ASU Karsten

On Wednesday, I played my unofficial "home course" ASU Karsten, and I was impressed by the course conditions. As detailed more fully below, the course was in immaculate shape for the end of August, and almost as good of shape as I have ever seen it. I would highly recommend anyone looking to play golf in the Valley to get out to this course as soon as possible.

Course: ASU Karsten

Location: 1124 E. Rio Salado Pkwy, Tempe, AZ 8521 (Rural and Rio Salado)

Course: Public, 18 holes

Designer: Pete Dye

Website: www.asukarsten.com

Tees: 4 sets from 4,765 to 7,002 yards, par 70

Practice Facility: Medium sized driving range. Players hit off mats every day except Friday and Saturday. There is also a large practice putting green. The highlight of the practice facility is a chipping area located approximately 200 yards from the clubhouse between the #1 tee and #9 green. Players can hit shots from all angles up to 115 yards.

Review:.

Positives: ASU Karsten was in exceptional condition for this time of the year. The tees, fairways, rough, and greens were lush for August in Arizona. The course provides a good challenge from the back tees as a par 70, with many par 4s over 400 yards in length. The pro shop is well stocked with all types of ASU gear, but there are not many clubs to look at because the course only carries Ping clubs. Speaking of, make sure to get a handful of the white Ping tees that the course provides; this is one of the few places in the world to get these. There is a nice variety of par 4's, but with only 2 par 5's, scoring opportunities are few and far between.

Negatives: The greens did contain some areas that were bumpy, and I have seen them much faster, but this is excepted for Arizona this time of the year. As a Pete Dye course, there are some quirky holes, such as the back to back par 3 (6-7) on the front nine that don't seem to mesh together well. The course is also surrounded by urban development with loud airplanes constantly flying over. If you are looking for peace and quiet during your golf round, this may not be the ideal course to choose.

Once again, the pace of play was extremely slow on the back nine, with no ranger in sight. This was solely due to a single group of 4 men who were directly ahead of us. My group of 2 literally watched every shot of theirs from the 12th tee through the 18th tee. JUST LET US PLAY THROUGH!!! This should not be the case on on a extremely hot day with very little shade in sight.

Favorite Hole: No. 18, Par 4, 4711 yards

No. 18 is a long par 4 in which the player must hit his or her tee shot and second shot over a artificial lake to a green that is overlooked by Sun Devil Stadium and "A Mountain". Both the tee shot and second shot take precision an length, but provide a memorable final hole for all those playing the course. I would recommend hugging the right side of the fairway for the best angle into the large putting surface.

Recommended For: Mid and low handicappers. To truly enjoy this course, I would recommend this course for those more advanced in the game. Water and large pot bunkers come into play on many of the holes, as well as many other humps and bumps that are a signature of Pete Dye. This is going to frustrate the beginner golfer who should enjoy their golf round as much as the plus handicap professional.

Overall: ASU Karsten is a well-maintained, competitively priced course. The staff is very professional, and the pace of play is typically swift. Althoguh I no longer get the student discount at the course, I will most definitely be back to ASU Karsten to take on the challenge that Pete Dye laid out.

Tell me, what do you think of ASU Karsten Golf Course?

Lone Tree Golf Club

Lone Tree Golf Club

This afternoon, in the sweltering 115 degree (in the shade) heat, I played Lone Tree Golf Club n Chandler, Arizona. This course is the host of the upcoming Arizona Mid-Amateur Championship which will take place on August 26-28. (http://www.azgolf.org/tournament/tournamentdetail.asp?tournamentid=757)

Course: Lone Tree Golf Club

Location: 6262 S. Mountain Blvd., Chandler, Arizona (Riggs Rd. & Gilbert Rd.)

Course: Semi-Private, 18 holes

Designer: Darryl Wilson

Website: www.lonetreegolf18.com

Tees: 4 sets from 5001 yards to 7007 yards

Practice Facility: Large, double sided driving range with practice green. Practice balls were not included in the green fee booked on golfnow.com.

Review:.

Positives: Lone Tree provides an enjoyable golf experience For Arizona in August, the greens were fairly smooth and quick, and exceeded my expectations. For what they lacked in undulation, the made up for in speed and consistently. There were only a few bumpy putts throughout the day, and I would expect these greens to only improve as Arizona moves into the winter months. The fairways were soft enough to get a small divot, but well played tee shots got 30-50 yards of roll. The course was setup nicely, likely due to the fact that there was a PGA P.A.T. occurring while I was there. The tee boxes were well-kept and flat, and provided an excellent surface to both tee the ball high and low.

Negatives: Be prepared for extra fees. There was no mention that there was a $2 GPS fee for each player when I booked the tee time. It is frustrating for me to go to course after course and get nickeled and dimed over a GPS. This should be a part of the standard green fee at all course. Further, the GPS was not full screen or color, and only provided very minimal information about the course. It did not show any carries or give accurate yardages to the pin locations. I was literally left guessing on many of the approach shots because the pin colors were not matched and the GPS was not accurate. Range balls were also not included in a standard green fee.

The pace of play was extremely slow on the back nine, with no ranger or golf professional in sight to get the groups moving. This should not be the case on on a extremely hot day with very little shade in sight. (hence the name Lone Tree) There was no drink cart nor outside service assistance at either the club drop off or at the end of the round.

Favorite Hole: No. 12, Par 3, 181 yards

No. 12 is an island green par 3. The domed green is surrounded on all sides by water and a player must be accurate with a low to mid iron on his tee shot. If the iron shot is accurate, the player has a legitimate chance at birdie on this visually stimulating hole.

Recommended For: Mid to high handicaps, and primarily locals. This course does not present the challenge that a low handicapper is looking for in the Valley. There are very few "desert" holes, with almost all of the holes surrounded by homes on both sides. There are no difficult carries that a low handicapper is looking to challenge his skills.

For an out of town guest, I would first look to other true desert courses when visiting the valley. After a few desert courses, this may be a nice play to go to mix things up and see a different side of Arizona golf.

Overall: At this point, I am not sure if I would come back to this course. The course was in excellent shape for a hot and dry day, but there are a few amenities that were lacking that I seek when spending my money and time on golf. Whether I would come back would strictly be determined by the cost of the round and the time of the year. If it was anything over $35, I would likely pass on the opportunity to play here.

Tell me, what do you think of Lone Tree Golf Club?

Top 10 Public Courses in Arizona

Here are my current top 10 public courses in Arizona.

1. We Ko Pa (Cholla)
2. Gold Canyon (Dinosaur Mountain)
3. Grayhawk (Raptor)
4. TPC Scottsdale (Stadium)
5. Grayhawk (Talon)
6. TPC Scottsdale (Champions)
7. Boulders (North)
8. Troon North (Monument)
9. We Ko Pa (Saguaro)
10. SunRidge Canyon