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 Products Used:

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.