Played 8/5. 7:50 Tee time. Online rate of $38 included cart. Lone Tree is a desert course with generous fairways and very few forced carries. It's not real long. It can play longer if you get the... Continue »

Played 8/5. 7:50 Tee time. Online rate of $38 included cart. Lone Tree is a desert course with generous fairways and very few forced carries. It's not real long. It can play longer if you get the scorecard to play the tournament tees. Its signature hole is #12 a Par 3 with an island green. The weather has been very hot recently. Taking its toll on many golf courses. With that said, Lone Tree is not in good shape over all. The greens were aerated about 3 weeks ago. They still have not healed. Greens were slow and bumpy. Probably need 2 more weeks to be better. Fairways were poor-fair. Lots of burned spots, bare spots and divot damage. We had to play, if you were in the fairway, you got to roll it onto a good lie. The rough was a mixed bag. There were bare spots, tight lies, fluffy flyer lies, weeds, and 6 inch high crab grass. ( One playing partner drove a ball that landed in the fairway and kicked into the right rough. The rough was so thick that 3 of us looking for it couldn't find it. Oh well, lost ball 5yds off the fairway). Sand traps were inconsistent. Some had sand, others had hard packed sand, and some had no sand. Tee boxes were good. Outside service was fair. No one on your arrival, but when you finish they come out to clean your clubs. The golf shop told us no beverage cart on the course. Bring your own water or visit the Grille before playing. No GPS in the carts. Bring your own range finder. Ok practice facility. Currently I would say this course is not playable, until it gets maintenance when they over seed in October. I took about 20 photos. Most of them make the course look terrible. I'm submitting the best ones I had, plus a few that show the conditions.

Played Thursday 5/28, 11:30am tee time, but went off at 11am. Summer hits, and the course becomes near deserted as the day wears on. Teamed up with another single, just another twosome on the course... Continue »

Played Thursday 5/28, 11:30am tee time, but went off at 11am. Summer hits, and the course becomes near deserted as the day wears on. Teamed up with another single, just another twosome on the course ahead of us, who let us through on #4 and we did not see another group until we made it to #14. Course is in great shape. Just a long green carpet of fairways awaits you on nearly every hole. Rough can be patchy, especially if you mis-hit an iron on a Par 3, but great lies all day long in the fairway. Tee boxes in good shape, though some wear on the #12 island green tee box. Greens were holding shots into them all day, soft enough to leave ball marks that needed repairing but still quite fast. My playing partner, who clearly played here a lot, only needed 23 putts to complete his round, which attests to the general smoothness and readability of the greens. Bunkers were the only questionable part of the course. While some had clearly been restored and had plenty of white sand in them, many others were very hard packed and rocky, and it was like hitting off of hard pan. Hopefully, Lone Tree will finish restoring all the bunkers in the near future. No cart girls present during the week, so bring your own drinks. Driving range, putting green and chipping green all available for warm-up. Price on GolfNow was only $15; you cannot beat the quality of the course for that rate. PoP clocked in at under 3 hours. CP

Update for August 10, 2014: Course is in summer conditions. Drying out a bit throughout but still quite playable. Tee boxes in good to very good shape. Fairways have some GUR areas staked out, but gen... Continue »

Update for August 10, 2014: Course is in summer conditions. Drying out a bit throughout but still quite playable. Tee boxes in good to very good shape. Fairways have some GUR areas staked out, but generally short and green, with few bare patches. Rough has some punched areas that the course is trying to recover, and there are signs everywhere directing you to stay off certain parts of the fairways as they try to re-grow back grass. Greens were soft and fast; the starter was kind enough to inform me that the practice greens ran slower than the course greens, and it was very accurate and helpful intel. Some greens had dried rings around the fringes, so it's best to throw your irons at the hole instead of running it up, when possible.

Bunkers don't really come into play for me on this course, but the ones I saw looked a bit thin. Might be some issues there. From the Blues, the course plays out @ 6496 yards (70.3/120), with five Par 4s playing out over 400 yards (with only 1 Par 5 on the Back 9), but it is still possible for 13-14 handicapper to play there and put up a decent score without thinking you're in over your head.

Finally, customer service really improved from my last visit, which was indifferent at best. This time, all clubhouse and cart personnel were at their helpful, smiling best. A pleasure to visit today.

CP

Played Tues 4/22, late morning tee time from GN.

Lone Tree plays 7007 yards (72.7/124) from the tips, 6496 yards (70.3/120) from the Blues and 5941 yards (67.8/114) from the Whites. I played from ... Continue »

Played Tues 4/22, late morning tee time from GN.

Lone Tree plays 7007 yards (72.7/124) from the tips, 6496 yards (70.3/120) from the Blues and 5941 yards (67.8/114) from the Whites. I played from the Blues, along with the three others I was paired up with. Even though I was hitting excellent drives in the fairways all day long, I rarely had a chance to hit a wedge/8 or 9 iron into a green. I was hitting drives all day long in the 225-240 range, and still ended up hitting a hybrid into most holes. From the Blues, there are four Par 4s that play over 400 yards (including #15, a 450 yard monster that I somehow managed to par), so, unless you're a big hitter, I'd recommend hitting from the Whites and enjoying the round more.

The best word to describe the course yesterday would be inconsistent. Some tee boxes were in excellent condition, while others (most notably the one for #12, the Island green Par 3) were pretty chewed up. Fairways were relatively thin in most places, with some bare spots. You could tell you were in the "rough" because there were more bare areas than grass in most cases. Fairways cant from left-to-right or right-to-left, so planning where to land your shot is critical lest you roll off the fairway in a bare patch, bunker or other hazard. Greens were often bumpy and slow, unusual for this course. It looked as if on many holes the grounds crew kept the flag in one specific area, and that area would be pockmarked with both repaired and unrepaired ball marks. Bunkers had plenty of white sand and were in the best shape of any feature on the course.

