I had those new golf clubs to try out, so yesterday Denny and I drove through Cottonwood to the Pine Shadows Golf Course. It's a short nine hole course that ends up being very challenging simply due to the fact that the fairways are extremely narrow and the hillsides are full of rattlesnakes. My first advice about this course is to bring a lot of old golf balls because you certainly won't be looking for any errant shots in the rough due to the vegetation and snakes.
The course is a par 33 course winding up and down through Mescal Gulch. You'll see rabbits, quail, Green Herons and other critters (fortunately we didn't see any rattlesnakes) and enjoy fabulous views of the surrounding mountains and distant Clarksville, Jerome and Cottonwood. The course itself is in wonderful condition with lush fairways and tee boxs and greens that are in excellent shape. The cost to play 18 holes with a cart is currently $27 before 1PM and $22 after 1PM.
We considered this a practice day since Denny had a very sore ankle and I had a new set up and swing to work on but we had a lot of fun teaming up with Bobbie and Leslie, a mother/daughter twosome on the last few holes. Pine Shadows is a fun little course at a reasonable price. A bit further out of town you can play Verde Santa Fe Golf Club in Cornville, AZ, an 18 hole course that's a little more expensive, running a little over $62 in the morning and $52 in the afternoon, or close to those prices. That's just a tad too stiff for the two of us but it appears to be a beautiful course by the pictures online.
Apache Creek Golf Club in Mesa, Arizona is one of those courses that demand you hit a straight ball or else you'll end up with a ball sitting on hardpan. While the fairways and greens are grass, the rough is indeed rough being pure desert sand and gravel. Throw in a few rattlesnakes and you indeed are playing desert golf. But look at that view of the Superstition Mountains off the first tee!
For men, playing from the black tees means the course is 6785 yards long. Denny and the twosome we played with played the blue tees for a distance of 6363 yards, with a USGA rating/slope of 69.4/119. Women get quite a break, with a yardage of 5315 and a USGA rating/slope of 64.4/111. It is an eighteen hole, par 71 golf course with no houses sitting on the course which is always a bonus in a winter tourist setting. A couple of the holes have water, including the oh-so-fun island green at hole 6.
The one nice thing about that hard desert surface is that the ball will run and run and run. I even managed a birdie on a par 3, so it's a very playable and enjoyable course. Just remember, hit it straight and watch for slithery things in the gullies.
