The Golf Club at Dove Mountain - Wild Burro/Saguaro

Terrific course, great conditions, pro shop staff was friendly, outside guest service/starter a bit disinterested.

I was invited to play Dove Mt with some friends who came in from Chicago to play a tournament course in Tucson. I have play Dove at least 8 times in the last two years and the Nicklaus layout is definitely challenging but with Bent greens it is fun to play for single digit handicap players.

Got to the course and there was only 1 person checking in bags. The balls on the range were included and the range is nice and the putting green is good as well. Now the problem starts. Cost to play was $170. I can tell you totally ridiculous for Tucson in terms of cost to play. There are great course at the same time of year for 1/2 that cost. The course was absolutely unplayable. We are talking about 4 handicap players and there was absolutely no way to hold the ball on the greens. They were concrete as well as the fairways. These greens are severely undulating and not being able to hold the greens made the round impossible. Hit the ball well and shot a 91. Highest round in 15 years. Then the amenities - NONE. No half way house with anything in it, No restaurant or bar for a beer afterwards. Forget COVID just nothing for the money. Played in Scottsdale and all amenities were there for each golf course we played and NONE here. This was just a total waste of a lot of money. Ritz must be getting ready to dump the course if they let it get like this during prime season. Now the rates are more like they should be at $55. Shame on me but do not make the same mistake. JB

Great golf course, im so happy we decided to try this course this season, we will be back!

I have played this course a dozen times over the years and it never disappoints. Today we played Wild Burro and Sahuaro. To me, Wild Burro feels like it is made of spare parts, I don't like the flow and I don't think several of the holes are made for anyone below PGA Tour grade players. Saguaro is my fav of the 3 nines.

Tee boxes, greens, fairways, nearly always in excellent shape with generous fairways and playable sand bunkers. The practice facilities are worth the drive for me. I love to work my short game there.

That said; the course always wins so don't worry (too much) about keeping score. Unless you have the kind of game where you can really pick which spot on the green to land your ball don't even worry about score. The greens have so much mounding and so many undulations each one should have a clown mouth or barn doors to hit to. Enjoy the views, enjoy how beautifully manicured the course is, and enjoy the company of your playing partners. Laugh off the 3 and 4 putts and be on your way.

Played first 9 in 2 hours and 45 minutes. Just shoot me. No marshalls to monitor play.

Should have quit, replayed that 9 again. Won’t go back ever.

If you are up for the challenge, play Dove Mountain (Burro & Saguaro). Whatever your handicap, double it and be happy. Learn to play under PGA tournament conditions from any tee.

The green will kick your butt but you can learn alot by playing greens of this caliber. If you want to get better, putt out everything. Try putting a 2-footer for double bogey and be happy to 2 putt.

Try your best and don't be disappointed with a double. Pars & Birdies are GOLDEN.

Enjoy.

A wonderful setting and course! I would highly recommended you play this course when in the Tucson area!

I know this place gets a bad reputation for service but it was adequate for me, especially from the guys in red polos. The light blue polos are a little unfriendly but not terrible.

Great course layout and one of Nicklaus best designs I feel. Resort course without being too easy. If you play the right tees you won’t have any problems making carries or forced into uncomfortable shots if you make your shots as you’re suppose to. Greens undulating but again not punishingly so and cup placements were fair. Beautiful course and probably one of my top 10 in scenery so far.

Please put some sand in the bunkers...Staff needs to be more welcoming

Would not play again

I’m local and have played this course several times. This was my worst experience playing Dove. I played it on a Friday afternoon. I consider early April to be towards the end of high season. In other words there is no excuse.

First off, the course was in superb condition. No complaints.

The round took over 5 hours. There were no course marshals observed. It will be a long time before I’m back.

It was around 90 degrees F. In our 5+ hours of golf, we never observed a beverage cart. Unacceptable. The cart attendants told us after our round that there were two beverage carts in the morning, but the two gals “took off” at around 1 pm. First off, they’re stupid. The course was packed with thirsty guys and gals on a hot Friday afternoon. They missed a lot of revenue and tips. Plus, there is the safety aspect of not being able to hydrate. WE WERE NOT WARNED when we checked in, or at the cart station, that there would be no beverage service for the afternoon. A packed Friday afternoon!

Finally, our cart’s brakes and parking brake were severely degraded. We had to ensure we parked on level ground. In fact, all the carts looked pretty beat up and overdue for change out.

Overall, this experience did not measure up to Ritz-Carlton standards or the green fee paid (+$150 with tax). Such a shame since the course was immaculate.

Very tough around the greens for us but we enjoyed the day and can now say we played the course.

Excellent golf course, wide fairways and difficult greens, Beautiful course in the Tucson desert, green and plush. Fairways were wide and held a couple of pulls, didn't miss a fairway, good GPS on the carts, found the distances accurate on the front nine Tortolita but the back nine Wild Burro the pins were not accurate still OK since you could see most of the greens and adjust if needed. Greens were immaculate and as fast as I've ever played. Quite a bit of slope on them and putts would run out 6 - 10 feet if your speed is off. Glad I had the experience. FYI practice area is PGA tour caliber.