Played the Blues (6340/70.1/139) in slightly more than 3H as a single mid day. The weather was nice, in the 90's, sunny and a little breezy. After playing here yesterday, I wanted a rematch with thi... Continue »

Played the Blues (6340/70.1/139) in slightly more than 3H as a single mid day. The weather was nice, in the 90's, sunny and a little breezy. After playing here yesterday, I wanted a rematch with this very demanding layout. This time I knew where a few holes went and a few areas to avoid at all costs that were not obvious from the tee. Played better, 1 less penalty and 3 less strokes total that I would attribute almost solely to having seen the course once before. The severity on this course is from tee to green. Even if you move up to forward tees and avoid a few forced carries off the tee, this course still has about as much trouble as the average golfer could tolerate even on a good day. There would still be numerous long forced carries from fairways to greens. Plus, you are constantly up/down hills with many forced carries and native desert ringing both sides of nearly every hole. The tees were lush and nicely maintained. The fairways were very good to play from, mostly lush. The rough was very lush. Deep enough to be a 1/2 club penalty, especially if trying to advance a longer club. The sand traps were mediocre, not up to the quality of the rest of the course. Too many rocks and the sand quality was below average. The greens were flat out nice. Medium speed and firm. Nothing overly severe breakwise, I had a good putting day on these greens. The customer service was excellent. The cart gal was around numerous times. Very good course, definitely recommended. However, come knowing that even a scratch golfer is likely to get beat up a bit here. Unforgiving on any shots short, left or right is a constant theme on most tee and approach shots on this course.

Played the Blues (6340/70.1/139) in 3H as a single mid day. The weather was nice, around 90, sunny and fairly calm. My 1st time here, very demanding course. No map on the scorecard, at least 2 holes ... Continue »

Played the Blues (6340/70.1/139) in 3H as a single mid day. The weather was nice, around 90, sunny and fairly calm. My 1st time here, very demanding course. No map on the scorecard, at least 2 holes I had no idea if the hole went left or right from the tee. Constantly up/down hills with many forced carries and native desert ringing both sides of nearly every hole. The severity on this course is from tee to green. Even if you move up to forward tees and avoid a few forced carries off the tee... this course still has about as much trouble as the average golfer wants to see. There would still be numerous long forced carries from fairways to greens. The tees were lush and well maintained. The fairways were good, mostly lush. The rough was very lush. Just deep enough to be a 1/2 club penalty, especially if trying to advance a longer club. The sand was poor, certainly for a course of this caliber otherwise. Way too many rocks, many of the traps were not maintained that well. The sand quality was at best mediocre. The greens were very good bordering on excellent. Medium speed and firm. I saw the lines well on these greens, nothing overly severe. The customer service was excellent. I arrived an hour before my scheduled tee time and they let me go right out. The cart gal was around several times. Good course, recommended. However, know what you are getting yourself in to if you play here.

Afternoon round was here today. I finished earlier than expected at Quarry Pines, so I zipped across the valley to check in early at AZ National ahead of the 1:42 time I had booked. The price was exce... Continue »

Afternoon round was here today. I finished earlier than expected at Quarry Pines, so I zipped across the valley to check in early at AZ National ahead of the 1:42 time I had booked. The price was excellent at $38! I was able to get out early around 1:00, paired with another single and a couple. I'm glad I got out early because I probably wouldn't have finished at the time I had originally booked. It was busy with steady foursomes all around the course, but it was still a pretty nice pace of 4:20 overall. The course is in very good shape. The tee boxes were great. The fairways were mostly great. The rough was lush and had good coverage throughout. The greens were firm-ish and rolling at medium speeds. They rolled smoother than they looked. I was not in a bunker, so no comments there. Another really great course. It is very beautiful with a lot of pretty landscaping and many amazing views of the valley below. Great desert scenery and some nice homes around the course, but nothing that detracts too much. Really fun layout with many memorable holes. Not overly challenging, but enough to keep you challenged if you play the right tees or combo set. Friendly staff, as well. Lots to like about this track on all levels!

