Got lucky and snagged a single spot at 8:30 after lots of looking. I thought the course was in great shape. I played well, for the most part, so that always puts a different light on things, everything was just peachy. Greens rolled well, tees were level, fairways nice, bunkers good, rough thick and nasty.

Overview: The Raven Golf Club Phoenix is located just southeast of downtown Phoenix and just north of South Mountain. There are great views of the downtown area, Four Peaks, South Mountain, Camelback Mountain and Piestawa Peak. Raven - Phoenix is not your normal desert course ... it has almost 6000 pine trees on property.

Clubhouse: A nice, clean clubhouse that h... » More

Overview: The Raven Golf Club Phoenix is located just southeast of downtown Phoenix and just north of South Mountain. There are great views of the downtown area, Four Peaks, South Mountain, Camelback Mountain and Piestawa Peak. Raven - Phoenix is not your normal desert course ... it has almost 6000 pine trees on property.

Clubhouse: A nice, clean clubhouse that has changed very little since the opening of the course in 1995. Check in was very simple and it was nice to see that they added range balls in with the golf rate. Arizona resident rate was $89, and the public rate was $125. There will be one more rate increase during the 2nd week of January, before rates start dropping again in either April or May of 2022.

Course: I have played this course numerous times over the years, and I feel that the course was in the best shape that I have ever seen it. The over seed turned out almost perfect. I was pleasantly surprised to see that it was wall to wall rye grass because they do not normally over seed that much of the rough. They also kept the course cart path only for almost 5 weeks after they re-opened after over seed. Also, it probably helped that we had the warmest November on record in Phoenix ... so it really allowed the rye grass to take root and grow during this past month.
Tee boxes were level and had good grass coverage. A couple of the tee boxes had new sod on them, but it was not a big deal. As stated, the fairways and the rough were wall to wall rye grass and they were almost perfect ... like Rams Hill perfect. The grass was lush and very easy to hit off of. The rough was almost an inch in length, and was very consistent. The greens were in very good shape, and had almost no ball marks on them ... which is normally a problem at this course. The greens were quick, smooth and ran at about a 10. The sand was good and all of the bunkers were raked. I was only in one bunker, but the sand looked very consistent in all of them ... except a couple of them.

Final Thoughts: With the course being so close to Sky Harbor Airport, the course gets a lot of play from those people that fly in and out of Phoenix. I am very happy to say that I really enjoy playing the course because it's a nice layout and has good views, but what will make come back and play again (during the high season) will be the excellent condition of the course.
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Rode the Blues (6751/72.1/136) in over 4 1/2 H with Perry mid day on a GN "Hot Deal". Sunny, fairly calm and around 70 made for pleasant golfing conditions. Played behind a slow 4some and waited most shots.

Tees were the weak link and a mixed bag. Some thin and not that well maintained for divots, others immaculate?

Fairways mostly lush and good to play from. » More

Rode the Blues (6751/72.1/136) in over 4 1/2 H with Perry mid day on a GN "Hot Deal". Sunny, fairly calm and around 70 made for pleasant golfing conditions. Played behind a slow 4some and waited most shots.

Tees were the weak link and a mixed bag. Some thin and not that well maintained for divots, others immaculate?

Fairways mostly lush and good to play from.

Rough was fairly lush close to the fairway. Thick even though mostly mowed down. Thinner the farther you got from the fairway.

Sand traps had good quality sand and were very well maintained.

Large, undulating greens were smooth, quick and firm. They rolled excellent, holding irons with minor run out. And when I say quick, a ball you thought you died at the hole could have 8-10' coming back.

Customer service excellent. Quick efficient check in but no on course services. Carts have been upgraded to include GPS. Course is not well marked for yardages if you do not have a measuring device of some kind. Challenging course in nice condition overall. Both the layout and the greens are well above average. Best course within at least 50 miles in all directions, definitely recommended.
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