McDowell Mountain Golf Club

Just a great day from beginning to end. Range offered ample grass and targets to pick, course conditions were great on a perfect golf weather day, playing partners were enjoyable, pace of play was very good, and a low score was the final reward.

I really like the variety of the hole designs and the scenery of the mountains and valleys as you play. Greens were is great shape - pretty hard and fast but would hold good irons shots into them. I just realized I did not hit a bunker all day so cannot comment. Overall great day. I will be back!

Don’t charge for a couple range balls so a guy can warm up a bit . It’s so cheep doing that ,

Course was in terrible condition. Fairways were bare and greens inconsistent. No GPS on the cart and no yardage markings on the course. There were foursomes followed by threesomes followed by singles, etc. Where was the starter/ranger? Way overpriced given the poor conditions. You would be better off playing Silverado or Starfire if you want a muni style course in Scottsdale - much cheaper.

We played his course 2 years ago and enjoyed the layout. That’s why we came back again. The pace was great! Finished in 4 hrs and 10 minutes. Course was in excellent condition.

Course in good shape. Greens on the course slow but for some reason the practice green was much faster which led to some extra putts on the first few holes. 5 hours to play 18 was disappointing but the perfect weather provided a good outing...

Course was in good shape for late in the overseeding phase. Greens in good shape, rolling about 10. Cart path only was no big deal. give it two weeks and it will be perfect. We play this course every time we are in Scottsdale. Great outdoor bar!!!!!!

Trending (in the wrong direction): I've been coming to MMGC for three years and they've lost their edge. Prices are increasing while the service, quality and experience is decreasing. Here's a recap of my experience this week.

1) Outside Services: Upon arrival, OS watched me walk across the parking lot with my bag and allowed me to get all the way to the carts before greeting me or taking my bag. He was also friendly-ish at best. OS at the end of the round was great.

2) Food & Beverage: They've hired some great people. The exception being the guy that bartends evenings who is comically not nice. The entire operation is mismanaged. The beverage cart has been out of basic mixers on my last two visits. After the round we sat at a table for 10 minutes without being greeted or acknowledged. So, we moved to the bar where we were never offered menus, etc.

3) Course Conditions: The course had only been open for one week post overseed. So, it's not fair to make comments about the greens being slow. Overall, the condition was as expected. However, they had just cut the fairways but neglected to blow them. So, there was grass clippings everywhere on each fairway.

4) Pace of Play: We went off 10~15 minutes late (not sure why). Ranger presence was exceptional. However, they send groups off at 8-minute intervals. So, there was some waiting due to the volume of players.

I want to love this course but the last two visits have mirrored the experience above. If they don't start paying more attention detail, I will be looking elsewhere.

The course just opened from overseesing. It would have been nice to know this before booking. It was cart path only and the greens putted like fringe. Like the course but a heads up on overseeding would have been nice.

Course was in the process to be ready for reseeding having brown spots in many places. Greens were fast, but without a true roll on the ball bumping constantly due same reason mentioned before. It will be unfair to give a bad review under the circumstances.

McDowell has a very interesting layout, having a variety of fairways with challenging approaches. Nice place to play once is ready after reseeding.

People and course condition very good. Layout a little limited, but very enjoyable.

The only person that was helpful was the cart and bag staff. The gentleman at the desk wasn’t very personable. It’s summer and I saw the cart girl just twice the entire round and that was just the front 9. Course layout was okay though it felt as if it was kinda thrown together along the canal and under some power lines. Had a hole or two that was covered in range balls at the landing areas of your drive. I play callaway balls and they use callaway range balls so it was an Easter egg hunt locating my ball. Over all it was an okay experience. Not the greatest and would have expected a troon type experience especially being a Phil Mickelson course and located where it was. Had more of a municipal feel. I’d say I played it but not sure if it would be my first mention for courses in the area but we shall see I plan on playing talking stick this week

This course is a fun layout for many people to enjoy. The staff was extremely friendly, and was very helpful. The only bad thing was the course punched a month ago and the greens were a little slower. Back nine needed a little more water but overall the course was good for an Arizona course in the summer.

I just recently played McDowell Mountain for the first time. I had heard great things about it and I was excited to play. Unfortunately upon my arrival at the golf course my excitement went south very quickly . From the bag drop to the beverage cart no one was friendly with the exception of the bartender. The staff acted like they were being inconvenienced with us coming to play. Something as simple as a "Thank You for coming" or "are you enjoying the golf course" just makes sense to me in this very competitive golf industry.

This course is situated in the McDowell mountain foothills with beautiful views to the west across the Phoenix valley. Got a $5 discount for my son who is 16 and free warm up range balls which was a nice surprise based off of prior reviews here. Teed off right on time and finished on pace in 4 hrs 15 minutes. Saw rangers 3 times and they seemed to be keeping play moving. The course was in good but not great shape - greens were very firm, fairways in decent shape but maybe a little ragged on the edges, there were a few muddy spots, and the sand in the bunkers was thin and not quite the best. The course is tight in some spots and sits side hill with several holes featuring severe doglegs that can be tough to find the lines off the tee the first time you play. Expect a few pin placements where you’ll have little to no chance of getting close due to the severity of the slopes on some greens. It isn’t particularly long with several drivable par 4’s and manageable par 3’s. Cart and bag drop staff was efficient but not overly friendly. It was an absolutely beautiful March day in Phoenix for golf, too.

It’s a nice course, good conditions and I think fairly priced. That said, why do you have to rip off your clients in the clubhouse? When the hard looking waitress handed over 4 boiled, garage sale quality hot dogs and smirked while saying $28, I just about fell over.

Our entire group went from thinking this was a good course where I would be happy to play again to feeling cheated.

I would not play there again, simply because whoever runs the snack bar had to milk us for an extra $20. Bad management.

Good news: A very fair test. Conditions very good, greens fast and tricky, but very fair and fun to play. Marshall kept an excellent pace (we saw him 3 times), lots of choices of tee boxes (played the Gold/White combo), I'd play again anytime.

Bad News: Range balls ($12 for a medium bucket!!) should be included in green fees. That is cheap.

No photos of hole layouts on scorecard. WHY NOT? As a first time player, I didn't know the layout at all. No GPS on carts. WHY NOT?? Again, that information is vital for new visitors to the course.