Played this course many years ago when they were undergoing financial trouble and have been afraid to play it since. A buddy of mine invited me out on 6/20/15, and all I can say is WOW. This course ... Continue »

Played this course many years ago when they were undergoing financial trouble and have been afraid to play it since. A buddy of mine invited me out on 6/20/15, and all I can say is WOW. This course has turned around 180 degrees! Green fairways, smooth greens, great layout. The hardest part about playing this course is trusting that all of the greens (except no. 7) are influenced by the location of downtown Tucson....some downhill puts are slow, some uphill puts are fast, opposite breaks or no break at all even though you see that it should break. This is not a negative, but just something that took me 9 holes to get into my head. Go play this course! I wish I had taken some pictures of the course, but I will say that the pictures already posted here (from 2008) are a very close match to current conditions.

I played Arizona National 6/19 at 0757 for $40 including golf, range balls, meal, and a drink. This is the first time I have played here since'08 and from what I've read and heard I'm glad I haven't.... Continue »

I played Arizona National 6/19 at 0757 for $40 including golf, range balls, meal, and a drink. This is the first time I have played here since'08 and from what I've read and heard I'm glad I haven't.
The course was in outstanding shape with a few exceptions. Greens were all consistent and the same speed. Most putts had a lot of break around the hole if not hit at the correct speed. Fairways were very good with very few bare spots. Sand traps were good with nice sand and gave you a chance to get out of them. The tee boxes had plenty of grass on them but many were severely not level. I had to search many of them for a relatively flat spot to tee of from but this was my only gripe about the course.
The course itself is challenging but fair. Off line tee shots still provide a chance for recovery was severely off line shots will find the desert. I think the back nine has more bite to it especially #11 which is a very long par 5 with a difficult tee shot.
The scenery and views around the course are gorgeous. Many of the tee boxes are elevated providing 360* views of Tucson. The 18th hole is worth the price of admission especially if you hit a good tee shot.
The customer service at the course was great. We saw the beverage cart 3 times during the round.
I'm hoping to keep Arizona National in my Tucson rotation.

Played Oct. 19,2013
This course was awful the last 2 years. I'm happy to say the new operation is gorgeous again! I forgot my camera but it was like a calender scene. Great news from one of the regio... Continue »

Played Oct. 19,2013
This course was awful the last 2 years. I'm happy to say the new operation is gorgeous again! I forgot my camera but it was like a calender scene. Great news from one of the regions finest courses. Still a challenging lush desert course with some of the best elevated scenes and shots. Hole 18 is priceless. Come on down winter visitors and definitely put this one back on the" to play" list.

Played on 12/22/12.
Still has 4 $$$$ but is a cheap course in price and condition. Awful fairways. Did not overseed and stopped watering Bermuda so it is literally dirt on many fairways and hard dirt... Continue »

Played on 12/22/12.
Still has 4 $$$$ but is a cheap course in price and condition. Awful fairways. Did not overseed and stopped watering Bermuda so it is literally dirt on many fairways and hard dirt at that. Greens are being kept up to fair condition. Greens break away from the mountain just keep that in mind even when your sure they don't your wrong. U of A uses it for their team but are moving next year. I'll post photos but its just brown. Shame with such a nice course layout and incredible views but the course is very poor to play on.

It pains me to write this review because this is probably my favorite course in the area. Played in a 4-some on 7/3/2011 going off at 9:00 . . "only diehards playing today" according to the cart girl ... Continue »

It pains me to write this review because this is probably my favorite course in the area. Played in a 4-some on 7/3/2011 going off at 9:00 . . "only diehards playing today" according to the cart girl so it was not crowded. 5 1/2 hours later we finally completed the round . . waited every shot on every hole throughout the day. Never saw a marshall. The course is not in good condition right now. Probably in the poorest condition that I have ever seen it, and I've been playing it since it opened and was known as "The Raven" . . The layout is still great, and the fairways are very playable, but there are huge (and I mean HUGE) dead areas on the greens. Some of the greens are half green and half brown. Arizona's been in a long drought, so water is scarce, and I'm going to assume that's the reason behind the conditions, but there's no reason for a 5:30 round on a day that isn't even close to being busy . .

Played March 11. This is a great desert course in very good condition. My only complaint was the traps were wet and hard underneath, had to use my lob wedge. Very well designed course, great views. A ... Continue »

Played March 11. This is a great desert course in very good condition. My only complaint was the traps were wet and hard underneath, had to use my lob wedge. Very well designed course, great views. A little narrow but not too long. Tough reading the greens. Would play here again.