Grand Canyon University Golf Course

First off, the course looks great when you first arrive. The clubhouse is nice, there are friendly bag-checkers, and the vibe is sophisticated without being feeling snobby. The range is in great shape, with real grass to hit off of, although it may be a bit small. The clubhouse staff were friendly and helpful and it was easy to get signed in an get a cart for my round.

Moving on to the course then. The tee boxes, in general, are in very good shape and are well taken care of. The fairways, too, were lush and green and in great repair overall. The greens were preposterously fast and hard as a rock. On many of the holes, when chipping and pitching around the greens, unless you land the ball short of the green and run it up, there is almost no chance of holding the green. This is especially true when hitting out of the "rough" than surrounds many of the greens, which is really just dried-out hardpan. There is no way to play finesse shots on the hardpan, which limits your options and make chips/pitches an exercise in futility. Furthermore, I had several shots miss the green by a couple of yards and end up 40+ yards from the green bouncing and rolling on the hardpan.

On the topic of futility, the bunkers were so unbelievable hard that I simply stopped playing balls out of them. There is about 1/8 inch of sand in the green side bunkers on top of what seems like cement. This would be fine if the bunkers weren't 4-6 feet below the putting surface, but they are. So you can either try to chip the ball out of the bunkers and hope that you get it high enough to clear the lip, or try to play a traditional bunker shot and either blade the ball or gouge the sand trying to get your club under the ball. I'm a decent player and am usually within 10 feet of the hole out of the sand but by the end of the round I felt like I had a 0% chance of being near the hole out of the sand.

Overall, I was quite disappointed by the course. If the bunkers are going to be that deep, they HAVE to have playable sand so that you can loft your shots up and on to the putting surface. The rough was far too fry and penalizing, and the greens were absurdly fast on many holes.

Maybe the course is in better shape in different seasons, but I would much rather play the munis (which are also cheaper in many cases).

Course was in pretty good condition. Greens were really hard as always though, tough to stick your approach shots. Otherwise fairways were in good shape.

Had a great time playing GCU, students are very friendly. The greens were in great shape! Smooth and fast. Will be back!

I've played this course before, but this round it was in the best shape yet. The staff is always welcoming, and there is always a great selection of drinks at the bar. The fairways and rough were very well maintained, but I was shocked at how good the greens were. They were smooth and playing fast, and offered a great chance to get my approaches dialed in. It's a great value with a fantastic 19th hole.

Definetely not worth the price. Extremely slow play. Greens were hard, sand based and painted green. Yes, painted green. Very little sand in huge, deep bunkers. Had to chip out with a pitching wedge. Absolutely ridiculous conditions.

No grass on greens, no sand in sand traps and very slow play. Enough said. Won't be back

NO ADULT MARSHALS. 5 hours to play 16 holes and a 3some was the culprit. Waiting 10 minutes between shots makes for a very miserable day of golf for the most patient person. None of us were able to get any game rhythm. $85 wasted.

I'm a 10 handicap, 66 yrs old. Played many courses in the area over 30 years. Very disappointing round. 4.5 hours (3 players) with a horendously slow first 9 nine holes. A staff person came by on #4 to tell us he was trying get some slow groups in front of us moving. Had to call the pro shop on #11 due to no improvement. Waiting too long on every shot. Kiss of death for good golf. Greens were painted green with maybe 1/16 " of grass on them. Basically, mostly hard sand with some grass on it. Very fast and won't hold a good shot. Very little sand in the huge bunkers. This course is maybe worth paying $40.

I canceled a future tee time. My playing partners thought the same of the course and won't be back either.

Course is in good shape overall. Pace of play was excellent. Staff is always friendly and helpful.

Challenging course. Layout is anything but blah. Every hole offers challenge. Greens were smooth and ran true. Fairways were great. Rough is not in season, but still playable. Can’t wait to come back

Professionally operated and staffed with college students. Great service and great attitudes. Everything was as a course should be. Plays shorter than expected. Corners can be cut by long hitters. Lots of risk reward but worth it if you can drive the ball well.

Pace of play was horrendous. Marshals didn’t address at all. 5 1/2 hours to play 16 holes

Sand traps were large and lacking sand , worst traps I have ever played NEED SAND .

A lot of sand traps, and deep ! At driving distances and very protected greens.