Played 4/1/12 - 36 holes from Gold and white tees. Brutally hard course that you really need to use there provided carry / hole explanation sheets. Even better, go with a friend who has played many times. Course knowledge / management is key.

The course had just been aerated 5 days before, thus the poor ratings for the greens. Still very sandy but not so bumpy as un-puttable. I played this course before and the greens were fantastic, lightning fast. When the greens are rolling and the severe elevation / target-style golf could make this course too penal for the weekender type of golfer.

Played the first round from the gold tees with some friends who had never seen the course. Didn't remember some carry distances and paid the steep price several times. Shot at least high-90s (play to 11 handicap).

Played second round from whites with a couple who have played a dozen times. Really paid attention to carry distances / recommendations. Shot best score of my life at 78.

Overall, this is an amazing course with beautiful views and no houses. You would easily pay triple for this golf in Scottsdale. There are no two holes alike. There are some drivable par-4s, par-5 that can be reached and par-3 so scary that you will want to lay up (I Did and still pared it).

Well worth the drive.

StoneRidge Golf Course Review
Prescott Valley Arizona Golf Course Reviews

Played 3/30/12:
Used to play this course a lot back in 2006 - 2009. It has always been one of my favorite tracks due to several very memorable holes.

In particular there are several good par-4 s on front where you have to shape your shot and be rewarded with hitting a velocity skot in fairway and getting that extra 20 - 30 yards of roll. If you don't do that you get caught up in bunkers all day (which happened to me for many reasons).

The back nine has a great 4 hole stretch which goes solid par 4 wher you had to carry a pot bunker in middle of fway to very protected green, left OB, bailing out right right ensures a bogey at best (#12) --> another very steep uphill par-4 with a severly crowned green with a huge false front (can you say double bogey sitting 30 yards short of the green after your drive??) --> par-3 with a 50 foot elevation drop where the green appears to be a very small target and well protected front left and long OB (btw, it is very deceptive, the green is huge and pretty easy to hit / 2-putt) --> pretty easy par-5 but you have a desert area that almost bisects fway forcing you to carry it. the green is reachable and there are several bailout areas. a very pretty hole. The course ends up with a par-4 where you have to stay left or the ball will runout thru the fway on the right, a par-3 downhill over water and a great finishing hole where a 250 yd. drive (from whites) reaches a downhill portion of the fway and rolls another 50 yards. leaving you an approach over water to a peninsula green.


Course was in very good condition as expected but the greens were a little slower than I had hoped. My recollection was more like 11 on the stimp in the past but it seemed more like 9.5. Thus all of my putts were short. The rolled true except for a few exceptions where they were minimally bumpy (severe downhill par-3 on back and number 17).

The service was good, I explained that I wanted to get out early and they sent me out an hour early with a two-some from Iowa and a member from up the road. The cart service was very good, seeing them about every 3 holes.

IMHO, this course is on par with the Troons / Eagle Mountains / SunRidge and better than Talking Stick / Estrella for about $50 less. I paid $86 with tax for a 1:50 PM tee time during spring break / training on a Friday afternoon.

Raven Golf Club at Verrado Course Review
Buckeye Arizona Golf Course Reviews

I totally agree with FatShots review. This was a course to remember my time in AZ. Imagine a PHX desert course transplanted out into North Sarasota. Really hard pan fairways and greens that are difficult to hold.

I was being destroyed by this course until I realized that I was playing a desert course and had to forget I was in Florida. Take one less club (for the roll) on approaches, one less club off the tee. Some examples of what I am saying, hit a 215 yard 5-iron (usually 180 here in the land of no roll and soggy fairways). I also pared a par-4 for the first time in my life hitting iron off the tee (5-iron) with an iron for the approach (6-iron). Until I let go of my ego, I put several drivers thru fairways and hit what I thought were lay-ups into the junk.

As for recommendations, the staff was super relaxed. Went up to the tee box and waited. A cart guy came by and let me go off 45 minutes early before twilight. Paid ~ $23 on GolfNow. Well worth it if you like thin lies, a lot of roll and a very difficult course. I could see how people may not like this but if you play it the correct way (again think desert not Florida) you will have fun.

The Preserve Golf Club at Tara Review
Bradenton Florida Golf Course Reviews

Played on 4/3 in ridiculous wind which slowed up the pace a bit. this is my normal course and it is in great shape after receiving a beating the last few weeks from a Nationwide / Cactus tour stops.

The fairways and greens were in better than normal shape. See my previous review for more info about course layout for Legends.

First time playing this course and I REALLY enjoyed it. Played on 4/2 for $21 at 3PM. Was able to get in 18 in just under 4 hours.

Previous review said course was boring. Don't totally agree as I played with a regular and was able to glean some tips and appreciate the intricacies of the course / greens a little more.

Great fast greens that rolled true. Fairways were in good condition. The only complaint, which is actually a positive, was that a lot the rough had been recently punched with large holes. This was only in non-playable areas adjacent to tee boxes and not really in areas where on eouwld normally play. I took that as a positive as it shows that some courses can be pro-active in their maintenance instead of waiting for summer to force the locals to play in horrible conditions.

