Probably one of the better courses in the East Valley. The back nine is the real gem here. Elevated tees with great desert views and some nice challenging holes. Premium is placed on the short game at Johnson Ranch. Despite some of the previous reviews, a good wedge player can score with properly placed shots. But, you have to know the greens and be careful not to short side yourself or the result can be embarrasing.

Customer Service

Service is what you'd expect from a mid-range priced course. They're building a new clubhouse that will open in 2005. Another downside, which has nothing to do with the service, is the location at the base of the San Tan mountains. A real drive even for Mesa, Tempe, and Chandler residents.

Front nine can be scoreable (37) and the back nine has very nice views but unfair shot selections (45). We played on a Wednesday, which they start you on the back nine first. This only adds to the difficulty of the back nine. Avoid Wednesdays for this reason.

Big lack of yardage markers makes play slower than the course marshals care for. The management needs to understand they are greatly contributing to slow play because of this fact. Instead of the Marshals following a group to ascertain if the group is slow or just had difficulty on a hole, they ride right up and impolitely warn you.

Nice overall golf course with the two nines being completely different. Our group has played this course the last 2 years and probably won't return again. Although a couple people in our group of 12 scored well, I found myself in rediculous lies after hitting what I thought were decent shots. Many landing areas are too small and slope away from the fairway allowing your ball to roll into the desert or dormit grass. One par 4 on the front, measuring 421 yards has a bunker running across the entire fairway at about 260 yards, not allowing for a fair tee shot to the rather long par four. Alot of hills and mounds in the fairways leaving you with unfair difficult lies, even after hitting the fairway, i.e the designers don't know the definition of "fairway". The greens are way too fast for the huge ungelations, making it impossible to get close to the hole if you end up above the pin (not appealing to first-time or once-a-year players).

Customer Service

Least friendly of all the courses we played this year. Very hard to get two tee times for out-of-town people who like to play 36 holes a day after spending hundreds on airfare, rental cars and hotels. We left after 18 and went to another course, sacrificing 9 holes of play, because they weren't very accomodating or courteous, even when calling weeks ahead.

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Snackbar has nice selection with quick courteous service. Golf carts have difficulty making it up the hills on the back side. Last year we had to push all our carts up the largest longest grade and this year one cart experienced a flat tire.

Natural beauty

A housing development will soon dominate the property.

The absolute best golf value in the valley! It has everything the Scottsdale courses have - except the crowds, subdivisions, and power lines. The "Ranch" is a great track, particularly the back nine. There are easily 6 potential signature holes. If you have time, play your round later in the day so you can enjoy the sunset. The views are sensational.

Customer Service

The staff is very accommodating and does everything possible to make your round enjoyable.

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Modest but nice pro shop and club house.

Layout, scenery.

Hard/dry most of the time, strange pricing tactics (anywhere from $15 to $100).

If you're looking for a course that sums up Arizona golf, this would be the one. Most everything about this course lends itself to reminding you of your whereabouts in the desert. The small, trailer-like clubhouse. The wide-open desert sprawling around you. Small, rocky buttes providing nice views of the surrounding area. Hot, hard, fast, breezy and dry conditions usually abound. The front nine is flat and long while the back nine winds between and around two buttes and is somewhat shorter in length. For most golfers, playing from the back tees here would not be an option. There are several par 4s well over 430 yards to contend with. Also, hitting out of the desert here can really take its toll on your nice, shiny clubs. I would recommend taking the local rule and dropping on the grass with a stroke penalty. The fairways are usually ok, but normally are hard and fast. The greens are what keeps this course from becoming a real gem. They can be somewhat inconsistent from time to time. Ranging from hard and fast, to slow and bumpy. This course will really challenge your iron play mainly because it is so difficult to keep the ball on the green. On the back nine, you'll be rewarded with some beautiful scenery and great elevation changes. The practice area is adequate and the clubhouse barely gets the job done. For the medium price range, you're going to get your money's worth here.

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