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Rating Index Rating
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4.0
3995 Reviews (3995)
5 Stars
1237
4 Stars
1809
3 Stars
619
2 Stars
181
1 Stars
149
Conditions
3.9
Value
3.9
Layout
4.5
Friendliness
4.3
Pace
3.8
Amenities
3.9
87.2%
Recommend this course
3453 out of 3995 reviews
Read Reviews
Average Rating
Avg Rating
4.1
104 Reviews (104)
5 Stars
43
4 Stars
43
3 Stars
10
2 Stars
6
1 Stars
2
Conditions
4.2
Value
3.9
Layout
4.5
Pace
3.7
Amenities
3.9
StaffFriendliness
4.3
86.5%
Recommend this course
90 out of 104 reviews
Read Reviews
Average Rating
Avg Rating
4.0
175 Reviews (175)
5 Stars
60
4 Stars
72
3 Stars
26
2 Stars
10
1 Stars
7
Conditions
3.9
Value
3.8
Layout
4.5
Pace
3.7
Amenities
3.9
StaffFriendliness
4.3
84.6%
Recommend this course
148 out of 175 reviews
Read Reviews
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AI summaries based on real golfer reviews
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Course Highlights
San Tan Highlands delivers a highly rated layout with fantastic greens and well-kept fairways that consistently reward golfers seeking a strong challenge. Friendly staff and solid value for money make this course a compelling choice for repeat rounds.

About

Holes 18
Type Public
Style Desert
Par 72
Length 7162 yards
Slope 130
Rating 72.7

San Tan Highlands (formerly known as The Golf Club at Johnson Ranch) boasts a championship course with a front nine that winds through the Sonoran desert and a back nine that finishes at the base of the bordering San Tan Mountains. Naturally, the first half of the golf course is relatively flat and the latter half has a hilly terrain. In contrast to its categorization as a desert course, this course has grass from the tees to the greens but the cactus-filled landscape definitely implies desert. The greens are quite large and undulating and the fairways are fairly open with generous landing areas. Strategically placed sand bunkers and water hazards come into play throughout the San Tan Highlands.

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Course Details

Year Built 1997
Fairways Bermuda Grass
Greens Bermuda/Annual Rye
Golf Season Year round
Architect Kenny Watkins

Rentals/Services

Carts Yes - included in green fees
GPS Yes
Pull-carts No
Caddies No
Clubs Yes

Practice/Instruction

Driving Range Yes
Bunker Yes
Teaching Pro Yes
Pitching/Chipping Area Yes
Putting Green Yes

Policies

Credit Cards Accepted VISA, MasterCard, Discover Welcomed
Metal Spikes Allowed No
Walking Allowed No
Dress code Appropriate golf attire.

Food & Beverage

Restaurant, Beverage Carts

Available Facilities

Banquet Facilities
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Reviews

4.0
3995 Reviews (3995)

What Golfers Are Saying

The 19th Hole is Great For:
Drinks 75
Patio Dining 60
Brunch 26
Course Challenges Include:
Elevation Changes 138
Bunkers 103
Undulating Greens 81
This course/club is great for:
Wildlife/ Scenic Views 99
Locals 86
Advanced Golfers 67
This Course's Location is:
Worth the Drive 97
In the 'Burbs 83
Convenient to the City 12

Numbers based on reviews tagged with attribute.

Reviewer Photos

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Overall Rating
Recommended
Handicap
Age
Type of Golfer
Gender
Played On
Reviews 45
Handicap 5-9
Skill Advanced
Plays A few times a week
I Recommend This Course
4.0
Verified Purchaser
Previously Played
Hot weather
Used cart

tricky course

This course has a lot of elevation change, blind shots, and lots of tee positions, which is wonderful if you are a regular there, but if you don't play there often, or especially a first-timer, you could really use some yardage markers, aiming guides, or a yardage book. Great course, real challenge, hope to play there more.

Conditions Good
Value Excellent
Layout Good
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Excellent
Amenities Good
Difficulty Extremely Challenging
Played On
Reviews 1
Skill Intermediate
Plays Once a month
I Recommend This Course
5.0
Verified Purchaser
Previously Played

Great course

It’s summer, and hot, but the course is in great shape considering. I’ve played three courses this week in the east valley and Johnson Ranch was in the best shape of those. Fun course, challenging, but mostly it was fun. The staff were helpful and cheerful which made it enjoyable. Will definitely come back.

