Played today August 4th at 9:50am at the Dinosaur Mountain course with my usual foursome for $48 which includes range balls prior. The resort parking lot is shared with the golf courses' parking lot s... Continue »

Played today August 4th at 9:50am at the Dinosaur Mountain course with my usual foursome for $48 which includes range balls prior. The resort parking lot is shared with the golf courses' parking lot so parking can be a burden but the cart guys grabbed our bags and we were led out to the first tee with the starter who pointed out the mountain called Dinosaur and a few other helpful tips. The carts had a cooler (there are no water stations on course!) and a club washer. The cart girl serviced us three times, even with temperatures reaching well into the 100's and offered cold, mango scented towels. Exquisite service throughout.

The course conditions were, to be expected, of the excellent variety. The tee boxes, which there are 6 of ranging from forward women's to the men's championship tips. They all were well trimmed and firm accepting of tees of varying height, even par 3's had limited divots that were nicely filled with seed (which there aren't any on cart). There was one hole that had a little sloping but just nearby at another tee position was new sod being laid so I know they'll be working on fixing that. The fairways were firm and never dried out, limited dry spots if any with any divots filled with seed as well. Most surprising was the perfect texture of the fairways without being too soft and too hard. The greens, well guarded by mounding throughout the course, were recently aerated however they are fair, smooth and well enough fast. Any missed putts in the group weren't because of the punching a few weeks ago. The bunkers, throughout the course are visible aplenty, were well textured and manicured allowing for any shot to be played in the fairway or green side.

This course presents itself throughout the mountains, obviously, perfectly. Nothing too obnoxious that some courses can be guilty of and there isn't any forced difficulty. The first hole is a prime example, the mountains are visible without being overbearing. A gentle incline into a well guarded green. The second is a par 3 with noticeable elevation change but the landing areas are large and there's plenty of room to miss. This can be expected while you play here, fun holes that present a great landscape for the day. The course strategy isn't too difficult either, fairways are generous and the greens are large. Bunkers are placed in the right areas with water only present on one hole and it's guess what? Not in your face but there if you miss poorly, with plenty of area to bail out and play it smart.

This course, and whole complex really, leads to a great day out in the desert mountain ranges of the east valley consistently. If you haven't played here, read this: if you want pristine conditions with a fair challenge without manufactured difficulties, great customer service year-round and some social media worthy pics...come play either course at Gold Canyon Golf Resort and you won't be disappointed.

Played here yesterday morning. Took the chance (despite UNCLEDDBOY23’s best efforts to talk me out of it : ) and got lucky with a break in the active monsoon weather this week. Had a 6:40 tee time and... Continue »

Played here yesterday morning. Took the chance (despite UNCLEDDBOY23’s best efforts to talk me out of it : ) and got lucky with a break in the active monsoon weather this week. Had a 6:40 tee time and was paired with a twosome. We were second off. Lead group played very quickly and we never pushed them thanks to the nicely spaced 10-minute tee times here. Good overall pace of about 3:15. Price was $55 (plus AZ tax, so $58 and change). The course was in solid summer condition, looking pretty lush and green throughout (sure all that rain has helped). The tee boxes were good. Just a few of the blues on the back nine could use some leveling out. The fairways were generally good with a few thin spots here and there and a couple that had some aerated sections. The rough was good, cut low and easy to play from. Bunkers not pebbly and well-maintained, but a very coarse desert sand that doesn't provide much cushion. The greens were just okay. Not very fast and a bit bumpy in places. The practice green was really ugly, but the ones on the course were better. They were pretty receptive as summer desert greens go and I think they will benefit from the upcoming aeration on 7/23. The facilities here aren't too impressive at first glance. The driving range is stocked with rock hard yellow balls. The parking is kind of weirdly laid out and things don't look like a "resort" course facility like what you expect from the top courses in this area. However, once you are on the course, all is good. This is a really fun layout with lots of elevation changes and a great overall look. There's a flatter stretch in the middle that isn't super exciting, but everything in the hills is a blast. Depending on the tees you play, it's not a terribly long course. The fairways are forgiving and the greens are reasonably big without a ton of protection. A lot of mounding around them that is often helpful. The starter warned us that the greens were the main defense here, but I found them fairly easy to read and our group was dropping putts left and right. Definitely seems like a place you can post a great score as long as you stay out of the desert. I can definitely see why this is one of the best-rated public courses in the valley. Recommended.

