So I got my job offer in Phoenix.

Next step will be finding a house to buy. I'll be looking for someplace within reasonable commuting distance from Luke AFB. I'll also need to find a GOOD place to practice. Preferably this practice area is someplace lighted and open at night, but that's not 100% mandatory.

I'd like to be in a pretty nice neighborhood. My friend lives in Estrella Mountain Ranch and that place is beautiful. I've also heard Arrowhead (?) is pretty good. Any thoughts or ideas?

where do you live now? I just got home from AZ as I have family there.

Nice place, great weather although unlivable hot for a few months. The people there are mostly dicks IMO.

Fake money and act like millionaires! Oh well, atleast you'll be golfing when I'm shovelling snow in Feb.
I'll call them tonight to get you some info on golf.

I'm in Mississippi right now. I lived in Tucson from 04 - 07 and made frequent trips up to Phoenix to visit my friends there. I hoped I'd eventually get to move there and it seems that's coming true now. It does get stupid-hot in the summer there, but we played golf in it anyway because we're just psycho like that. I'm actually hoping to set up a Flightscope and a SAM Puttlab in the house somehow and install a synthetic putting green in the yard. If I decide it's too hot to go out and play/practice I can just whack balls on the Flightscope for a few hours.

with hwy 101, it's pretty easy commute from northwest phoenix, glendale region. estrella mountain is a nice public golf course close to luke afb. the 500 club is usually not too busy and has some awesome elevated tees. lots of courses in scottsdale as well.

If your close to Luke.....Raven Verrado has a great practice facility...nowhere that I know is lighted AND on grass.....the only lit places to hit are off mats.

If you work AT Luke....then you will have access to Falcon Dunes Golf Course....decent practice facilities and decent course...not overly long...usually in decent shape.

Golf Club of Estrella Mountain is usually xlnt....kinda beat up right now but overall another great facility...Copper Canyon is good.....Trilogy Vistancia is good...Arrowhead is just ok (I live in this community). the community is good to great with a couple spots of just ok. anything within the 101 loop on the west side of the 17 you want to stay away from except Westgate (non golf but fun place...it is where the NFL Cardinals play)

a 30-40 minute drive will get you XLNT golf courses...XLNT
Wildfire
Legend Trail
Grayhawk
Troon North
Kierland
Talking Stick
(50-60 minutes)
We Ko Pa
Raven South Mountain
Whirlwind
Occotillo
Las Sendas
Eagle Mountain
Sunridge Canyon

If your willing to drive...the golf is freakin CHEAP right now..it is about 105 during the day...but July/August is living hell but the courses nearly pay you to play there

out at Luke youd be close to a lit driving range called Valley Golf Center on Indian School and Litchfield. It used to be a Nevada Bobs and its open til 9 PM.

There are lighted grass ranges, but Fiddlesticks is the only one I can think of.

Heres the link to the range

http://www.valleygolfcenteraz.com/Contact.html

Ok...thats one way to over-generalize on a select group of people who you obviously encountered that made you feel that way. But I'm sorry people in Arizona are 'dicks' and 'fake' and 'act like millioinaires.' Ridiculous.

To the OP: If you're going to be at or near Luke's, I think thats the West Valley/Glendale area, right?. Crackerjax in the NE area (Scottsdale and just south of Frank LLoyd Wright/Bell) is lighted. You hit off mats, but its open till midnight on Friday and Sat. Another guy mentioned Fiddlesticks, but I think thats more Tempe area, which is more Southeast of Luke's. But Fiddlesticks is open late as well. But there are tons of courses around you that have practice areas, but not too sure which courses have lighted outdoor ranges.

But its summer now there, so golf should be ridiculously cheap. Get out early, because golfing past 10am when its hot out blows. Beer will keep you hydrated.

Hahaha you know, I kinda agree with him and Im a native. I avoid Scottsdale like the plague due to all the Richards and $30,000/year millionaires

I decided to try out a few West Valley courses and was really impressed with Copper Canyon.
Really well kept course with Troon quality facilities and nice folks. The course is not too intense and a lot of fun.
For a Dell Webb development it's definitely not got the Sun City morgue feel to it. I was so impressed I talked real estate with some people there and while I'm in my mid 40's I would consider it in a heart beat.
Not surprising with the economy they are dropping their shorts to make a deal. (1900sq. ft golf course view in the $180's).

