Played this course on 4/7/17 for $15 at twilight which included a $6 cart fee. This is definitely a walking course. I'd say 90% of golfers walked with a push cart or carry bag. I was the odd man out on an electric cart.

This course is easy to walk with short distances from the green to the next tee, and a bench at almost every hole.

Pace of play was about 1 1/2 hours for 9 holes.

There is a variety of expected beverages, including beer, in the small clubhouse, but no beverage cart. You could easily quickly walk to the clubhouse mid-round if you needed a drink.

The course was in decent condition for a municipal course. This is a short, 1,730 yard, 9 hole course with 6 par 3s and 3 short par 4s. The longest par 4 is 312 yards. It is good for a beginner, or for someone looking to walk and get in a quick paced round and practice the short game.

There was one attendant in the clubhouse, and the customer service was excellent. The attendant even knew the names of regulars coming out to play.

I will definitely play here more frequently.

Played this course 2/17/17. Found a deal for $30 at 3 PM. I played as a two-some and hoped to cruise through the course in 2-2 1/2 hours. This was not to be as the course was backed up. They had groups packed together like sardines. I don't know if the pace of play is always like this, or if it was because there was a large group of players from Iceland who were just finishing up an event.

There is no starter after about 2:30, which didn't help matters much either. The course is a traditional parkland style course with wide fairways, and accommodating rough areas, not the typical desert-punitive-rock found elsewhere. I had never visited the course, so I did not see it pre-renovation. I enjoy these traditional courses because they suit my meager golf abilities, and don't penalize me for rolling the ball along the ground, or hitting errant shots left and right.

The course conditions were fair, about what I would expect for a muni, or budget option. The sole knock on the course was the sand, which was non-existent. It was just hard pack. There was no getting a club into the sand and under a ball.

I saw the beverage cart once in the round. Due to time constraints, the pace of play, and the setting sun, I only got through 12 holes. The weather was windy and superb. All in all, an enjoyable round.

Played this course at 8 am on 7-23-15 for $35 in a golf outing arranged by JohnnyGK. Thanks Johnny for setting this up!

By the by, Southern Dunes has an awesome special going on, where you get six rounds for $129, or $21.5 a round. You also get an additional 6 rounds on their Mini Dunes course, six beverages, six Pro V1’s, and 20% off dining at the Arroyo Grille.

Link: http://www.greenskeeper.org/arizona/phoenix/southern_dunes_golf_club/ratesspecials.cfm

The course conditions are superb for summer, but with the attendant issue that there are some waterlogged areas on the course. One of my playing partners had issues chipping around the green from some of these mushy areas.

This is a minor quibble for a beautiful and well maintained course.

The course has coolers with ice and complimentary water bottles on every cart. There are coolers with ice and complimentary water bottles at almost every hole. The cart girl came around twice on each 9. The starter was pleasant, if long winded, and explained how things worked on the course.

Each cart has on board GPS. If you try to drive your cart too near tees, desert areas, and greens, your cart locks up and you can only reverse your cart.

I found myself in a lot of bunkers, and can safely opine on their conditions. Despite my chagrin at being in the sand, my ball was always on top of a nicely raked fluffy layer of sand. There are quite a few bunkers and desert areas. Curve your ball too far to the right and you will find yourself in the desert more often than not.

As a high handicapper, I enjoy it when forward tees are well thought out and provide a challenge to shorter hitters. That was the case here.

Played this course as part of a GK event on 5-25-13. I paid $25 for the round.

The course was in very good condition. I'm in agreement with other reviews posted for this course. I played with Pat the GM as well as another course employee, along with JohnnyGK. The customer service was superb.

I don't usually review the restrooms, but I thought I'd throw out there I used one of the on course restrooms, and the janitor was coming out of it after just mopping it. It was immaculate. I appreciate small things like that.

I'd bring water or purchase drinks before your round as there was no beverage cart, and the drinking fountains were spaced out on the course.

