Verrado Golf Club (Founders): Member Reviews

4242 North Golf Drive
Buckeye, AZ 85326 • (623) 388-3000

LOCAL WEATHER

Buckeye, AZ (85326)

72°F
Sunny

[Full Forecast]

Humidity: 13%
Wind: N at 5mph

Sunset: 6:43 pm
green Sunrise: 6:25 am

COURSE LINKS

Verrado GC Website

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1. demarv04

Posted: 06/02/19 4:19p
Member Since: May 14, 2007
From: Phoenix

We played Founders as the second 18 of 36 right after playing Victory and teed off around 215. Not much play going on with only a few groups finishing up.
Founders was in much better shape overall c... Continue »

All Reviews by demarv04

5 Likes.

Rated
7.0 Conditions

2. Nickesquire

Posted: 08/07/18 9:36p
Member Since: Aug 11, 2007
From: Rancho Mirage, CA

Rode the Silvers (6833/71.9/130), playing 36 holes as a single in 5H. The weather was breezy, clear and hot, 116 when I finished @ 5:30 pm. I had planned my trip by on I-10 to allow the time to play both Verrado courses. However, I passed on Victory after finding out that they punched their greens about 10 days ago. Founders was punched about 3 weeks ago and was basically healed, so I replayed there instead. I like desert golf and John Fought designs, so it's not a shock that I really liked this course. Tom Lehman was the co-designer, first experience on one of his courses. Some tight holes, but nothing too bad. Nice elevation changes throughout. Many holes have upscale desert homes around them, but they are far enough away that they blend in and are not noticeable. Some big traps to avoid and desert scape no mans land surrounds almost every hole. This course featured 17 3/4 holes of good to excellent golf. Hole 13's green being the exception. Short, 291 yard par 4 from the Silvers, severely uphill. For those of you familiar with Rustic Canyon, this green was a combination of the worst features of the greens on holes 12 & 15 @ RC. The pin was on top of a severe mound that would remind you of #12 @ Rustic Canyon, except larger. The big difference is that on #12 @ Rustic, you just roll down to a flat area if you miss the table top. This green had a front like #15 @ Rustic, where you could run a putt or chip a few feet by a pin close to the slope and end up 30 yards down the hill in the fairway. Trust me, I'm speaking from experience after playing my 4th shot from pretty close to where I played my 2nd shot! The Bermuda tees were mostly lush and well maintained. Same for the fairways. First time in awhile I have played in Bermuda rough that was allowed to grow up. The ball usually sat down, and anything but whacking it out and trying to advance it perhaps 125 yards was usually out of the question. I dropped out from a sprinkler and the ball sat down so much in about 4" tall rough I was lucky to gorilla a SW back into the fairway. The Bermuda greens were firm and medium speed. I had a hard time with the speeds even the 2nd time through. The customer service was excellent from everyone. Cart gal out making the rounds. All grass range with complementary balls, nice practice area. Excellent GPS on carts. Many tees are a long ways from the last green, so even if it was not scorching, it would be a challenge to walk. Water stations every few holes. Definitely recommended.

All Reviews by Nickesquire

12 Likes.

Rated
7.2 Conditions

3. demarv04

Posted: 07/01/18 6:52a
Member Since: May 14, 2007
From: Phoenix

I played here after playing Victory. I teed off around 2:30 for a $19 rate. Not much play going on and didn’t see anyone until #14.
Founders is a fun course to play. Challenging but not going to kil... Continue »

All Reviews by demarv04

13 Likes.

Rated
7.6 Conditions

4. sparky14

Posted: 08/24/17 8:39a
Member Since: Mar 26, 2003
From: San Clemente

Played Verrado-Founders on 8/23. Every time I play here, I am more impressed. It is La Quinta Mountain Course with smaller boulders and minus all the condos and housing, only more playable. Fantastic ... Continue »

All Reviews by sparky14

12 Likes.

Rated
8.6 Conditions

5. jciapa02

Posted: 08/11/17 1:12p
Member Since: May 1, 2013
From: Mesa, AZ

Played this golf course recently with a tee time around 12:03 for a cool $30 plus tax including cart and range balls. Showed up an hour early to scout around and see the layout. Have played here befor... Continue »

All Reviews by jciapa02

11 Likes.

Rated
8.7 Conditions

6. demarv04

Posted: 07/14/17 6:24p
Member Since: May 14, 2007
From: Phoenix

Played 36 holes on the Verrado Founders Course on Friday, July 14th. We teed off around 815 with quite a bit of play going on. We started as a two and ended joining two awesome guys on the third hol... Continue »

All Reviews by demarv04

7 Likes.

Rated
6.4 Conditions

7. sixpez

Posted: 04/21/17 10:48a
Member Since: Oct 16, 2003
From: Rancho Mirage

While at Verrado for the first time, of course I was going to play all 36! I had a 10:42 tee time on the now-known-as Founders Course. Check in was a little confusing because they put me with a group of 7 and I was getting shuffled around from cart to cart on the driving range and first tee. Eventually, we figured it out and my group went off first at about 10:30. They started us on the back nine for some reason yesterday. Very busy out there, so total pace right at 4.5 hours. Price was $58 (plus tax, d%mn you AZ!). Depending on how you look at things, Founders was either in better or worse shape than Victory. It certainly didn't look quite as pretty as some of the grass is getting lighter and more dappled in color as they start to get ready for the summer transition. However, the playability overall is much better here because it's not brand new turf. The tee boxes were great. The fairways were softer and fluffier, so they were really nice to hit from while still providing adequate roll-out. The rough on Founders was the cut-down semi-dormant bermuda like on the back nine at Victory. I was in one bunker and it was very nice. The greens here were also quite firm, but much, much more receptive on well-struck approaches and chips. The greens showed signs of a recent aeration (maybe 3 weeks ago), but putts were not affected at all. They were rolling well at medium speeds. I really wanted to love the Founders Course. I ended up liking it. It has all the elements working for it. Great desert setting, plenty of good elevation changes, challenging enough design, good facilities, etc. I think it's just that it has such a familiar feel. I'd have a hard time picking it out of a line up with many other similar modern AZ "deserdential" (desert + residential) community courses. It's very enjoyable on all levels, but won't jump out too much from the crowd of great courses in the area. I'd easily give it my recommendation, though, especially at a $58 price tag. It's a good representative for the west side of the valley!

