Dobson Ranch Golf Course
About
Dobson Ranch Golf Course is an enjoyable track suitable for all ages and abilities. The course has generous fairways and large greens. There is an abundance of forestry; not only are there trees lining the fairways but they are also situated throughout, making accuracy top priority. There are also water hazards and bunkers to look out for. Dobson Ranch Golf Course has a reputation for being immaculately kept and consistently being in excellent condition. On the premises there is also a convenient lighted driving range as well as other practice facilities. There is also a pro shop that carries a full line of discounted professional golf equipment.
| Tee | Par | Length | Rating | Slope |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Back | 72 | 6593 yards | 71.0 | 117 |
| Middle | 72 | 6176 yards | 69.1 | 113 |
| Forward | 72 | 5598 yards | 71.34 | 116 |
| Hole | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | Out | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | In | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Blue M: 71.1/123 | 561 | 434 | 384 | 183 | 528 | 403 | 175 | 408 | 569 | 3645 | 363 | 417 | 193 | 498 | 197 | 352 | 425 | 213 | 490 | 3148 | 6793 |
| White M: 68.9/119 W: 74.7/128 | 516 | 407 | 352 | 149 | 478 | 388 | 146 | 391 | 549 | 3376 | 333 | 350 | 164 | 465 | 166 | 333 | 358 | 168 | 468 | 2805 | 6181 |
| Red M: 66.0/112 W: 71.8/122 | 506 | 364 | 336 | 128 | 468 | 358 | 122 | 363 | 400 | 3045 | 304 | 317 | 148 | 443 | 156 | 319 | 339 | 152 | 422 | 2600 | 5645 |
| Gold M: 65.1/110 W: 70.1/120 | 411 | 364 | 330 | 125 | 422 | 360 | 118 | 358 | 387 | 2875 | 301 | 315 | 149 | 438 | 157 | 308 | 339 | 151 | 418 | 2576 | 5451 |
| Handicap | 5 | 3 | 13 | 11 | 15 | 9 | 17 | 1 | 7 | 8 | 2 | 10 | 12 | 14 | 18 | 4 | 6 | 16 | |||
| Par | 5 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 37 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 5 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 5 | 35 | 72 |
| Handicap (W) | 3 | 7 | 13 | 15 | 1 | 11 | 17 | 5 | 9 | 8 | 6 | 14 | 2 | 16 | 12 | 10 | 18 | 4 |
Course Details
Rentals/Services
Practice/Instruction
Policies
Food & Beverage
RestaurantAvailable Facilities
ClubhouseReviews
Reviewer Photos
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Photo submitted by LADIVELVETSWING on 07/09/2024
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Photo submitted by LADIVELVETSWING on 07/09/2024
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Progress Photo submitted by LADIVELVETSWING on 07/02/2024
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Photo submitted by LADIVELVETSWING on 07/02/2024
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Photo submitted by LADIVELVETSWING on 07/02/2024
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Photo submitted by LADIVELVETSWING on 07/02/2024
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no better way to start our day! Photo submitted by u314162344812 on 06/11/2024
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Photo submitted by cmount3665 on 11/02/2023
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Trash! Photo submitted by u024012942 on 10/04/2023
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Photo submitted by bbrightw on 09/29/2023
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Photo submitted by u000008176810 on 04/06/2023
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Photo submitted by u000008176810 on 04/06/2023
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Photo submitted by u000008176810 on 04/06/2023
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Photo submitted by u314160977528 on 03/03/2023
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Photo submitted by u314160977528 on 03/03/2023
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Christmas Eve Round Photo submitted by JAmes6239673 on 01/15/2023
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Photo submitted by u3505615 on 04/25/2022
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Number 3 looking in from fairway Photo submitted by Blake83 on 07/03/2020
Bummer
Used to be a nice golf course. Let the super know it's ok to grow grass.
Awesome golf this time of year!
Had a great day! Course in pretty good shape around the greens and tee boxes. Has a few rough spots in “fairways”. It is AZ in the summer!