Played this course on Wednesday, 2-20-13. I paid $39 for nine holes which was overpriced in my opinion. There are much nicer tracks that I could get 18 holes for that price, but I was committed.

I was so committed I was playing in the rain and cold on several holes. It was actually quite a fun round.

The course routes through a housing subdivision. The fairways were pretty wide and this was never an issue in my round, but from the patch marks on the sides of some people’s houses it is obviously an issue for some.

For playing 9 holes in the rain on a week day in the middle of the day, this course was overpriced for its condition. For example I paid just four dollars more for a 9 hole round at 500 Club the day before, and I would say its condition was superior to Western Skies, and no subdivision to be seen.

Greens were inconsistent, with a few greens being essentially dirt and dry grass and others being okay. Fairways were lush, and the rough was dormant Bermuda.

Tee boxes were decent. Sand traps were thin and bare.

Pace of play was as fast or as slow as I wanted, there was no one behind or in front of me. I can only remark that I have used the practice facilities here on a non-rainy day, and it tends to get packed.

I might play here again, but not at a premium.

Played the front nine on 2-19-13 for $43. Finished nine holes in exactly 2 hours so just about right. Never had to wait on the group ahead, never had the group behind waiting on us -- just a very pleasant round as far as that goes.

The course is in fine condition. The sand was the best I've seen it, the fairways are dormant bermuda which I'm fine with, and the greens and fairways were lush. There were a few bare areas, ball marks, or divots, but they were the exception.

Customer service was excellent, starting times are well managed, and I saw the drink cart and ranger a few times on the front nine.

The back nine is definitely the better of the two nines to play if you want to play only nine holes, but you need to get out early (7 am or so) if you want to start on the back.

Still a fun round. This course is a step below higher green fee courses like you see in Scottsdale, but lightyears ahead of many of the cheap bargain courses you see. It's pleasantly in the middle, and priced that way as well.

If I would have played 18 holes it would have been $70 with a cart, which is fair for this time of year and the conditions.

I love the mountain holes on the back nine -- worth the green fee for #11 and #12 especially.

First, be aware this review is of a course just days before it enters overseeding. I intend to focus more on impressions of the course overall and not harp on course conditions clearly related to overseeding.

The Bad:
===============

The course was dry, thin, and bare. There was a 2-club wind most of the day. It played very much like a links course. Despite the dry conditions I took no issue with the fairways and rough, I felt they were fair and fine to play from if you are used to bermuda. My sole concerns came from the greens and the bunkers. Bunkers were thin and filled with tiny rocks. I could not call the material in the bunkers sand, it was mostly fine dirt. The greens were inconsistent. Due to the dry conditions they could play fast as concrete, and at other times your ball could catch a bump and be eaten up, dying well short of the hole. It is my belief that these conditions are directly related to the coming overseeding, so I would not dock the course too much for this. And despite it, I still had an enjoyable round – it did not detract that much from play. I also got a ton of roll on drives and approach shots.

The Good:
===============

The course has made some compromises due to the economic times and I think they have gotten it exactly right. They now limit the beverage cart to Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays. It runs as usual on these days and I saw the cart girl twice in my round (I played Friday, 9-30-11). Service was excellent, price was to be expected for a golf course and comparable to other courses. The rest of the week, Monday through Thursday, there is a sign on the cart advising you to call the golf shop, and if you want to make a purchase they will drive a beverage or food out to you. There is also a sign and phone number posted in the cart to have an order of food ready for you at the turn.

The course still has bag boys and club cleaners on the weekends at least. I did not observe, but I assume the course is no frills during the rest of the week. I think this is a good compromise, if you come during high traffic times the course offers all the amenities you are used to, and if you are a bargain hunter and come during the week it is no frills.

Pace of play for my three-some was four hours, limited mostly by the foursome ahead of my group. This is about right for four players. We eventually got ahead of that foursome on the turn and never bumped into anyone or had anyone bump into us the whole day. I don't know about you, but a round where I don't have to worry about the group ahead or behind makes for a nice, stress free round.

