Arg's Travel Log

[Argonne69]

Short drive over to The Casual Pint in central Phoenix for a couple of short pours of two barrel aged imperial stouts. The OHSO Bananarchy is quite good. The banana is there, but it's not overpowering. The Bottle Logic Superstratum is an imperial pastry stout, and a wee bit sweet. The taproom has 35 taps from around the country with a good mix. 

 

 

[AzSuperHack76]

1 hour ago, Argonne69 said:

Couldn't sit inside all day, so I ventured out for a bite to eat. Had to try Pizzeria Bianco. I don't mind a brick oven pizza, but I'll stick with thin crust tavern style, or deep dish. Good crust, but it was soggy before I finished half the pie. Sauce was tasty, as was the sausage. First pizza place I've ever been to that doesn't have pepperoni, and at $6 for each ingredient on a 12" pie I wasn't feeling adventurous. Lol. I guess the soppressata would have been close. The margherita with sausage was $28. Ouch. 

 

 

Pizzaria Bianco is running on it's past accolades, I don't think it's what it used to be, or maybe some other places have caught up to it. 

 

Give Cibo or Pomo a try while you're in town. 

 

After your next round at GCU a slight detour from the course would be La Piazza Al Forno in Downtown Glendale, just like the above it's Neapolitan Style. A little further north is Bottega Pizzaria Ristorante. 

 

Next door to La Piazza is Haus Murphy's, authentic German food and even better, a small but solid German Beer selection as well. Always a top notch meal/experience there. 

Edited December 23, 2023 by AzSuperHack76

[stevopagolf]

I feel the same way about Neapolitan style pizza.  It's always a bit soggy.

[Argonne69]

Well, at least it stopped raining and the sun came out. Bellair Golf Park wasn't quite what I expected. I knew it was an executive course, but I figured 5000 yds or so. It's actually more of a par 3 pitch and putt with five short par 4s. Nice looking course if you don't mind looking at houses. You can tell they've put some effort into improving it, but it still has a ways to go. Water in play on one hole. Two of the par 4s are slight sweepers. Light fairway bunkering, but greenside was quite good. 

 

Greens were a little larger than I expected, and had more contouring and slope than you'd expect. The 17th was a beaut. Putting and chipping required some effort, which was nice. 

 

The par 4s were fairly benign, but the collection of par 3s were decent. Nice mix of lengths from gap wedge to fairway wood with moderate trouble in the way of bunkers. 

 

Conditions were quite wet after yesterday's rain. Had to take relief from casual water several times. A number of bunkers had standing water in them. Most of the bunkers had new white sand. I must say I haven't played in sand that nice in ages. Stuff was fluffy, and brutal. I'd say it's worth paying the fee just to walk the course and throw a few balls in them to practice. However, it wouldn't do much good when you returned to the crud we usually play in. Lol. Greens were thin on the grass, and only rolling 8 or less. 

 

The Black tees play at 3374 yds on the par 59 layout. Doesn't appear that the course is rated. Highlight of the day, and probably the journey, was shooting my first 59. Lol. Two birdies and two bogies. 

 

I'll give it 3 cows, but it's probably a four. For a local pitch and putt it's not bad. Good place to work on your wedges and short game. Greens were more challenging than you'd expect. Looks like the have launch monitors on the range. $41 to walk the weekends. Certainly not worth a visit for the serious golfer, but on a soggy day when most courses are CPO, it was nice to be the first one out slapping a ball around. 

 

Edited December 23, 2023 by Argonne69

[Argonne69]

Bellair Golf Park, Glendale, AZ 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Full photo set: https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fo/7su55xnahmnbcjbhjnfir/h?rlkey=bkwe1d6kcxbct0qjzgmm4vyw6&dl=0

 

[Bonneville85308]

Good to see the new bunker sand at Bellair; they were basically concrete the last time I played there maybe a year and a half ago. That course had a really rough patch of history for a while; continuous decline in conditions/lack of reinvestment during the 2010s, then sold to a clueless new owner in late 2019 that got foreclosed on within a year and a half while letting the course go completely (at one point they had no irrigation water pump for an extended period in summer) and accomplishing nothing besides gutting the clubhouse. The new ownership after that idiot had a ton of work to do to even get the place operational with growing grass, but has made a ton of improvements throughout the property and they get my kudos for keeping it reasonably priced by Phoenix standards and offering a walking rate. 

