Played 11-13-20 a couple weeks after overseeding. The course is in great shape. The greens were in good condition but just a touch slow (they will speed up in the next couple weeks). What was differen... Continue »

Played 11-13-20 a couple weeks after overseeding. The course is in great shape. The greens were in good condition but just a touch slow (they will speed up in the next couple weeks). What was different was the service. I was picked up in the parking lot, given a complimentary bucket of balls because they were running 15 minutes late, they came and got me on the driving range when I was up, new carts with JBL speakers (listened to the masters), clubs cleaned very well after the round and driven to my car. The best service I have ever had at a muni. Actually better than a lot of private courses I’ve played

I played here on August 21st with my best friend (who's an instructor at a course in Chandler) around 12:30 pm for a cool $30 riding (resident rate if Mesa is on your driver license) off GolfNow. We'v... Continue »

I played here on August 21st with my best friend (who's an instructor at a course in Chandler) around 12:30 pm for a cool $30 riding (resident rate if Mesa is on your driver license) off GolfNow. We've played this course for years, it was our high school course years back and have always thought of this course fondly. Since the course is a municipal its always been accessible and revered as the best in Mesa...because it's the ONLY municipal in Mesa, AZ. This course has recently been taken over by a management company and it's very noticeable. In some ways it's a good thing, in others not so much. I say this with emphasis, I've been here a few times without playing in past months and the guy inside (Drew, you'll see a lot of him on their social media pages) always without fail tries to push their summer cards or range passes in a pressuring manner. I'm all one for selling when sales are present, but dude...cmon. It's a muni. Any ways, the staff here is present as always and sometimes over staffed to the point of fault but they were here to help...sometimes.

We checked in quickly and proceeded to the first tee. Before that we were greeted by ample practice greens, range that was had over 40 slots for warmup or practice and a chipping green with bunker. All in good shape. As we drover to the first tee we saw a starter who engaged in chit chat as we were 15 minutes early to our tee time. The first tee was open and ready for the taking, but she was so engulfed in watching her iPad for other tee times and golfers checking in...she made us wait for the other two with us who arrived literally a minute before our tee time. Take note.

Onto the course, well this track gets a lot of play. A LOT. The tees which there are three to choose from were all in good/average shape besides all par 3s that were playing from temporary tee locations since they're re-sodding the tee boxes, should be ready to go in a "few weeks" we were told. The fairways were green but had bare spots ranging from the doglegs to the fairway bunkers and weren't really consistent. In fact this course was consistent in the fact that it wasn't consistent anywhere but the greens. The bunkers were firm some places and soft elsewhere, the fringe was present on some while non-existent on other holes and the greens were firm but also slow, true...but slow.

Overall the course was pleasant to play but not what we wanted to see from a course we love. The management group has seemed to transition their concerns from the golf course to the amenities and making money from punch cards and their driving range that's open until 10pm. I don't know about everyone but when I go to a course to play golf I'd prefer not to see football goal posts (two of them) in the driving range and a ton of targets that aren't greens in the range. I also prefer to not be sold to every breathing moment at this course. And I'd like to play ready golf and be allowed to tee off if the tee is open rather than waiting for the others who show up late and cause a bottle neck on every hole resulting in a 3.5+ hour round in the summer when it could've all been avoided by an attentive starter.

Small things add up, or subtract when they're appointed to the wrong places in golf course management.

Played Dobson June 21st as a single with a cart at $21 around 3pm. The clubhouse staff was adequate, during a dead and slow Thursday that when I was on the course I ran into 4 other golfers so it was ... Continue »

Played Dobson June 21st as a single with a cart at $21 around 3pm. The clubhouse staff was adequate, during a dead and slow Thursday that when I was on the course I ran into 4 other golfers so it was quiet. I played within a total of 2 hours and 40 minutes. Never saw a cart girl however there are water fountains every 3 or so holes with a bathroom every 6 holes.

