Club West Golf Course
Again, this Arizona golf
course review takes us to Ahwatukee. We ventured into the
cul-de-sac again in search of Club West Golf Club. And as only
Ahwatukee can do we were pleasantly surprised with the amazing
views. I have heard a few rumors of the place and wasn't sure
what to expect. Getting to the course is a little
challenging. There are big signs about 1/2 mile before the turn
that say Club West
on them, however, they have nothing to do with the course. Club
West is about as far back into the Foothills as you can possibly
go. If
you make the mistake of turning it can become a nightmare. The
residential is a sophisticated maze with only one way in and one
way out with about 1 jillion lefts and rights....I can assure
you I am experienced with this debacle. The
actual sign is pretty small so be ready. Once in the place it
was
easy to see where you were going. The bag drop is directly in
front of the entrance. Just how we like it.
We are in the summer in AZ so there wasn't to many outside
service guys around, which was to be expected. I will note here
that I have been many more times since the original review and
the outside guys are fantastic. Very friendly and really make
you feel like they are sincerely concerned with your
experience. Once inside the
guys in
the front were very friendly and accommodating. Explaining
anything we asked. And there were plenty of questions such as,
"where the heck is the first tee"? and "are these GPS
thingies
really accurate"? The questions were answered with
professionalism and humor that made us feel very welcome. The
restaurant design was very nice, and inviting. Club West has a
fantastic patio looking over the pond that is
attached
to 18 green. At this point we are thoroughly impressed. Unfortunately, in the
summer they are "forced: to close around 2:30 in the
restaurant and very very limited beverage cart service....better
yet non existent unless a major outing is happening. And
by forced I mean they don't have enough play to justify staying
open. From the business standpoint it is a brilliant idea. But
back to the GPS system. I have seen plenty of GPS on carts and
usually unimpressed. We are rarely confident of the accuracy,
and all the other stuff they have jumbled in can be annoying.
However, for what ever reason these GPS were very nice! I am
going to say it was the operator ability. By that I mean the
guys inside who decided on how these things should work. They
had very non intrusive messages between holes, either explaining
a rule, or giving a warning. I wish they would develop a GPS
ball tracker so we weren't wondering around in the native
habitat so much. These discussed up coming events when
necessary and most importantly had a scrolling ticker at the
bottom of other sporting events happening....BRILLIANT! Also a
nice feature, if done correctly, was the capability of ordering any
food or beverage on the 8th hole for pick up on the turn.
This Az golf course was in very good condition for this time of year. One expects to
see burnt grass and shaved greens, but things were very nice.
The greens rolled very well, not all bumpy. If you can find the
fairway it is very consistent which created very playable lies. It
appeared as though they try hard and take their maintenance
serious. The grass was nice, very very limited damage. To find a
fault in the course we are going with the tee boxes. We have had
debates around here, in which I personally feel are silly. But
for purposes of unbiased opinion I will bring up the argument.
One side of the argument was that golf courses these days are
purposely allowing their tee boxes to become mounded and uneven,
and sometimes pointing the tee towards the OB to add an unseen
difficulty to courses that are getting too easy. Essentially a
very cost effective way to make the course more challenging. The
second argument was...Shut Up! That's stupid! Actually the
rebuttal had to do with course rating, but we can get into that
another time. Anyhow the final thought is the tee boxes need
some serious work. The
views of the place are stunning at times. With the Foothills surrounding
every tee, there is no shortage of pictures. The fees in the
summer are
between $29-$39, and in the winter in the range of $55 - $85.
There are many great "signature" holes here but in our opinion
pay attention to number 17. Very elevated green, 2 greens to hit
at, and a view of the entire Ahwatukee valley. As for the
rating, the problems here are cost of the beer, no bev cart, and
no place to talk golf after the course, which are all a result
of timing. The goods were views, playability, and friendliness
was fantastic.
Overall on the IFIGOLF scale of 1-10 Club West Golf Course gets an 8.5.
I challenge all of the IFIGOLF fans to debate this on our discussion boards if you think I am wrong!
| Course: | Club West Golf Course |
View Larger Map |
| Course Rating: | Black: 72.7/130 Blue: 70.0/123 White: 68.4/118 |
|
| Hardest Hole: | Hole 8 | |
| Easiest Hole: | Hole 15 | |
| Map: | 16400, S. 14th Ave Phoenix, AZ 85045 (480) 460-4400 |