Ak-Chin Southern Dunes Golf Club

Playing this course is an experience that should not be missed.

This is without a doubt the most organized golf operation that I've seen. We were greeted by Kyle an expert golf cart engineer.

The pro shop had the dynamic duo of Sam and Sam. Tall Sam and shorter but much more attractive small Sam. They have personality to spare and greet everybody and make them feel welcome.

Our starter was an amazing snowbird from Austin, Minnesota named Pete. Pete is the glue that keeps this impressive operation running.

On a Saturday morning, the tee sheet was full and they had 100 players before 9:30. Pete welcomes each group and spends time with everybody. They all know that it is important to maintain the pace of play. Golfers were making the turn in under 2 hours and Pete was cheering them on. Pete's enforcer on the course is Joe from New York. Joe can monitor all players on the course in real-time and put out the fires.

The course is beautiful but dangerous. The fairways and tee boxes are prime. The greens are thin in spots waiting for the Bermuda grass. Several of them are very challenging with false fronts, sides, and backs allowing your ball to easily roll off into deep swales. There are so many sand bunkers here you have to be aware at all times. Bunkers are punitive, especially around the greens. There are few clean approaches here.

The scenery here is amazing and it is so peaceful and quiet. We never encountered any maintenance personnel on this course!

To add to all our travails there was a rare 20 MPH wind that blew in different directions all day. There was no humidity and the temps were in the 70s most of our round.

Ak-Chin is a beautiful but tough golf course. Plan to tee it up here soon.

I think the slope rating is a little low on this course. It's heavily trapped and the tournament tees are way back. We've played the course for about five years and the condition of the course this year was the best ever.

Great course, lots of bunkers but overall, very player friendly. Worth the drive and will be back!

This is one of the nicest courses in Arizona. Without question, one of the best values in Arizona golf.

Not the most convenient location. Not the prettiest surroundings, but extremely well designed and well maintained. Very friendly staff, small, but well designed club house and patio.

Tough track, but fair. Greens are well designed, fast and can be hard to read for fist timers (there is some sort of mountain effect going on.).

If you play early morning in summer, make sure you use the insect repellent that the starter provides.

You can't beat this course especially with price value. Greens have character and are challenging. It's a wonderful course.

This is a great target golf course. The drives and approach shots all had sand in play. Bring your A game.

Had an early morning tee time. Conditions were fabulous. Greens fast. Staff courteous. I did get a lot of insect bites so I would recommend bug spray especially if you are the type they like. Definitely on my list to play again if I'm in the area.

From the minute we pulled up to drop off our clubs, to the starter and pro shop staff went above and beyond. We arrived early for our tee time and they accommodated us by letting us go earlier. The water on every third hole is such a bonus in the hot weather. Great courses need to be accurate or pay the price in the sand traps..

Lots of sand but a great course. Every 3 holes they offer water. Staff very friendly. I would recommend this course.

Vast amounts of well kept sand traps, challenging layout, always well manicured. Our favorite Arizona golf course. Greens today a bit scruffy due to recent dressing, sand. Almost a perfect golf day with the the exception of the arrival and departure experience in recent visits. Today, we pulled up to the "drop bag" area. Attendant was about 20 yards away in a conversation with another staffe member. Both saw us pull up and proceeded to ignore us. I dropped our bags at the curb, a which point the gent runs over to find out our tee time and names. Normally at a Troon course, and always in the past at Ak-Chin we would have one or two staff members all over us as we pulled up. Upon departure, similar disinterested staff. This is twice in a row, hope that it is not a trend.

Very nicely maintained golf course. Was very crowded day we played due to 18 college golf team event that had just finished. Still enjoyed the round, however wish I would've been informed of the tournament prior to making the 45-50 min drive south of Phoenix area. Would def recommend playing if you're in the area...lots of sand traps....not one cactus.

Really enjoyed the course. Lots of trouble with the 109 bunkers and this particular gay the greens were rolling at around a 12. Very quick but a true roll. Enjoyed it a lot!

This course is an out of town gem! When I heard about this course I did not know what to expect as it was a 40 minute drive from Tempe. Let me tell you, this place is AMAZING! The course layout and scenery are worth the drive alone. It is stunning and the conditions are second to none! We had shown up without having a confirmed tee time, my mistake, but the staff was so workable they were able to squeeze us in. This course should be charging double for the quality of golf that is offered! I'd give this place 10 stars if I could.

Was a little skeptical about a course none of my friends had heard of but but the rating on Golfnow was 4+stars so I took a chance and glad I did. Course was excellent and very well maintained. Don't think they need 168 sand traps even tho they are well maintained. Greens were generally in excellent shape but a couple had bare spots around the fringe which didn't hurt play, was just noticeable because everything else was great. one other comment if you're coming from Scottsdale, the drive is a little a far and can be slow if you hit rush hour traffic. Would play this course again in an instant.

This was our first visit to Ak Chin and we were not disappointed. Everything from the staff to the course conditions was top notch! The only complain would be the green side bunkers could use more sand. Be prepared for the bunkers. There are a lot of them. Price was a bit steep however if you have a Troon card it us quite reasonable! We will definitely try this course again.