Edited December 23, 2023 by Bonneville85308

[Argonne69]

Out and about after a nice hot shower and an afternoon nap. Lol. Stopped at Craft Beer Quick Stop to stock up on Goose Island Bourbon County Stout. They have a giant shelf of the stuff going back to the 2017. They claim to be the largest BCS distributor west of the Mississippi. Picked up a few bottles of 2022, 2023, and a 2017 (at a nice clearance price). Also bought myself a nice Christmas present, a bottle of Eagle Rare Reserve ('23). Aged for two years in Eagle Rare 10-year-old barrels. Pretty sure the markup was excessive, but what the heck, you only live once. 

 

North Mountain Brewing Company. 20 taps with a nice selection. Enjoying a flight with the Baby Belgian Tripel, Grooving with a Pict Scottish Ale, an NIB Bourbon Barrel Aged Grooving with a Pict, and a Nativity in Black Bourbon Barrel Aged Imperial Stout. 

 

 

Edited December 23, 2023 by Argonne69

[AzSuperHack76]

3 hours ago, Bonneville85308 said:

Good to see the new bunker sand at Bellair; they were basically concrete the last time I played there maybe a year and a half ago. That course had a really rough patch of history for a while; continuous decline in conditions/lack of reinvestment during the 2010s, then sold to a clueless new owner in late 2019 that got foreclosed on within a year and a half while letting the course go completely (at one point they had no irrigation water pump for an extended period in summer) and accomplishing nothing besides gutting the clubhouse. The new ownership after that idiot had a ton of work to do to even get the place operational with growing grass, but has made a ton of improvements throughout the property and they get my kudos for keeping it reasonably priced by Phoenix standards and offering a walking rate. 

Definitely has come a long way. It's a real nice thing for the Bellair Community to gather around as well. One of the only top tracer and lit ranges on the west side, nice to grab a beer and hit some balls on the range on occasion. 

[Argonne69]

Los Dos Molinos. Doesn't look like much from the outside, but excellent food. The red and green salsa were both very tasty. Nice to have a bowl of warm tortilla chips.

 

Enjoyed the open faced garlic pork roast enchiladas with red and green chili sauce. Nice kick! The egg on top was a welcome addition. The OG house margarita wasn't too shabby. Definitely recommended. 

 

 

Edited December 23, 2023 by Argonne69

[Chanceman]

4 hours ago, Argonne69 said:

Los Dos Molinos. Doesn't look like much from the outside, but excellent food. The red and green salsa were both very tasty. Nice to have a bowl of warm tortilla chips.

 

Enjoyed the open faced garlic pork roast enchiladas with red and green chili sauce. Nice kick! The egg on top was a welcome addition. The OG house margarita wasn't too shabby. Definitely recommended. 

 

 

You got it! Best Mexican food I ever had was at LDM. 

[Cysmic]

Merry Christmas Arg!  Thank you for taking us along on this incredible adventure!  Hope you have another terrific year of great golf courses, good food, tasty beverages and wide open highways!  

[Argonne69]

A rare afternoon round today. Feels really weird to be typing this when it's dark outside. Lol. Thankfully I have a nice 2017 Bourbon County Stout to keep me company. I wasn't planning to play today, but @cbbarontwisted my arm with a two for one coupon at Quintero. Now, there's no way I'm going to pass up a $79 round on a course that can run over $300. Not my favorite course in the area, but a bargain is a bargain. Even better, he's a great playing partner, and we killed time chatting away while we suffered through a cart path only round on a dry golf course.

 

Second time playing Quintero. I believe the clubhouse was a trailer when I played it back in early 2014. Not much of an improvement since then. Lol. The beautiful Rees Jones desert layout ranks #3 on GolfWeek's best in state list. I think it's a top 10 course in the state, but 3rd is a real stretch. It's probably best known for its three par 3s with elevated tees. Otherwise it's a solid, but uninspiring layout. Nice piece of property with decent elevation changes. I believe it was intended to be a private, housing development course, but that never came about. There are a handful of homes on the course, but most of it is wide open desert with some nice mountain views. Water on a couple of holes, but the desert and bunkering are the biggest challenges. Other than the dogleg par 5 8th, and sweeper 3rd, there's very little left/right movement. 

