Bougainvillea Golf Course
Here we go again. This time our golf review took us to the stunning...ok acceptable, Bougainvillea Golf Course in Laveen, AZ. First, the weather was nice, around 90 degrees with a little breeze. In Arizona that is unbeatable weather. A little bit about "The Boug" It was once 36 holes called Cottonfield Golf Club now turned into 18 holes. Obviously for housing purposes....go figure. The Boug has never been a golf course that demands high greens fees. They run specials in the summer as low at $15 with a cart, and up to $40 in the winter. This course is a public course, but also offers an unbeatable membership with a very nice men's club. I can honestly say the Warren Pitman (GM) and Ken Ehlen (Head Pro) are doing an amazing job over there. It is always a very pleasant place to be. This day we paid about 24 per person and that is the highest I have ever paid out there. It was memorial day so I suppose holiday rates? As for the course, well it is definitely a $20 course. The fairways were decent. Some compaction but you could tell the difference between the fairway and rough, as well as fairway and cartpath. The grass was fairly consistent....meaning they appeared to be sporting the same rug in a majority of the course. There are many golf courses in Arizona that obviously have 5 different species of grass growing. Although unlikely to have much of an effect on your game, it is just plain ugly! The rough was exactly that....ROUGH! It seemed to have no maintenance of any sort, or much water for that matter. The greens were shaggy, but on the plus side only 2 greens had any sort of damage to them. Clean, mowers screw-up free greens are a good sign for the people in charge. Unfortunately they couldn't keep the entire place green but wtf its the desert right? The course is very spread out so spraying the ball is acceptable. Ultimately there is about 4 or 5 holes with no houses on them, with good views of the mountains. It is typical Arizona golf, with houses all around and a run in with a major street at some point. The bunkers, however, were absolute POO! It was easier to hit from the cart path, and trust me I know. Plus as you will see, one of the bunkers was passing out west nile, which is hard to believe in the desert. The pro-shop was great, the grill was very nice, and the food and beer were very reasonably priced. It appeared an estimated 45 people were out playing the the course, yet the beverage cart was going around the entire time. Bud lights were $3.00 as they should be, as well as a discount on 6 packs....which was NIICCEE. I am well aware of the pricing these courses pay and the value of a cold beer, and trust me when I say they ALL pay the same for their beer and they ALL get that hefty markup. I guess its the nature of the beast. The guys in the shop were very friendly, as well as the restaurant personell. When you enter the place they really make it feel like you are welcome in their home. They know they are a $20 course and they were proud to be there. We received exactly what we paid for and loved every minute of it. The course is a pretty decent layout. Long par 5s requiring a good 2nd shot. The par 4s were the correct distance, requiring 95 to 150 yard second shots, which is how golf was designed. Driver wedge on every hole is shenanigans. The Boug does not have delusions of being the best course in the valley, they are honest about what they offer and they seem to go above the expectation. If one is here to have fun and be relaxed....The Boug will definitely deliver. If I can recall my thoughts as I walked for the car..."damn I made alot of bogeys at The Boug."
Overall on the IFIGOLF scale of 1-10 I would have to rate Bougainvillea Golf Club a 9 for the money.
I challenge all of the IFIGOLF
fans to debate this on our discussion boards if you think I
am wrong!
UPDATE-8-7-09: We made another trip to "the boug" We set out to do another review since the previous is roughly a Year old. But rest assured our assement is still right on! It was suprisingly in the exact same shape. It even had the standing water in the same bunker. We had the camera's rolling but we stopped quickly when we realized things were so very identical. A couple things to note, despite there being a low amount of people playing they had the bev cart out still which was very nice considering in the afternoon the humidity was brutal. Also, they had an amazing price for a holiday. $9.97. YEP thats under $10 to play. It had to be booked online to get the price, but so what!! It was worth more than every penny. The greens were shaggy but no damage. The things you run into at a place offering rounds that low is many beginners and the pace of play was brutal. Although finished in just over 4 hours, the last 4 holes to an hour. So we were making good time at the beginning. Again Bougainvillea Golf Course delivered. They were a year ago and are now worth every penny. We recommend trying them out if you are ever on the southwest site of Phoenix! Still a 9
| Course: | Bougainvillea Golf Club |
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| Course Rating: | Black: 70.9/118 Copper: 68.9/116 White: 67.8/114 |
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| Hardest Hole: | Hole 11 | |
| Easiest Hole: | Hole 4 | |
| Map: | 5740 W. Baseline Rd Laveen, Az 85339 (602) 237-4567 |