Great Summer Value
Dobson Ranch is a wonderful muni golf experience. In July you can't beat the rates! Around $35 for an early Friday tee time.
Greens were recently punch but still rolled nicely.
A lot of thin spots in the fairways but manageable
It's a challenging but fair old-school muni track
Highly recommend!
Always a great course
Dobson Ranch is a well run golf course with great amenities and a fantastic covered driving range. It was cart path only for this round which makes play slow down but they do it to keep the grass healthy so I get it. I play there a lot and will continue!
Dobson's always so inviting and fun
Checked in this morning to play 18, was paired up with some reasonable people that didn't mind that while I suck, I'm fast at sucking. Started on 10 and besides a bit of the course a bit soft from rain, it played well. Bev Cart was on point after five holes and very courteous throughout the round. Thank goodness I had a cart for myself as I said, I needed to be fast at sucking. Can't wait to play there again soon as always. Also, construction on the nine hole putting course is looking great and that just seem to at another later of excitement at Dobson.
Thanks to the staff as always, and to paraphrase Drew at the Ranch, y'all definitely made me smile!
Slow pace, poor course conditions
They had the whole course “cart path only”. It escapes me why because the fairways were worse than bad. There was a lot of dirt spots, weeds and dead grass in the middle of the fareway so why cart path only!? I expect courses to have summer conditions but I didn’t understand what they are preserving. I was told “we’re getting the course ready for the fall”… it’s mid July…. The pace was painfully slow (partly cuz of cart path only). It didn’t seem like the groups Infront adjusted their pace And no one did anything about it. I won’t play this course again until it’s “ready for fall”.
Poor Condition
I've been playing DR for years. I've never seen the fairways in such poor condition. Even if you can be lucky enough to find grass on the fairway it been cut so short it's like hitting of bare ground. I've decided to play it like a Far Eastern course and carry along a grass patch to hit off of. I've played several courses in the valley and DR is by far in the worst condition.
Fairways were awful
I've always enjoyed Dobson Ranch. Typically, a good value for the money. However, having visited Sunday the 14th, I can't recommend it (at least right now).
First, the greens were about 5 - 6 days out from aeration. They are recovering well. They rolled surprisingly honest, but were, of course, very slow. To be expected.
The issue, however, is with the fairways. They are really in poor shape. Very, very patchy throughout the course. I found that most of the time my ball ended up in dirt on the fairway and not grass. I found this to be a huge fail, and why I can't recommend Dobson Ranch - at least for right now, till they fix it.
DO NOT WASTE YOUR MONEY OR TIME!!!
I've played this course for 20+ years, and I can say without any hesitation, that the course is currently in the worst shape that I've ever seen it in. I will concede that the green had just been punched, but this is not a review of the greens. This time of the year requires the greens to be punched/sanded periodically throughout the summer to keep them alive. However, every single "fairway" was anything but fair. From a percentage standpoint, 50% of the fairways were dirt/mud, 25% was crabgrass, and if you were really lucky, you were treated to the mere slivers of grass that made up a maximum of 25% of the given fairway. Beyond that, most of the tee boxes were not in very good shape either. They were very fuzzy and not well maintained. The bunkers were no better; they were as sporadic as they could possibly be. There was absolutely no consistency from bunker to bunker...some had very nice sand, some had sand, but it was so compacted, it was like hitting off concrete. Now look, I've played this course for many years, and I know that course conditions in the Phoenix-Metro area can be difficult to maintain in the summer. But, when you play other courses for the same amount of money, that have excellent conditions throughout the course, you have to ask yourself, what is going on at Dobson? Just a thought, guys who manage Dobson...try putting more money into the golf course instead of your driving range, or any of the other things that don't make a golf course a real gem. This use to be in my regular rotation of courses I play on a regular basis. That chapter of my golfing life is over. I will never play this course again. One of the real pain-points about this latest round that I played, was the price of the round versus the the product you receive. If you want to get ripped off and play what will undoubtedly be the worst course conditions you'll ever play anywhere, then by all means, make your tee time. For the rest of the golfers reading through the reviews for Dobson in Golfnow, don't believe any other the other reviews that rate this course "excellent" or "good"; it is definitely not. The management staff at Dobson should be ashamed at both charging the price they charge for the round, and for not diverting more of the revenue to the golf course. DO NOT PLAY THIS COURSE. If you do, you will regret it.
