Booked two tee times for a bachelor party on 8/26. Bag drop was nice an easy with friendly attendants. Pro shop reps were a tad rude when we asked for the AZ rate ($55) for the 2 of the spots as they ... Continue »

Booked two tee times for a bachelor party on 8/26. Bag drop was nice an easy with friendly attendants. Pro shop reps were a tad rude when we asked for the AZ rate ($55) for the 2 of the spots as they were from AZ. They straight up said no because we booked as non residents ($80). I didn't feel like fighting over ($25) but still it was quite rude. Driving Range is a little on the smaller side but adequate to warm up. We didn't see a starter but we were told he was around. We drove up to the first tee to use the small putting area and the starter came flying up to stop us from teeing off early even though we were not on the box. he then allowed a 5 some to tee off in front of us and even though they were two separate tee times. We ended up waiting on them most of the day but still finished in a little over 4hrs. Course conditions are really good right now and they sure have taken advantage of the severe monsoon season with all of the extra water for the course. Tee's were flat and had full coverage throughout. Fairways were cut short and felt like carpet, not a ton of roll out as they have had a lot of rain the last two weeks. Supposedly they were not able to mow the fairways until 2 day prior to our visit. Rough was cut shorter than expected but provided a fluffy lie throughout the day. Greens were a little shaggy as they are kept longer to survive the summer heat this made them a little slow but everything rolled fine. Bunker are probably the low point but they are working on them. A few holes had sifting machine working on freshening up the traps. One thing we noticed was a massive amount of grounds crews working on the course. I would say 6+ holes had crew members working on sand or brush removal which is good for the course but strange to do it on a peak playing day with 220 golfers on the tee sheet just 20 shy of full. I really enjoyed this course as its a little more target style than its sister course and has plenty of danger to miss. Only two holes have water in play but there are forced carries on a majority of the holes. Golf Carts have a premium GPS with a cooler and club cleaner. We ate breakfast at the café and the food was great and reasonably priced. We also made donations to the Casino as is tradition with this group. I highly recommend playing here before the rates shoot back up.

Played here today (9/27) on a 9AM solo tee time on a quick visit to the Tempe area. It had been nearly 8 years since I played Saguaro (unfortunately as they were doing Oct. maintenance) and took this ... Continue »

Played here today (9/27) on a 9AM solo tee time on a quick visit to the Tempe area. It had been nearly 8 years since I played Saguaro (unfortunately as they were doing Oct. maintenance) and took this visit as an excuse to come down and play the highly ranked Cholla course. It is definitely target desert golf and can play extremely short from the white tees so the composite are a much better option for most. Property is all class from the moment you drop your clubs off until you leave. Highly recommend a visit here after the fall maintenance is all done.

Tees: Played composite (white/purple) and found no issues. Ample room to place your tee. Ground was soft everywhere on the course do to the rains the night before.

Fairways: Great shape; they rolled decently considering how wet they were. Ground was soft and didn't eat up any balls. Visually nice contrast from the surrounding terrain. Maintenance staff on hand to clean up divots.

Rough: Not overly penal as the natural land surrounding was far more punishing. If you got in trouble it was about one club up to get out of it.

Sand: Was in two bunkers and although it was fine, the sand was not the fluffy stuff you see in higher end course, rather the dirt brown sand that you may find in most AZ courses.

Greens: Good to great. At times they were crispy and medium speed, at other times they were just plain slow. You can tell the aeration is coming in about two weeks as they are starting to dry out.

ETC: As mentioned, place is classy. Far enough away from the casino you feel isolated. Staff was all around friendly and the property itself is great as it has all you need (nice range, restaurant with good food, clubhouse for all your needs). Carts have good power, good GPS, and feather-touch breaks. Layout is fun if you enjoy target golf, though I can see the appeal and why it is ranked highly on GolfDigest lists. I think I prefer the more open Saguaro but the hole variety on Cholla is great. Too many 300-350 yard par 4's for my taste but still a good track. Course amazingly played CPO today after a powerful storm the day before, but still a 4.5 hour round. Highly recommend when conditions are peak in December!