Conditions Good
Value Excellent
Layout Excellent
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Excellent
Amenities Excellent
Played On
Reviews 5
Skill Advanced
Plays A few times a week
I Recommend This Course
5.0
Verified Purchaser
Previously Played
Conditions Excellent
Value Good
Layout Excellent
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Excellent
Played On
Reviews 1
Skill Intermediate
Plays Once a month
I Recommend This Course
5.0
Verified Purchaser
First Time Playing

Wonderful Views

The course was excellent! I really enjoyed how diverse each hole was. It was extremely hot though lol. I did like that they had workers driving around the course bringing water bottles to the players. That was a really nice touch! Overall, I really enjoyed the scores and will definitely play again if I came back to AZ!

Conditions Good
Value Good
Layout Excellent
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Excellent
Amenities Excellent
Played On
Reviews 6
Skill Intermediate
Plays Once a week
I Recommend This Course
5.0
Verified Purchaser
First Time Playing
Conditions Excellent
Value Excellent
Layout Excellent
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Excellent
Amenities Average
Played On
Reviews 1
Skill Advanced
Plays Once a week
I Recommend This Course
4.0
First Time Playing

Fun track and great staff but worth $80 this time of year?

The staff was amazing. They heard it was my first time playing and took the time to go through the whole course with me and gave some great pointers. Driving range bays were in great shape. Course was a lot of fun but the course conditions were not worth the $80 price point. Bunkers were all over the place condition wise and there was a lot of hard and bare parts near greens. Will I play it again, yes the staff made it worth giving it another shot.

Conditions Average
Value Average
Layout Excellent
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Excellent
Amenities Average
Played On
Reviews 4
Skill Intermediate
Plays A few times a week
I Recommend This Course
4.0
Verified Purchaser
Previously Played

Hot summer days at Johnson Ranch

Course in good shape, with friendliest staff. Always a great time playing here.

Conditions Good
Value Excellent
Layout Good
Friendliness Good
Pace Good
Amenities Good
Played On
Reviews 3
Skill Advanced
Plays A few times a week
I Recommend This Course
3.0
Verified Purchaser
Previously Played

Good golf

Course in good shape. Nothing overly exciting. The two 9s are very different (Mountain and Valley). For the price ($60) in the summer, I would have liked to seen more hospitality and water available. Bag drop staff focused on talking with each other in the shade and there is no on course water available. One bottle per player in cart and the beverage cart didn’t pass by until the 15th hole. The rate seemed a bit high for the course and amenities.

Conditions Good
Value Fair
Layout Average
Friendliness Fair
Pace Good
Amenities Fair
Played On
Reviews 5
Skill Advanced
Plays A few times a week
1.0
Previously Played

Worst conditions I’ve played

I’ve played here at least a dozen times and last time out was bad enough I felt compelled to write a review, but decided to give it another shot today. What a mistake that was. For $65 this course was a complete rip off. The front 9 was literally putting on sand to the point where you could see the line in the sand your ball just took. Couldn’t see any grass, but greens weren’t punched and absolutely zero mention of the sandy greens. Maintenance workers were pulling flags ahead of us to work on the greens and had to wait for them to put the flags back on 6 different holes, bunkers were all full of water, and 5 holes on the back 9 were cart path only for absolute no reason. Take all of this into consideration and charging over $60 for a round in summer? Absolute rip off and should be ashamed for what they are charging. Not to mention both cart employees just stared at us upon returning the cart, no greeting, how was the round, or anything. This was definitely my last time giving this course my money

Conditions Poor
Value Poor
Layout Good
Friendliness Poor
Pace Average
Amenities Good
Played On
Reviews 2
Skill Intermediate
Plays Once a week
I Recommend This Course
5.0
Verified Purchaser
First Time Playing
Conditions Good
Value Excellent
Layout Excellent
Friendliness Good
Pace Excellent
Amenities Good
Played On
Reviews 13
Handicap 10-14
Skill Intermediate
Plays A few times a week
I Recommend This Course
4.0
Verified Purchaser
First Time Playing
Hot weather
Used cart

Is it worth the drive?