 

I think it's very easy off the tee with fairly generous fairways and moderate fairway bunkering. A couple of short forced carries aren't much concern. The water on the 3rd is a factor if you elect to bite off a big chunk. The rough isn't particularly wide, but it was overseeded and lush, so minor misses would likely stay in play. Big misses were goners in the dense desert. On the other hand, approaches are very tough. Probably some of the toughest I've played on this journey. Very well guarded greens, many of them elevated. The bunkers are large and deep, and up and downs from them are tough. The greens that aren't elevated also have large front bunkers, so running balls up is nearly impossible. The greens are fairly large, but don't have much slope or contouring. Putting is moderately difficult if you have long lags, but otherwise it's stress free. Up and downs were tricky due to the lies around the greens. Overseeded rough was fairly thick, and few flat lies. 

 

The par 3s are fun, and great looking, but they basically play the same length. Would like to see a short and long one. The elevated tees are at least a club down. The 13th has a forced carry over water, and a deep front bunker. 5s are meh. The 10th can be reached with a good drive, but not a lot of risk. The 8th could be a very good risk/reward hole off the tee with the gully splitting the dogleg's fairway at the corner, but a risky 240 yd carry to the right of the gully still leaves 240+ yds uphill. Move the tees up 30 yds and you have a great risk/reward 5. Short 4s are OK due to the tough approaches. Not a ton of trouble off the tee. 

 

Conditions were excellent. Still trying to figure out why it was cart path only after an inch of rain two days ago. Overseeded fairways were lush, but not very soft. Rough was fairly thick. Bunkers looked great, but a few too many thin spots. How about borrowing some of that nice white sand from Bellair? Greens were excellent. Smooth and quick. Had to be 11 at least. 

 

Played the Silver tees at 6401 yds (70.6/134). Once again I got my buttocks handed to me. Driver was doing me no favors whatsoever, and a low ball hitter coming in with fairway woods into those greens is in for a very long afternoon. Short game wasn't there to bail me out this time. Lol. Nine bogies and three doubles. Embarrassing. Highlight of the day was being able to tee it up with @cbbaronagain. Fourth round playing together, and it's always entertaining.

 

Going with 7 cows here. I can see why many players love the course, and why it might get it's high ranking. Plenty of eye candy, especially the par 3s. I'd like to see more variety in the par 3 lengths, a proper risk/reward 5, and some trouble off the tee on the short 4s. The $79 discounted rate was crazy good, but the normal rate is nuts. Hard to justify $300+, but it's certainly worth a play if you can snag a cheaper rate. 

 

Edited December 25, 2023 by Argonne69

[Argonne69]

Quintero GC, Peoria, AZ 

 

 

 

 

 

Par 3 9th 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Full photo set: https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fo/mww0em0ffonzv2iaq4q13/h?rlkey=xhesjcw13mrdb0gjwjyyxdzya&dl=0

 

[wjets]

Arg have a very Merry Christmas and all the best in the New Year I look forward to to reading about your golf and food and beverage reviews Cheers 

[Argonne69]

Merry Christmas, everyone. Hope this holiday finds you in good health and good spirits. 

 

Gorgeous day here in the valley. Almost too nice for a Christmas morning. A bit nippy at the start of the round, but sunny and 60 degrees when I finished. TPC Scottsdale Champions today. One can see the gransdstands going up on the 18th on the Stadium course. Fourth time playing the Champions course, and it didn't disappoint. Very nice desert layout with a number of fun holes. Not enough left/right movement for my tastes, though. The mounding is very good, producing plenty of uneven lies. Bunkering is very good, especially greenside. Water in play on several holes. 

