I'd heard and read the bad reviews of San Marcos in recent years, but I decided to check it out since it's newly renovated, and I'm glad I did. Played Sat Dec 6th. All playing surfaces were excellent. The greens were especially good. Fairways were great and the rough was long enough to be appropriately penal without being overly so. Tee boxes were excellent. Sand was very workable, maybe a tad fluffy.

The only negatives were warming up with foam balls on the mini range, which frankly doesn't bother me, but it is unusual, and that the course was very soggy. It was an overcast day, so maybe it'll be less soggy on a sunny day or once they get in a groove on their watering schedule. The only other thing is the couple of oddly long par 4s, but overall I'll be happy to go back and play it again.

Played Longbow 8/18/13. Started around 2:30 on a day that got to 109°, but my buddy and I play in the heat plenty and know how to deal with it, so that wasn't an issue. The temp probably kept a lot of people away. We passed a foursome on #5 and didn't come up on anyone after that. Got around in 3:10.

I don't often play Longbow; mainly because it isn't often the best deal that I can find. It would help if they included practice balls in the green fee or offered a small bag of warm up balls instead of just offering a large bag. The course has been in good shape when I've played it, albeit the greens are usually firmer than most.

For this round I'd rate the grass conditions to be as good or better than any local course I've played in the past couple of months, which includes some very nice courses. The greens were firm, but played well. The fairways had a lot fewer bare areas than most these days. I was in two traps that had somewhat thin and crusty sand. I got out of them fine with my 60-8 wedge.

I enjoyed the layout more than I remembered. Maybe I had some luck with where my shots went. There isn't a hole there that doesn't have some movement or interest factor. It's nice not to have houses on the course. The plane traffic is a bit of an issue, but not all that bad.

Overall, a very nice afternoon on the course.

I played Apache Stronghold Sun Feb 17th. It took me 80 minutes to drive there from east Mesa. You can read the previous reviews; mine is virtually identical. Great layout and staff (Rudy is great). Pretty bad conditions, but surprisingly playable.

The most noticeable bad thing is the fairways. Very thin and at this time of year dormant. However, the ground is soft, so shots aren't all that negatively affected. The bunkers are just dirt pits. There might be some soft sand somewhere out there, but mostly the bunkers are hard dirt. Fortunately for me I was only in one, and I picked my shot out of it fine. The tee boxes grass was spare, but not that bad for the most part.

The greens saved the experience. Not to say that they don't have problems. There were plenty of nasty sand-filled scars on many of them, and some just plain torn up areas. But the cups were located away from the worst of it, and the bent grass putted beautifully on most of them. I logged 34 putts, which is pretty close to normal for me.

One thing to mention is that the cart paths are dusty dirt. My bag ended up more dusty than I've ever experienced. But a few whacks with a towel after the round solved that. On the plus side range balls are gratis and they provide chilled water to start and there are ice chests of bottled water spread around the course.

This was my first time on this course, and I'll definitely be back. I'm very interested to see how the course plays with some green on the fairways, and there are quite a few holes that I'll have a lot better idea of how to approach next time on this very interesting layout.

Played Jan 20, 2013. Course in fantastic shape in every aspect. Greens were very fast and rolled true, yet held approaches. I think LS is the most difficult course that I play in the Valley, but I enjoy the challenge, and the conditioning is typically on par with any top course around.

Played Jan 13, 2013. Nice casual vibe to this course. Doesn't quite look as flat as it is, but impinging trees and bunkers add to the challenge. Fairways were firm and fast; very playable. Periphery is largely dirt that doesn't penalize much at all, so wayward shots aren't round-killers. Greens were in good shape, and most of them are fairly flat, which actually is a nice change from some courses. The only sand trap I was in played beautifully. Decent range, although the surface was a bit beat and sandy. Large practice and putting area. Not the kind of course that will wow people, but I had a very enjoyable round.

Played Jan 1, 2012. Course in great shape. All surfaces excellent. Sand in bunkers played beautifully. Only minor nit was the drop area on 11 being a mess; just don't go in the water. Started at 10am and got around in 4:15. Highly recommended.

Played San Clemente Muni 3 times over the week of the 4th of July. I had a great time. The surfaces were great. Rough was thick, but fair. The greens were superb, although a bit slow and in some cases, bumpy. The sand played great out of every bunker that I was in. It was a great value at $43 riding.

I found the staff to be very accommodating and helpful. I played each day as a walk up in the early morning, and they got me on within 20 minutes each time.

The course is a bit short to satisfy big hitters at 6435 yds from the tips, but it was a great challenge for my mid-cap game. The white tees are not much shorter, at 6066 yds, losing most of the yardage on a couple of long par 3s and the longest forced drive over a wash. It's fairly straightforward through #12 with some moderately off camber and up and downhill fairways and a couple of large wash crossings and fairway dips. It gets particularly interesting from hole 13 to 18 as it ventures up a canyon and over a ridge.

This muni appears to have a vibrant local patronage, and deservedly so. A lot of golfers choose to walk this course. It is a good layout for walking. I found the walkers to keep pace and more. I got around in a little over 4 hours each round I played.

The pro shop is one of the most well-stocked that I've ever seen. Lots of merchandise and an impressive rack of demo clubs on display.

Overall, a great municipal course that is a great value.

San Clemente Golf Course Review
Orange County Golf Course Reviews

Played 6-24-12. Course was aerated a couple of weeks before; it's mostly back now. Some greens were a bit sandy, but putted fine. Patchy fairways, but every course in town seems to be in that state now as they try to get the bermuda to come in. The sand traps I was in played fine.