I agree with many of the below points listed in the previous reviews. For full disclosure, this is my normal club and I have played here about 10 or so times. They have a great practice range / lesson deal for locals.

Now for the course... It is through a housing development. There are literally only about two or three holes where houses come into play. I am being honest as I have been known to spray / slice... The appearance for first timers is that the houses are much closer.

The course is a Nicklaus old-school layout, i.e. risk/reward, elevated greens, tons of undulations/tiers on the greens and a few blind shots. The carts have GPS and the tips they give you to play the course are right on. IMHO, the par 3s and 5s are the strength of this course. Most would say the back 9 is harder than the front. There is a lot of water but I only seem to find it on 2 holes on each side (4/5 and 17/18) and mostly because of a slice.

Overall it is a very interesting layout, the greens are very tough; especially if you do not hit the correct tier or "safe" side of the green. My first impression many years ago was the same as a previous reviewer - tight, too close to houses... Now this course has grown on me and look forward to playing it every time. For those that play PHX courses often, I would put it above Vistal / Falcon / Bougainvillea / Sundance / Copper Canyon / Starfire --- on a par with Legend / Stonecreek / Talking Stick / Coyote.... Shoot me an email if you have any questions...

Played 8/17. Loved this course. great layout, conditions were some of the best this summer.

Some thin spots on just a few fairways but much better than most. Greens, tee boxes and traps in great condition.

Got a $42 rate on golfnow.com, play it before it gets ridiculously expensive!!!

Rough in summer condition and steep slopes make it difficult to maintain pristine condition. Amazing layout with beautiful scenery. It is great to play a course with no interrupted views (i.e. houses).

I will definitely return and play again.

Played on 7/31 for SWPGA rate of $30. Was worth that for the great layout and challenge. The fairways were in worse condition than most courses that I have played this summer (WeKoPa, Verrado, Talking Stick, Vistancia, Stonecreek) but better than Sunridge/Dove Valley/Dinosaur Mountain.

The course itself was pretty forgiving. The layout is VERY hilly and the greens always seemed to entail a step descent and climb back up. This tired out several members of our foursome. May not be the best choice if you are playing in high temps or with older / less in shape partners.

The rangers were helpful with timing and when a single hit into our group at hole #9. There was nowhere to go but he thought by being rude it would make us go faster.

The course had no GPS and there are several hole were course knowledge could shave several shots. I was lucky enough to play with 3 others who have played this several times before. That, my GPS unit and mounds on several fairways kept me near my handicap.

I would play again but definitely not this summer. For the ratings / accolades this course gets, I seem to think it is a bit over-rated.

Course was in decent condition and the layout is fantastic. As LanceDumas said in previous post, it is a little pricey for the dead of summer.

Due to course difficulty and it being filled up with four-somes on a Sunday morning, it was a 4.5+ hour round. The fairways were thin or bare in may areas and on some holes were immaculate. The greens were in great condition, ran true but were a little slower than expected.

I would definitely play again but probably would do so during the shoulder season ($60) as I do not like paying $80+ to play with out of towners looking for their balls for 5+ hours.

Played Sat 7/19. Real nice layout with good views. Course was not in the best of shape. Winter rye in rough was mostly dead and slopes were many times bare. A lot of blind shots on this course. It had GPS but still needed more local knowledge. Would really like to play this during September again before the prices get ridiculous.

Did not use the range but the practice putting green was NOTHING like the course. The greens on the course seemed to be inconsistent in speed. Could be because of all the rain that we had lately. I consider myself a decent - good putter but I had no clue on that day.

Would rate this more of an incomplete due to not using all of the facility and playing with some really bad (think 120 - 130) golfers. Notwithstanding, the layout is very picturesque and challenging, will try again in the future.

Played yesterday Sunday 7/20 at 8:10 AM. Previous reviews and online sources are right on with difference between front and back nines. The front is more links style, pretty open and MUCH easier (shot a 41). The back is the type where you have a GPS and still don't know where / how far to shoot the ball. Desert target golf. Love it or hate it. Need to play the back nine several times as I seemed to put it through several fairways. The GPS unit on cart is the older style, i.e doesn't give you much info. For example they tell you how far the fairway runs out but no info to the front of a trap to the right. Makes for a painful quesstimation. All in all ended up with a 49 on the back. You score on the front and hold on for the back nine (FYI, have a 21 handicap so I played well but would have shot 3 - 5 strokes less with better GPS or more course insider info). The ranger / starter was a very kind gent from Boston. Cart girl was by often and seemed pleasant.

Dove Valley uses 8 minute tee times and that is not nearly enough for the back nine. Our round took just under 5 hours. Wayyyy too long. Been playing the likes of Vistancia, Lookout and many others in a hair over 4 hours on the weekends.

The practice facility gets a B- overall. Range does not tell you distances but a friend had a laser range finder. The targets are surrounded by hard pan so the range is definitely not too great. They charge $2 for about 25 balls. Should be included as many others in PHX do. The highlight of the practice facility is the practice green and chipping green. Played VERY much like the course. Sooo helpful when you can warm up / tune short game and then go play similar greens during round.

Overall, I would give course a B- / C+ but definitely would go back during the week. Perhaps if you could get on for less than $30 and play in 4 - 4:15 hours, this course would be a strong B+.