The course was in great condition besides a few dead spots as to be expected during the scorching summer. Tee boxes were soft and accepted my tee wherever I needed. A few holes had unleveled tee boxes, which I'm surprised they haven't fixed yet, as well as divots on par threes. Fairways were thin at the start (where the fairways begin) however near legit landing spots they were playable. Greens were the star of the show, once again like they usually are. With exception to the recent past, the greens were smooth and accepted any play of approach.

The strategy of the course makes this course a great quick muni-track that plays no matter your ability. I really enjoy this course and when it's in great condition like this during the summer, it'll be replayed over and over.

I generally like this track. At least I used to. I checked greenskeeper to see if was undergoing any kind of maintenance, to which it was green stating that it was in good shape. I then called the ... Continue »

I generally like this track. At least I used to. I checked greenskeeper to see if was undergoing any kind of maintenance, to which it was green stating that it was in good shape. I then called the very morning and was told it was in "perfect shape, green and fairways" prior to heading out. When we arrived we were greeted by the front desk and told they were starting people off the back nine. I didn't know if it was due to a shotgun tourney or what, but we headed out and the tee box and fairways were okay with enough sand to have a little rooster tail behind it to slow it down a bit.
Making the turn I noticed the 9th fairway was getting aerated! We drove to the first tee box and found that fairway was aerated as well. I called the front desk and they basically said they didn't know and it was nothing they could do about it. A few holes later a guy drove out and offered us a rain check for 9 holes, but I was already too upset and declined. I wanted show my friend from out of town a good track only for this to happen. Needless to say this ruined my round and now what was once one of my favorite tracks has become a place I'll never go again.

Walked with a buddy of mine at 9ish on the 10th of August for only $19. The pro shop was a bit stuffy and didn't seem to be super happy we walked in, but got the job done nonetheless. We saw the cart ... Continue »

Walked with a buddy of mine at 9ish on the 10th of August for only $19. The pro shop was a bit stuffy and didn't seem to be super happy we walked in, but got the job done nonetheless. We saw the cart girl a total of 4 times throughout the round so she definitely was seen and present (a seemingly rarities for mid-tier courses during the summer here).

The conditions were pretty decent but a little worse from the last time I reviewed this track. The tee boxes showed a bit of wear with divots and some weren't level. The fairways were the highlight, couldn't find a bad lie (and we were all over them). The rough was negligible at only about 2" in it's highest, and it was anything but consistently cut. The greens were the downfall of the day though. I usually come here and preach on how great they are and receiving. However today they were firm and slow, a weird dynamic when playing in the morning and freshly cut. They seemed like they were punched about a month ago but they were still playing like artificial turf at the putting section of PGA Superstore firm.

I still enjoyed myself, this track is one of the easier courses to shoot low on and today was no different. However, playing with some people who have been playing Dobson for years, the course is starting to show its age...in a not so good way.

Played on Sat. May 7th, at around 2:13pm for a walking rate of $18. We got paired up with a couple on this beautifully weathered Saturday and noticed there were plenty of other foursomes ahead of us, ... Continue »

Played on Sat. May 7th, at around 2:13pm for a walking rate of $18. We got paired up with a couple on this beautifully weathered Saturday and noticed there were plenty of other foursomes ahead of us, causing quite the backup on the front 9. The pace of play wasn't great noting that there were two rangers on the course, as we finished up just a tad over 5 hours. That is my only complaint of the day.

The course played great, almost flawless. The tee boxes were clean (as some were newer because of the modernization of golf courses due to length of the tee nowadays), the fairways were immaculate, and greens rolled the truest they have in years. It's a shame that no members have written reviews about this course and I hope some have at least still played it. They have put some money in the layout and it's appreciated.

Now, for most lengthy hitters it is still easily gettable. I birdied every par 5 (there's 5) and the par 3's didn't exceed a 6 iron. If playing from the CORRECT tees this course isn't an impossible play however the greenskeepers need to keep an eye on where they place the pin. Some were placed on illegal slopes/spots and made it impossible to make a put with how fast they were rolling. I feel this is a must play for any Arizonians in Mesa.