A little late on the review but played here on October 5th and I must say it was the highlight of my trip to AZ with fellow GK members molebio, bapr5092 and jpeairs85. In every aspect, this course sta... Continue »

A little late on the review but played here on October 5th and I must say it was the highlight of my trip to AZ with fellow GK members molebio, bapr5092 and jpeairs85. In every aspect, this course stands out significantly from all others during the month of October. While every other course was yellow and dead, Dinosaur Mountain sparkled with green fairways and excellent conditions.

Tee-boxes: overall good. There seemed to be enough space on every set of tees to set-up without having an uneven lie. It was also nice to see a nice mix of tee options for players of every skill level.

Fairways: green! This is aeration season in AZ and somehow this course managed to present itself with fairways that were green, had amazing roll, were cut to a perfect length and offered lies that made shot shaping easy.

Bunkers: both fairway and greenside bunkers had typical AZ "sand" which feel more like dirt. Raked well but bigger bunkers lacked ample rakes.

Rough: great in my opinion. Like most desert courses, it doesn't come into play as much as the natural terrain does but it wasn't too penalizing.

Greens: ok condition. You could tell that they had recently been punched but they rolled well and slightly fast. The conditions don't seem to matter as much as the insane slopes on some of these greens (which they do warn you about before you tee-off)

ETC: staff was very friendly, starter especially. LOVE that they have GPS, carts were well stocked with ice and tees. Course layout is spectacular and views are incomparable. Would highly recommend this course!!

Another August review posted in September!! Played Aug 22nd, 7 a/m tee time. The course was fairly quiet. First time I have played Dinosaur Mtn. It was pretty good. Perhaps I was expecting a bit ... Continue »

Another August review posted in September!! Played Aug 22nd, 7 a/m tee time. The course was fairly quiet. First time I have played Dinosaur Mtn. It was pretty good. Perhaps I was expecting a bit more because of the reviews it has received. As mentioned it was pretty good, lots of elevation changes, some very dramatic. One of those courses you have to play more than once to really know where to hit it, many elevated tees, and greens making club selection quite difficult for first timer. Greens were soft enough to hold shots, putted a bit slower than I thought they would given the time of year. Fairways and rough were in good shape. Previous reviewer commented on the lack of drinking water on the course...that is true, thought there may be some water stations at this time of year. I would likely go back and play it again as we may enjoy it more the 2nd time around.

Played on Father's Day 6/16 with a large group of friends. 105* temp, no wind. Played from the Blue/Black combo tees (68.1/131). Gold Canyon Golf Resort has two courses here: the Dinosaur course and... Continue »

