Played Sunday 7/28, matched up with a threesome, tee-time 11:32. Even with the late morning tee-time and 105* temps, course was packed to the rafters. Took 30 minutes to play the first hole alone, t... Continue »

Played Sunday 7/28, matched up with a threesome, tee-time 11:32. Even with the late morning tee-time and 105* temps, course was packed to the rafters. Took 30 minutes to play the first hole alone, thanks to apparent overbooking and less-than-stellar golfers on the course. While our foursome was waiting to get to the tee box, another twosome (20-something males) simply drove by us and parked right behind the five-some (!) ahead of us. We quickly disabused them of the notion they would cut ahead. As for the course itself, it's a very straightforward, relatively short Par 70 (6313 yards from the gold, 5734 yards from the whites, and the forward tees play out to 5734 yards). There are 6 Par 3's on the course (3 per side), including their signature 18th hole, a 157-yard Par 3 over water from a raised tee box. It's tough to get in real trouble on this course. While there are bunkers scattered throughout and water comes into play on a few holes, avoiding said hazards doesn't require a lot of strategy. Most fairways are wide, and you're playing from often raised tee boxes. The biggest issue might the trees that line the fairways (usually on the right hand side), but a tee shot to the left side often leaves a medium/short iron to a hard but receptive green. Most of the doglegs are left-to-right, so those who fade the ball have a distinct advantage. As this course was built in a former waste area, certain fairways have drainage damage that you want to avoid, lest you hit from a crispy, dried mud lie. Tee boxes were kind of crowded (the rocks indicating the left and right side were very close together and the ground was starting to get hard, overused and exhibited divot damage on many holes. Fairways were generally green, except where the aforementioned drainage occurred. Greens had almost no ball marks, no doubt due to their firmness. Despite the firm greens, they were generally slow, had little break, and putts were often bumpy. Bunkers appeared to be in good condition. Amenities: there is no driving range here, though IMO they could squeeze one behind the 10th hole where there are hundreds of yards of wasted grassy area). They have a moderately sized putting green with not nearly enough holes cut out for practice. Carts are electric and don't go particularly fast; they also do not come pre-loaded with ice chests for whatever reason (make sure to ask the starter for one before you leave). Cart girl came around 3 times on each side, but no course marshal to be found, which would have been helpful as the five-some ahead of us parked their three carts right in front of the green on every single hole, even on the cart path only holes. Remarkable, even for the self-entitlement that is the hallmark of Scottsdale. Because of the overcrowded conditions, POP was a horrid 5 hours. Silverado, on a less busy day, is a nice value for the money in the summer. I personally would not pay their winter/spring rack rate for what the course has to offer. CP