Arizona in December...

["Richard"]

I'm looking to go to arizona this december from the 22nd to the 30th. Anyone know of any links to some good packages? We have the flights covered already, just need hotel and green fees. I'm going to start googling as well but htough I would ask. Ifg you have any links for packages to sandiedo and sanfrancisco that would be good as well Thanks guys

I wnt to fly out on points so need to book sooner than later, hence to early start

[francois]

Hello thotho,

I'm just back from Arizona; my third golf trip there in the last year. We tend to go to the Tuscon area, but we also spend some time on the Sedona area in the north (an incredibly beautiful area and great golf courses too). Golf in the Phoenix area tend to be more expensive, but accommodation can be cheaper; your pick!

I was there also over this past Christmas holidays. First, you should know that in December, the chances of frost delays are real, since the nights are often below zero (owing to the very dry climate). Thus, you should think about not booking very early tee times.

Second, we made most of our golf reservations through discount internet sites. Typically, we would end up with 40-50% discount rates. The best deals were on www.ezlinks.com, but the selection was more limited. Another site worth using is: http://golfaz.cypressgolfsolutions.com. It offers a good selection of courses, but the best deals exist only if you wait till the very last day before booking.

I can write for a page or two about what courses I prefer, but perhaps you can pm me if you have specific considerations in mind, i.e. price range, difficulty, where to play, etc.

I'm sure you'll love your golfing experience there as much as I did!

Francois

["Richard"]

well we are both 14 handicaps and we were looking to keep it under 130 slope, we were hoping to do 5 days 5 rounds (hotels included) for under $450

is that even possible? tickets are already booked We will be in scotsdale if that helps.

[francois]

Hello thotho,

Well, $450 for five days including golf and hotel will not give you the nicer golf courses (it wouldn't here either). Arizona golf courses run the gamut, but your typical course of good quality can run between $50-60US to way over $100US. You can get a cheap hotel for $50-60US. There are also significant price differences between low and high seasons, and you will be during the high season.

I must say that I only played one course in the Phoenix area (the Whirldwind, which was amazing but around $100US), therefore I cannot be of help in terms of course selection. All I can say is that the Tuscon-based courses that were on ezlinks.com were very nice, and one can perhaps assume that the same is true for the Phoenix-based courses that are on the same site.

Hope it helps,

Francois

["Richard"]

my best friend is on a budget and doesn't want to go over that price... maybe I'll pay for everything and tell him evertthing came to $400 and just pay the difference myself If you could suggest two courses for us to play (14 handicaps) that have a bit of everything, water, sand.. ect what would you recommend?

[francois]

Geez, thotho, I wish I had friends like you who would just pay for me pretending they didn't! Perhaps I'll encourage my wife to think like that...

More seriously, as I mentioned earlier, I did not play any Phoenix courses except the Whirlwind (Cattail course), which is one of the nicest I have played in my life. But we had it for $80US on special... I've certainly heard about a lot of different courses in that area but, since I did not play them, I would be afraid to give you recommendations.

If, on the other hand, you are considering Tuscon, Sedona or the Green Valley as other possibile choices, I can then give you lots of suggestions.

Francois

["Richard"]

Hmmm, scotsdale is to much money, my friend won't go for it, what are my other options? Any suggestions you could make would be greatly apreciated

[francois]

Hello thotho,

Here are my suggestions for good golfing in Arizona. I'll focus on the Tuscon area and, to a lesser extent, the Green Valley (30-40 min drive south of Tuscon), since this is where I have played most of my Arizona golf. I've attached a few photos that should give you an idea of what it looks like.

Overall, you should expect desert golf, which means (sometimes long) carries over desert bush, cactus and snakes on a majority of the courses and of the holes. Another feature is the narrow fairways surrounded by houses, and beautiful mountains in the backdrop. In addition, most courses require a cart, since the distance between holes tends to be long. Lastly, there is little marshalling on the courses (the only exception I encounter was at the Starr Pass course); it is therefore better to avoid afternoon games to the extent possible.

The courses and associated slope I described are from the blue. Slope ratings are approximate, as much as I remember them. I play to a 15-20 handicap. The prices are the discounted ones we were able to get, expressed in $US. I am not going to scare you with the rack prices that are advertized... At most courses, a cart and range balls are included.

A List

• Vistoso ($70-80): Slope around 130. One of the nicest and better conditioned course, in perfect condition and great service. Highly recommended. Great greens: fast but putting true.
• Starr Pass ($75-90): Slope around 130. Lots of carries and one of the narrowest and most difficult courses. It's also one of the better conditioned one, with fast and true greens. The only course we encountered that had effective marshalling, à la Stonebridge.
• Arizona National ($80-90): Slope around 128. Was used for some LPGA events. Also lots of carries and big changes in elevation, fast greens but not in as good a shape as the previous two; fairqys and everything else top notch. Strange thing too: there was no starter when we showed up for play, created a bit of chaos.
• El Conquistador ($60-80): Two courses there, the El Conquistador (slope 125) and the Canada (slope 128). I preferred the Canada; it is a bit more challenging and varied. Both are in excellent condition and great service to boot. Not the fastest or straighter greens though.
• Omni Tuscon National ($90-120): (slope 126) Relatively short, was used for some PGA events. One of the few with large tress bordering the fairways, and lots of water, but fewer carries than most others. When we played it, we thought it was a bit overpriced given the conditions, which were not at par with some of the nicer courses we played.

B list

• Canoa Ranch in the Green Valley ($43-50): (slope 120) Really nice layout and quite scenic, very relaxing course. Only issues are the fairway and green conditions, which leaves a bit to be desired
• Pines in Marada ($50): (slope 125) Nice desert layout and better conditions than the Canoa Ranch (also closer to Tuscon). Only problem is that you have 3-4 holes on the front 9 that border the interstate highway. Back nine is superb though.
• Heritage Highlands ($60-75): (slope 118) Another typical desert course bordered with houses, although it has larger fairways than many others. It's a good introductory course to get a feel for what desert golf is all about. Relatively good fairway and green conditions.

There are three ways to get discounted fees:

1. www.ezlinks.com : it has a fairly limited selection of courses but several from the A List are there; it also provides the biggest discount. The way to use is is: (1) look at the choices under 'Specials'; (2) once you identified what you want, go to 'Place bets' section; this is exactly the same list as under 'Specials'; (3) place a bid for the one you want to play. Typically, we'd bid $15-20 dollar lower than the price that appears under 'Specials' and we'd win the bid.
2. http://golfza.cypressgolfsolutions.com : the selection is wider but the deals are not as good, although we were able to get some courses at 30-50% off. The best deals are when you can wait until the day before your desired tee time (the site shows you tee times up to five days ahead of time). We found this site to be quirky though (giving us error messages), and you may have to try a few times before being successful.
3. You can order by mail a booklet of coupons that provide you with two-for-one course fees on a wide range of courses. I forgot the name of it, but it's the same one you can get here (it has a lot of other coupons for restaurants, etc..)

I hope this helps and let me know if you need other info.

Good luck.

[francois]

He thotho,

Here are some additional pictures of some of the previoulsy mentioned Arizona courses.