Where do I start? How about that the posted pace of play is 5:17? The views are not nearly as spectacular as the website - Scottsdale is 100 times prettier. I can't understand how Golf Digest ranks this course so highly, it is not in the top 200 that I have ever played.
First of all they never should've built a golf course on such a hilly spot. It is amazing that they were able to, but the result is 12 approach shots where you can only see the very top of the flag. I don't mind that every once in a while, but it gets old after the first six holes are like that. Plus on 8 of 14 drives you can't see the landing area.
But the worst thing has to be the pace of play. It took us 1:45 to play the first five holes. From the sixth tee we could see that the group two ahead of us had two holes open in front of them, so we asked the marshall to talk to them. He said he would, but we were still waiting on them on the 8th hole.
It took 3 hours to play the front nine, and the group two ahead of us was just leaving the 10th tee. So I went in the pro shop to see what could be done. While I was in there two people called on their cell phones from the fourth and seventh hole wondering why play was so slow. I told the lady that the group on #10 was the problem, but she told me that the pace of play is 5:17 and they were on schedule.
If I knew the pace of play was 5:17 I never would've come to this place. But I don't know how a 3:30 nine translates to being on that pace anyway. On the 11th green the marshall told us we were 6 minutes ahead of pace, even though it had taken us 4 hours to play 11 holes! The worst part was how no one on staff cared about the two open holes or the 6+ hour pace.
This was the worst experience I've ever had on a golf course.