Ok, maybe some people from the Scottsdale area might be like that. God knows I've encountered a few of them. But not everyone is like that.

But to be honest, you have people like that in every city. Come on over to NYC, its like a city full of Richards.

Richards. HAHAHA. Good one.

Ok fine it was a generalization but it's true. I have family from here who moved out there now I can't even stand to talk to them. 2 years there and they all of a sudden "talk down" to me even though I can buy them with the change under my bed.

OH well, it's a beautiful place and the golf is amazing.

Checked out the club scene in Scottsdale did you? LOL.


Deadpool: PM me if you would like the name of a good Realtor that can help you find a place.

Ok gents. No craziness in my thread please. As mentioned there are "Richards" (LOL) everywhere.

Thanks for all the info folks! I'm excited about getting out there.

sorry man. I golfed at the Fairmont Princess a few years back, the TPC course. VERY nice, very challenging.

The westside of town (where you will be working) is much more affordable than the Scottsdale area and has some excellent golf courses and communities to play and live in. Verrado is a very nice community although somewhat west of Luke. A mature community near Luke is Litchfield Park. There is a resort there with three golf courses (Wigwam) that are very nice (the resort is in bankruptcy but I suspect the golf courses will emerge whole).

Another nice community is Vistancia which has a nice golf course as well. If you have children and want good schools you might want to check out Vistancia as Peoria is generally considered to have the best schools on the west side.

Great thread. Excellent information here.

I'm currently looking at a 2nd home in the area. I actually have an offer semi-accepted for a short sale home in surprise and an open offer on a foreclosed home in vistancia.

I see that Trilogy at Vistancia is rated highly in golf digest. But I don't see much in terms of reviews of the course. Any other recs for golf in the area of surprise, peoria? Just so you know my taste, I love Troon North and Legend Trails.

Who doesn't love Troon North and Legend Trail? They're spectacular, but I'm not sure that helps people understand your tastes, unless you mean to say that you don't mind shelling out $$$$ for golf.

you're right....pretty general statement.

I like challenging golf courses. Aesthetically nice looking to the eye. Great conditions and true rolling greens, preferably on the fast side.

I'm currently an 8.1, but have been playing better of late. Just came from a round of 76 on a very challenging course here in the Bay area, and in very windy conditions.

I don't mind paying $$$ to play, but also appreciate excellent value if the conditions above are met. I also noticed that the Troon card for AZ looks like a solid deal to play Troon North at very reasonable rates. I love desert golf courses, target-style.

I have a Troon card and it is a great deal if you play enough. For example, I was playing this winter at the Phoenician (rack rate $220, hotel rate $200) for $75 and a sleeve of balls. I am playing tomorrow at Troon North Monument for $54 (Troon silver card).

There are a couple of Troon courses in the West valley but I haven't played them so I can't give you any reviews of them.

I absolutely LOVED Golf Club of Estrella which is near Luke AFB when I lived out there...great course and practice facilities....living in Goodyear is very nice but a loooong ways away from nightlife if that is your thing

Thanks for all the replies. I am moved to Phoenix now. The job offer fell through because the company lost their contract (if you know about military contractors you'll understand). I have a few other possibilities so we'll see.

I love it here. Everything's available. Right now I'm living with some friends in Goodyear (Estrella Mountain Ranch). It's a bit away from "The Scene" but that's a large part of its appeal.

Played falcon dunes this past weekend with a bunch of friends from PING, They all enjoyed the course and were amazed on how good the condition was for mid July and 113 degrees. If you are going to be working at Luke you have playing privileges and you cannot beat the rates ... plus we have a grab Saturday morning mens club, routinely fills the tee times by Monday afternoon with 52 players. The mens club also does Home and Home matches against Nellis, Vandenberg, and we are trying to get a match against DM in Tucson. I would say we have about 23 guys that play at a 5 or lower.

I'm sorry to say it, and I'll apologize to those of who live out on the west side but most all of the westside of phoenix (Glendale, Litchfield, Avondale, some of peoria, etc.) is a dump. I've lived in the Phoenix area for 5 years now and my company does business valley-wide, so I spend alot of time in every part of the valley and I can tell you that there is certainly a stigma with folks on that side of town, with the exception of a few small communities (vistancia, estrella for example) but they are so far out it's rediculous, you're atleast an hour from downtown.

