Played Quintero on Saturday. Wow, what a course.
First, this course is out in the boonies. It is not in Scottsdale. It is 45-60 minutes drive. The freeway system in the general phoenix area is poor. You will end up going long stretches of city lights no matter where you are. Make sure you have a rental car because you aren't getting an uber for your ride home. You might get there, but you aren't getting a ride share back.
Once you get there, it is striking how desolate it is out there. There are a few homes on the course, but not many and I didn't see anyone at the homes. Maybe all vrbo's?? The clubhouse and restaurant bar were very lacking. They were fancy job trailers. I didn't ask if they were planning on building real stuff at some point, but they kind of have to to be a real destination. We paid $250 each for our round, out of state. Tried for in state, but they wanted to see my Arizona drivers license, which doesn't exist. They were cool about it.
From there you drive to the practice area and first tee. It is a long way from the clubhouse and the carts are governed down a bunch. The practice area was nice. We didn't have enough time to really get loose, but whatever. The starter calls your name and then moves you to the first tee and gives you a five minute speech.
The course was in amazing condition. Fairways were beautiful and the greens were really nice. The greens were fast. Lots of people forget to fix their dimples on the green. Kinda disappointing. Golf is supposed to be a gentlemans game and I would expect gentlemen to fix their damage on such a nice course. Oh well.
The not so nice - it was cart path only. They said it was too recent off their overseeding. Ok, no problem. I'm not a big fatty. Well, it ended up being 100 degrees and every shot I hit seemed to be on the other side of the fairway and walking to or from the buggy was always uphill one way. This flatland boy doesn't go uphill too much. By 14 I was getting tired. Evidently they called my buddy a couple weeks ago to warn him, so good on them for that. The rough was deep. It was some sort of rye and it would grab the clubface and twist it. I was not experienced in this and it ate me up. The greens got faster as the day went. By the end they were lightning fast. Faster than I have played in a long time. I putted well, but it still was too much difference from the muni greens I play. Last gripe was the beverage service. They were charging $9 a beer. Wtf?! I understand paying a premium, but was not ok with titty bar pricing. They were also kinda chinchy with the ice for the cooler on the cart. There is also a gun range nearby, so you hear gunshots a lot. It is far enough away so it doesn't bother you, just not nature sounds all the time.
I didn't play very well. I hit some great shots and a bunch of bad ones. Had a great time. Beautiful course. I cannot stress that enough. Several holes with big elevation changes. Some easy holes, some really tough ones. Next time I go back to the area I will probably pick a different course, not because it wasn't awesome, just that there are so many good ones there. It you are going to the area, put this on your short list.
First, this course is out in the boonies. It is not in Scottsdale. It is 45-60 minutes drive. The freeway system in the general phoenix area is poor. You will end up going long stretches of city lights no matter where you are. Make sure you have a rental car because you aren't getting an uber for your ride home. You might get there, but you aren't getting a ride share back.
Once you get there, it is striking how desolate it is out there. There are a few homes on the course, but not many and I didn't see anyone at the homes. Maybe all vrbo's?? The clubhouse and restaurant bar were very lacking. They were fancy job trailers. I didn't ask if they were planning on building real stuff at some point, but they kind of have to to be a real destination. We paid $250 each for our round, out of state. Tried for in state, but they wanted to see my Arizona drivers license, which doesn't exist. They were cool about it.
From there you drive to the practice area and first tee. It is a long way from the clubhouse and the carts are governed down a bunch. The practice area was nice. We didn't have enough time to really get loose, but whatever. The starter calls your name and then moves you to the first tee and gives you a five minute speech.
The course was in amazing condition. Fairways were beautiful and the greens were really nice. The greens were fast. Lots of people forget to fix their dimples on the green. Kinda disappointing. Golf is supposed to be a gentlemans game and I would expect gentlemen to fix their damage on such a nice course. Oh well.
The not so nice - it was cart path only. They said it was too recent off their overseeding. Ok, no problem. I'm not a big fatty. Well, it ended up being 100 degrees and every shot I hit seemed to be on the other side of the fairway and walking to or from the buggy was always uphill one way. This flatland boy doesn't go uphill too much. By 14 I was getting tired. Evidently they called my buddy a couple weeks ago to warn him, so good on them for that. The rough was deep. It was some sort of rye and it would grab the clubface and twist it. I was not experienced in this and it ate me up. The greens got faster as the day went. By the end they were lightning fast. Faster than I have played in a long time. I putted well, but it still was too much difference from the muni greens I play. Last gripe was the beverage service. They were charging $9 a beer. Wtf?! I understand paying a premium, but was not ok with titty bar pricing. They were also kinda chinchy with the ice for the cooler on the cart. There is also a gun range nearby, so you hear gunshots a lot. It is far enough away so it doesn't bother you, just not nature sounds all the time.
I didn't play very well. I hit some great shots and a bunch of bad ones. Had a great time. Beautiful course. I cannot stress that enough. Several holes with big elevation changes. Some easy holes, some really tough ones. Next time I go back to the area I will probably pick a different course, not because it wasn't awesome, just that there are so many good ones there. It you are going to the area, put this on your short list.
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