Reviewed by: daemonizer, Shoots in the 80s Summary:
I've always liked visiting Desert Forest, which is a good course in the Carefree area. It is on a flat piece of property, so it is eminently walkable but not as dramatic as many of the top private courses in the area (Golf Club Scottsdale, Whisper Rock, Desert Highlands).
Practice area- weak compared to most of the other privates, though I've heard they are creating a par-3 length "practice hole", which should improve things.
Conditions: the fairways and greens have been in decent "private club" shape when I've visited. The rough has been in poor condition from time to time. The greens are always perfect.
Routing/layout- very good, about half the holes are somewhat memorable, and the other half pedestrian. Nothing on the course has the "wow" factor, but overall the architect did a fine job creating an interesting layout without trying to get cute w/ many water features, blind carries, and other gimmicky features.
Greens- the true strength of the course, as they have a lot of contour and subtle break.
Desert Forest has been around a while (1962) and it's still a good course, but is starting to get a little long in the tooth. The situation reminds me a little bit of Pinnacle Peak CC, another course that would be well advised to spend a million or two in consultation with a top architect to add bunkers and fairway contouring and otherwise tweak the holes. Not to suggest Desert Forest is anywhere near PPCC in quality... DF is FAR superior.
Memberships are reasonable at DF (at least for the area); from what i understand they run somewhere in the 30-50K initial and 680/month range. They have a cheaper "younger member" deal that the web site says is full; however I heard from a friend that they have open spots. My suspicion is their rates may drop if the economy doesn't pick up soon...
One cool thing about this club is it is about golf only- they have no pool, no tennis, or anything else... just a smallish clubhouse and the golf course. They have a small and very elderly membership- if you're below 65 you'll feel like a kid in the dining room. Customer Service:
The staff here is great- incredibly friendly. The few younger members I've met are a wee bit "snooty". They think their course is one of the best in state, which is an admirable thought but is stretching things a bit. One thing the DF membership seems to do is call the other area clubs by diminutive names- Desert Highlands is "Highlands", Desert Mountain is "Mountain", etc. It's pretty funny. Similar Courses Played:
Almost all of the top private courses in the Phoenix area. This course is perhaps most similar to Boulders in layout and terrain and Pinnacle Peak CC in the need for significant course renovation. I've been to DF as a guest via inter-club reciprocity. DF charges the members of other clubs a high rate of $50, which is strange given that the other higher-charging clubs like Mirabel & GC Scottsdale have lots of free food and beverages on the course; at DF you get nothing except for beef jerky at the turn.
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