This course features an island green, at least one tough par three with elevation change, and interesting contours, mounding, and ample challenges for all levels of play. This is not a flat, boring course. I also think other designers of courses in housing subdivisions should visit Lone Tree and take notes. They got it right at this course. At no point did I ever feel like nearby homes were a consideration. I never hit near them, and I never felt like the routing of the course was artificially cramped and narrow to make room for homes, like I have at other courses. Fairways were wide and accommodating when called for, and narrow when needed to challenge the golfer. Play the course and you will know what I mean. I liked the island green, and the few water holes. I did not find it was gimmicky or over done. I also like that the desert/waste areas outside of the rough were not overly penal, you still had a recovery shot available unlike some other courses which might be filled with desert rock (near desert mountain foothills) or with underbrush and vegetation.

Overall, I really liked this course, would play it again, and would recommend it to others. I look forward to playing it when it comes out of overseeding. I've scored the course fairly (which means low) for the conditions I observed, but understand this is days away from overseeding, and it was still an enjoyable round.

All golf carts feature GPS units, for which you pay a $1.83 fee added to your green fee. A gentleman I played with brought his own GPS unit, and while I did not ask him I assumed the fee was waived for having his own unit. You might want to call the pro shop to confirm this, though. The GPS was a simple monochrome unit, gave reasonably accurate yardage, and has a feature which I didn't use that will tell you the length of your previous shot.

The Ugly:
===============

Other than my final score, not much. The only issue I encountered that was cause for concern, but could have been a fluke, is my online reservation, made through the Lone Tree website, was somehow lost. The course had no record of my reservation. They still got me out at the same tee time and at the same price as online, so there was no problem. However, I will probably make reservations over the phone in the future, especially at busier times.

Practice Facilities:
===============

The course has a decent sized grass driving range, putting green, and small chipping green. Only thing I would note is I did not see an area to practice bunker play or pitching. I did not buy a bucket of balls so I cannot comment on the pricing structure. I did notice they handed out balls in a mesh, drawstring bag rather than in buckets. Not good or bad, just different.

Aguila is in superb condition. For what you pay you are getting more than your money’s worth. I played on Saturday, 8-6-11 at 6:20 am for $26. I used to live near this course and played it several times and they never maintained it. They claimed they kept up with the tees and greens and just left the fairways dormant, but tees and greens used to be sketchy. This was sad because Aguila is a well-designed layout as others have mentioned. Clearly, they have changed their philosophy.

The course was full, and my foursome played in 4 hours 15 minutes. The recent monsoon rains as well as the new maintenance philosophy meant the bermuda was emerald green and lush, with few thin areas.

The course recently spent several million dollars renovating the bunkers. From the pdfs on the course website it appears they removed or made smaller numerous bunkers on several holes ostensibly to improve playability. I have a suspicion that it also makes maintaining the course cheaper, as I have heard sand and maintaining bunkers is more expensive than might be assumed. Either way, as a relatively short hitter few of the fairway bunkers are in play for me. The few sand traps I found myself in around greens were in excellent shape. This is a desert course so there are many desert/waste areas from which there is usually little to no chance of rescue.

Tees as you can see in the photos I attached were lush, well groomed, and level. Greens were in good but not immaculate shape. I’m no expert on green speeds, nor would I hazard a guess on the stimp rating, but I’d say the greens were medium slow probably to keep them green in the summer. My playing partners were curving in some pretty sweet looking putts, and the greens appeared consistent.

There was a starter on the first tee and the course did a good job of getting people going in the morning, but there is no marshal or enforcement anywhere else on the course for pace of play. A foursome will struggle to break 4 hours, and there is no point playing through – the course is full on the weekends. Singles and twosomes will be paired up by the course with other twosomes. I have heard and observed in the past that the course has fewer players throughout the week. I like to have no one in front of me so I usually try to book the first tee time, but with the sun rising at 5:30 am now, that’s a little early for me. At 6:20 as I said, the course is full.

