link: http://www.greenskeeper.org/arizona/phoenix/southern_dunes_golf_club/ratesspecials.cfm

The course conditions are superb for summer, but with the attendant issue that there are some waterlogged areas on the course. One of my playing partners had issues chipping around the green from some of these mushy areas.

This is a minor quibble for a beautiful and well maintained course.

The course has coolers with ice and complimentary water bottles on every cart. There are coolers with ice and complimentary water bottles at almost every hole. The cart girl came around twice on each 9. The starter was pleasant, if long winded, and explained how things worked on the course.

Each cart has on board GPS. If you try to drive your cart too near tees, desert areas, and greens, your cart locks up and you can only reverse your cart.

I found myself in a lot of bunkers, and can safely opine on their conditions. Despite my chagrin at being in the sand, my ball was always on top of a nicely raked fluffy layer of sand. There are quite a few bunkers and desert areas. Curve your ball too far to the right and you will find yourself in the desert more often than not.

As a high handicapper, I enjoy it when forward tees are well thought out and provide a challenge to shorter hitters. That was the case here.
11 Likes.
Played this course on December 30, 2013. I paid $25 for 9 holes, which usually isn't too bad a rate in winter in the Phoenix area. In this instance though, I think it was overpriced for the course conditions. I actually think I preferred the conditions in the Summer.

That being said, tees and greens were decent, with fairways and rough getting a shoulder shrug.

I saw the beverage cart once in my 9 holes, which is good enough.

Pace of play was great when I went mid-day on a Monday, with no one in front of me or behind me when I teed off. I met up with a foursome later on, which is no surprise as a single, but still the pace was good.

Also, $2 PBRs in the bar which can't be beat at any golf course.
4 Likes.
Played this course as part of a GK event on 5-25-13. I paid $25 for the round.

The course was in very good condition. I'm in agreement with other reviews posted for this course. I played with Pat the GM as well as another course employee, along with JohnnyGK. The customer service was superb.

I don't usually review the restrooms, but I thought I'd throw out there I used one of the on course restrooms, and the janitor was coming out of it after just mopping it. It was immaculate. I appreciate small things like that.

I'd bring water or purchase drinks before your round as there was no beverage cart, and the drinking fountains were spaced out on the course.
5 Likes.
Played this course as part of a league. With the $50 league entry fee plus the fee for the round, I worked it out as $10 a round each week through the summer, which is a steal. I walked, but push cart and riding fees are half price for league players ($2-$4).

The course is a short but nevertheless challenging layout, due to smaller greens, and water in play on some holes. Due to the length I only ever had to use a short iron or wedge after a drive.

Course conditions were decent. Tees and greens were well maintained, but fairways and rough could be hard pan or patchy. Didn't bother me. The sand trap I landed in was atrocious, very compacted and hard to hit out of.

The course is very much worth the fee, especially the league, and I enjoy the camraderie, community and atmosphere.
7 Likes.
Played this course on Wednesday, 2-20-13. I paid $39 for nine holes which was overpriced in my opinion. There are much nicer tracks that I could get 18 holes for that price, but I was committed.

I was so committed I was playing in the rain and cold on several holes. It was actually quite a fun round.

The course routes through a housing subdivision. The fairways were pretty wide and this was never an issue in my round, but from the patch marks on the sides of some people’s houses it is obviously an issue for some.

For playing 9 holes in the rain on a week day in the middle of the day, this course was overpriced for its condition. For example I paid just four dollars more for a 9 hole round at 500 Club the day before, and I would say its condition was superior to Western Skies, and no subdivision to be seen.

Greens were inconsistent, with a few greens being essentially dirt and dry grass and others being okay. Fairways were lush, and the rough was dormant Bermuda.

Tee boxes were decent. Sand traps were thin and bare.

Pace of play was as fast or as slow as I wanted, there was no one behind or in front of me. I can only remark that I have used the practice facilities here on a non-rainy day, and it tends to get packed.

