Rode the Greens (6537/71.1/133) in less than 4H with Gerta, a Sr. lady with alot of game! 75, calm and clear.

Fun, challenging Fazio layout that is up/down rolling hills. In excellent shape after f... Continue »

Rode the Greens (6537/71.1/133) in less than 4H with Gerta, a Sr. lady with alot of game! 75, calm and clear.

Fun, challenging Fazio layout that is up/down rolling hills. In excellent shape after fall over seeding.

Tees lush, near immaculate with few unfixed divots.

Fairways lush, mowed tight and excellent to play from.

Rough mostly transitioning Bermuda. Can be clumpy and punitive because of the way a lie can vary so much in about 2'.

Sand usually excellent here, fine beach sand that the ball frequently sits slightly down in. Marking it down today because I was 2/2 on getting lies with too little sand underneath the ball.

Greens almost always smooth and firm. Medium fast, downhill putts have to be cozied up to the hole or you will quickly have 6-10' coming back.

Customer Service always top notch here. Nice restaurant onsite and excellent all grass practice area that includes multiple chipping and putting greens. They finally upgraded the carts to GPS, so that is a nice addition recently. Recommended.

Rode the Greens (6537/71.1/133) in less than 4H with 3 very nice Seniors. 75, breezy and clear.

Fun, challenging and up/down rolling hills Fazio layout that is in excellent shape after fall over se... Continue »

Rode the Greens (6537/71.1/133) in less than 4H with 3 very nice Seniors. 75, breezy and clear.

Fun, challenging and up/down rolling hills Fazio layout that is in excellent shape after fall over seeding.

Tees lush, near immaculate with few unfixed divots.

Fairways lush and excellent to play from.

Rough mostly transitioning Bermuda and is clumpy and can be penal.

Sand excellent. Fine beach sand that the ball frequently sits slightly down in.

Greens are smooth and firm. Medium fast, better not get above many pins here.

Customer Service always top notch here. Nice restaurant onsite and excellent all grass practice area that includes multiple chipping and putting greens. Biggest downside is no GPS on the otherwise nice carts. Recommended.

Rode the Greens (6537/71.1/135) in less than 4H with Ken. 80's, clear and calm made for great golf weather. Course is very green and lush after over seeding.

Tees near immaculate with most divots f... Continue »

Rode the Greens (6537/71.1/135) in less than 4H with Ken. 80's, clear and calm made for great golf weather. Course is very green and lush after over seeding.

Tees near immaculate with most divots filled in. Mostly level and very lush.

Fairways very nice to play from. Lush and they still play firm.

Rough not high but lush. Many times the balls sinks to the bottom of the over seeded Bermuda.

Sand traps excellent with plenty of good quality sand.

Greens medium speed and firm. Few ball marks due to the firmness and you have to play for roll out here.

Cart and Pro Shop staff always good here. Almost never any on course services, but nice restaurant on site with good service, decent prices and plenty of options No GPS on the carts is about the only negative, but the sprinklers are reasonably well marked. Spread out, challenging layout with a nice practice area. Recommended.

Rode the Greens (6537/71.1/135) in less than 4H with Frank. 85, clear and calm made for nice golfing conditions. Course has come in nicely after over seeding, green and lush! Tees lush/level. Near i... Continue »

Rode the Greens (6537/71.1/135) in less than 4H with Frank. 85, clear and calm made for nice golfing conditions. Course has come in nicely after over seeding, green and lush! Tees lush/level. Near immaculate with most divots filled in. Fairways lush and very nice to play from, a little longer than their usual tight but still firm. Rough much better over seeded. Not high but lush. Sand traps excellent with plenty of good quality sand. Greens medium speed and firm. Few ball marks due to the firmness and you have to play for roll out here. No on course services, but nice restaurant on site with plenty of options @ decent prices. Cart and Pro Shop staff always good here. No GPS on the carts is about the only negative, but the sprinklers are reasonably well marked. Challenging layout with a nice practice area. Recommended.

Rode the Greens (6537/70.7/135) early morning in 4H, 15M. Muggy but not too hot and clear with little wind. Course is much more lush after many recent rains.

Tees lush/level and decent to play fro... Continue »

Rode the Greens (6537/70.7/135) early morning in 4H, 15M. Muggy but not too hot and clear with little wind. Course is much more lush after many recent rains.

Tees lush/level and decent to play from. Would like to see them mowed tighter, tough to get a tee to stick in and be tall enough.

Fairways lush and decent to play from.

Bermuda rough is thick and the ball mostly sits down. Even though it is not tall, it is punitive.

Sand traps well maintained with good quality, light sand.

Large Bermuda greens are smooth, firm and medium speed. I usually have the speed down on these but not today. They are still very firm even after all the recent rain.

Excellent grass driving range included with the golf. Carts do not have GPS. Customer service almost always excellent here. No Drink cart early morning, which surprised me on a busy weekend. Nice restaurant onsite with excellent breakfast specials. Recommended.

