Played on Sunday, 8/11. Resort golfcourse located behind the Desert Marriott in northern Phoenix. Customer service was very good, and what one should expect from a high end resort course: friendly, he... Continue »

Played on Sunday, 8/11. Resort golfcourse located behind the Desert Marriott in northern Phoenix. Customer service was very good, and what one should expect from a high end resort course: friendly, helpful staff, excellent facilities which include a large driving range, large putting green and separate chipping area, and well stocked carts. For a 106* Sunday in mid-August, course was completely packed. Three groups on every Par 4 and 5 (one on the green, one on the fairway and one on the tee box). Course conditions: Tee boxes were in the best overall shape of any part of the course, with the bunkers a close second for playability. Fairways were generally good, as was the rough, but, on many holes, the landing areas were pretty torn up, thin or just plain bare. Can't really rate the greens, as they were punched about 10 days earlier and were still bumpy and slow, though I found them playable (9 1-putts). Water on only one hole (oddly, the 17th, not the 18th), but isn't really a factor unless you push your drive very far and to the right. Not much "wow factor" for the course. One hole has split fairways, and there are substantial waste bunkers and wash corridors throughout the course, but no hole jumps out as special or noteworthy. No great vistas, no real elevation changes, and, except for knowing about where to layup because of a wash crossing the fairway (the cart GPS is a big help here), not a lot of strategy required to get around the course. It's nice, but I cannot imagine spending rack rate or anything near that in the peak season with so many other, better choices nearby. PoP was 4.5 hours (and this is OFF season, so be warned). CP