First time here. First off customer service was excellent!! The course is undergoing maintenance for overseeding so its difficult to give a fair assessment. Fairways were shaved. Greens looked good ju... Continue »

First time here. First off customer service was excellent!! The course is undergoing maintenance for overseeding so its difficult to give a fair assessment. Fairways were shaved. Greens looked good just a little slow. All in all I liked the course alot.

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... Continue »

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.

Practice Facilities:
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As this course is close to my home I practice here quite frequently. It has a long driving range, a putting green and a chipping/pitching green with a lar... Continue »

Practice Facilities:
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As this course is close to my home I practice here quite frequently. It has a long driving range, a putting green and a chipping/pitching green with a large sand bunker. These are always in above average shape. The driving range hitting area is grass, though very occasionally hitting mats are used when the grass is healing. My only complaint would be the driving range is a little narrow, and errant balls can find themselves in the rough or fairway of the #1 hole. I like to practice here in the mid-morning on the weekends and have never found it very busy. I have on occasion seen most of the hitting areas taken due to the narrowness of the range.


Customer Service:
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Customer service is exceptional at this course. The cart girl comes around multiple times on each nine. The staff is well dressed, greets everyone, and is pleasant and polite. During my round, due to the heat, I decided to only play nine holes. The staff gave me a rain check to apply half the cost of my round towards any future round good until three months out in October, when it will be much cooler. Some may balk at the rain check instead of a cash refund, but as the course is close to my house I was fine with it. There seems to always be plenty of staff on hand, and the course appears to be weathering the economic downturn well. I will add the course also has a playbook available for purchase for $3.75 in the club house.

One nice touch that I included in the photos of the course is each cart has a full chest of ice and a ball and club cleaner. The ice especially is indispensable in the summer heat. Each hole also had a 5 gallon jug of water; these were full, clean, and ice cold.

The only negative I will point out is that the restrooms halfway through the front nine are port-a-johns. They certainly do the trick, but I know some don’t care for them.


Course Conditions:
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First, be aware this review is of the course during summer conditions. The greens were in excellent shape and have healed from aeration a month ago. Fairways and rough had plenty of green grass and good lies to hit from. Because this course is lined by houses on a number of holes I was worried fairways would be tight, but that did not end up being a problem. Dirt/waste areas did not end up being too penal. Water comes into play on quite a few holes. Thankfully, the lake monster only claimed one of my balls – the only ball I lost the entire round. I usually lose a half dozen and I think the lack of desert areas and the presence of ample grass and rough gets the credit for so few balls lost. Tees were well cared for and level. I did notice a bit of casual water on several holes, and sprinklers were running on a few areas of the course as well. I think it may just have been that on the day of the week and time I went they don’t get very many players so they water at that time. It did not end up being an issue or hindering play. My playing partner took relief from casual water only once, and he was in a valley to the right of the fairway. The sand was excellent and dry in the bunkers and the three times I found a bunker I was able to hit the ball cleanly and scoop it onto the green easily all three times.


Summary:
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For a public course at this price ($21) in mid-July the course conditions were above average, bordering on excellent. I would not say immaculate, but certainly the course is cared for. Pace of play for my four some was 2 hours for nine holes, and this was after letting a single and a three-some play through. Kokopelli is managed by Eagle Golf and they have what they call “No Bull Pricing” where the price you pay is the price you pay. They do not inflate the rack rate only to slash it 50% on a discount website. Also, you get the same rate at checkout that you would get from a golf discount site, without a booking fee. They do require you give them a credit card number to book a tee time, which is unusual. Eagle Golf also has a Birdie Card and an Eagle Card that you can buy for discounted rates good at all the valley courses they manage which include several decent mid-priced courses (Legend at Arrowhead, Superstition Springs [not Mountain], Stonecreek, Foothills). They also manage several private courses including Ancala and Arrowhead Country Club.

Kokopelli also offers a Player Development Program for $45 a month that includes unlimited range balls, discounted green fees, and hour long group clinics with the course pro on Wednesday evenings and Saturday mornings. I’m thinking of trying this out and will post some sort of review or forum post if I do, letting people know how it goes.

Considering the time of year, course is good. One problem was that all the drinking water jugs on the course were empty or 90% empty. Not good with temps around 104.