Rode the Greens late afternoon. Muggy, clear, calm and around 100. Course has really become much more lush after the seasonal Monsoon rains. Several holes on the back have sand piled up around the edg... Continue »

Rode the Greens late afternoon. Muggy, clear, calm and around 100. Course has really become much more lush after the seasonal Monsoon rains. Several holes on the back have sand piled up around the edge of the rough/desert, courtesy of a couple of flash floods a few weeks ago. Tees level and nice to play from. Fairways lush and nice play from. Bermuda rough maintained low and generally okay to play from with some thick areas. Ball settles in and is punitive. Sand traps well maintained with good quality, light sand. Greens smooth and medium speed. Firm, you have to play for some roll out. Customer service excellent from everyone. Top notch grass driving range included with the golf. Carts do not have GPS. No Drink cart today, and they no longer provide bottled water since the water jugs are filled again. Nice restaurant onsite with decent variety and good prices for a golf course. Recommended.

Overview: The Canyon Course is one of the 36 holes of golf at Ventana Canyon, while the other 18 holes of golf is the Mountain Course. I was invited to play at Ventana Canyon this past Tuesday with N... Continue »

Overview: The Canyon Course is one of the 36 holes of golf at Ventana Canyon, while the other 18 holes of golf is the Mountain Course. I was invited to play at Ventana Canyon this past Tuesday with Nickesquire, and we played the Canyon back nine and the Mountain back nine. Nick, thank you so much for the invitation!! Both courses at Ventana Canyon are designed by Tom Fazio and opened for play in the mid to late 80's. The courses are both true desert courses with forced carries, tight fairways and golf course terrain that works up and down the foothills of the Santa Catalina Mountains.

Clubhouse: The clubhouse is a combination of the Lodge at Ventana Canyon, the pro shop, a restaurant, Men's and Ladies guest and member locker rooms and a fitness center. Nick and I ate dinner at the restaurant on Monday night and lunch on Tuesday afternoon. The prices and the food were good.

Practice Area: The practice area is located by the 1st hole of the Canyon Course and the 10th hole of the Mountain Course. It was a little bit of a drive from the clubhouse, but it looked like a good place to warm up before a round.

Course: Both of the Fazio designs are tight off the tee, but I think the Mountain Course was a little more difficult because of the forced carries off the tee. I really enjoyed both nines that we played, but my favorite hole on the Canyon Course was the par 5 12th hole. This hole was a dogleg right that worked its way back up the mountain. The tee shot is extremely difficult and once you get to the fairway the view looking up the mountain is beautiful. My favorite hole on the Mountain Course is the short par 4 13th hole. The hole is true risk/reward par 4 with 2 bunkers in the middle of the fairway and with the 2nd shot going into a three tier green.
Both course were in good summer shape. The tee boxes were in good shape and, the fairways were better on the Canyon Course then the Montain Course. The quality of the sand was excellent on both courses. The greens on the Canyon Course were very good even with a little bit of sand that was used to top dress the greens. The Mountain Course greens had probably been punched 2-3 weeks prior, and were quite firm relative to the Canyon Course.

Final Thoughts: Both courses were the first courses designed by Tom Fazio west of the Mississippi River. They are both true desert style layouts that force you to focus on accuracy rather than power. As stated earlier, The Lodge at Ventana Canyon is on sight for accommodations and right up the road from the courses is the Loews Ventana Canyon Resort. I have stayed at both locations in the past and would recommend staying at either one.

Rode the Greens with UNCLEDDBOY23 early morning. Very muggy and overcast with little wind.

Tees level but thin with some bare areas.

Fairways mostly lush with some thin areas, usually decent t... Continue »

Rode the Greens with UNCLEDDBOY23 early morning. Very muggy and overcast with little wind.

Tees level but thin with some bare areas.

Fairways mostly lush with some thin areas, usually decent to play from.

Bermuda rough maintained low and generally okay to play from with some thin areas. Not much different from the fairway within 10 yards of the fairway.

Sand traps well maintained with good quality, light sand.

The combination of rain last night, morning dew and top dressed greens made for challenging and uncertain green conditions. The greens were not good when it was wet this morning.

Excellent grass driving range included with the golf. Carts do not have GPS. Customer service very good to excellent from all. No Drink cart today, and they no longer provide bottled water since the water jugs are filled again. Nice restaurant onsite with excellent breakfast specials. Recommended.

Rode the Greens (6537/70.7/135) mid morning in 3H, 15M. Low 100's, muggy and overcast with little wind made you wish there was a little breeze! Course conditions are deteriorating as they lead up to s... Continue »

Rode the Greens (6537/70.7/135) mid morning in 3H, 15M. Low 100's, muggy and overcast with little wind made you wish there was a little breeze! Course conditions are deteriorating as they lead up to summer maintenance and the Front 9 being closed for sprinkler renovation. Tees level but were just aerated. Fairways mostly lush and decent to play from. Bermuda rough maintained low and generally okay to play from. Not much different from the fairway within 10 yards of the fairway. Sand traps well maintained with good quality, light sand. Large Bermuda greens roll really nice. Smooth, firm and medium speed. Excellent grass driving range included with the golf. Carts do not have GPS. Customer service usually @ least 4/5 star if not 5/5 star here. Saw the Drink cart once and bottled water provided. Nice restaurant onsite with excellent breakfast specials. Recommended.