I’m in for one of them, see you then
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Sweet! Looking forward to it.
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Hey, I have a bachelor trip coming up in April. My friend is looking to make it more of a golf trip, so trying to squeeze in a 36 hole day and one more round on a Saturday.
Would appreciate some advice. Troon is 100% on the list, but which course would you recommend? And we are looking at a budget round. I heard Silverado might be the place, but open to some other suggestions.
Thanks for the help!
The Troon North courses are pretty interchangeable, so much so that 10-15 years ago they swapped nines between them and you really wouldn’t notice.
So today’s Pinnacle Course comprises what was, at one time, the back nines of the two courses. The Monument is what was the front nines. This is because the original Pinnacle was built about five years after the first course and the nines were basically on opposite sides of that course. So you’d play the front nine, which is south of Dynamite Blvd, then cross under the road, drive past the 9th green and 1st tee from the Monument, drive past the clubhouse, drive basically the entire length of the Monument’s 10th hole just to reach the 10th tee on Pinnacle. And then the 18th hole for that course was all the way back by that tee as well.
Anyway. The “new” routings work much better and both courses are Weiskopf designs (the first course was Weiskopf with Jay Morrish) so it all works. The one oddity is that if you know a bit about Weiskopf he also wanted to have a reachable par 4 on his designs. Both Troon North courses had one but when they switched around the nines both ended up on the Monument course. So the Pinnacle course may be the only one of his designs without a drivable par 4.
Both courses are good, if penal desert golf is what you are looking for. I favor the Monument slightly. I like the holes south of the road the go up on the mountain and I think the drivable 15th on Monument is probably the best hole of all 36.
As for budget rounds … in April? Well, at least it’s not March. I’m not sure what Silverado runs that time of year but my guess would be you could get on Talking Stick or Papago for around the same amount and those would be vastly preferable options. But I could be way off with that since I’m always scrounging for local rates. It’s also always tricky here since virtually everyone (except WeKoPa) has gone to the variable rate pricing model.
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I always like Red Mountain Ranch for a discount round. Pretty unique course for the area. Pete Dye. Not true penal desert golf, but close.
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I’d consider looking into the 36 hole “special” at Grayhawk. That can be spread out over a weekend, or done in a single day. It will be roughly $550ish, but I feel it’s one of the best golf days in Arizona. Great golf. Phenomenal amenities. If you do 36 on the same day, they will space it out so that you have a solid 90 minutes between rounds. The locker room has showers, towels, and toiletries. From there, stroll into Phil’s Grill for some lunch and cocktails.
Let’s assume people are getting after it on Friday night. Silverado is an uber forgiving course, and should be somewhat budget friendly. Same for both of the Talking Stick and McCormick Ranch courses. Forgiving. “Cheap”. Most importantly…these courses have cheaper cocktails/beers.
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For a truly budget round at a decent course I’d go Cave Creek. It’s going to $40. Papago will be over $100. Talking Stick over $150.
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Also consider Grand Canyon University, Aguila, Legacy - some good golf course for not as expensive. Personally I would not waste my money at Troon and would much rather play We Ko Pa or even Camelback.
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second Aguila for real budget friendly and a solid course. Also second WeKoPa over Troon, both course quality and value (but certainly not the budget friendly round in the winter)
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Thanks for all the input everyone! Really appreciate it!
Hello! Trying to plan a bachelor party (similar to BEC above) and I ready through a lot of this thread and my main takeaways of the recommendations were:
- budget golf
- penal desert golf
…but what if I’m looking for neither of these things? I’m coming from WA state, and Gamble Sands is my favorite course on earth. I know I’m not going to find THAT in Scottsdale, but do you have big, fun ballparks? Or what would you recommend that isn’t penal desert golf in Scottsdale?
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I’m an eastern WA transplant and a huge Gamble fan. The most at home I’ve felt here has been at Southern Dunes. It is a sand belt course so the fairways are big, and there are penal elements but it’s not the usual desert target golf. Lots of interesting holes and it’s a Fred Couples course for an added Washington bonus.
Ambiente at Camelback is the other one that comes to mind. Really fun course and super unique for Scottsdale.
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Great ideas from @GeneralTSo, I always like recommending Talking Stick - Oodham for trips / bachelor parties. Fair to all players while being an awesome course architecturally
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Second @pushdraw recommendation of Talking Stick - Oodham. Never played Gamble but Oodham
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I would recommend not coming to Scottsdale.
That aside, Southern Dunes is the best rec. Talking Stick is a good one, too, and much closer to Scottsdale.
Another option could be Longbow, which is in Mesa. Not especially penal and not too expensive, relatively, either.
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I worked at talking golf course and it’s a pretty perfect set up for a bachelor party doin like 1 or 2 nights at the hotel/casino, they shuttle u to and from the course, playing both courses or oodham twice. Had a ton of bachelor parties playing there all the time. Talking stick is around $170-$190 right now.talking stick courses are nice but pretty flat. Also love legacy and the raven. Both of them are around $120-$140 right now. Southern dunes is legit like the other guys have been saying. Southern dunes is around $200-$230*(updated $87-$140) right now. I personally love the raven over all the course I said except southern dunes, especially for around $140 right now.It has a lot more trees than these other course and feels less like a desert course. If you want one blow the budget course I would recommend gold canyon the dinosaur mountain course. Their prices right now are around $170-$200. Elevated tees, amazing views, greens are lightning fast. There’s a ton of utube videos showing the course hole by hole. Hope this helps
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I just booked an 0755 tee time at southern for 87 dollars next week. I think after 8 it was 120 or so. Just fyi.
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Sign me the fuck up for that deal!! I saw the rates from like $87-$230 and usually the lowest rate u need like a city or Arcis card for those prices but looks like anyone can get that deal. Nice find
Anyone want to try to get out on Thursday or Friday of next week?
Possibly Friday. Trying to get it off of work. Should know tomorrow hopefully.
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