Played Dobson on a Monday morning May 11th at 8:44 am. Me and my competitive friend walked for a cool fee of $26 and weren't paired with anyone else. For the time of the day it was, I respect Dobson f... Continue »

Played Dobson on a Monday morning May 11th at 8:44 am. Me and my competitive friend walked for a cool fee of $26 and weren't paired with anyone else. For the time of the day it was, I respect Dobson for allowing us to play alone. The driving range is a bit average, only because people still don't know how to layer your shots but it is large so every club can be hit.

The course from the first tee to the 18th green was immaculate. My friend who is a golfer over at Coastal Carolina hadn't played at Dobson since last year and said this is easily the best it has ever been condition wise. Nothing was faulty. The tee boxes were perfect, little divots to be seen even on the par 3's, fairways were amazing (if you hit them, I only hit 4) and the bunkers were spectacular. My ONLY gripe for the course was that the rough didn't provide any type of challenge. I like courses that make the golfer really press to hit the fairways, however the only issue you face at Dobson is hitting underneath branches. The greens were the most trued I have played since the Raven at South Mountain.

Strategy wise, this course makes you think. Quite a bit. Every hole has a strategically placed bunker that makes you think driver or 3 wood, and at same time a carry that makes you even think about an iron. An example is the par 4 3rd hole, with a bunker at 260 yards on a dogleg left, you must know you distances for 3 wood as a driver could make you lose an angle at the 3 tiered green. And then you got the par 5 5th that can be cut to the left of the dogleg if you can hit the driver high enough, but you can get hurt by falling short because of the quantity of trees. I could go on and on about the strategy but that is my opinion of making this a great course.

If the prices ever drop, it could be a top course. But if they continue to rake in tee times from the locals for expensive summer prices, I will stop going and play Kenny Mac for 10 bucks.

I played here 2/6/2015 with a 1:52 tee time. The course is a fun layout and I did notice that they have added some new longer tee boxes to a number of the holes. The fairways and tee boxes were in goo... Continue »

I played here 2/6/2015 with a 1:52 tee time. The course is a fun layout and I did notice that they have added some new longer tee boxes to a number of the holes. The fairways and tee boxes were in good shape. The bunkers were decent to good. The greens were a little thin in spots, but not bad. The green speed was medium. The pace of play was , a typical Friday afternoon 4 1/2 hours. They have a lighted range that is very popular. 2 good putting and chipping areas. This course is very walker friendly

Played 7/17 with a fellow classmate of mine. He is pretty much a scratch golfer while I am a mid handicapper, but have shot below par before. Dobson Ranch is known for poor service, however we did not... Continue »

Played 7/17 with a fellow classmate of mine. He is pretty much a scratch golfer while I am a mid handicapper, but have shot below par before. Dobson Ranch is known for poor service, however we did not encounter that. In fact, they were so nice as to advance our tee time because of the openings. The practice facilities were in perfect conditions even though a huge monsoon had just wiped through the night before. Multiple putting and chipping greens along with sand bunkers make this golf course a rating of a high 7.

As I said, there was a huge storm the night before that brought not only rain but also high levels of wind. With that in mind, the course was in rather good shape because of the trees that fell. The course management was on top of that however because many landscapers were out on the course trying to shed the fallen trees (they didn't come close to interfering with our round though). Because of the haevy rain last night, the course played very soft and true to roll. Even though I usually don't get the ball to spin backwards, I was able to with the conditions of the greens, soft and slow. The fairways didn't have many divots, surprising for a municipal course.

Even though the course played soft and slow, my partner and I were not able to shoot under par, let alone stay below 80. The fairways were very narrow, and it seemed as though any shot out of the fairway was deemed a bogey. Overall, a great course for a $6 tee time, as we walked after 11 am. I look forward to returning to this course. Great challenge, and great price!