Foothills Golf Club

Reviews 3

JO

Joe Giordano

Pace of play at this course is not managed. Everything about this course is half assed. Ive given this course many opportunities (even in their downfall last season) but I played nine holes and walked off the course for the final time today. If you are going to play this course, DO NOT pay their ludicrous in season fees. Find a GolfNow hot deal and just show up whenever you want. Id typically book a 7:30 tee time, show up around 7:10 and see the others that booked the 7:30 time were already let out as a double or a single. Nearly every time Id get out, the earlier tee times of foursomes would already be holding up the poor pairings behind. They dont care, just show up and go, if youre lucky youll be ahead of the other groups. As a 14 HCP golfer, it is irritating as all hell to not land a pairing and go out as a single, then have to deal with the other hacks on the course getting pissy when youre behind them. Today at the turn I dealt with the starter saying, "Well you teed off at 7:30 and youve already played the front?" Lets do some basic math here. I was let out as a single, I was on the box by 7:15 and I was back at the starter by 8:50. This is not a long course, the front nine is only 3076 yards from their gold tees averaging 341 yards a hole. Even a below average golfer will hit driver, an iron, a wedge, and be relative to the hole at this point. I played here with a retired friend from back east with a 26 handicap last year, in a foursome, and we were done in four and half hours with only a few groups on the course. I was playing as a SINGLE at 10 and a half minutes per hole, in a golf cart, and the green to next tee at this place is no more than 100 yards with the exception of a few holes. Courses with a SLOPE rating UNDER 135 can be played in three and a half hours and NOT be considered FAST PLAY. That would average 11 and half minutes IN A GROUPING. Foothills has a slope of 122 from their gold tees, with golf carts, and no unreasonable distances between holes. This is a typical case of catering to the elderly and high handicaps playing incorrect tees, Ive never seen a ranger on the course to correct this or hold groupings at the tee box until appropriate pace of play golfers are let through. Had I actually been landing pairings (I have, one other time before) it can work out pretty well, so long as the players playing with know and understand their handicaps and play the correct tees. Overall Id suggest against this course unless you and three other people you know are going, land a hot deal at 15 bucks a player, bring a case of beer, a box of cigars, and expect a six hour round of golf. Their in season rates are insane, their website lists $110.00 US DOLLARS currently and it goes up to $130.00. Ive played $130.00 dollar tracks before and this is not one of those courses. Its one grade above a municipal course with the condition its been in the past 14 months that Ive seen it. Ive never written a course review before but this has frustrated me too many times and I felt the need to warn other golfers. SUGGESTIONS: CLUB WEST: Its only a few more miles down the road. Its owned by the same partnership, however I find most people to be too lazy to drive the extra distance to get to this course. If you book a tee time before 8:30 youre typically safe to play a decent round of golf. God help you in you book a tee time after 10, same issues over there after that time. THE RAVEN: Worth the money, you can typically find a 40 dollar round. Kept in great shape and moves along nicely. THE DUKE: Quite the drive south of Foothills and owned by the same partnership of courses, but this place KNOWS WHAT THEYRE DOING. Appropriately spaced tee times, decent track, great clubhouse and you can find fun games played by the locals midweek with a tee sheet time that is allotted for large group play. Side note: I remember very few course Pro employee names over the years, but Steve has been a name I remember here. Always friendly, accommodating, and makes sure your experience is acceptable.

SA

Samuel Chan

2/24/16: This was one of the worst playing experiences I have ever had. You think for the rates they are charging the playing conditions and experience would be better. PACE OF PLAY SUCKS!!!! I had an 11:20 PM tee time and I teed off late because of the groups in front. The front nine went okay, but still slow. The tee boxes are uneven, the fairways look nice, but when you are actually on them, they are in pretty bad shape. The greens are so patchy and hardly any actual grass on them, its a joke. When we made the turn, we were already stacked up, it was out of control. We played #10 and 11, but then couldnt stand it. We tried to play #13, but we had already spent (at least) over 45 minutes playing these three holes and then we waited even more on #14, that we just left. There is no one out there monitoring the pace of play and telling people to keep up, be mindful of the people behind you, not to hit more than one ball and to only search for a ball so long. If they arent going to have someone out there to keep the pace of play at a decent time, then they need to tell you that before you book your tee time. This is why people dont want to play golf anymore is because we dont want to play 6 plus hour rounds of golf. As other have mentioned, if you have all the time in the world and want to play 6 plus hour rounds of golf, this is the place to go. Make sure you bring lots of snacks and drinks because its going to be a long day. If they dont fix the pace of play issue for this course (along with some of the other things so many have mentioned), this place will go out of business. Ive given this course too much of my money and time. I will never play here again.

VI

Virginia Dill

Several times we have taken our grandchildren to golf. We learned at their ages and they expressed a desire to learn. We booked several times, paying full price for the course. We never had a problem until last week. A gentlemen (and I use the term loosely) in the gatehouse was rude, insolent and without reason. He was looking for excuses to stop us from taking our granddaughter onto the course, as she was a week shy of her 6th birthday. Now bear in mind, we had had her with us on the same course at least five other times since last year, and the same man, who never showed any signs of discontent previously, never said a word. In fact, he rarely engages the other guests we see nor does he smile. He makes rude look promising. As grandparents, we were embarrassed for our grandchildren who honestly just want to learn to golf. We have always been kind and followed all the courtesies of the golf course, choosing to teach our grandchildren golf etiquette at an early age. Needless to say, with so many golf courses in the Valley of the Sun, and so many closing, this man is a disgrace to the golfing industry. The course needs some work, and some customer service training. The highlight of our day was Katy on the course and the gentlemen ( a true one) who gave us our golf cart. Shame on this course for treating a family with such deplorable service. This is not a championship course and it does need some work on its greens. So raise the community awareness and train the staff toward a better experience so future generations want to golf on this course.

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