Played at Ken McDonald Golf Course at 9:36am for $28 with my 4some sunday group on August 11. There was also a lunch special offered at check in for t... » More

Played at Ken McDonald Golf Course at 9:36am for $28 with my 4some sunday group on August 11. There was also a lunch special offered at check in for two drinks and a lunch, don't know how long that'll last but I (two of the four declined) didn't take the offer. The customer service was ample, there were a long layout of golf carts awaiting our choosing and I only mention that because in the past I have had issues waiting for one to be cleaned and returned. This course has three practice greens with one full size bunker, and a lighted driving range with matts on certain days. Good, not great, amenities.

The course has went through it's ups and downs and I have been one to be more enlightening of this Tempe City muni as I always felt it was a great value and on the upswing. I was right. The tee boxes here, of various lengths and difficulties, were nice and tidy without being too wet nor summer dried. The fairways had a nice green color hue to them offering up a plenty of lifted lies awaiting the club's impact for the approach. The greens were smooth on the front nine, with a few greens struggling to not die on the back nine (which I find ironic; they have dead spots on a few greens, most notably two par 3's of 11 and 13, even though they brag with their informational pamphlet visible inside the carts about why their greens are cut higher than most places which is to KEEP them alive). Anyways, the greens for the most part were well trimmed and rolled smoothly at around a 10.5 all day without being to baked or impacted by high approach shots. The bunkers were well textured, not crispy but not soaking wet. Fair to great conditions all day, especially considering this is a municipal course in the middle of August.

This course strategy is a fun, simple and rather flat layout with elevation changes that'll get your heart racing (sarcasm) however with the improving conditions year in and year out with customer service becoming more of a focal point...I can only see myself returning here more and more. Worth a play now, and when you'd like to save some dough and play in the winter without breaking the bank.
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Played today August 4th at 9:50am at the Dinosaur Mountain course with my usual foursome for $48 which includes range balls prior. The resort parking ... » More

Played today August 4th at 9:50am at the Dinosaur Mountain course with my usual foursome for $48 which includes range balls prior. The resort parking lot is shared with the golf courses' parking lot so parking can be a burden but the cart guys grabbed our bags and we were led out to the first tee with the starter who pointed out the mountain called Dinosaur and a few other helpful tips. The carts had a cooler (there are no water stations on course!) and a club washer. The cart girl serviced us three times, even with temperatures reaching well into the 100's and offered cold, mango scented towels. Exquisite service throughout.

The course conditions were, to be expected, of the excellent variety. The tee boxes, which there are 6 of ranging from forward women's to the men's championship tips. They all were well trimmed and firm accepting of tees of varying height, even par 3's had limited divots that were nicely filled with seed (which there aren't any on cart). There was one hole that had a little sloping but just nearby at another tee position was new sod being laid so I know they'll be working on fixing that. The fairways were firm and never dried out, limited dry spots if any with any divots filled with seed as well. Most surprising was the perfect texture of the fairways without being too soft and too hard. The greens, well guarded by mounding throughout the course, were recently aerated however they are fair, smooth and well enough fast. Any missed putts in the group weren't because of the punching a few weeks ago. The bunkers, throughout the course are visible aplenty, were well textured and manicured allowing for any shot to be played in the fairway or green side.

This course presents itself throughout the mountains, obviously, perfectly. Nothing too obnoxious that some courses can be guilty of and there isn't any forced difficulty. The first hole is a prime example, the mountains are visible without being overbearing. A gentle incline into a well guarded green. The second is a par 3 with noticeable elevation change but the landing areas are large and there's plenty of room to miss. This can be expected while you play here, fun holes that present a great landscape for the day. The course strategy isn't too difficult either, fairways are generous and the greens are large. Bunkers are placed in the right areas with water only present on one hole and it's guess what? Not in your face but there if you miss poorly, with plenty of area to bail out and play it smart.

This course, and whole complex really, leads to a great day out in the desert mountain ranges of the east valley consistently. If you haven't played here, read this: if you want pristine conditions with a fair challenge without manufactured difficulties, great customer service year-round and some social media worthy pics...come play either course at Gold Canyon Golf Resort and you won't be disappointed.
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Played with my usual Sunday threesome here at 11:02 am for $20 off a hot deal on GolfNow. This course never allows for singles to book so I've never p... » More

Played with my usual Sunday threesome here at 11:02 am for $20 off a hot deal on GolfNow. This course never allows for singles to book so I've never played here, and the last time one of my partners in the threesome played here was some 5 odd years ago. We were excited. This course has an extensive history with being one of the first courses established around 1913, before Arizona was even officially a state. The service was acceptable, the cart guys grabbed our bags, we checked in, hit the bar to grab our drinks as there wasn't a cart girl out on the hot Sunday we played.

We were off without warmup due to the driving range being simply foam golf balls into a 150 yard grassy area with a few trimmed "greens". The conditions on the tee boxes, with around 4 sets of tee to play from, were nice and acceptable of any tee. The fairways were a little overgrown, but noticeably lower than the rough. The rough was quite lush, it'll hide your ball pretty well and impact any approach shot. The greens, which we were warned of being slow, were pretty pristine. Soft and receptive on any shots into the green but rolled true with putts. Not seemingly baked at all and fun to putt on...once you were successfully on the greens. The bunkers, which all are SURROUNDING the small greens were a little inconsistent. Some were soft and well raked while others could be firm and packed a bit too tight. The only weird thing about the conditions was the absence of the fringe, it was basically trimmed greens and immediately off the greens was the rough and crabgrass.


