Oro Valley Country Club

Rode the Blues (6575/71.4/129) in 2H, 45M early morning. Over 100, breezy and clear made for a quick round playing through one group. Speaking of which... the members and staff here are outstanding. I was invited to play through groups 2 rounds in a row while on the hole before they were playing. Pro shop quick, friendly and efficient and the maintenance workers very courteous. Traditional, flat, desert layout that dates to 1959. Tight in spots with smallish greens that are very deceptive in both speed and contour. Tees were semi lush and mostly well maintained for divots. Fairways and rough were both mostly lush and well maintained, Both were nice to play from. Traps had good quality sand and were very good to play from. Greens were light green in color and relatively small in size. Very receptive to full shots, backed up several irons on these greens. They putted medium fast and were smooth. Only a couple had tiers, but there was a decent amount of slope on many greens. Basic carts do not have GPS, all grass range included in your fee. No drink cart or on course services, but an open restaurant was doing a brisk business. Customer service excellent, quick efficient check-in. Very friendly atmosphere. Recommended.

Rode the Blues (6575/71.4/129) in slightly over 3H mid day. Played through 2 groups of members and was whizzing along until hitting a logjam on 14, which made the last 5 holes creep. 107, breezy and clear made even the breeze hot.

Traditional, flat, desert layout. The front nine is all on one side of the clubhouse and driving range, the back nine all on the opposite side. Front more wide open, and while many holes turned, there were several that you were looking right at the green from the tee down a tree lined fairway. Nothing overly memorable, but fun overall.

Tees were semi lush and mostly well maintained for divots.

Fairways and rough were both mostly lush and well maintained, Both were nice to play from.

Traps had good quality sand and if they had been raked, could have been considered excellent.

Greens were light green in color and medium sized. Only a couple had tiers, but there was a decent amount of slope on many greens. Very receptive to full shots, actually backed up several irons on these greens. They were medium fast and rolled well. Medium fast until you had a downhill putt, then you babied it and hoped it would stop relatively close to the hole if you missed.

Customer service excellent, quick efficient check-in. No drink cart or on course services, but an open restaurant was doing a brisk business. Clubhouse had a traditional private club feel with a gym and locker room for members. Basic carts did not have GPS, all grass range included in your fee. Very friendly atmosphere. Worth a play if you have the opportunity.

Played in the afternoon with the course setup for the annual superintendent revenge took away from course. Conditions were okay. Greens were in excellent shape, fairways were thin. Nice views.

This is a great place to tee it up.

Betty and Jack in the pro shop are fine representatives of this club.

The fairways are smooth, green, and manicured. The greens are fast and tricky. Everything here is neat and uncomplicated, this is a stress free zone and there are lots of happy golfers here.

This is a classic parkland course built in 1959 and kept in pristine shape.

The course designer has made it his mission to hide all the golf holes

on this layout. There are lots of berms used to block approaches to greens. Dog legs are used frequently to keep flags hidden until the last

minute. Even on one par 3, berms are in front of the putting surface.

Three of our shots wound up on the berm short of the green.

While the front nine is flat, the second nine has elevation changes

and a lot more up and down hills.

This is a thoroughly enjoyable golf course to play.

The views on this course were wonderful. The course was in great shape however the bunkers needed work; green side bunkers had little sand. Practice facility was average, the pro shop and outside services staff were super friendly. Great course layout.

The course has tee boxes for every level. Rough can be very challenging. Some holes are wide open, others very tight. My favorite view is the par 5 15th. This course does not have view of the valley, but has some spectacular mountain scenes. Good but not great practice area.