I have been wanting to play this course for awhile and finally had a reason to be on that side of town. If I lived close I would probably play more often. The course is laid out kinda like all valley courses with houses on both sides of the fairway (front 9). The back 9 is where the real challenge and beauty come in. The back 9 has blind tee shots, nice elevation changes and some killer views. Holes 11-16 are really cool, I wish they would have used the hills more. Fun course, great staff, but one long drive if you live west of downtown Phoenix.

Conditions Good
Value Good
Layout Good
Friendliness Good
Pace Good
Difficulty Moderate
Played On
Reviews 15
Skill Intermediate
Plays Once a week
I Recommend This Course
4.0
Verified Purchaser
Previously Played

Johnson Ranch

Used app to book tee time. Was supposed to be a foursome but starter set me up with a single. Got out a bit earlier. Played here 13 years ago and only remembered 16th tee. Lining up for a chip shot and maintenance crew was driving around in circles. No golf courtesy, they should have stopped and turned engine of. Some tees need to be leveled.

Conditions Good
Value Excellent
Layout Excellent
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Excellent
Amenities Excellent
Played On
Reviews 2
Skill Advanced
Plays A few times a week
I Recommend This Course
4.0
First Time Playing

Great time on the course

Loved playing here, really fun track!

Conditions Good
Value Excellent
Layout Excellent
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Excellent
Amenities Good
Played On
Reviews 11
Skill Intermediate
Plays Once a month
I Recommend This Course
4.0
Verified Purchaser
Previously Played
Conditions Good
Value Good
Layout Good
Friendliness Good
Pace Excellent
Played On
Reviews 1
I Recommend This Course
5.0
Verified Purchaser
Previously Played
Conditions Good
Value Excellent
Layout Excellent
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Excellent
Amenities Average
Played On
Reviews 1
1.0
Verified Purchaser
First Time Playing

Didn’t even get to play all 18 holes

The course was backed up and I was rushed off the course before I even could finish my round. A refund would be appreciated.

Conditions Poor
Value Poor
Layout Poor
Friendliness Poor
Pace Poor
Amenities Poor
Played On
Reviews 8
Skill Advanced
Plays Once a week
2.0
Verified Purchaser
First Time Playing
Conditions Fair
Value Average
Layout Average
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Poor
Amenities Good
Played On
Reviews 2
Skill Advanced
Plays A few times a week
3.0
Previously Played

Pace of play terrible.

Played front nine in 1-1/2 hrs. Started back nine a little slow until we caught up with the ladies league players. Pace of play was non existent!!! Ladies league playing a scramble with only 2 groups and they played each hole in over 20 minutes!!! No Marshaling on the course and play was backed up for at least 3 groups. Would have been backed up more but some players went back to previous holes.

Conditions Average
Value Poor
Layout Good
Friendliness Average
Pace Fair
Amenities Average
Played On
Reviews 1
Skill Advanced
Plays Once a week
3.0
Verified Purchaser
Previously Played

Better places to play for the $

Burnt out fairways with transition areas that have been neglected. Greens run ok and layout is cool. Unless you live in the extreme east valley; it’s a long way to go and a lot to pay.

Conditions Fair
Value Fair
Layout Good
Friendliness Good
Pace Average
Amenities Fair
Played On
Reviews 92
Handicap 15-19
Skill Intermediate
Plays Once a week
I Recommend This Course
4.0
Verified Purchaser
Top 1000 Contributor
Previously Played
Windy weather
Used cart

Was a windy day but managed to play decent. Staff was nice, except for the golf shop fellow (he knows why). Will only pay using card from now on.

Conditions Average
Value Good
Layout Excellent
Friendliness Good
Pace Good
Amenities Good
Difficulty Moderate
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The Fairways of Fountain Hills Package

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Sunridge Canyon Golf Club

The Fairways of Fountain Hills Package

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PHOENIX/SCOTTSDALE | Enjoy accommodations at ADERO Scottsdale Resort, Autograph Collection or The Inn at Eagle Mountain and golf at Eagle Mountain Golf Club and SunRidge Canyon Golf Club

The Triple Down Stay & Play Package

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PHOENIX/SCOTTSDALE | Enjoy lodging accommodations at Gila River Resorts & Casino - Wild Horse Pass or Harrah's Ak-Chin Hotel & Casino and golf at Ak-Chin Southern Dunes and Whirlwind Golf Club - Cattail & Devil's Claw courses.
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