The course is nicely framed and for some reason in contrast to many desert courses I found it much easier to stay in play. Minimal elevation changes in line with the topography of the area. The greens are really nice and something the members are proud of. The course is not walkable if that matters to you. The clubhouse is impressive and the food is top notch with two executive chefs. Membership cost is a bit on the high side and they recently transferred ownership from the developer. The members seem to have no problem raising the monthly fees to make up for non-ideal numbers however. I found the course to be fairly forgiving for a desert course and it would seem to have more a social component than say Desert Forest which is close by. For me, if it seems to be close to the amount for Estancia which I like a bit better, but it's a solid course. In my rating I really do like the course, but I'm not sure it's a great value on membership-depends on what you want out of a golf club. If you want the best food around and nice snacks as you play then certainly kick the rating up to match your preference.

Customer Service

The phrase top notch comes to mind.

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A more wide open version of Desert Forest in some ways given the topography with a clubhouse more in line with say Estancia.

Mirabel is (by reputation) one of the elite private clubs in North Scottsdale, with a wealthy membership and correspondingly high fees to join. It is REALLY remote- up in the Desert Mountain area. It has some nice benefits for golfers, like EXCELLENT food and drinks on the course (nuts, ice cream bars, bubble gum, gatorade, soft drinks, etc etc), and even food grilled by an on-course chef during your round. I really liked the "fringes" of playing here. I was not as thrilled with the golf course. It's a Fazio design, and as usual with his courses, it was uninspiring. Most holes have wide open landing areas, with driver required on most every tee shot. Greens are straightforward, though they were running very fast. They were also in very good shape, as was the rest of the course, given the hot summer temperatures. I can't remember a hole that was truly memorable, or even made me put a lot of thought into what shot I was going to play. It's a nice course, mind you, but would I join here at the cost of 6 figures and the remote location? I don't think so, and I'm wondering how quickly they are adding members.

Customer Service

Mixed. The woman who met me at the entrance and sent me out on the course was wonderful. Friendly, helpful, efficient. The maintenance staff was really annoying. On the first hole, there were 3 or 4 guys right in the middle of the fairway where i was planning to hit my shot, completely oblivious to my presence. Once i finished the hole, here they came, driving out onto the second fairway. The same group of guys were on holes 1-9 while I was playing. The greenskeeper needs to learn an important concept- start them at 9 and work them backward! I hit a ball close to a guy on a par 3 and asked if he saw it; he was annoyed that I asked him and grunted something and moved on. Rude! DC Ranch is the model there- the greens staff always is considerate and stays out of the way.

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I've played most of the private courses in the area. Mirabel is in the second tier due to the uninspiring Fazio design. Mirabel is similar to Quintero, another course that is targeted at older golfers who don't want too much of a challenge on the golf course. The equally remote Golf Club Scottsdale is going after the same market, but has a better design and more interesting land.