Dobson Ranch is Amazing!
If you’re looking for one of the best courses to play in AZ, you need to check out Dobson Ranch… The course, the staff, everything, 10 outta 10. Highly recommended!
First Time Impressions
First time playing here at Dobson Ranch. My team and I were out in Tempe for a business trip and decided to catch an early morning Tee time before we got to work. The course was in great condition and the staff was very friendly... even for how early it was.
I highly recommend anyone who is in Phoenix or the greater Phoenix area to play a round here.
Back nine needs help!
I play with a group that consistently books the back nine with breakfast deal and for the cost it’s a hard to beat offer but over the last month the Golf course (can only speak to the back nine) is in serious condition. When you plug greens the pro shop should tell the customer that the greens have been plugged so they at least know. Also the amount of crab grass that is encroaching from up the fairway right to the green itself is making it hard to find a decent spot to play a ball from. There are large areas in the fairways that have virtually no grass to play from. The T boxes are holding up but perhaps moving the teeing area during the day( twice a day) and then repair the ground that you move it from would keep them looking like a bomb field the following week.
I love the layout of the course and still think it’s one of the better muni courses around.
Hope you can see that a majority of golfers still do care about the way a golf course is treated and not just another revenue source.
Great layout!
The condition of the whole course was awful! Barely Any grass. The greens were just punched so that added to the poor conditions. Fairways were real bad shape. I’ll be back when it’s in better condition..
Dobson on a HOT day.
Was not aware that the greens were just punched by Golf Now. when I booked the round. Understandably, the course fairways were very sparse. Overall, it was worth the fee.
Hey Bmorey48,
We do our best to get the information about aeration out there by adding notifications to the online booking notes, and we try to let everyone know over the phone and at check in but it sounds like we may have fallen short on your visit and we let you down. In regards to the fairway conditions we take a proactive approach to prepare the course for the transition. Some of the steps we have taken are applying a pre-emergent to the winter grass to make it go dormant, so the summer bermuda grass can begin to grow unimpeded. Unfortunately this results in the thin spots on the fairways, but this action is necessary to ensure the best conditions as the weather heats up and becomes more humid which is the conditions bermuda grass needs. We have also continually aerated the thin spots on the fairways to relieve compaction and give moisture the best chance to soak in as well. I appreciate your understanding on this and we will continue to price things accordingly as we pride ourselves on giving great value for those who choose to spend their valuable time and money with us.
Please give me a call on my cell phone at (925)-980-1006 as I would love an opportunity to make it up to you and give you the 5 star experience you deserve!
Thank you,
Andrew Frazier
Director of Sales and Services
Dobson Ranch Golf Course
Greens and fairways
The place is the worst I've seen it in years and of course they didn't put that they were aerating their greens they closed nine holes All they had to do is say that and I wouldn't have gone until it's back to its normal but it's pretty trashy very disappointed
Hey David,
Thank you for your feedback on your recent visit. We try to do everything we can by adding notes to online bookings and letting guests know about course conditions and maintenance on the phone and in person, but it sounds like we missed the mark and let you down so for that I apologize.
Unfortunately every year the summer transition is something we have to manage, but we work hard on taking an active approach in setting the course up to have the best conditions for the longest part of the summer until we go into over seeding in October.