The east-valley is much, much nicer, though people from the westside will say that everyone from the east-side is snobby. I think it's much more family friendly, an extremely lower crime rate. Just watch the news on any given night, all the crime, murders, etc. takes place on the avenues (the west side north/side thourofares are avenues). And you do not need to buy in scottsdale, you can buy affordable housing in chandler, gilbert, east mesa, ahwatukee (southeast phx.). I'm in gilbert and we have a 2 year-old freeway that will get us downtown in 30 minutes. You'll be much closer to all the better golf in the east valley, there is about 4-5 nice course on the westside, in the east you have variety of great tracks.

I like vistancia but it is freakin out there, where is it? 200th avenue and happy valley, thats further away than queen creek and you can buy a castle in queen creek for a quarter-mill easy, and we have freeways out here.

Sorry if that upsets anybody, not everywhere in the west is a dump, just most of it. It's only my opinion, and I know the east has rough spots too like most of mesa and parts of tempe, but otherwise its all much nicer.

Okay, let me, the native speak...(born and raised in Phoenix my entire life).

I actually agree 100%!!!! hahahahaha Seriously though!

There are 15 million golf courses here so that's no problem finding golf! Since you're thinking the west valley, please, don't consider the craphole of avondale and/or buckeye area... SO many foreclosed homes, basically 1 way in and out like Anthem, etc...

I've heard Estrella is REALLY nice. Estrella Mountain is an awesome course! Pretty far south though! And if you can bare the heat, you'll be able to play places like Grayhawk (like I did last week) for $25 in the summer! hahah

It's okay here for some people, however, after spending my entire life here I have only seen this place go to $HIT! I'm moving soon to the Chandler/Gilbert area where me, the white race, isn't in the "minority."

Just my $0.02. (Sorry to be brutally honest, but again, I'm just speaking from experience and this is solely MY OPINION! )

(OH AND I TOTALLY AGREE WITH AZTURF24)

Another native, born and raised in Maryvale, probably one of the worst areas in west Phoenix or all of Az for that matter. You could offer me a free house in the west side and I woudnt take it, cant stand that area either. Really the only reason I ever go west of the 17 now is to go play golf. But in all fairness, I wouldnt live in Scottsdale either.

Happy In Tempe,
FORE_LIFE

I like the Trilogy at Vistancia. My in-laws own a home there. The course itself is usually in great condition, well manicured. They fixed the problems they were having with the greens. The bunkers are a little firm, not too fluffly. I moved here from the Bay Area 5 years ago and I still haven't gotten used to 'desert golf'

To the OP, the Arrowhead area is great. I like Estrella Mountain Ranch area as well, the golf course is fun, but they don't have the shopping built up yet. The Verrado area is another cool area, the course is my favorite in the Valley, but the drive to anything in Phoenix or Scottsdale will be a haul. There's also the community around the Wigwam Golf Course. Don't know what your budget for your home is, but TW Lewis is building homes near Luke. Might want to check those out.

azturf24, deemo, and fore_life,

you all should come out to the 500 club or The Legends at Arrowhead and we should all play. The NW valley isn't the West Valley. I hate getting lumped into those communites like Buckeye, Avondale, and Marryvale. There are some nice communities around me and after the round we can all go to the Tilted Kilt for a couple of beers.

Amerza, can you ever play during the weekdays? I might take you up on the offer to play 500 club, its been years since Ive played there. I used to live just north of the 101 and 7th street, so Im familiar with north Phoenix. That area is definately better than Maryvale haha

I can play during the week sometimes, but I recently took a mental health day. I can only get a couple of those a year without my boss getting suspicious. I will PM you when I have a better idea when I can get out in Aug.

amerza18, thanks for the invite, very cool. I did state in my post that there are a couple spots out there that aren't that bad, I dig the vistancia development out there, its just way the f out there. I've actually played the legand at arrowhead and it was allright but it didn't knock my socks off. I've heard trilogy at vistancia is nice and there is a pretty sweet private club out there as well.

I still think for my money I'd buy or rent in the east valley all day, no offense, but even in the nicer areas there seems to be an overwhelming amount of trash (who knows how they get there). At the same token, I would never buy/live in scottsdale unless it was given to me, there can be some rash folks out there, I really dig the chandler/gilbert area we chose to buy our house in, perfect place to raise a family, nice people out here for the most part, no rundown parts, lots of golf and everything is fairly affordable.