There was ice cold water in jugs at a few of the tees, I don’t recall which ones, but it was not all of them and it seemed to be the ones closest to the clubhouse. There are water fountains paced out on a few holes on both the front and back nine. There is a restroom on the front nine and a restroom on the back nine. The clubhouse is decent and the prices are what you would expect for a golf course. As far as I know there is no beverage cart.

The practice facilities are great as well. There are two putting greens, a full grass covered driving range, and a chipping/pitching green with sand trap.

All in all I was impressed by the improvement at this course, and am considering play a few other City of Phoenix munis to see if they are keeping up this same standard at the other courses.

Just an update. I played this course again 7-31-11 for 9 holes. Since the monsoon rains we have had in the Phoenix area recently I noticed this course was greener and more lush.

One minor annoyance is that the course was cart path only. This did not affect my pace of play but I was a single. A foursome I'm sure would find this irritating.

There was a great deal of ground under repair on the back nine. The water hazard is being repaired on hole #12, and as a consequence all golfers must hit from the forward tee. The right rough is under repair on #15 as well.

Practice Facilities:
====================

As this course is close to my home I practice here quite frequently. It has a long driving range, a putting green and a chipping/pitching green with a large sand bunker. These are always in above average shape. The driving range hitting area is grass, though very occasionally hitting mats are used when the grass is healing. My only complaint would be the driving range is a little narrow, and errant balls can find themselves in the rough or fairway of the #1 hole. I like to practice here in the mid-morning on the weekends and have never found it very busy. I have on occasion seen most of the hitting areas taken due to the narrowness of the range.


Customer Service:
====================

Customer service is exceptional at this course. The cart girl comes around multiple times on each nine. The staff is well dressed, greets everyone, and is pleasant and polite. During my round, due to the heat, I decided to only play nine holes. The staff gave me a rain check to apply half the cost of my round towards any future round good until three months out in October, when it will be much cooler. Some may balk at the rain check instead of a cash refund, but as the course is close to my house I was fine with it. There seems to always be plenty of staff on hand, and the course appears to be weathering the economic downturn well. I will add the course also has a playbook available for purchase for $3.75 in the club house.

One nice touch that I included in the photos of the course is each cart has a full chest of ice and a ball and club cleaner. The ice especially is indispensable in the summer heat. Each hole also had a 5 gallon jug of water; these were full, clean, and ice cold.

The only negative I will point out is that the restrooms halfway through the front nine are port-a-johns. They certainly do the trick, but I know some don’t care for them.


Course Conditions:
====================

First, be aware this review is of the course during summer conditions. The greens were in excellent shape and have healed from aeration a month ago. Fairways and rough had plenty of green grass and good lies to hit from. Because this course is lined by houses on a number of holes I was worried fairways would be tight, but that did not end up being a problem. Dirt/waste areas did not end up being too penal. Water comes into play on quite a few holes. Thankfully, the lake monster only claimed one of my balls – the only ball I lost the entire round. I usually lose a half dozen and I think the lack of desert areas and the presence of ample grass and rough gets the credit for so few balls lost. Tees were well cared for and level. I did notice a bit of casual water on several holes, and sprinklers were running on a few areas of the course as well. I think it may just have been that on the day of the week and time I went they don’t get very many players so they water at that time. It did not end up being an issue or hindering play. My playing partner took relief from casual water only once, and he was in a valley to the right of the fairway. The sand was excellent and dry in the bunkers and the three times I found a bunker I was able to hit the ball cleanly and scoop it onto the green easily all three times.