I might play here again, but not at a premium.
9 Likes.
Played the front nine on 2-19-13 for $43. Finished nine holes in exactly 2 hours so just about right. Never had to wait on the group ahead, never had the group behind waiting on us -- just a very pleasant round as far as that goes.

The course is in fine condition. The sand was the best I've seen it, the fairways are dormant bermuda which I'm fine with, and the greens and fairways were lush. There were a few bare areas, ball marks, or divots, but they were the exception.

Customer service was excellent, starting times are well managed, and I saw the drink cart and ranger a few times on the front nine.

The back nine is definitely the better of the two nines to play if you want to play only nine holes, but you need to get out early (7 am or so) if you want to start on the back.

Still a fun round. This course is a step below higher green fee courses like you see in Scottsdale, but lightyears ahead of many of the cheap bargain courses you see. It's pleasantly in the middle, and priced that way as well.

If I would have played 18 holes it would have been $70 with a cart, which is fair for this time of year and the conditions.

I love the mountain holes on the back nine -- worth the green fee for #11 and #12 especially.
12 Likes.
First, be aware this review is of a course just days before it enters overseeding. I intend to focus more on impressions of the course overall and not harp on course conditions clearly related to overseeding.

The Bad:
===============

The course was dry, thin, and bare. There was a 2-club wind most of the day. It played very much like a links course. Despite the dry conditions I took no issue with the fairways and rough, I felt they were fair and fine to play from if you are used to bermuda. My sole concerns came from the greens and the bunkers. Bunkers were thin and filled with tiny rocks. I could not call the material in the bunkers sand, it was mostly fine dirt. The greens were inconsistent. Due to the dry conditions they could play fast as concrete, and at other times your ball could catch a bump and be eaten up, dying well short of the hole. It is my belief that these conditions are directly related to the coming overseeding, so I would not dock the course too much for this. And despite it, I still had an enjoyable round – it did not detract that much from play. I also got a ton of roll on drives and approach shots.

The Good:
===============

The course has made some compromises due to the economic times and I think they have gotten it exactly right. They now limit the beverage cart to Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays. It runs as usual on these days and I saw the cart girl twice in my round (I played Friday, 9-30-11). Service was excellent, price was to be expected for a golf course and comparable to other courses. The rest of the week, Monday through Thursday, there is a sign on the cart advising you to call the golf shop, and if you want to make a purchase they will drive a beverage or food out to you. There is also a sign and phone number posted in the cart to have an order of food ready for you at the turn.

The course still has bag boys and club cleaners on the weekends at least. I did not observe, but I assume the course is no frills during the rest of the week. I think this is a good compromise, if you come during high traffic times the course offers all the amenities you are used to, and if you are a bargain hunter and come during the week it is no frills.

Pace of play for my three-some was four hours, limited mostly by the foursome ahead of my group. This is about right for four players. We eventually got ahead of that foursome on the turn and never bumped into anyone or had anyone bump into us the whole day. I don't know about you, but a round where I don't have to worry about the group ahead or behind makes for a nice, stress free round.

This course features an island green, at least one tough par three with elevation change, and interesting contours, mounding, and ample challenges for all levels of play. This is not a flat, boring course. I also think other designers of courses in housing subdivisions should visit Lone Tree and take notes. They got it right at this course. At no point did I ever feel like nearby homes were a consideration. I never hit near them, and I never felt like the routing of the course was artificially cramped and narrow to make room for homes, like I have at other courses. Fairways were wide and accommodating when called for, and narrow when needed to challenge the golfer. Play the course and you will know what I mean. I liked the island green, and the few water holes. I did not find it was gimmicky or over done. I also like that the desert/waste areas outside of the rough were not overly penal, you still had a recovery shot available unlike some other courses which might be filled with desert rock (near desert mountain foothills) or with underbrush and vegetation.

Overall, I really liked this course, would play it again, and would recommend it to others. I look forward to playing it when it comes out of overseeding. I've scored the course fairly (which means low) for the conditions I observed, but understand this is days away from overseeding, and it was still an enjoyable round.

