Papago Golf Club

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.

Course was in great condition, greens were fast and true. Nice course in the heart of phoenix.

First timer here, but it won’t be my last! Course was in great condition. Greens were firm and fast. One of the longer courses than I am used to be it was a challenge that I really enjoyed.

Course layout and conditions were nice. Played the round in 4hrs 15mins. Only issue I had was that a large bucket of balls cost near $17.00 and the course charged me another $8.00-9.00 in fees that I believe I paid for through my Golfnow booking.

Course is in great shape! Your driver better be on point, otherwise it’ll be a long day. Definitely a challenging course. Water stations are a plus, and for those who need other items the beverage carts are there.

Played Papago for the first time since they renovated and it was a treat! The clubhouse and facilities are now top notch! All the staff was amazing as well! The greens were very lush and rolled great which is tough for this time of year in Phoenix. Great spot to play!