Summary:
====================

For a public course at this price ($21) in mid-July the course conditions were above average, bordering on excellent. I would not say immaculate, but certainly the course is cared for. Pace of play for my four some was 2 hours for nine holes, and this was after letting a single and a three-some play through. Kokopelli is managed by Eagle Golf and they have what they call “No Bull Pricing” where the price you pay is the price you pay. They do not inflate the rack rate only to slash it 50% on a discount website. Also, you get the same rate at checkout that you would get from a golf discount site, without a booking fee. They do require you give them a credit card number to book a tee time, which is unusual. Eagle Golf also has a Birdie Card and an Eagle Card that you can buy for discounted rates good at all the valley courses they manage which include several decent mid-priced courses (Legend at Arrowhead, Superstition Springs [not Mountain], Stonecreek, Foothills). They also manage several private courses including Ancala and Arrowhead Country Club.

Kokopelli also offers a Player Development Program for $45 a month that includes unlimited range balls, discounted green fees, and hour long group clinics with the course pro on Wednesday evenings and Saturday mornings. I’m thinking of trying this out and will post some sort of review or forum post if I do, letting people know how it goes.

Played this course on 6-19-11. Several of the greens were in poor condition with large patches where there was no grass, just slightly moist dirt. Other greens were in pretty good shape -- so basically, inconsistent. Noticed the same inconsistency with fairways and tee boxes, some were green and in fair conditions, others dry and thin or uneven (tee boxes). I only paid $14 so I wasn't expecting resort conditions, and for the price the course was in reasonable shape -- except for the several bare greens.

Pace of play was good, the course had several groups out playing, but it wasn't packed. There were some hackers in front of me that were taking their time, but kindly let me play through. I play a bit of army golf myself (left, right...) but was able to finish my round in 3 hours.

The course is a traditional style course with tree lined fairways. Errant shots may still be playable unless a tree blocks your shot. I like that there are no houses around the course.

The cart lady (older woman) was very professional and I saw her twice on the front nine, though as it was late in the day she was ending her shift and I did not see her on the back nine -- she gave me a heads up about this. She kept my cup filled with ice, which was appreciated as it was a very hot day. On her second go round she filled up my cup of ice while I was making one of my many trips in and out of a bunker. The guy in the pro shop was polite as well, and another member of the staff asked me about my round when I finished -- so all in all good customer service.

The driving range is between the 9th and 10th fairways. I just happened to be playing optic yellow golf balls that day and the range balls were yellow as well and quite a few were in the fairway or rough near these holes. Thankfully, my yellow was a slightly different tint or I wouldn't have been able to find them. I was never hit into, but the range wasn't that busy. One odd thing about this course's practice facilities which could be a good thing or a bad thing is that you have to pay to use the putting and chipping area. The fee is something like $5 an hour, so it's not ridiculous, and I could see the benefit as you'd probably have the area mostly to yourself as I'm sure most players will prefer no-fee alternatives.

One plus I noticed with this course is it would be very easy to walk or use a push cart on. Tees are located pretty close to the previous green. Despite some sketchy summer playing conditions, mostly on the greens, I'm considering this course as a regular for walking nine holes during the winter. The reasonable rates, good customer service, pace of play, and mostly decent conditions, as well as ease of walking make it a repeat for me. As a high handicapper the course has ample nuance and challenge in it for me. Scratch and low handicap golfers may either find the relatively flat course too tame, or a welcome respite from tricked out desert foothill courses. This course saw me notch my highest score ever most likely due to the summer afternoon heat (I learned my lesson), and the 30 mph wind. I thought the lack of desert/waste areas where I usually lose my ball would have translated into lower scores, but no dice.

One final note, the sand in the bunkers seemed decent to me, not too thin, no rocks, and no pooled water. Of my many shots that found the bunker none were in a buried lie. I did notice one bunker that had some prairie dogs living in the face.

I played this course 6-11-11 about a week after they aerated the greens, and I also played it a month earlier on 5-14-11. There was night and day difference on green speeds after aerating, they were fast and true in May, but bumpy and slow in June. They should be healed by the time of this review. I paid $35 for 9 holes in May and $50 for 18 holes in June at 6 am on Saturday. Given the course conditions I would say this is slightly above what it should be. Don't get me wrong this course is by no means a dog track, but I think even for summer time conditions at $50 the fairways, rough and tees could be a little more lush.

