#1 public course in AZ was Quintero, which was pretty much universally panned, or at least 'mehed' in a recent thread on GCA. I thought there was a lot of overlap between GCA and golfweek raters. How does one explain this ranking? I'm eager to see the course now.
It was #2 previously, so not a huge surprise that it's in that portion of the ranking.
Golfweek skews more GCA-friendly than GD for sure, but it's still a diverse group and there's plenty people will like about Quintero--there's very little real estate out there, the conditioning is immaculate, and there are several memorable shots. Desert golf is tricky to judge for people who don't play such courses all the time. Quintero isn't my cup of tea, but I fully understand why people (and raters) give it high marks.
Other thoughts on that Arizona list ...
Verrado at #5. I'm a really big fan of that course, but #5 seems really overenthusiastic. They were 14 in 2013, and 9 last year. There have been no real changes at the course so I'm not clear why it's jumped up so significantly. If we're talking value, west side courses like Verrado get extra points, but just as a course I don't really get how it ranks ahead of either Troon North Course, Talking Stick North, Southern Dunes, and Boulders North.
The Canyon course at Ventana Canyon isn't the 17th best course in Tucson, let alone the state.
Legacy Golf Resort at #20? I just ... huh?