I visited Arizona with a few friends during the summer as registered guests of Suncity Grand community association management. We played over 9 courses while I was here and it was some of the best golf I have played in years, that is until I played here. We made arrangements over 8 months in advance, and booked the round at the maximum 2 weeks beforehand, to ensure our journey from Toronto had no issues. The pro shop had no record of our registered guest status, and called the management office who also had no record of us. We had to convince the lady we had followed all protocols necessary to play these courses, but insisted we had to play public rates, from 28 to over 60USD. After a bit of arguing, they finally agreed to allow us to play their course at rate we negotiated, saying "they will take the heat this time". This left a sour taste but I understand this was probably a simple miscommunication in their organization.
Throughout the entire round, I have never seen a Marshall be a personal escort. He barely left our side, and often rode his cart in our general direction while we were teeing off, which was very distracting both visually and audibly.
We were behind an elderly group, one member whom rode an accessibility golf cart equipped with oxygen mask, so we tried to keep our distance from them. We had to wait on every single shot, but the pace was decent, so we didnt mind. We were by far the fastest group on the course. One particular hole, 380 yards, we waited until they were approaching the green. Marshall insisted we should be on the tee ready and hit, while they were well within our driving distance at the 150 yard stake. I drove the ball to 80 yards from the green. I don't appreciate marshals telling me when I should hit, insinuating we are slowing the pace down. I just don't get why he wouldn't leave us alone.
Overall, the course was in good condition and the layout was good. The golf itself was fine, but the staff made me feel uneasy from the get go.
Future trips back to Pheonix certainly won't include this course, given the other amazing options at equal or better value. read more