Reviewed by: daemonizer, Shoots in the 80s Summary:
Whisper Rock is the most elite private club in Arizona. Just look at the members list in the locker room- there must be at least 10 that have +5 indices... with names you'd recognize like Phil, Freddy, Aaron Baddeley, Geoff Ogilvy, Paul Casey, Gary McCord, etc. Impressive. And this is a cool club- us golfers love the chance to hang with some of the best, and they are are there on a regular basis. I saw a couple of the guys mentioned above in the lunch room... Without taking the courses into consideration, realize this is a fun place to hang out.
On to the golf aspects. The range and practice area are top notch. The caddy corps also seems quite good (though i'm not a big fan of caddies in general, too much money for too little in my book...).
On to the course. I was taken here as a guest by a member who belongs to 3 private clubs in Arizona and a couple others elsewhere. He took me out on the Upper Course, designed by Tom Fazio. The conditions were excellent- as good as you would expect from any high end course. Also the land is spectacular- the hills, valleys, and views are fantastic, and I bet any designer would have given his eye-teeth for the opportunity to do the design work... it would be hard not to come up with something excellent. And the routing is very good... but perhaps a little disappointing. It was so reminiscent of most other Fazio courses- it was decent and straightforward, but not spectacular, interesting, or intriguing. The land yes... the design no. I'll give it an A-. Definitely one of the best courses in the state but not as good as it could be.
My host asked me after the round what I thought of the course; I of course responded with an enthusiastic "love it!"; he then told me his favorite course in Arizona is not at Whisper Rock, but at another private club down the road in North Scottsdale, one designed by Nicklaus... I agree and hope he will host me there soon (see my review elsewhere).
So overall, this is a wonderful club and a great place, with at least one golf course that is top shelf, probably top 10 in Arizona. Not the best mind you, but certainly close.
One thing to note here- this is one of the only courses in the Phx area I can think of suited for PGA pros- with course lengths in the 7400's and 7800s these are some of the longest courses in the state. Perfect for the long hitting pga pros of today... Customer Service:
Top notch. Caddies were a little rough around the edges, but this is typical. They were certainly skilled. The staff was very friendly and welcoming. Similar Courses Played:
I've played most of the top-end private and public courses in the Valley. I have NOT played the lower course (designed by Phil); when I get the chance I will give my comments in this forum. According to my host the lower course is a little less interesting as it is pretty flat... but i cannot verify that.
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