Played We-Ko-Pa Cholla (We-Ko-Pa stands for Four Peaks in the Yavapai language, Cholla is the jumping cactus that can be found but not touched! around the course and much of AZ) for $49 at 1:30 pm on ... Continue »

Played We-Ko-Pa Cholla (We-Ko-Pa stands for Four Peaks in the Yavapai language, Cholla is the jumping cactus that can be found but not touched! around the course and much of AZ) for $49 at 1:30 pm on July 29th. This course is consistently ranked as a top public course in Arizona and in some reviews, nationally recognized as well (though it's often its sister course Saguaro that is more renown) which made this course a must play for me this year. I've heard from various outlets that the conditions, staff, amenities and pretty much everything in between is top notch. Well, that was trusted AND verified. Once you maneuver around through the entrance way of the accompanying casino you make your way through a pretty sizable parking lot that is required for the two course complex. Pulling up to the bag drop I was greeted by a member of the outdoor staff of which there was plenty and my bags were placed on the cart. Once my belongings were secured I drove up to the golf shop that was beautifully framed between the clubhouse, practice tee and restaurant. I was greeted by two other staff members to check in. Though I arrived early, they said we'll be teeing off exactly at 1:30 due to some green maintenance that was needed and I was free to hit the included range balls. The practice area is ample and plenty of grass was present.

Onto the course, we started off the back nine. Every piece of this property seemed meticulously maintained and lush. I'm sure there's something to be said with the constant rain the valley has experienced in recent weeks that would contribute to that but, rest assured the conditions were premier. Honestly, there's not much I can say. The tee boxes were level and lush, no bare spots. Divots on the tee boxes were pretty minimal as well. Even the par threes seemed rather flawless. The fairways were well lined, great firmness and allowed for the ball to sit up as if it was on newly installed carpet. The fairways were scarce of many divots as well even though there weren't any sand mix bottles on the carts. The surrounding rough was quite high which was home to plenty of insects including mosquitos which were present all day (this isn't necessarily a detracting factor if I brought bug spray, but I didn't and neither did my playing partners). The rough didn't have any bare spots and could easily hide a golf ball, we may have lost a few throughout the round in it. The bunkers throughout the course were of great, consistent texture from the fairways to the green side bunkers. The greens were slow, but true. A few of the greens, about three, had some disease or burn spots but nothing substantial. Those three greens were the only blemish condition wise as the rest of the course was literally, perfect.

Course design is interesting; designed by Scott Miller who designed Coeur d'Alene in northern Idaho (known for the floating island hole you need a boat to get to) and nearby Eagle Mountain in Fountain Hills, AZ, you'll get a taste of target, desert golf. You can't see the whole fairway and without prior course experience it's tough to know exactly where to start your shot. I used GolfLogix while playing and still lost three tee shots due to incorrect usage of my driver. There's plenty of forced carries with danger looming on either side of fairways home to plenty of desert rock and shrubbery awaiting your errant golf ball. The design is very much targeted (see what I did there) to knowing the distance to the next piece of grass, hitting it where you want to and finding your ball to do it all over again. While the course is in phenomenal shape, the architecture wasn't of vast character. Personally, target desert golf is my least favorite golf course design style.

All this talk of the strategy just for me to say, come here and play any time of the year and I'd reckon to say at any price. The conditions, the views of the surrounding mountain ranges, the staff and anything in between not mentioned here...is worth your visit.

Played early, 7 AM today. As flawless conditions as you will ever find anywhere, at any time, in any state. Played early, 7 AM today. Oh... and it’s been over 110 out here for the past month. Exceptio... Continue »

