Papago Golf Club

Course was restricted to first 9 holes and 2 of them holes have temporary greens. Which in all honesty, we’re no more than a circle painted on the fairway with a hole and flag. Not puttable.

The prettier side of the course was not available. Value was so so considering the hole selection and the poor choice of no putting greens on holes 6 and 9.

They're doing construction on the course, and they called us to let us know the afternoon before, which I definitely appreciated, but this place is playing much more like a par 60 right now and should be even more discounted than they have it currently. I have heard lots of good things about this place and we definitely caught it in the roughest of shapes, there are virtually no 'cart paths' and a third of the course is temporary tee boxes and greens.

I hope to come back when the construction was finished and experience the real deal because we might as well have played rolling hills down the street.

Played this morning. Knew they were having construction, but no idea how extensive. Paid $55 to play (full rate), and it absolutely isn’t worth that right now. Three “temporary greens” are mowed down spots in the fairway about 25 feet in diameter with a flag in the middle. Completely unputtable. This is a great track, but won’t be back in shape until after overseed.

Course is under construction, only the back 9 is open….fairways in awful shape. My biggest problem was that we were charged full price. I would avoid at all costs until the course is back to normal.

Had high hopes for this course based on previous trip to the driving range, but ended up being disappointed. Arrived for our tee time and was told that the course was under renovation, which was not posted online anywhere.. To make matters worse, once we found out about the renovation, there was no offer of discounted green fees…still charging full price, which was crazy since we only had the option to play the front 9 twice! The temporary greens on 2 of the holes, the cart GPS that wasn’t accurate, and the grounds crew working on some of the holes while you were playing just added to the disappointment. Overall the staff was friendly, but at this point, the course had already put us in a “mood”.

Great course but this might not be the best time to play it. It would have been very helpful to know the level of maintenance currently underway at the course BEFORE I booked a tee time. Temp greens 9 and 18. Ground under repair EVERYWHERE. Adjusted par to 69 from normal 72. Several holes cart path only. When I say construction, I'm not talking about punching the greens or laying sod, I mean bulldozers parked on the course, whole sections around the greens farmed for sod. Again, great course but now is not the time to play it.

I appreciate the fact that the course remains open while undergoing renovations, particularly to prepare for next year's Pac 12 championship, but there were two temporary greens and the other greens were so slow and bumpy it was impossible to get a true read or roll. Along with the cart restrictions and slow play in front of us, I feel $40 would have been more appropriate

This was my first time playing Papago. Had I known the back none was closed, I wouldn’t have played here. Also, the cart has GPS that shuts down when you get too close to certain boundaries, but the signage is horrible for cart paths and where you can or can’t go. One time I was on the dirt cart path, but I guess I was too close to the grass and the cart locked up…I was literally on the make shift cart path and couldn’t go anywhere.

Definitely won’t be playing this course again until all the renovations are done.

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.