Played on Father's Day 6/16 with a large group of friends. 105* temp, no wind. Played from the Blue/Black combo tees (68.1/131). Gold Canyon Golf Resort has two courses here: the Dinosaur course and Sidewinder course. Sidewinder is the easier of the two; Dinosaur is definitely a challenging resort-style course. There are about 90 pictures taken by GK'ers for this course; as appreciated as they are, the pix simply do not do this course justice. Some of the most breath-taking holes you'll see anywhere, and with the numerous elevation changes, you'll get plenty of opportunity to view the surrounding mountains and vistas. There are forced desert carries on virtually every hole. Some are longer than others, some are from raised tee boxes, but if you can't drive it relatively straight and get it in the air, then play Sidewinder. One of the weaker foursomes in our group lost 60 balls yesterday (I had predicted 50, so this wasn't a surprise, but it underscores the need to have some type of game to play here). As it is a resort course, there are some generous fairway landing areas, criss-crossed with both sand and grass bunkers throughout. I found many of those sand traps, and all were playable, with good sand throughout, both from the fairway and around the greens. Water only comes into play on your 2nd/3rd shots on hole #9. The course has some tricks up its sleeve: on the Par 5 3rd, if you do not hit the ball onto the highest tier, it WILL roll off, period (think Retief Goosen at the US Open years ago). There is a terrific risk/reward shot on #15, with two fairways to choose from: left, over the mountain to a blind landing area where the desert comes into play but is much closer to the hole, or right, to a large landing area and a long iron into the hole. (I choose left, hit a great drive, and ended up 20 yards short on a 364 yard hole.) Conditions: Tee boxes were phenomenal, even on the Par 3s. The fairways and light rough were as green you'd hope for expect, though a bit overwatered in spots. As mentioned, bunkers were top notch. The greens were exceptionally fast and had some tough breaks in them. They held some shots into them, but more often than not, seemed to be a bit penal with their roll. The course has a snack shop located after the 5th hole (and you come back to it again before #11, which also has a restroom, but there is no cold water found anywhere else on the course. Really no excuse for that on a resort course located in the Sonoran Desert. Cart girl came by multiple times on the front and back, drinks reasonably priced. Perhaps my biggest disappointment were the facilities and the customer service. It's not like I paid $12 for a GN reservation in the afternoon; we paid rack rate for a premium Sunday morning tee time and I expect concomitant service, especially from a place that bills itself as a resort. When I arrived before 7am, there were 3 staffers hanging out in the bag drop area; all three either ignored me or just stared me down as I carried my bag, then one of them just waved over to where our carts were, and made no effort to take my bag from me or help me in any way. When I checked in and paid, I was told we couldn't hit practice balls yet because they were still in the process of fertilizing the driving range. One dude in a Gator, spraying green lines on the entire range every 10 yards or so like some Trekkie Tholian Web nightmare. Seriously? Why are you fertilizing at that time, on a Sunday, as opposed to waiting until Monday when there'll be like 12 people playing after 10am? Finally got to hit balls when "members" were given their bags of balls and the rest of us were ready to riot. Driving range has about 15 stations (it services both courses) and you hit off mats, though it appears that members would hit off grass from time to time. The practice putting green was small and bumpy and had no holes cut out, so you were aiming at little white sticks instead. The carts were electric and had a cooler provided, though they were definitely miserly with the ice and it was already half melted by 730am. After the round, the service in the restaurant was much better than the service outside, but the burger I had was dry and the lemonade tasted like they used non-potable water to make it. POP was over 4.25 hours, even though we were just the third group out. The group ahead of us was lagging by the second hole, given a warning by the course marshal, and even skipped one of the Par 3s, but they still could not keep up with the first group and held us up on nearly every shot. To sum up, the course is phenomenal, the conditions are superior, but the customer service is lagging far, far behind the facility itself. CP

Course was in great shape and alot of fun to play. Nice elevation changes with great views.

Course was in great shape and alot of fun to play. Nice elevation changes with great views.

Played Gold Canyon Dinosaur Mountain on 1/3/13 as part of an annual Arizona New Year's Trip. Arrived about an hour early for our 11:30 AM tee time (about a 50 minute drive from Phoenix/Scottsdale) an... Continue »

Played Gold Canyon Dinosaur Mountain on 1/3/13 as part of an annual Arizona New Year's Trip. Arrived about an hour early for our 11:30 AM tee time (about a 50 minute drive from Phoenix/Scottsdale) and the staff promptly took our bags and setup our golf carts. Check in at the pro shop was easy and the online special cut quite a bit of our expected tee time cost.

The driving range area is a bit on the small side with mats only, which would be my only complaint about the entire resort. Customer service was first-class, even was treated to a five-minute warmup massage before teeing off (complimentary- tip only).

The course was in immaculate shape from tee to fairway to greens. Greens were lightning fast with lots of break. For those who haven't played the course before, there is quite a bit of elevation changes and panoramic views of the Superstition Mountains and the valley east of Phoenix. Pace of play was ideal, with our group finishing in a little less than four hours. This is one of my favorite courses in the Phoenix area, due to the fact it is a nice mix of desert, mountain, and resort golf.

Played April 13. This course is a ways out of town but well worth the drive. They could use some water cans on the front 9 or a faster drink cart, although when "Red" the drink cart girl came on shift... Continue »

Played April 13. This course is a ways out of town but well worth the drive. They could use some water cans on the front 9 or a faster drink cart, although when "Red" the drink cart girl came on shift she was right on schedule. Their customer service is great, and meant to get you around as efficiently as possible.

Unlike any golf course I have ever played. Greens were true and very smooth, rolled medium/fast. Fairways were lush, awesome to look at from the tee boxes. The views were the best vie ever seen on a g... Continue »

Unlike any golf course I have ever played. Greens were true and very smooth, rolled medium/fast. Fairways were lush, awesome to look at from the tee boxes. The views were the best vie ever seen on a golf course. Very memorable par 3's... Made for a day with my dad that I will never forget. Better summer conditions that tpc stadium and a better price although both were a pleasure to play! Don't forget you camera