Played early, 7 AM today. As flawless conditions as you will ever find anywhere, at any time, in any state. Played early, 7 AM today. Oh... and it’s been over 110 out here for the past month. Exceptional tee boxes. You could put a level on them in all directions. Every single one of them. Flawless fairways, flawless rough, flawless greens with like 10 ball marks throughout the entire course. Greens perfectly mowed with a beautiful first cut and then rough. They were a little slow however because of the type of grass that they use during the summer but they were beautiful green and just immaculate. Honestly, I want to go play here again tomorrow. Just know you’re going to have slower greens in the summer. The whole entire course literally looks like they just opened up that day. And they’ve been going all through summer. This place is just exceptional. I can’t say enough good stuff about it. Sand traps flawless. Literally, everything. Customer service excellent as always. Not as easy as it may look. Cart girls by several times. Nice touch screen GPS. Pace of play was great. I just can’t say enough exceptional things about this place. If you live anywhere near the Phoenix area or are going to the area it would be a shame for you not to play here. 100% highly recommended.

Played this course with a tee time at 7AM and once again it was HOTTER THAN HOT!!! This is a wonderful course with excellent customer service. There is no fault on this course. Smooth and easy with th... Continue »

Played this course with a tee time at 7AM and once again it was HOTTER THAN HOT!!! This is a wonderful course with excellent customer service. There is no fault on this course. Smooth and easy with the bag drop, to checking in, to teeing off and back to the bag drop. There is a touch screen GPS on the cart with an ice chest full of ice and bottles of water. There is a cart girl that comes quite often. Tee boxes are very level and flat with ZERO divots. Fairways also were perfect as well as the rough and sand. Greens were excellent, very few divots (which when there were some, I fixed them), they were a little on the slow side, but other than that, were magnificent. This is one of my favorite courses in Arizona to play and most definitely worth the green fees.

Overview: We-Ko-Pa Golf Club is a 36 hole golf club with the Cholla Course being one of the two courses. Scott Miller designed the Cholla course and it opened for play in December of 2001. The cour... Continue »

Overview: We-Ko-Pa Golf Club is a 36 hole golf club with the Cholla Course being one of the two courses. Scott Miller designed the Cholla course and it opened for play in December of 2001. The course had a little bit of a re-design in the summer of 2016. We-Ko-Pa is located in the northeast part of the Phoenix in the Fountain Hills/Fort McDowell area. As well as the golf club ... the area also has the We-Ko-Pa Resort and Conference Center and the Fort McDowell Casino (which is being built in a new location and should be open by the end of 2020 or the beginning of 2021

Clubhouse: One of the most unique and beautiful clubhouses that I have seen. As you enter the clubhouse area you have open patio seating with stunning views of Four Peaks, Red Mountain and the Superstition Mountains. To the left is a small restaurant that serves great food at a fair price. To the right of the patio seating is the pro shop that was well stocked and was running a "buy 1 get the 2nd 50% off" sale. The player assistants in the pro shop gave good customer service and they were in for a busy day.

Practice Facility: Very nice practice area with beautiful views of the McDowell Mountains. There are 2 separate practice facilities, but only one was in use on the day that we played. There is also a nice short game area and a large practice putting area. The practice area was in great shape ... even with the temperatures approaching 110 degrees at the end of May.

Course: One of my favorite courses to play ... the Cholla Course winds up and down through arroyos, over desert ridges and allows for some of the best views of the Sonoran Desert because there is no homes or other development on the course. The course was in great shape ... even with the record breaking temperatures that Phoenix has been getting lately. The greens are transitioning back to bermuda after the fall rye overseed. They were very smooth and ran at about a 9.5. Tee boxes and fairways were lush and had a lot of grass coverage. The bunkers were in nice shape too.

Final Thoughts: One of the best courses to play at in the Valley of the Sun ... with the 36 hole golf resort, the resort and conference center for stay and play packages and the new casino being built. This would be a great place to have a GK plays 2 day event. What I really enjoy is that We-Ko-Pa gives AZ residents a very nice reduction in cost to play the course ... not just in the summer months, but also during the high season. If you are in the Phoenix area this is a course that you should definitely play.

