Rode the Greens (6537/70.7/135) midday as a 4some in 4H, 15M. 65, clear and fairly calm. Tees lush and very nice to play from. Fairways lush and deceptively undulating, few flat lies. Bermuda rou... Continue »

Rode the Greens (6537/70.7/135) midday as a 4some in 4H, 15M. 65, clear and fairly calm. Tees lush and very nice to play from. Fairways lush and deceptively undulating, few flat lies. Bermuda rough was generally penal, the ball sat down. A few bare areas here and there farther away from fairways, but good overall. Sand traps plentiful and very well maintained with good quality, light sand. Bermuda greens medium fast and smooth. You have to really respect anything downhill here. Firm, you have to play for run out and immaculately maintained. Very difficult course but also fair and very fun to play. Tight but not overly tight... but anything much offline is going to bite you on most shots. Varied layout with some risk reward par 4's and many elevated tee shots. Constantly up/down rolling hills, much more down than up. Customer service was excellent from all encountered. Bottled water provided and nice restaurant onsite. Very nice grass driving range is included in your fee. Definitely recommended.

Rode the Greens (6537/70.7/135) in 4H, 15M midday as a 2some with Bob. Clear, calm and around 65. Tees well maintained. Lush/level and nice to play from. Fairways lush, cut tight with most divots fi... Continue »

Rode the Greens (6537/70.7/135) in 4H, 15M midday as a 2some with Bob. Clear, calm and around 65. Tees well maintained. Lush/level and nice to play from. Fairways lush, cut tight with most divots filled in. Ball can easily sit down and is penal in the dormant Bermuda rough. It provides a great contrast to the lush green everywhere else. Sand traps very well maintained with good quality, light sand. And there are plenty of them on this layout. Large Bermuda greens putt medium fast to fast. Firm and smooth, very consistent from green to green. You have to play for runout. Excellent layout in very good playing condition. Very spread out Fazio design. Many forced carries, and if you miss fairways here by much, unlikely you can play it even if you find it. Customer service excellent from all encountered. No Drink cart today. Bottled water provided. Very nice grass practice area and balls are included in your fee. Nice restaurant onsite with good, reasonably priced golf course food with a great selection. Highly recommended.

Rode the Greens (6537/70.7/135) in around 4H as a single. Windy, clear and around 60, felt like 50.

Tees lush/level and nice to play from.

Fairways lush with deceptively few flat lies.

Dorm... Continue »

Rode the Greens (6537/70.7/135) in around 4H as a single. Windy, clear and around 60, felt like 50.

Tees lush/level and nice to play from.

Fairways lush with deceptively few flat lies.

Dormant Bermuda rough provides great contrast to the lush green everywhere else. Ball can easily sit down and is penal.

Sand traps plentiful and very well maintained with good quality, light sand.

Large Bermuda greens firm and smooth. Medium fast to fast and very consistent from green to green.

Fazio design that is very spread out. Many forced carries that are fair, but no tricked up holes. If you miss fairways here by much, probably in the native area that is 90% unplayable and probably unfindable. Customer service excellent from all encountered. Drink cart around several times. Very nice grass practice area and balls are included in your fee. Excellent layout in very good playing condition. Highly recommended.

Rode the Greens (6537/70.7/135) in around 5H as a single. Supposed to play with 3 singles, but they were MIA... so the starter let two 4somes go off before he would let me go. One group quickly let me... Continue »

Rode the Greens (6537/70.7/135) in around 5H as a single. Supposed to play with 3 singles, but they were MIA... so the starter let two 4somes go off before he would let me go. One group quickly let me play through, the other did not. Got a sarcastic "thanks for playing so slow behind us" from one of the guys as I drove up to #18 green. Breezy, partly cloudy and around 65. Tom Fazio design. Ventana Canyon is THE most spread out course I have ever played. Driving range 1 mile from the pro shop, Hole #1 another .3 miles from where you get your cart. Walkers are not allowed because in addition there are 4-5 holes about 1/3 mile from last green to next tee box. Course is not well marked. Very easy to get on the Mountain course by mistake. As I did when I played 10-12 on Mountain @ the turn before realizing I was on the wrong course. Got in 3 "bonus" holes, only to quickly catch the same 4some I was behind earlier after I doubled back and played 10-12 on Canyon unimpeded before they were again the log jam on #13. Ugh! Should have just played the Mountain back... Tees good coverage, lush/level and nice to play from. Fairways lush and deceptively undulating, few flat lies. Bermuda rough is dormant and generally penal, the ball sat down and is clumpy. Provides great contrast to the lush green everywhere else. Sand traps plentiful and very well maintained with good quality, light sand. Bermuda greens firm and smooth. Medium fast to fast and very consistent from green to green. Probably the quickest Bermuda greens I have putted on since I last played here. Immaculately maintained. Few huge tiers, but these greens with the amount of break, firmness and speed are quite challenging. Many forced carries that are fair, but no tricked up holes. Tight holes were balanced by more open holes. However, no holes I would classify as wide open, at most you had a bailout on 1 side. And if you miss the fairways by much, grab a new ball and add penalties to your score. Customer service other than the starter excellent from all encountered. Very nice grass practice area and balls are included in your fee. Excellent layout in very good playing condition. Highly recommended.