For me at my level of play I find the course challenging. I enjoyed playing it two times slightly close together to see if I could learn some nuances of the course and improve my score -- I did by 4 strokes. This course features aspects you might expect in a relatively modern, desert course: elevation changes, punishing desert areas outside the rough, undulating fairways, and contoured greens. It has this without feeling gimicky. You have a fair chance at hitting fairways and avoiding the penalizing desert areas. There is a local rule allowing a penalty stroke and a drop for hitting into the desert. If you hit into the rocky desert your ball is gone (bring an extra sleeve if you hook/slice), but there are desert washes that are sandy/dusty that will allow a wedge shot (I keep an old wedge handy for this ignominious duty). All times I have visited this course there has been a good amount of sand in bunkers, with no rocks. Sometimes bunkers may be wet early in the morning, but I've never seen standing water.

The first time I visited this course was in the winter several years ago and the greens were very fast. They were slower in May of this year (before aerating) and too slow after aerating. My grandfather who can shoot in the 80's enjoys playing this course and finds it challenging, so I assume it will provide a decent challenge for better players, especially from the tips.

There are a few holes on this course that stick out in my mind. The #4 has been changed, it used to be a dog leg right par 4 with water on the left. It was just a short, mediocre par 4 in the arrangement. They have since changed the layout so that your second shot now plays over water to an island green. Again, rather than making this hole gimicky it changes the character of the hole and offered me my best chance at birdie all day (until I hit into the water). Other than that hole the front 9 seemed pretty tame and at least to me played easier than the back nine. The back 9 presented the greater challenge. Number 10 starts the back 9 with a relatively straightforward par 4, but then #11 features a mountain side par 3 uphill that requires accuracy and extra club. The #12 is a downhill par 4 with water behind the hole and guarding the right front of the green. I shoot in the 100's and my grandfather in the 80's I don't think we have found this green on our second shot yet. After bombing your tee shot down hill the tendency is to think you can blast it onto the green and be putting for birdie. This strategy has not worked for me. Next time I'm going to lay up and safely chip on. Those who have a longer drive than me possibly don't have this issue and are already hitting shorter irons onto this green. Anyhow, these are the most memorable holes that stood out in my mind.

One thing I enjoy about this course in the early morning is the wildlife. I often see rabbits, prairie dogs, various birds and even geese on this course. Be careful with leaving food out on your golf cart though -- the birds love getting a snack while you putt out. Obviously, the views from the mountain side holes are gorgeous.

When I first visited this course it was in the winter and it was years ago when the economy was still booming. The course was immaculate and worth more than what I paid in green fees, it was a steal. It seemed like there was more staff around, and there was a kid who came out and offered to wash your clubs (for a small tip, of course) at the end of your round. The customer service was top of the line. It seems like all course in the Phoenix Metro area have toned it down a little bit and are finding ways to save money and whether the downturn. 500 Club is no exception. There is no longer a kid offering to wash my clubs, you won't see the beverage cart driver until later in your round (if you head out at 6 am like me) although I still saw her twice in my round and you will see her more often if you head out later. The service is still spot on in the grill and staff is friendly on the course -- their ranks just seem thinner now a days. I saw a marshall once during my round in May, and in June a marshall came out to tell me that I was allowed to drive off the cart path if I used the 90 degree rule (as they had seen me walking on the video in the club house) I knew this but was just taking my clubs and hitting while my partner drove off to hit his ball. Both times the marshall was friendly, and I had no pace of play issues. It may get worse later in the day -- I do not know. The course has an excellent practice area (putting green, pitching green, full driving range with grass teeing area). There is also a 9 hole walking course here called the Futures Course with par 3s and some par 4s, as well as a good program for juniors.

I will definitely play this course many times in the future, and while I'm sure some serious golfers will say it does not compare to a We-Ko-Pa Saguaro or similar, it is definitely a better golf experience than muni or $15 tracks, and is well worth a round.