Some of the steps we have taken are applying a pre-emergent to the winter grass to make it go dormant. This allows the summer bermuda grass to grow unimpeded once we get nights with a low above 75 degrees. Unfortunately this results in the thin spots on the fairways but it is necessary to give ourselves the best conditions for the summer grass to grow. We have also continually aerated the thin spots on the fairways to relieve compaction and give moisture the best chance to soak in as well. Aeration of the greens is also a necessary step to ensure the greens transition properly as well, and those should be healed in 7-10 days. In the meantime we will continue to sand them which helps them roll as smooth as possible during this time.
Please give me a call on my cell phone at (925)-980-1006 as I would love an opportunity to make it up to you down the road once the transition has finished, and feedback like this only helps us improve out processes so we can better relay information to guests in the future.
Thank you,
Andrew Frazier
Director of Sales and Services
Dobson Ranch Golf Course
Eh
I’ve played this course three times since June. It has gotten worse and worse. It was decent for summer in June, now they have focused on the range and other things. I played Tuesday for $14. I had a feeling for that cheap they would be air rated greens and I was right. AND it was front 9 only. I even checked on website and social media night before to see if maintenance and nothing. I wasn’t even told by the cart guy, pro shop or marshal about front 9 only. Found out with the group I was playing with. Stay away. The mats on the range are brutal already. $8 for a small bucket of balls. They try and sell you the ranch card every time or smash pass.
Hey Mike,
Thank you for your feedback on your recent visit. We try to do everything we can by adding notes to online bookings and letting guests know about course conditions and maintenance on the phone and in person, but it sounds like we missed the mark and let you down so for that I apologize.
In regards to the course conditions, every year courses are faced with a summer transition and we take an active approach and work hard on setting ourselves up to have the best conditions for the longest stretch of time. Back in June we took some steps like applying pre-emergent to the winter grass to make it go dormant and aerating the fairways to relieve compaction. While up front this results in the thin spots on the fairways it also is necessary for the course to begin to heal and it gives us the best conditions within our control to promote the summer grass growth so as our maintenance wraps up conditions continue to improve. If we don't take these steps, we may have seen better conditions in June-early July, but as heat reaches the extremes we have now it results in both grasses competing for growth and when the Rye grass can't survive it suffocates the Bermuda Grass and we have worse conditions until overseeding.
While the transition is not ideal, it is unfortunately something that's unavoidable and we try to provide continued value through our experience and customer service and again, it sounds like we fell short on this day. We would love a chance to make it up to you so please give me a call on my Cell at (925)-980-1006, feedback like this is important to our continued improvement!
Thank you,
Andrew Frazier
Director of Sales and Services
Dobson Ranch Golf Course
Excellent place for playing golf!
I have been playing golf at Dobson ranch for years. Dobson ranch is an excellent place enjoying golf at reasonable cost. This place is continuously improving for the customer satisfaction. I recommend Dobson ranch to anyone who wants enjoying golf!
Business As Usual
Wasn’t aware that the back nines were not available
Mesa Golf Around Package
Hello YjT2FXx33liBMGprShkR,
Thank you for sharing your feedback. Unfortunately this time of year our course and many others in the area undergo a transition from winter grass to summer grass. While a lot of the conditions are dependent on outside factors and weather, we take a proactive approach to prepare the course for the transition so when the conditions line up, we end up with the best possible outcome as summer continues.
Some of the steps we have taken are applying a pre-emergent to the winter grass to make it go dormant, so the summer bermuda grass can begin to grow unimpeded. Unfortunately this results in the thin spots on the fairways but it is necessary to ensure the best conditions as the weather heats up and becomes more humid as summer continues. We have also continually aerated the thin spots on the fairways to relieve compaction and give moisture the best chance to soak in as well.
For the Aeration of the greens we do our best to get the information out there by adding notifications to the online booking notes, and we try to let everyone know over the phone and at check in but it sounds like we may have fallen short on your visit and we let you down. Please give me a call on my cell phone at (925)-980-1006 as I would love an opportunity to make it up to you down the road once the transition has finished.
Thank you,
Andrew Frazier
Director of Sales and Services
Dobson Ranch Golf Course