In general, I find JR to be one of the consistently best value options in the Valley. It's an interesting and challenging course, with some good elevation changes on the back nine, and the conditions are usually very good to great.

I like the course's somewhat casual vibe. On this day we screwed up our reservation, but they were still able to get us out within about 45 mins of showing up at about 6am. On a hot June day, that was nice. We got around in 4 hours, and I wouldn't say the course was empty. We saw the ranger 3-4 times, and the beverage cart twice per nine.

We usually play the blue tees at JR, but it's worth noting that the white tees have decent yardage yet avoid a lot of the long forced carries off the tee. Range balls come with the green fee, which is nice, however, their range surface is almost always in rough shape. They have a good chipping and sand practice area and an ample practice putting green.

The clubhouse/restaurant seems to get a lot of local traffic. The biscuits and gravy are excellent, as is the chicken quesadilla.

The Golf Club at Johnson Ranch Review
San Tan Valley Arizona Golf Course Reviews

Played GCSW Wed 6-13-12 in the afternoon. Played as a twosome with the place to ourselves. Got around in 3:15. Great conditions all around. Staff was professional, on task, and abundant. Saw the beverage cart 3 times even though she was covering both courses. She insisted that we take iced towels the last time we saw her.

SW seems to exist in the shadow of Dinosaur; not without reason, as Dinosaur is an awesome course. But Sidewinder is a fun and worthy test also, and the surfaces are just as good.

They're very up front about it, but be clear that by policy they don't provide drinking water on the course. Stock up at the snack shack or via the beverage cart. Carts have ice chests.

The course is a little shy on yardage markers; e.g., I don't recall any distance markers on the tee boxes. Also, no prisms on the flag sticks. However, the on-cart GPS was always withing a yard or two of lasered distances, so that obviated those shortcomings for the most part.

Overall, a great course and experience.

Golf Canyon Golf Resort Review
Arizona Golf Course Reviews

Played The Duke 6-10-12 and had a very pleasant round. Attentive staff had us tee off right on time. Terrific practice area. Fairways and one green had some dry spots anticipating the bermuda coming in, but good lies were easy to find. Tee boxes were all fine on the gold tees. Greens were receptive; putted a tad slow, but fine. Sand that I was in was kitty litterish, but played well enough. All around, conditions were very nice.

Play slowed for a bit a couple of times through the round, and was generally a tad slow. Seemed like a large group was there. Got around in 4:50, so not that bad.

I find The Duke to be a fun course. There's a good variety of challenges, and most of the approaches to the greens have a bail out option or two.

The Duke at Rancho El Dorado Golf Course Review
Maricopa Arizona Golf Course Reviews

Played Las Sendas Sun Apr 8th. I’ve played Las Sendas quite a lot over
the last couple of years. The familiarity doesn’t really overcome the
punishment that this course can dish out. This is a difficult golf
course.

I’ve usually found the conditions at Las Sendas to be excellent, and they were again for the most part. This most recent visit, however, I was in a couple of sand traps that were so fluffy as to be almost unplayable. This hasn’t usually been the case there, so maybe it’ll be a temporary thing.

Where I usually pile on strokes at Las Sendas is by landing in the desert and wash areas. I find it not too difficult to stay out of the desert from the tees, but after teeing off my next shots seem to frequently end up in desert/wash areas; mostly as a result of the many long and difficult approaches I seem to encounter on this course. With many greens nestled close to the desert while also being protected by bunkers, my penchant for shooting at pins is frequently punished here. Maybe some day I'll really commit to playing this course cautiously...

Pace of play is typically well-attended to by the course staff. We got around in 4 hours, and had a healthy cushion in front of us and behind us. The driving range (included with green fee) and putting green are very nice. The chipping and sand practice area is a bit small. One nice thing is that the practice areas are very close to the first tee, so not a lot of time is lost between arrival, warm-up, and teeing off.

There is no cart girl at LS. Instead, there’s a snack bar where #s 2 and 13 cross. That seems to work ok, but plan ahead on hot days; it can take a good 90 mins or more to get from the snack bar to the club house.

Overall, I love playing Las Sendas for the challenge and typically great conditions, but my ego (read scoring) tends to suffer there.

Las Sendas Golf Club Course Review
Mesa Arizona Golf Course Reviews

Played Viewpoint 4-1-12. I hope I'm not giving up any secrets since this course hasn't been reviewed, but Viewpoint is a quality track that is always among the more affordable options out there. It's a parkland course in a retirement/mobile community.

It's a bit short to entice the heavy hitters, but the tips at 6324 yds is a good length for my mid-cap game. I've played this course a few times, and the conditions on the most recent visit were the best I've seen there. I'd say the manicured surfaces were in as good shape as any course I've been on this winter. The greens were in great shape.

It's a tad narrow with mature trees making things difficult if you get off the fairway, and off the fairway proper you can find some hardpan, but overall wayward lies are fine. I didn't use my rock club. No real doglegs, but most of the holes have some gentle turns and there's some mild terrain on #7 through #11 that adds to the interest.

Water is in play on a few holes, and on a couple of holes the water's proximity is not obvious from the tee box. I was in greenside and fairway bunkers once each and the sand was very playable. It looked fine in other bunkers I looked at.

There is an abundance of walkers at Viewpoint and for good reason; green to tee distances are almost uniformly short. This seems to keep things moving well. We got around in 4 hours. You have to be a Viewpoint resident to get a price break on not using a power cart.

Viewpoint's range is fully grass and the balls are clean. Good putting and chipping practice areas.

Overall, a nice course that I'll keep coming back to.

Viewpoint Golf Resort Review
Mesa Arizona Golf Course Reviews