This course is for sure a parkland style course, with very little desert seen if any and if you saw desert shrubbery it was because of the houses that are prominently lining the holes of this resort/hotel course. The fairways are rather accepting of errant tee shots but to score well, bring your sharpest of irons because these greens are the size of postage stamps. Every green was in great shape, which is great because you needed the ability to putt well with all of the greens being defended by at least one bunker, up to three surrounding the green complexes. My only gripe was this course strategically could be great if the greens weren't under 1,000 square feet because EVERY green is surrounded by bunkers. It's not necessarily target golf other than with the greens but the greens limit your options for approach shots, they need to be able to fly and stop quickly.

It was a fun course, albeit rather challenging with my below average iron game that Sunday, and with the conditions I'll be back but it's not for the everyday hacker that can't accurately control their irons. If you can't bring some swim shorts and a towel because you'll be at the beach all day.
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Played Arizona Golf Resort with a $11 hot deal tee time off GolfNow at 9:52am on the 26th of July. The greens had recently been punched and sanded, ju... » More

Played Arizona Golf Resort with a $11 hot deal tee time off GolfNow at 9:52am on the 26th of July. The greens had recently been punched and sanded, just to state before hand so that's probably part of the reason that tee time was being offered. The last time I played here was a while ago, and since then their customer service has been improved. Cart guys were present in the hot summer morning hours and the pro shop offered fair service as well upon check in. They offered me a course yardage guide for free which is a nice touch often not seen at courses now, they seem to always be of charge around $5.

The course is in fair shape besides the green as mentioned. The tee boxes were definitely immaculate, firm trimmed grass with just the right amount of firmness to hold a tee wherever placed. The fairways were softer then usual at this time of year though trimmed just above the height of a tee box. The rough was rather high, though in some places of the course less prevalent than other spots. I'd say the rough was around two inches all day, enough to lose a ball that doesn't find the fairway. The bunkers weren't dry but not necessarily fluffy, enough to hit the shot of choice green-side or to approach the green out of a fairway bunker. The greens were aerated , looking to be about three weeks away from playable healing.

The strategy behind this course is rather plain, a few doglegs which entice big hitters to try to cut with little reward available as often times a closer approach not meaning any easier. The fairways on most par 4's have two sections, a lay up portion ending around 150 yards left to the green and a go for it section often spliced by a cart path. Rather interesting that each fairway is designed this way but it's nothing to sneeze at either. The course is rather flat with very little change in height from tee boxes to greens and houses lining basically every hole, I wouldn't venture to say this feels like a resort course but much rather a community course.

It's a nice course that you can play golf at during the summer, but with the tee times spread out no more than 7 to 8 minutes I'd say this course is avoidable during the winter/fall time when the tee sheet is filled to the brim leading to 5 hour plus rounds that I myself have experienced here versus the 3 hour round I played yesterday.
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Played Papago Golf course, new home of the ASU Golf program, at 11am on Sunday July 21st for around $25 through a call to the proshop. The facilities ... » More

Played Papago Golf course, new home of the ASU Golf program, at 11am on Sunday July 21st for around $25 through a call to the proshop. The facilities of this course have recently went through extensive renovation as well as the pro shop and grill. The range is elite through and through, multiple stations available up to around 100 golfers, multiple chipping and bunker practice areas available with a large putting green awaiting your attention prior to teeing off. The Cartbarnguys, known largely from the presence on social media, offer pristine customer service and the beverage cart employees were present as well on this 100+ degree day. Bravo.

Now onto the golf course itself. The tee boxes, which there are five to select from, looked level and had ample amount of room to tee off from allowing a tee to be pegged of any choosing. The fairways were trimmed nicely, presenting a firm roll out with few divots in the fairway providing great opportunity to hit an approach shot. The rough is characterized with consistent boundaries prior to getting to the oh so present desert shrubbery and dirt landscape. Rough wasn't too high but could bury a ball deep if you hit into the grass that hadn't been trampled on by carts. The greens were aerated on the week of the 8th of July so they were a bit on the sanded, recovery side. Should be in amazing shape within a week or two more. The bunkers were great, fluffy and soft to hit from greenside and just a touch firm next to the fairways. They were noticeably machine raked about everywhere there were, and there are a lot of them around this track.

The course presents itself as a tough stern championship worthy test, as it should being the home of a prestigious golf team in ASU. You must be able to drive your driver with accuracy and with distance to shoot a score out here. The bunkers are all placed in JUST the right spot making you sweat if the weather doesn't do that already. The greens have enough room to hit them if you do miss the fairway, however the amount of blind shots and multiple tiers in them make hitting the right spot a key. The golf and service is great, the price at this time of year around the $25-$40 range is doable, but I must say...for a prestigious course to have below average signage to navigate the course, no GPS on carts and a surprising lack of cart paths, more must be done. I understand how this may come off but if they want to tout being a Phoenix hidden gem and a championship worthy layout, the small things need to be accounted for.

All in all , a great course and viable challenge with an incredible amount of views of the adjacent cities and natural landscape but there are some views on the course that could use a touch up.
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