After playing Saguaro earlier this year, I had an open invite to come back and play Cholla. I wanted to get out there before it got too hot and before the summer turf transition, so I took a day trip ... Continue »

After playing Saguaro earlier this year, I had an open invite to come back and play Cholla. I wanted to get out there before it got too hot and before the summer turf transition, so I took a day trip out there yesterday. This was the first round of the day with a 6:30 tee time. I was in the first group out along with a threesome of local regulars who helped with a lot of pointers on the course. We set a nice pace around 3.5 hours and never saw a group anywhere near behind us all morning. The course was in excellent late spring shape with the temperatures being so mild (so far) this year. The tee boxes were great. Just starting to brown out a tiny bit in spots. The fairways were pretty much perfect. Lush and green throughout. The rough is still semi-dormant bermuda that's cut down super tight and easy to play from. They were out spraying the fairways and rough with what is either fertilizer or likely whatever agent they apply to start killing off the overseed grass. It smelled more like fuel than fertilizer, so I get the sense they are getting ready for the summer transition soon. The bunkers were excellent. The greens were firm as expected, but kept nicely and rolling true. Just a bit on the slow side this time of year. Overall, it was a fantastic experience on a beautiful morning. The course layout is great and very different from Saguaro. Similar gorgeous desert setting, but Cholla is a bit more of a target layout. Long bombers will probably prefer Saguaro, but put me in the group that likes Cholla more of the two. The fact that there's even a debate proves how great this complex is. Highly recommended, especially at current shoulder season rates while the courses are still in incredible condition.

Played 1/29/17 9:50 (10:30 with frost delay) POP 4:15 $236 OUCH.....
First time playing this course. The views and layout of this course are fantastic. A very scenic desert course that is enjoyable t... Continue »

Played 1/29/17 9:50 (10:30 with frost delay) POP 4:15 $236 OUCH.....
First time playing this course. The views and layout of this course are fantastic. A very scenic desert course that is enjoyable to just to be on.
Fairway's were emerald green and perfect. Contrasting against the dormant bermuda and then add in the desert scenery and you have a beautiful course to be on. Fairway's were cut perfect and were lush with good roll. With some of the fairway slopes, the balls easily ran into the rough or desert if you hit into the wrong place. Course knowledge is almost a must on many of the T shots. I hit a couple of seemingly perfect shots, only to find they over ran the fairway's and into the desert!
T's perfect and the new traps looked consistent and in great shape. I found one and it had really good sand.
Greens were the only let down. They were ROCK hard. I doubt any pro could get a ball to stop on them. You have to play them like a links style course. Shoot for the front and hope the ball holds. If the pin is in the front... good luck! The positives were that they ran true and smooth at Med. fast to fast pace. Typical undulations, so not too hard to get a decent read. High soft shots would barely leave a dent and would run off or to the back of the green. Even trying to repair the "dent" felt like it would bend your divot tool !

IMO.
Even though most of the course was in fantastic shape and I played fairly well. I walked away a little disappointed after paying TOP dollar with those green conditions. Was told they are still growing in and will take some time. Maybe I'm expecting too much. Conditions are what they are and sometimes you have to adapt to them. But, if I put on my "Capt. Hindsight" cape. I would not pay that much to play this course again with the currant conditions of it's greens.

The Cholla Course just re-opened on 9/16/16 after being closed for 3 months. During the closure they re-grassed all 18 greens with the strand of Bermuda that is on the Saguaro Course. Replaced all t... Continue »

The Cholla Course just re-opened on 9/16/16 after being closed for 3 months. During the closure they re-grassed all 18 greens with the strand of Bermuda that is on the Saguaro Course. Replaced all the sand in the bunkers with a 50/50 white and USGA beige sand mixture. They removed 6 acres of turf and replaced it with native Sonoran Desert vegetation. There was an installation of a high tech, computer based irrigation controllers, valves and nozzles, and finally there was a slight change in design on the signature hole of the course - the par 5 8th hole.
Course was in great shape - All tee boxes, fairways, rough and greens were in tremendous condition. Greens were consistent in speed and rolled true. Sand in the bunkers was excellent and was much better than the normal "Arizona" sand. I have been a big fan of this course for quite sometime and the improvements in the course have now taken it to the next level. The views are spectacular and there are no homes on the golf course. I would recommend this course to anyone that lives in or travels to the Phoenix area.