Considering the time of year, course is good. One problem was that all the drinking water jugs on the course were empty or 90% empty. Not good with temps around 104.

Played 5/06 10am-ish start. E-mail discount right now after 10am for $25, includes cart + 2 drinks. Pro shop needs to give you poker chips which you turn into the grill for your drinks, which I did no... Continue »

Played 5/06 10am-ish start. E-mail discount right now after 10am for $25, includes cart + 2 drinks. Pro shop needs to give you poker chips which you turn into the grill for your drinks, which I did not find out about until I was on the course and asked the cart girl. Not the usual level of service I expect from Kokopelli.

As for the course itself, tee boxes were in great shape. Fairways were lush, but overwatered, even to the point of casual water and a lot of mud in many areas. Rough was spotty at best--lots of hard pan if you stray even a little off course. What makes this sourse enjoyable and challenging are the moguls everywhere, which, when combined with the generally narrow fairways, places a premium on accuracy. I was in two sand trapa, one of which was overwatered and the other was adequately sandy. Greens are tricky here: multi-leveled, and if you find yourself on the wrong part, two putts can be challenging.

Round was finished in 3.5 hours, a little slow given the time of year. Amenities: excellent driving range (though balls are a bit pricey), good putting area and a nice chipping area, too. Carts have GPS and ball/club washers, which is also nice.

CP

Played Kokopelli Sunday 9/13. Had a 1:00 tee time, but was told I could tee off anytime I wanted. Overall, course was in good shape. There were a number of wet areas from recent rains (I presume) that... Continue »

Played Kokopelli Sunday 9/13. Had a 1:00 tee time, but was told I could tee off anytime I wanted. Overall, course was in good shape. There were a number of wet areas from recent rains (I presume) that made for somewhat muddy balls. Off-fairway hits often resulted in a mosit hardpan lie; stay on the fairway and you typically had a good lie for your next shot. Tee boxes were relatively thin but playable, greens had a lot of undulations in them that made for tricky putts, but they were in good shape, fast and fair. Sand traps could be hit out of properly (had a lot practice with that). Cart girls came by on #2 and then didn't see them again until #17--kinda useless there, and no cart tender came to offer to clean my clubs at the end of the round. A little disappointed with the customer service this time.

Played Saturday 5/09 in the afternoon. First off, service by everyone, from the guy at the counter to the ladies in the grille, to the guys taking of the carts and the cart girl, was exemplary. My fir... Continue »

Played Saturday 5/09 in the afternoon. First off, service by everyone, from the guy at the counter to the ladies in the grille, to the guys taking of the carts and the cart girl, was exemplary. My first time here and they all made me feel more than welcome.

Course was in excellent shape. A good drive was rewarded with a good lie. Tee boxes were in very good condition, though the greens were very fast and did not hold some balls that they otherwise should. A little bumpy in places, but overall they were firm and fair. Hit the ball off the fairway and you'll definitely pay a penalty, though some of the retining walls can be your friend and offer a positive bounce back onto the fairway.

All the carts have GPS, which really helps with club selection. Practice facilities were also in top shape. Course played in four hours, which was a bit slow for the afternoon tee time and time of year (first 100 degree weekend), but one could not ask for a more enjoyable yet challenging inexpensive course. Definitely will return.

CP

Played Feb 15. Course was in good shape. Greens a little firm and fast. Play was slow, normal for this time of year in Az. For the price this is a very reasonable course. This is the time of year I av... Continue »

Played Feb 15. Course was in good shape. Greens a little firm and fast. Play was slow, normal for this time of year in Az. For the price this is a very reasonable course. This is the time of year I avoid the resort courses. Too expensive and slow. I like the layout of this course, better than the typical subdivision course. Only complaint is the sand, heavy and soft, like beach sand, hate it.

Played this for $20 just after completion of overseeding. Looks like they did a good job on the overseed. The greens are still a little thin but look like they will be great in another month. The qul... Continue »

Played this for $20 just after completion of overseeding. Looks like they did a good job on the overseed. The greens are still a little thin but look like they will be great in another month. The qulaity of the sand has improved significantly since I last played this course. They have also added GPS to the carts.