The Alert is correct. Wolf Creek is closing this week for a month to re-sod all greens. When I played last week (2/14/14) the greens were dead and painted green. They looked awful, but actually putted better than they looked. I only had a couple of 3 putts. Whatever they did to the greens they also did to portions of the 12th and 17th fairways. Otherwise the course was in excellent condition. To the credit of the Course Management, they called me a wekk before the tee time to explain the problem with the greens so I could have cancelled if I wanted to. They also reduced the green fee by $20 and gave a $25 gift card for anything in the pro shop. I wish them the best and hope the greens are fixed by end of March. Here are links to photos of the damaged greens and Fairways.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/golfcoursepix/12564218094/in/set-72157631993233294/lightbox/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/golfcoursepix/12564199314/in/set-72157631993233294/lightbox/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/golfcoursepix/12564244944/in/set-72157631993233294

http://www.flickr.com/photos/golfcoursepix/12563852413/in/set-72157631993233294

I spent a weekend at Ballyneal two summer ago that was one of the best golf experiences I've ever had... Up there with Bandon, Garden City and Merion among my favorite US courses. Ballyneal was designed by Tom Doak and is currently listed as the 46th best course in the US by Golf Magazine and #95 in the US by Golf Digest. From Denver International Airport it is a 3 hour drive through 150 miles of ultra flat corn fields until you notice that the terrain has changed to some amazing hills and dunes. Ballyneal is best described as an inland links. It has super wide fairways with lots of humps, bumps and moguls, sandy soil, fescue fairways, no trees, large humpy greens, lots of wind and plays firm and fast. All that is missing to make this a true lins is an ocean. There are 4 buildings on site. One contains the pro shop, one has lodging and a restaurant, the other has lodging a small spa and pub. The fourth is the owners house. The weekend I was there there were a total of five golfers on site. The Club is billed as a national "destination club. This model apparently has not worked in the recent economy and the owner, Rupert O'neil was forced to sell the place. What a shame. I hope it survives.

The course is walking only. You can carry your bag, use a pull cart or take a caddie. There are no paved paths. There are no formal tee boxes or tee markers: there are several teeing areas on each hole and the person who won the previous hole can choose where to tee off from. I know that GK is a site that focuses on course conditions, but on a course like Ballyneal that's not the top issue at least with regard to bunkers (which are wild blow-out style natural hazards edged with , and sometimes including various plants) and the rough which is pretty much left to nature. The fairways and greens are the main focus and they were in great shape and lots of fun. There are many elevation changes throughout the course so you'll face an assortment of uphill downhill and sidehill shots. There are some wild greens and you will have some long and crazy breaking putts similar to Doak's Old Mac, although not quite as big or wild as those at Old Mac. I was treated like a member. There was a gourmet chef in the kitchen who prepared dinner for the five guests and Rupert. I played 36 holes a day, and could have played more. It was two days of fun that words can't do justice to.

Played the Chase in June. As mentioned in a prior review, it is in the middle of nowhere. Not a person or building for miles. I played at noon when the green fee went down and it was worth the drive from LV. Beautiful desert and mountain surroundings and not a house built yet. Challenging and fun layout, excellent condition. A picture is worth a thousand words and there are some good photos posted here already that give you a great idea of how each hole played. If you want to see my pix here is a link.

http://sports.webshots.com/album/572996717coTLEe

I played Saguaro the first week of June when the rates just went down from the high season, but before the real bad Summer heat. That's a great time to play in Scottsdale. The coure was in great condition from tee to green. The fairways here are very wide so you really have to be spraying your drives badly to miss a fairway off the tee. The approaches and greens are what make this course interesting to play, but most of all it is the views. The mountains, desert, cactus and the Fountain Hills fountain turn every hole into a postcard.

I played Rancho Manana late in the afternoon on an extremely windy day in June, 2008. The course was in very good shape and I had a great day. My only complaint was slow pace of play. The course is very tight so accuarcy off the tee is important. There are lots of elevation changes, some extreme. A couple of par 3's are straight downhill shots and therefore very hard to pick the right club the first time you play, especially with the wind. We saw a bobcat on the third tee. I really enjoyed this course and it was well worth the 30 minute drive from Scottsdale

Played Metropolitan and Monarch Bay on July 27. The two courses are about 2 miles apart. Most of my friends prefer Metropolitan saying Metropolitan is usually in better shape and more challenging. I preferred Monarch Bay because it is more visually pleasing. Much bettter bay views and not as much air traffic. Monarch was in good condition from tee to green, although there were a few wet spots and a couple places with lots of goose poop. It was a great bargain at $38 including cart. We played at a fair pace for a muni, a tad over 4.5 hours. Unfortunately, there was a slow threesome ahead of us that we caught up to on the back 9, otherwise we would have played much faster.

I've played this course several times and its always been in great condition and a pleasure to play