All Reviews by sixpez

13 Likes.

Rated
7.3 Conditions

8. timwhitegolfer

Posted: 12/23/16 6:21p
Member Since: Dec 23, 2016
From: La Quinta

The course is nice, gets a lot of play, has some short holes but multiple tee boxes so you can move back and enjoy it if you hit it long. Lots of strategy, the course is easy to get to, but you can't... Continue »

All Reviews by timwhitegolfer

9 Likes.

Rated
6.9 Conditions

9. jciapa02

Posted: 08/16/16 11:57p
Member Since: May 1, 2013
From: Mesa, AZ

Played today with a tee time of 3:12 pm for $19 thru their course website. Frank in Pro Shop very helpful. He deserves an early shoutout for how helpful he was thru the phone. One, this course IS a drive if you live in the east valley (Mesa, Tempe, Chandler, AJ, even Scottsdale). Two, during prime season this course gets PRICEY. Three, this course's views of nearby cities in Phx as well as price is WELL WORTH it. $19 was almost paid for the first few holes and the type of tees they give you let alone the full experience including mango towels! (the tees were those plastic aerodynamic tees that look cool AND last a few rounds). The service was great even though there was no cart girl, there were ice cold coolers however every two/three holes.

The course was in fantastic shape. Tees were clean and level. Fairways were near perfect as they were recovering from being punched but they seemed a few days away from perfection. The rough was the HIGHlight of the day; I haven't seen rough this penal and tall in the summer heat of Arizona in...forever. Rough was easily 3-4.5 inches thick. The bunker sand was firm but easy to play from. Green side bunkers has great texture to them. Greens were a bit on the bowling alley firm side but no imperfections and they rolled as true as a newly installed carpet.

This course is tough man. I had a headache by the 4th hole (we started on ten so actually the 13th drivable par 4) and the day was just starting. You have to map out your club selections according to the bunkers, understand where the pin location is, and the three foot par putts usually break too. The rough, it's different. If you know desert golf the defense is usually water, desert scenery, OR elevation. Well, this course has ALL of them plus thick, lush, long rough. Brink your hammer and lunch pail because the tips play 7,200 and the length on the shorter tees don't promise easy scores either.

The drive is a bit on the lengthy side, however the course design, views, conditions and prices combine for ONE OF MY FAVORITE courses in Arizona now. Well done Verrado....you've won a golfer's heart here.

All Reviews by jciapa02

9 Likes.

Not Rated
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10. chilipalmer99

Posted: 07/16/15 10:06p
Member Since: Aug 29, 2008
From: Gilbert, AZ

Living in Gilbert, I don't often drive out to the west side to play golf, but when I saw a $14 deal on GolfNow, I packed up my clubs and drove the 66 miles to Verrado. So glad I did. As you would expect from a high end club, customer service was excellent, with someone taking my clubs and setting up my cart to the pro shop staff checking me in. Facilities include a huge grass driving range with all you hit balls available, a large chipping area and green, practice bunker and separate putting greens. All were in great shape. Carts are electric, and come stocked with ice chest, ball/club washer, GPS and even a couple of towels, along with 10 plastic complimentary tees. Verrado is designed by Tom Lehman & John Fought, and has six different tee box options/combos to choose from, ranging from the Black tips (7258 yards) to Silver (6833) to White (6228). There are two other shorter tee boxes for seniors/ladies. They also have a Black/Silver combo (7036) and a Silver/White combo (6561), so everyone should be able to find a distance with which they are comfortable. I played from the Silvers (probably biting off more than I chew, but I wanted to truly experience the course). As for the course itself, what a treat. Every hole is challenging, whether it be elevation changes, narrowed fairways leading into crevices and/or desert, fairways bunkers placed right in your landing area, or greens with false fronts. Playing from Silver meant I had six Par 4s measuring over 400 yards, including the 4th which measured at 454 yards, the 8th at 457 yards, the 16th at 449 yards and the finishing 18th measuring out at 457 yards. My drives are typically in the 225-230 yard range, so I definitely had my hands full, but, except for one hole, I never felt I had no chance at a par. One of the trickiest hole might be one of the shortest: The Par 4 291 yard 13th. Uphill. A lot. And, if you're a big hitter who thinks he can reach it, the greens complex for this hole is the nastiest on the course. Steep false front which will send mis-hit chips back down to your feet a la Retief Goosen at the US Open a few years ago. The rest of the green has the most extreme breaks of any other green on this course, so play it carefully. This is followed by a Par 3 that drops as steeply as the previous hole rises...fun! There's also the 8th hole, with a huge stone outcropping past the desert carry area that will play with your head. As for course conditions, tee boxes were in good shape, fairways were outstanding and the rough could be thick and penal at times. I was in four bunkers (three fairway) and always had a fair chance to escape. Greens had been punched about 3 weeks prior, many were rolling true but there were still quite a few bumps in our putts. Another week or so and they should be perfect. This is definitely a course you want to play if you can make out to the southwest corner of Phoenix. I will absolutely return at some point in the future. CP

All Reviews by chilipalmer99

9 Likes.

Rated
6.8 Conditions

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