As for customer service, I'd call it indifferent at best. The cart guy walked right past without acknowledging me when I was carrying my bag up, the guys in the pro shop took their time when checking me in (seemed to be more interested in sharing a story about a vendor who brought some new booze to mix with an Arnold Palmer) and the starter wasn't much better. I've experienced better here in the past, so this was a bit surprising.

All-in-all, LT is a challenging and interesting course, but nothing happened today to push it ahead of Trilogy or any of the other SE Maricopa County courses in my rotation this summer.

CP

Teed off @ 11:30am as a single, paired up with another single. Overall course is in good condition, looks as though they are starting to punch some fairways, however. Played from the Blues (6496 yards... Continue »

Teed off @ 11:30am as a single, paired up with another single. Overall course is in good condition, looks as though they are starting to punch some fairways, however. Played from the Blues (6496 yards/70.3/120). Course does not have much elevation change, but fairways are often tilted to one side or the other and playing around the bunkers is must to shoot a low score. Tee boxes in very good shape, fairways were cut low, and what passes for rough was cut just a bit higher. Bunkers were overwatered and therefore very hard & crusty, so it was possible to hit through a fairway bunker back onto the course, and picking balls off the top of hardened dirt wasn't too bad. Greens were fast but not overly so, holding shots into them and not overly bumpy. Probably my only concern was the customer service. I wasn't greeted when I arrived, again had a couple clubhouse guys watch me load my own clubs. The cashier/starter seemed a bit grumpy, the cart girl only came by once on the front nine and didn't make herself overly friendly, and when I finished, the clubhouse guy was too busy having a private conversation to clean my clubs until well after I waited for him, then finally he asked if he could help me after I'd taken my clubs off the cart and started walking back to my car. I'm hoping this was an anomaly today, as usually the service is better than this. POP was a crisp 3 hours. CP

Played 3/22. Rate was $56 + tax included cart. 12:50 Tee time. Played with The Club Whisperer, who was playing in a tournament at Lone Tree that Sunday. The course has a pretty good layout. It is... Continue »

Played 3/22. Rate was $56 + tax included cart. 12:50 Tee time. Played with The Club Whisperer, who was playing in a tournament at Lone Tree that Sunday. The course has a pretty good layout. It is very wide open. Even if you stray off the course you can find your ball in the desert and easily play it. The signature hole is probably #12 which is a Par 3 with an island green. This course is one of the Pre-qualifing sites for the Phoenix Open.

Conditions of the course varied from fair - very good. Greens were very good. They were firm and held good shots. They rolled smooth and true. They were med-fast, 10.5 - 11 on the stimp is my guess. The only issue they had was other players not fixing their ball marks. The fairways were good with the exception of a few holes that had a lot of divot damage. Hole #11 was in pretty bad shape. The rough was in fair shape. It's starting to come out of dormancy. It is cut very short and the ground underneath was rock hard. You had to pick it real clean or your club would bounce into the ball. I'm being kind calling the sand traps fair. They don't really have any sand in them, just packed down dirt. This made fairway traps easy to play from since they didn't have high faces. The green side traps, on the other hand, were very difficult. The chunk and run was your only play. The tee boxes were in very good shape. We played the tournament tees which don't see a lot of play.

Customer service was very good. Outside service was friendly and helpful. We saw the beverage cart twice each side. Practice range and putting green were in good shape. No chipping area though. I took photos either on or close to the tournament tees. The course is over 7000 yards from them. Sad to see the "Lone Tree" is no more. It died a few years ago and now there is just a stump. The did plant a new tree in its place. Currently, I wouldn't recommend this course. The conditions were disappointing, especially for this time of year and the fact that they were having a tournament in two days.

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 over... Continue »

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:
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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:
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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:
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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:
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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.

I played Lone Tree GC and it is a solid overall course. It's kept up pretty well with a few bald spots on the fairways. The greens are in good shape and roll medium/medium-fast. Even in the hot summer... Continue »

I played Lone Tree GC and it is a solid overall course. It's kept up pretty well with a few bald spots on the fairways. The greens are in good shape and roll medium/medium-fast. Even in the hot summer months out here in AZ the course is one of the better kept up courses in the area. The track is a pretty fun layout, that is not to challenging, but it will test every level of golfer. There is a island green on the back nine that always seems to be a challenge for many golfers. The staff and customer service is very good as well. They charge a $2 mandatory GPS fee for a little 2 inch GPS on the cart, which should be optional for the people that want to use there own GPS devices that are far superior over the provided ones. But, all in all it is a fun course to play.

Played on 6-9&10-11 Course in decent shape greens are becoming really good after being punched awhile back and in another week should be about perfect. Fairways are a little dry in some places and som... Continue »

Played on 6-9&10-11 Course in decent shape greens are becoming really good after being punched awhile back and in another week should be about perfect. Fairways are a little dry in some places and some tight lies are to be expected but, nothing to serious. For the long hitters the par 5's can be a risk reward especially on 9 and 18. Hidden traps can come into play on some holes so look at the GPS that is provided. Practice facility is good, putting green is large and usually right on for the greens that await on the course. Range is really good with daily yardage on pins chipping area is real small so dont expect much there. The staff has always been great and are more than willing to help or answer questions. Cart girl dosen't run on Monday thru Thursday but, plenty of water on the course.