Played the Greens (70.8/136/6537). The weather was clear & hot, with temps around 100 by the time we were finishing. Matched up with Rob, Sam & Kay for a very enjoyable round. We played 4 different se... Continue »

Played the Greens (70.8/136/6537). The weather was clear & hot, with temps around 100 by the time we were finishing. Matched up with Rob, Sam & Kay for a very enjoyable round. We played 4 different sets of tees and were never pushed from behind, finishing in 4H, 20M. Tom Fazio design. Very difficult course but also fair and very fun to play. Tight but not overly tight... but anything much offline is going to bite you on most shots. Loved the layout. Constantly Up/down rolling hills, much more down than up. You would play a couple of holes downhill, then have a long climb back up the hill to a new tee box to start a new downhill stretch. Only a few holes played uphill, so overall, the course played shorter than the yardage would indicate. Some risk/reward par 4's and a good collection of par 3's. This would be an almost impossible course to walk, numerous long distances from a green to the next tee box. #9 green was probably 1/3 mile from #10 tee as an example. No tricked up holes, the forced carries were fair. The tight holes were balanced by more open holes. However, there are no holes I would classify as wide open, at most you had a bailout on 1 side. The Bermuda tees had good coverage, mostly lush and were nice to play from. The Bermuda fairways were mostly lush and deceptively undulating, few flat lies. The Bermuda rough was generally penal, the ball sat down. A few bare areas here and there farther away from fairways, but good to very good overall. The sand traps were plentiful and very well maintained with good quality, light sand. These were the best Bermuda greens I have ever putted on, period. Medium fast, smooth and very consistent from green to green, maybe the quickest Bermuda greens I have ever putted on. Firm, you could barely leave a ball or pitch mark and immaculately maintained. The customer service was excellent from all encountered. Very nice grass driving range is included in your fee. Considering the layout and playing conditions, this is probably among the top dozen courses I have ever played. Definitely recommended.

It was a truly memorable round today at Ventana Canyon in Tucson. I was paired up with three fine gentlemen from Montreal who were staying at the lodge, and away we went this morning with a 9:10am tee... Continue »

It was a truly memorable round today at Ventana Canyon in Tucson. I was paired up with three fine gentlemen from Montreal who were staying at the lodge, and away we went this morning with a 9:10am tee time on the Canyon 18 (Mountain 18 for members only this day). Service at all levels was pretty top notch, and the practice facility was very nice. Not only are the surrounding mountain views spectacular at Ventana, but the course itself is a masterpiece of nature's best green architecture. I can honestly say that this is also one of the hardest courses I have ever played. The fairways are incredibly undulating and sloped in all directions, the bunkers are strategically placed to take away best approaches, and trees are diabolically arranged to tighten angles that allow only the most precise shots to find their mark. And when you do find those marks, the greens are super fast (11.5 on stimp) and incredibly difficult to read, not only in terms of speed, but also the slightest of variations that can throw putts off incredibly far. Frustrating at times, but also a true challenge. The fairways are pristine - perfect condition. The greens, as mentioned above, are flawless - like glass right now. Very few ball marks because they're so tight. Tee boxes are in great shape and there are some interesting cacti placed right near them that actually have poorly struck balls impaled within them - wild. Sand traps were very good - I've played slightly better sand, but you certainly can't complain. And the rough was very penal and thick in most areas, but there were also some wild, tall and rigid grass areas that made it very difficult to connect with the ball without going underneath it. The layout on the Canyon course has plenty of elevations to deal with and some of the par 3s are indeed nerve-wracking. Not only do you have to judge the downhill distance and wind, but also the sloped and multi-tiered greens to make sure you have a chance to two-putt (which I often failed to do today). It's a truly beautiful course but I can honestly say that it's probably still a bit too tough for me and my 13-14 hcp to truly enjoy. It does make me want to play better. I did end up playing 27 holes today (repeated the front 9) and had two memorable ones - hitting the flag after one bounce on the par 3 16th and settling for a birdie from 4 inches, and on the replay nine, snagging an eagle on the par 5 2nd hole with a hole out from 70 yards after two solid approach shots. The rest? Tough. Really tough. I really hope to get my game even more dialed in by the next time I come out here (likely next Thanksgiving) so I can enjoy the course even more. One thing also to note - the cart path layout can be pretty difficult to follow. There are long distances from the club house to the first tee, and also from the 9th green to the 10th tee box - very confusing! But once you do find your way, it's immense. An unforgettable experience that should not be missed. Just bring your A+ game because the B- won't get it done!

Played the "Canyon" course at Ventana for the first time ever on 3/21/2009. Ventana is home to two first-rate courses, the Mountain and the Canyon. The Mountain is the more "scenic" of the pair, but... Continue »

Played the "Canyon" course at Ventana for the first time ever on 3/21/2009. Ventana is home to two first-rate courses, the Mountain and the Canyon. The Mountain is the more "scenic" of the pair, but after playing the Canyon, it's my favorite of the two. Not as many elevation changes, but the holes are very well designed and you've got to think your way around the course. There are some short par 4's that are driveable, but there is an element of risk on each of them if you miss. The par 3's were a nice mixture of short and long iron shots, not simply 190Y postage stamp greens surrounded by bunkers. There are trees that can reach out and grab your ball if you're not straight, and even one hole where you can be in tree trouble if you are straight off the tee. The greens were fantastic, they were quick but rolled very true and had some nice undulation to them. The tee boxes are among the best I've ever seen anywhere. The customer service was excellent. The only complaint I would have about Ventana is that the signage is very poor. The golf shop is not marked by any signage and is actually around back behind the workout facility and tennis courts. Do not plan on walking the Canyon course. There are at least 2 mile-long cart drives between holes and many of holes have a very long cart ride between one hole's green and the next tee box. I will definately play this course again. It was a lot of fun!