Ok guys,
As Jeremy mentioned before, we both went to AS this last Sunday and were both very disappointed. Jim recommended the course to us, and as soon as I realised it was this close to Phoenix, I knew I had to play it. People warned me about the conditions, but I was never too influenced by that.... Besides, a Doak course for $55 bucks! It almost sounded too good to be true! Unfortunately, it was.
I am almost ashamed to say it, but we did not finish our round and simply toured the back nine (where our cart died and nobody even cared to apologize when they eventually replaced it).... We were both tired from three days of non-stop travelling across North-America, the conditions of the course were very bad, the wind was literally howling and we were simply not having any fun.
This certainly does not happen to me very often. I usually don't care for bad conditioning, as long as I can putt on decent greens (I could) and the course design is great. Yes, the green complexes were interesting. Yes, the routing was interesting. Yes, the scenery was nice. But I was disappointed by the overall facilities, the conditioning, the service and by many bunkers that seemed uninspired and bland to me, even by Quebec standards, which people often trash on this site. I was expecting greatness, this being a Doak course, but somehow, I felt something was missing.
The problem is, I think my expectations were simply too high. This lead to a very big disappointment, especially after playing Riviera, Rustic Canyon and Talking Stick North the three days before. I can see greatness in Apache Stronghold, but for one rare time in my golfing career, I really had a tough time overcoming my amazement concerning the conditioning of this course.
All along I kept thinking: How can a golf course by Tom Doak be in such a bad shape? Not that Tom has anything to do with this, but how do you expect to get players out there if you offer them a product this bad?
This is beyond me...
So, to recap. If you love golf course architecture, but really don't mind bad conditioning, go. Otherwise, skip this place and stay in Tucson or Phoenix to play equally good courses that won't disappoint you in any way. (Especially if you lead a group of weekend golfers. They will remember this for a long time....)
This one has too many bad things going for it to be worth the trip. At least, while it is maintained by this group....
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The first hole, viewed from the front of the fairway bunker.
The second hole.
The third hole.
The forth hole.
The conditions beside the fifth green, looking towards the fairway.
The sixth hole.
The seventh hole, viewed from the high side of the landing zone.
The eight hole.
The ninth green, from the fairway.
The eleventh hole.
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Yes, I know, the conditioning does not look this bad based on these pictures.... I am sure some would argue it was not that bad.
Notice the picture of the fifth hole. It looks like they just upgraded the irrigation system around the greens. Maybe its a sign of better things to come....
Let's hope!
P.S. Jim, don't worry. No hard feelings regarding your suggestion! I am glad I saw the course. We had a great time meeting you and your friends. Feel free to get in touch with me if you come to Montreal.