McCormick Ranch Golf Course
This Arizona Golf Review takes us to the "snoot" of
Scottsdale Arizona.
It is a beautiful day in
Scottsdale…103 degrees to be
exact! Unfortunately we were forced to take a
3:03pm tee time. We must be truthful and admit we have some
high expectations.
Pulling in, the clubhouse looks great from a distance and
even better up close. Of course, everyone outside of the
golf course is very
friendly and it is a very easy walk into the clubhouse. Once
inside the proshop we are impressed! They have a huge
assortment of retail goods shirts, hats, gloves, basically
anything you could want. It was all very nice stuff but you
are definitely paying the price. It was hard not to just buy some
clothes and leave! Down the stairs from the
clubhouse is the practice area, including a range, putting
green, and chipping area. This practice area turned out to
be one of the nicest facilities I have seen here in the
valley know as Phoenix AZ. It is in my top 5, I would even consider going there to
practice instead of playing. We get settled and off to the
first tee, we then realize we are already at the first tee. It is
obvious the putting and chipping green were built after the
first tee and hole number 1. It was inconveniently located in between the
two. All of this being so close to each other
gave it this weird, confusing feel. Almost like you
were still on the
practice range, or on stage or something. It doesn’t get much better after that. After
hitting our drives we start going down the cart path and
realize it is bumpier than a flight thru the Rockies! These
things were rough! Luckily the fairways, on the other
hand, were very consistent and kept up very nicely. The golf
carts have a GPS system but they appeared to be out of date
and the yardages were off on the back nine. They did have
coolers already stocked with ice, and the beverage cart
service was great. We saw her once every three holes and
even stayed out until after 6:00pm. There was plenty to
offer in the cart as well, from PowerAde to Coke products,
to light beers and a few lagers. For all the smokers, they
had cigars to choose from and Marlboro
Lights as well. This course was different from most courses
out here in Arizona on one condition…there were trees, and
plenty of them! It is a rare luxury to find trees, moreover,
SHADE in this hot box commonly referred to as the surface
Valley of the Sun. Finally a course in Arizona that isn’t fairway
and desert but rather fairway and rough with a side of
bunkers! The greens were a bit shaggy, but we can chalk that
up to time of year and time of day. It didn't appear to have
damage on any greens or a mix of different grasses. They held
a short iron shot and a few of them were very undulating
which was a bit of a challenge. The nicest part of
the course without a doubt was the fact that there are 16
holes out of the 18 that water comes into play. It makes for
a very visually challenging round! It has a great resort
style feel with water and trees. Another frustrating part of the course is that from the
first tee you have to decide whether you want to play 7000+
yards from the tips or a mere 6200 only one box one up from
that. That is a huge difference for the Sunday golfer and
nobody likes switching back and forth during the round to
get that average 6700
yards. It gets confusing, and we feel with the prices they
charge it should have a few more options. Lets get it
straight, we are big fans of simplicity in golf, but this
was something that changes the quality of a round from the
beginning. Greens fees were $55.00 for the twilight rate in
the summer and even with it being in Scottsdale that is over
priced. They ask for fees between $90-$125 in the peak
season and that is high as well. If you stick this course in Chandler it would
run you about $30.00 for twilight, or less, and it would be worth
every penny. Example: Ocotillo Golf Resort. So...
we have an obvious refusal to upgrade some fundamental
equipment in the GPS and the Cart Path. Thanks to the
horrible cart path, the carts had seen to much wear. Your
only choices off the tee were "holy crap that's long" or "is
this the women's tee"? The bev cart and pro shop were well stocked
but demanding high Scottsdale Arizona pricing. The first tee
was a nightmare and still paying $55 in the slowest season in
Arizona, plus in the late afternoon. On the flip side, the
fairways were well maintained, the greens were well
maintained, it had very nice ambience with trees and water.
It was actually a serene feeling. And now, the moment you have been waiting for…the
IFIGOLF rating!
Overall on the IFIGOLF scale of 1-10 McCormick Ranch Golf Club receives a 7.
I challenge all of the IFIGOLF fans to debate this on our discussion boards if you think I am wrong!
| Course: | McCormick Ranch Golf Course |
View Larger Map |
| Course Rating: | Brown: 65.7/123 White: 70.0/130 Blue: 73.7/137 |
|
| Hardest Hole: | Hole 7 | |
| Easiest Hole: | Hole 17 | |
| Map: | 7505 E McCormick Pkwy Scottsdale, Az 85258 (480) 948-0260 |