Papago Golf Club

The course was torn up, because of all the construction going on. If we had known that we were going to have to play the back nine twice, we would have gone elsewhere. The greens and fairways were awful condition. You would think that if you only had nine holes open , you take better care of it.

Did not see any construction warnings when making the reservation. Arrived at the course to find out 2 Temporary Greens, greens in sub-par conditions-fairways in need of love and no ranger on the course controlling slow play.

This to appears to be a very nice course when there is no construction; but right now; it is not worth the greens fee being charged.

My experience was disappointing. Committing to my tee time the night before there was no mention of the course conditions that I would experience. After I arrived and had paid my fees it was then that I discovered that the course had recently been aerified. There is no mention of that on their website, there was no mention of that when I paid my fees. On the first tee it got worse. At this time our group was informed that not only is there some construction going on but that the ninth hole in the 18th hole were being played with a temporary green just shaved down grass in the middle of the fairway. It was construction equipment around the golf course and the fairways had been sliced for seeding or some other type of maintenance. For the rate they were charging 90 plus dollars I expected a better experience. I had played this course several years ago prior to their construction of their new clubhouse and the conditions were much better and I was excited to play this course on this day thinking that it would be as good as it was several years ago and quite possibly much better since it appears they've been putting a lot of money into improvements. I think it's only fair that if you're going to ask the public to pay $90 plus dollars you're at least give them 18 holes of playable conditions

Course was under construction and completely punched out on the greens and fairways. We had to play the back twice. Not worth playing until construction is completed.

Hard to believe this course was getting $150 green fees in the winter. The overall look and condition of the course was “ratty”. Poor tee boxes, fairways and greens. No cart paths and poor directions for next hole location

Will likely never play again

As someone who has played and enjoyed Papago for more than 3 decades, I can honestly say it is in the worst shape I have ever seen it. The management group which runs it has not done anything to improve the course and is only operating it to make money. The Superintendent either has his hands tied by his bosses and has no money to spend on the course or he is just incompetent. The greens are in horrendous condition. They are so bad they had to paint the greens to make them appear decent when the Men's and Women's Collegiate tournaments were there this spring. Not only do they putt inconsistently, but they will not take shots. They are in such poor condition, the grain of the grass goes in every direction, so good putts may or may not even be close due to the horrendous condition of the grass. The bunkers are grossly neglected and have very little sand in them. The crews are apparently so short handed, they have nobody to rake them or add greatly needed sand to them. It is truly a travesty that Papago has gone down hill so badly. On a good note, it is a great place to hit golf balls and eat and drink at Lou's Grille. The staff is always courteous and helpful. If you are like me and you care about the condition of the golf course, I would suggest taking a pass on Papago and instead go to Cave Creek or Aguila, where the greens and traps actually receive some attention and are in much better shape than Papago.

OB sports should be fired! Corporate greed has no place in muni golf in Phoenix.

If you’re reading reviews wondering if Papago has decent summer conditions here is your answer… no.

I played in early May which is generally a great time to play golf if your local…rates have dropped , snowbirds have cleared out, and its not too hot out yet. I don’t expect peak winter conditions in early may but most or the nicer public course still play very good (not here though).

If ASU’s team is actually playing here they deserve better . Based in the way the course looks I assume they are being hosted elsewhere. I played other nearby courses at a similar price point and they were much much better. The greens in particular are very very bad here.

We played this course on an extremely windy day. The staff in the pro shop provided excellent and friendly service and welcomed us as walkers - thank you! The course was challenging in the wind but the fairways were in good shape. The greens ran very true even in the wind, although fast. The only issue was the pace of play was very very slow on the front 9 so we only managed to get 16 holes in. A very good municipal course.

I had heard good things but was disappointed. Fairways give ball too easy access to dirt areas. I hit as many balls from off the fairway as on due to rollouts.

There needs to be paved cart paths rather than bumpy mud paths

It’s a maddening contradiction - a golf course in such a picturesque setting but so poorly designed and maintained. This course is rock hard almost the entire year, with small strips of patchy rough being the only buffer before the raw desert dirt and rocks. Worthwhile golf courses ditch these rocks extend the rough, but not Papago. If your ball happens to roll through the rock hard, inadequately watered, and unfairly contoured grass into the desert rocks, forget it. The Par 5s here are too easy and the Par 3s embarrassingly too difficult (3 of them over 195 yards from the blue tees, with one over 230 - not even from the tips!). And the finish - two Par 4s over 420 with virtually no landing area sandwiching a 230 yard Par 3? You can’t help but laugh. This is just a bad golf course - it really, really is unfortunate, though, because the views are superb.

Every course everywhere has to aerify, I get it but GN usually let's you know before you go. Booked this time through the course via GN and the course had no such notification. The greens were in recovery but we're still in discount condition. No such luck! Fairways were cut but bunkers were thin and very pebble heavy. No way on this earth was it worthy of almost 2 hundred dollars. Go play Aguilar instead.

Course was unfriendly — too much of the desert/sand and rock.

As a rule, I avoid municipal courses as they typically are not interesting and tend to suffer from lack of conditioning. However, since ASU took over the course a few years ago, several of my friends have reported that things have changed for the better and I should give it a try. All I can say is I was very pleasantly surprised by what I found and would recommend it to anyone.

The city of Phoenix's Papago Golf Course is an exemplary municipal golf facility. It starts with a solid, midcentury-modern golf course in good shape with some terrific scenery, and a legendary Monday skins game that has attracted low-handicap players and pros for more than 30 years. The community's embrace of the place is strong, and the significant markup it is able to achieve in the high season from out-of towners is a testament to the fact that everyone wants to partake of the vibes. A busy local restaurant run out of the clubhouse even brings in dollar from non-golfers. If your travel objectives include getting to know the place you are visiting, you owe it to yourself to play here.

Papago is in the midst of some modifications, with a couple of greens and tees being moved to accommodate the construction of new offices for the Arizona Golf Association (for which Papago is a fitting home). I'm cautiously optimistic that when it's back up and running in Fall 2022, the course will remain as charming as it was when I played it, and keeps the same buzz that I felt while passing through.