Arizona Grand Resort | Phoenix, AZ

Posted on 8th November 2010 in Courses

Enjoy the panoramic views from the tee of the downhill par-3 18th. Photo credit: Chad Hays

With high temperatures in the 70s and sunny skies in the forecast here in mid-Nov., now is the time when we start to see golf courses in the Valley really start to raise their rates.

But as I was browsing the rates at golfnow.com, I was pleasantly surprised to see a number of local courses with reasonable prices still. With the economy still suffering and the number of golfers on the decline, it looks like we’re going to be in for another season of lower-than-normal prices during the best time of year to play.

While there are several courses I could pick for this week, Arizona Grand Resort jumped out at me. With rates ranging from $34-42, it’s a great deal this time of year.

I’ve played the course several times over the past couple years and once since the recent $52 million resort renovation. While the course itself only saw changes to one hole, the new clubhouse and restaurant near the course add some welcome ambiance and amenities to the property. The patio seating overlooking the first tee is a nice place to eat before or after your round.

The course itself plays like three different courses. Holes 1-4 are an “oasis” section since they play through green grass and lakes with no desert landscaping. Holes 5-11 play through a residential area with some moderate desert and one water hole. Then holes 12-18 are the straight-up desert golf with some very tight driving areas.

The middle stretch through the residential area is the least exciting, but the course bookends with some fun holes. The views from the 18th tee are some of the best in the Valley.

My only big negative about the course is its lack of a real driving range. Due to space constraints, you have to hit limited-flight balls off of mats. Not a big deal, though, unless you are particular about your pre-round warm up session.

The course will likely get up to $70-90 to play as the season goes on, so I’d recommend getting out there while the rates are low and the weather is perfect.

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Verde Santa Fe Golf Club | Cornville, AZ

Posted on 1st November 2010 in Courses

Greenside at the third hole of Verde Santa Fe Golf Club. Photo credit: Chad Hays

Sedona is one of my favorite places to visit here in Arizona. It’s tough to beat the scenery and weather in the red rocks and the area naturally makes for a great golf setting.

There are three courses to choose from in Sedona: Sedona Golf Resort, Oak Creek Country Club, and the spectacular Seven Canyons Golf Club, a private club now offering tee times to the public.

I recommend all three courses, especially Oak Creek and Seven Canyons, but a round is going to cost you $60-$100. They’re worth the occasional splurge, but it can be tough to spend that much money on a round of golf.

That’s why I’m glad I found out about Verde Santa Fe Golf Club. It’s located in the small town of Cornville about 20 miles southwest of the heart of Sedona

I decided to try it out a couple years ago when I was looking to play a cheap round in the area. I didn’t know much about the course since their website doesn’t have many photos and there isn’t much info about it other places online. But it was only about $40 to play in January, which is a pretty good deal in Arizona, so I gave it a chance.

The whole place was a nice surprise. The golf shop staff was helpful and friendly, the bar had a surprising amount of good beers on tap and the course was a lot of fun. Just about every hole on the course has some character and sweeping views of the surrounding valley and Mingus Mountain.

It certainly isn’t a high-end resort operation, but what would you expect from a small-town course in a place called Cornville? They do cheap golf well, though.

I played in January and they hadn’t overseeded, so the turf was dormant except for the tees and greens. I know this bothers some golfers who always want emerald-green fairways, but I don’t mind it so long as the turf is still playable, which it was. The greens rolled great, too. There were also more than a few golfers in jeans and work boots, but it just adds to the small-town feel of the place.

Now is a great time to get up there and play. The highs are still 70-80 degrees and the rates are $30-60 depending on the day and whether or not you’re an Arizona resident.

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Discount passes

Posted on 25th October 2010 in Courses

Save big at Papago with the Phoenix Golf discount card

We all like discount rates when we play golf. Like I said in the previous post: Who pays rack rates these days?

Golfnow.com has become the go-to site for discounted tee times but there a couple discount passes here in the Valley and state that are worth taking a look at.

First is the Phoenix Golf Card that gives discounts at the six City of Phoenix municipal courses (eight if you count the 9-hole tracks at Encanto and Aguila as separate courses).

The card only makes about a $10 difference in price at most of the courses. A discount is a discount, though, and they have a loyalty program that allows you to earn points toward free rounds of golf.

The big benefit of the card is the discount cardholders get at Papago, the crown jewel of the city’s municipal courses and one of my absolute favorite tracks.

To help pay for the massive renovation that Papago went through in 2008, the city is now charging non-cardholders a much higher rate than in pre-renovation years. For the current winter season, the cardholder rate is $59 with cart. It’s $99 without a card.

The card costs $50 for Maricopa County residents and they are now offering the general public the card for $100. Plus, if you buy your card before Nov. 14 you’ll get a free walking round.

