Papago Golf Club

This was the slowest round of my life. Close to 6 hours.

7 handicap and shot an 87. Course was in great condition. The greens were fast and true. I’ll be the first to admit I played the wrong tees. Should have played the whites because the course just destroyed me from the blue tees. Very long approach shots into very well protected greens made for a frustrating day. The over seeded areas were in nice shape but everything else is rock hard so anything that strays just a little is a goner. The par 3s were just stupid long. I hit 3 hybrids an 2 of them, a 3 wood and then a driver. A long par 3 or two is ok. All 4? Lacks imagination and just isn’t a lot of fun. I probably wont play again since there are so many other options in the area for pretty comparable prices.

TLDR: Course was great, most of the staff was great but the completely unrealistic expectation of pace of play ruined a day of scramble style golf.

A group of us went out to play a scramble style round on a Sunday morning. The course was great, staff at check in were awesome.

We arrived early for our tee time so we grabbed a drink and the bar staff at Lou’s were all fantastic.

The issues started on the first tee box. As we began teeing off (we had two tee times for 8 of us) we were rushed. Halfway through the hole we were asked to “go ahead and pick up”. At that point the next tee time hadn’t been reached and we were chipping onto the green.

The person who was I charge of keeping the pace of play drove next to us until the 6th hole. I’m very used to someone checking in and making sure you are not spending too much time at a tee box or on a single shot. This was NOT that. We were being babysat.

I played competively in High School and college, have played tons of courses in the 10 years since and have never had someone be so rude and inconsiderate. By hole 5 we were all so irritated by this man lurking over our shoulder, harassing and telling us “that was a great shot the rest of you shouldn’t even hit, just play from there” that we decided we would skip the ENTIRE 6th hole after a single person out of 4 tee’d off and he suggested that we should “just drop a ball and chip on” because we were so far behind. The smart cart we were on specifically noted we were “1 minute behind pace.”

The worst part about this is that we were being encouraged to hit into players in front of us and the group behind us was, on average, half a hole behind us the entire time, they never had to wait at a tee box for us. There was ABSOLUTELY no reason a staff member should have been following us that closely or suggesting that we just don’t play golf, when we paid in full to play and we’re not an impediment. There was NO WAY anyone could have played at an Acceptable pace unless they qualified for a pro tournament.

TLDR: Course was great, most of the staff was great but the completely unrealistic expectation of pace of play ruined a day of scramble style golf.

A group of us went out to play a scramble style round on a Sunday morning. The course was great, staff at check in were awesome.

We arrived early for our tee time so we grabbed a drink and the bar staff at Lou’s were all fantastic.

The issues started on the first tee box. As we began teeing off (we had two tee times for 8 of us) we were rushed. Halfway through the hole we were asked to “go ahead and pick up”. At that point the next tee time hadn’t been reached and we were chipping into the green.

The person who was I charge of keeping the pace of play drove next to us until the 6th hole. I’m very used to someone checking in and making sure you are not spending too much time at a tee box or on a single shot. This was NOT that. We were being babysat.

I played competively in High School and college, have played tons of courses in the 10 years since and have never had someone be so rude and inconsiderate. By hole 5 we were all so irritated by this man lurking over our shoulder, harassing and telling us “that was a great shot the rest of you shouldn’t even hit, just play from there” that we decided we would skip the ENTIRE 6th hole after a single person out of 4 tee’d off and he suggested that we should “just drop a ball and chip on” because we were so far behind. The smart cart we were on specifically noted we were “1 minute behind pace.”

The worst part about this is that we were being encouraged to hit into players in front of us and the group behind us was, on average, half a hole behind us the entire time they never had to wait at a tee box for us. There was ABSOLUTELY no reason a staff member should have been following us that closely or suggesting that we just don’t play golf, when we paid in full to play and we’re not an impediment. There was NO WAY anyone could have played at an Acceptable pace unless they qualified for a pro tournament.

I very much enjoyed Papago and it’s challenging greens. Fastest greens I’ve played in Phoenix area.

I live in the Biltmore area, I was told that Papago was good. The friends I invited told me to not expect much. By hole 4 , the realized that the haven’t played since the course had been upgraded and everyone was pleasantly surprised. The greens were fair and true. The par 3’s gave a serious run for the money as many were long and challenging. Glad to know I have a course like this in the area.

The fairways and greens were in decent shape but the sides of the fairways were all dirt and hardpan. Other than the fairways and greens, everything is totally dried out. Very surprising.

Course gets better every time I play there. Excellent staff, carts with GPS and course conditions. Need drinking water at the tee boxes though was hot out there.

Fun layout. The course lays out in front of you and requires a variety of shots. No tricks. Unfortunately conditions are not yet up to the quality the layout deserves. Definitely will play again.

My only gripe is that, unfortunately, this course's pace of play is too fast for beginners. A shame because it's a beautiful course and provides adequate challenges for novice & experienced golfers alike. The course is very well maintained. Fast greens! I would have loved to go back, but as a beginner, it is not worth spending $80 per round on a course that feels rushed at all times.

Papago is one of my favorite course in the valley.

Great customer service, always well taken care of and offers a great experience for golfers with 10+ handicaps.

I’d love another crack at this golf course. I started on the back 9 as they split tee in the summer to get more groups out. I was surprised at the pace. It better then what you see at the munis in Southern CA. The course is a fun challenging layout. They have some long par 3 and it’s a tough finishing stretch. The Papagos are a cool back drop for some holes. They punched the greens when I played, but my playing partners said they’re usually great.

It is a mini golf course so there are a few bare areas but overall solid condition.

The greens were bumpy and still shaggy after aeration. The bunkers were crap! A very thin layer of a clay sand mix made them play more like hard pan or a natural area.