Course rankings

[GolfinGQ]

Ok, so I have been doing a lot of research about courses in AZ because I am going there in a few weeks. It is funny because if you go to Golf Digest and look at their top 100 public courses, there is not 1 on there from AZ. But if you go to Golf.com, they have 6 on there, and in some odd orders too. One system has Troon North Monument course rated higher than the Pinnacle course, the other vice versa.

So who do you guys trust? I have allways looked at Golf Digest being the #1 in this area, but there are so many out there.

[sabram]

The various rankings all need to be taken with more than a grain of salt and I don't really "trust" any of them. The pool of raters and the rating criteria are different between the two magazines. If I recall correctly, one uses hundreds of good golfers who play as many of the courses as they can and rate them using a ste list of categories. The other has a smaller panel of raters that includes pro golfers, course architects, golf executives etc. There are also "Ordinary Joe" ratings such as Golf Digest's Places to Play and Zagats, which use scores given by ordinary golfers who have played the courses. Where to play depends on what YOU are looking for in a course. Are you focused on the architecture and strategey, do you prefer a particular style of course, does lots of housing bother you, is the scenery important, do you like difficult or forgiving courses, how important is being extremely manicured, service, clubhouse, practice facilites etc.

Rating golf courses is like movie or music reviews and reviews often differ on the same work of art. It is not balck and white stuff.

Here is GolfWeek's AZ "Best public" list which I think is pretty good, altough they like the TPC more than I do and I am not a fan of Sunridge Canyon beacuse I thought it was extremely difficult:

1. We-Ko-Pa (Saguaro), Fountain Hills (No. 67 m)
2. Troon North (Monument), Scottsdale (m)
3. We-Ko-Pa (Cholla), Fountain Hills (m)
4. Talking Stick (North), Scottsdale (m)
5. Ventana Canyon (Mountain), Tucson (m)
6. TPC Scottsdale (Stadium), Scottsdale (m)
7. Southern Dunes GC, Maricopa (m)*
8. Troon North (Pinnacle), Scottsdale (m)
9. The Boulders Club (North), Carefree (m)
10. Golf Club of Estrella, Phoenix (m)
11. Laughlin Ranch, Bullhead City (m)
12. SunRidge Canyon, Fountain Hills (m)
13. Grayhawk (Raptor), Scottsdale (m)
14. Talking Stick (South), Scottsdale (m)
15. The Boulders Club (South), Carefree (m)
16. Longbow GC, Mesa (m)*
17. La Paloma CC (Ridge/Canyon), Tucson (m)
18. Arizona National, Tucson (m)
19. Whirlwind GC (Cattail), Chandler, (m)
20. TPC Scottsdale (Champions), Scottsdale (m)*
21. Ventana Canyon (Canyon), Tucson (m)
22. Wigwam (Gold), Litchfield Park (m)
23. Grayhawk (Talon), Scottsdale (m)
24. Papago Municipal GC, Phoenix (m)*
25. Wildfire at Desert Ridge (Faldo), Phoenix (m)*

[GolfinGQ]

Gold Canyon Dino Mountain isn't anywhere on the list, how come?

[leezer99]

I will do some research on greenskeeper.org before visiting a course. Here's a link to GCs in Phoenix. http://www.greenskeeper.org/arizona/golf_courses/

[uttexas]

When going on a golf trip, I like to find out what the locals think. Avid Golfer Arizona had their most recent "Best of Public" issue November 2009.
Here is a link to those rankings. http://www.myavidgolfer.com/back_iss...1&issue;_id=164

Their top 10 overall (factoring in price/conditions/service/layout/etc) are as follows:

Top 10 Overall Golf Courses


1. Troon North Golf Club – Monument Course

2. Grayhawk Golf Club – Raptor Course

3. We-Ko-Pa Golf Club – Cholla Course

4. We-Ko-Pa Golf Club – Saguaro Course (Pictured Above)


5. TPC Scottsdale – Stadium Course

6. Troon North Golf Club – Pinnacle Course

7. Gold Canyon Resort – Dinosaur Mountain Course

8. The Boulders Resort – South Course

9. Legend Trail Golf Club

10. Eagle Mountain Golf Club

[GolfinGQ]

Thats an awesome link, thanks for finding it for me