All golf carts feature GPS units, for which you pay a $1.83 fee added to your green fee. A gentleman I played with brought his own GPS unit, and while I did not ask him I assumed the fee was waived for having his own unit. You might want to call the pro shop to confirm this, though. The GPS was a simple monochrome unit, gave reasonably accurate yardage, and has a feature which I didn't use that will tell you the length of your previous shot.

The Ugly:
===============

Other than my final score, not much. The only issue I encountered that was cause for concern, but could have been a fluke, is my online reservation, made through the Lone Tree website, was somehow lost. The course had no record of my reservation. They still got me out at the same tee time and at the same price as online, so there was no problem. However, I will probably make reservations over the phone in the future, especially at busier times.

Practice Facilities:
===============

The course has a decent sized grass driving range, putting green, and small chipping green. Only thing I would note is I did not see an area to practice bunker play or pitching. I did not buy a bucket of balls so I cannot comment on the pricing structure. I did notice they handed out balls in a mesh, drawstring bag rather than in buckets. Not good or bad, just different.
0 Likes.
Aguila is in superb condition. For what you pay you are getting more than your money’s worth. I played on Saturday, 8-6-11 at 6:20 am for $26. I used to live near this course and played it several times and they never maintained it. They claimed they kept up with the tees and greens and just left the fairways dormant, but tees and greens used to be sketchy. This was sad because Aguila is a well-designed layout as others have mentioned. Clearly, they have changed their philosophy.

The course was full, and my foursome played in 4 hours 15 minutes. The recent monsoon rains as well as the new maintenance philosophy meant the bermuda was emerald green and lush, with few thin areas.

The course recently spent several million dollars renovating the bunkers. From the pdfs on the course website it appears they removed or made smaller numerous bunkers on several holes ostensibly to improve playability. I have a suspicion that it also makes maintaining the course cheaper, as I have heard sand and maintaining bunkers is more expensive than might be assumed. Either way, as a relatively short hitter few of the fairway bunkers are in play for me. The few sand traps I found myself in around greens were in excellent shape. This is a desert course so there are many desert/waste areas from which there is usually little to no chance of rescue.

Tees as you can see in the photos I attached were lush, well groomed, and level. Greens were in good but not immaculate shape. I’m no expert on green speeds, nor would I hazard a guess on the stimp rating, but I’d say the greens were medium slow probably to keep them green in the summer. My playing partners were curving in some pretty sweet looking putts, and the greens appeared consistent.

There was a starter on the first tee and the course did a good job of getting people going in the morning, but there is no marshal or enforcement anywhere else on the course for pace of play. A foursome will struggle to break 4 hours, and there is no point playing through – the course is full on the weekends. Singles and twosomes will be paired up by the course with other twosomes. I have heard and observed in the past that the course has fewer players throughout the week. I like to have no one in front of me so I usually try to book the first tee time, but with the sun rising at 5:30 am now, that’s a little early for me. At 6:20 as I said, the course is full.

There was ice cold water in jugs at a few of the tees, I don’t recall which ones, but it was not all of them and it seemed to be the ones closest to the clubhouse. There are water fountains paced out on a few holes on both the front and back nine. There is a restroom on the front nine and a restroom on the back nine. The clubhouse is decent and the prices are what you would expect for a golf course. As far as I know there is no beverage cart.

The practice facilities are great as well. There are two putting greens, a full grass covered driving range, and a chipping/pitching green with sand trap.

All in all I was impressed by the improvement at this course, and am considering play a few other City of Phoenix munis to see if they are keeping up this same standard at the other courses.
1 Like.
Just an update. I played this course again 7-31-11 for 9 holes. Since the monsoon rains we have had in the Phoenix area recently I noticed this course was greener and more lush.

One minor annoyance is that the course was cart path only. This did not affect my pace of play but I was a single. A foursome I'm sure would find this irritating.

There was a great deal of ground under repair on the back nine. The water hazard is being repaired on hole #12, and as a consequence all golfers must hit from the forward tee. The right rough is under repair on #15 as well.
0 Likes.
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