The other big discount card is the popular Southwest PGA pass. The website shows 66 courses participating in the pass for 2011. The pass gives you 50% off of rack rates Monday through Thursday and 25% off rack rates Friday through Sunday.

I’ve been tempted to buy this pass over the years but have never pulled the trigger. I haven’t done the math on all 66 courses, but it seems you can get as good or better rates through golfnow.com for most of the courses. The $110-125 for the PGA pass just never seemed worth it to me. Maybe someone who has been a passholder can leave a comment and share their experience with the card and whether or not it’s worth it.

You can purchase the card online here but many of the courses seem to offer a deal if you purchase the pass with them. I know some of the courses  offer a free round of golf at their course or at least a hefty discount on one round at some of the higher-end courses.

There are discount cards from other companies worth looking at, too, if you frequent Troon Golf courses or the In Celebration of Golf courses.

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Vistal Golf Club

Posted on 18th October 2010 in Courses

One course I know I can get a good deal at every day of the year is Vistal Golf Club in Phoenix.

Located at the base of South Mountain, Vistal is one of the most underrated courses in the Valley. The course received plenty of praise upon its opening at the end of 2001, including being honored by Sports Illustrated as one of the top 10 new public courses in America that year (it was called Thunderbirds Golf Club at the time). It has also hosted numerous amateur and professional events and qualifiers.

Yet despite all these credentials, the course still manages to be under most Valley golfers radar.

Maybe it’s because the course is in a less-than-desirable location in South Phoenix as opposed to the Scottsdale area or maybe it’s because they don’t overseed the entire course in the winter. For whatever reason, Vistal keeps their rates low all year. And they don’t seem to struggle for business any more than other courses since they have had a steady stream of play most times I’m out there. I’ve always thought they could get away with charging  a little more, but they never do.

They keep their rack rates below $60 throughout the entire year, but who pays rack rates these days? You can get a tee time at Vistal nearly every day of the year for less than $40 at golfnow.com. You shouldn’t pay more than $20 during the summer months.

But Vistal isn’t just good because it’s cheap. You get plenty of bang for your buck there. Every hole on the course has character with no boring holes on the track. The location is at the scenic base of South Mountain and the course offers sweeping views of downtown Phoenix and much of the Valley. Plus, it’s one of the rare courses in the Phoenix metro area without a single house lining the fairways.

Granted, the condition of the course won’t be as pristine or well-manicured as a higher-end course, but it’s always in good condition. They had some serious issues with their greens several years ago, but those troubles seem long gone. They don’t do much, if any, overseeding in the winter. But I don’t mind playing on dormant turf if it’s still playable, which Vistal always is. I could get into why I’d like to see more courses go dormant and use less water at times, but that’s another post for another time.

Their outdoor cafe, the Blue Pig, offers the usual golf course fare with hot dogs and hamburgers and the like, but also has some solid breakfast burritos. They often have beer specials, too. There is outdoor seating where you can enjoy the views of the course and the city beyond or watch TV while dining.

Overall, I can’t recommend Vistal enough to the budget golfer. It’s a great track and a perfect course to kick off this blog.

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Welcome to ‘Budget Golf in the Desert’

Posted on 18th October 2010 in Uncategorized

Greetings, fellow golfers. Welcome to my new blog where I’ll be providing news and reviews on golfing on a budget here in the Phoenix metro area and throughout the Southwest.

Not all of us can afford to be members at exclusive private clubs or drop a few hundred dollars to hit the links at a high-end daily fee course. But those of us subject to slim wallets are no longer relegated to just beat-up munis and the proverbial goat ranches.

With the downtrodden economy has come more deals for us golfers as courses and club manufacturers are willing to dramatically drop prices in an attempt to get our money.

From high-end private clubs offering tee times to the general public and daily-fee courses offering deeply-discounted rates, to equipment distributors offering phenomenal sales, I’ll be informing you on what courses and equipment are worth your hard-earned money so you don’t get stuck with buyer’s remorse when you’re out on the course.

Some background info on me:

I’ve been golfing in the Phoenix area for about 20 years now, ever since I was about nine years old. I grew up playing exclusively cheap municipal courses and 9-hole executive tracks.

Up until about five years ago, I spent about seven years total working at three different high-end courses in the Scottsdale area. I was fortunate enough to play dozens of the best courses in the Valley and state for a complimentary rate. It was a culture shock at times, having been raised on muni golf, but it was great to see the wide variety of mid to high-end courses throughout the state.

I eventually decided the golf industry wasn’t in my long-term plans and moved on to a different career path. After seven years of almost nothing but complimentary golf I was faced with – gasp – actually having to pay greens fees on a regular basis.

It’s tough being a poor college student trying to put aside money for golf, but fortunately I now know what courses are worth their price, where to look for the best deals and what courses are worth the extra cash when I want to splurge. I look forward to sharing this information with you and also passing along equipment deals I feel are worth a look.

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