 

Not overly difficult off the tee with generous fairways for the most part. Forced carries are short. Minor misses will likely catch the rough, but could roll through into the sparse desert areas. Other than a couple of holes, big misses are playable in the desert unless you get unlucky and find one of the few bushes. Approaches are much tougher with some well guarded greens. A few are slightly elevated, but nothing serious. Greens are challenging without being penal. Nice contouring and slope. Up and downs were mixed. Miss in the right spot and it's an easy running chip. Miss in the wrong spot and you could have a shortsided pitch over a deep bunker from an iffy lie. 

 

The 5 par 3s have a good mix of lengths, but aren't particularly great looking. They get the job done. Would like to see a very short one. Par 5s are disappointing. Nothing reachable. The 9th had water in play near the green left, so a bit of danger. The two short 4s are quite good. The 1st has water running the length of the left side, which isn't ideal for an opening hole. Bunkers right if you play too far away from the water. The driveable 15th is a fun hole. It's a dogleg left, so one can layup and have a good angle into the green. Coming up short on the line to the flag isn't terrible, but it means having a shallow green on the pitch over a deep bunker. 

 

Conditions were very good. Overseeded fairways were lush. Dormant rough was a good height. Bunkers were nicely groomed, but could have used another half inch of sand. Greens were rolling nicely at 10. 

 

Played the Blue/White combo at 6351 yds (69.9/124). A little better than yesterday, but the driver continues to top Santa's Naughty List. One birdie and 10 bogies. Highlight of the round was a nice 30' putt on the long par 3 16th to save par. My three playing partners from NYC, a grandfather, father, and son, where a great bunch. I felt jealous as they were heading over to the Stadium course for a second round of the day after playing the two courses at Camelback yesterday. 

 

Going with 6 cows. Might be closer to five. Nice looking course, and certainly playable, but it needs a good risk/reward par 5, and a couple of better looking par 3s. Good desert layout if you're not a straight hitter, as you'll likely find most of the errant shots. The $90 resident walking rate was excellent, but the normal rate is closer to $200. Don't think it's worth that price. 

 

[Argonne69]

TPC Scottsdale Champions Course, Scottsdale, AZ 

 

 

 

 

The par 4 5th with its split fairway is a fun hole 

 

 

 

The driveable par 4 15th 

 

 

 

 

Full photo set: https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fo/8j9dwxzf8cv55yk2uotvt/h?rlkey=cu148b1l1bmhw4r6gbqqjcx2h&dl=0

 

Edited December 25, 2023 by Argonne69

[Argonne69]

Looking for a round for Thursday. Anybody up for a cheap round at TPC? Oy. 

 

 

[Argonne69]

I was going to take a hike this past Sunday, but since I played at Quintero, I decided to take the hike today. Actually, climb is a better word for it. Oy. Camelback Mountain via Echo Canyon Trail this morning. I had climbed CB previously via Cholla Trail, which was a longer, but much easier hike. Echo Canyon is a knee buster. I attempted two previous climbs via Echo Trail, but each time I couldn't get a parking spot at the trail head. It gets busy quickly. While it's only 2.5 miles round trip, the climb is steep. The AllTrails description states that it's a 1500 foot climb, but the app clocked 2310' of climb. The trail starts fairly easy, but then you get to a couple of steep sections where handrails are needed. After that there are two steep sections with boulders. Not as tough as Flatiron, but it's slow going nonetheless. The views at the top are excellent, with downtown Phoenix off to the southwest, Piestewa Peak off to the northwest, and Scottsdale and the Sonoran Mountains off to the northeast. I'm glad I finally checked this one off my list, but I wouldn't do it again until I've had my knees replaced. Lol. 

 

The real fun begins 

 

 

A nice touch at the top 

 

 

Scottsdale 

 

 

Downtown Phoenix 

 

 

Piestewa Peak 

 

 

Gulp. Always tougher going down 

 

 

Full photo set: https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fo/0lciw7qpq5nkbyo1bebak/h?rlkey=a5v92d46jtjs9cuo8nfsjh9g1&dl=0

 

Edited December 26, 2023 by Argonne69

[Argonne69]

This was well deserved. Lol. O.H.S.O. Brewing Brewery. 36 taps with a heavy dose of IPAs, but they have two very nice imperial stouts and a decent Scottish Ale. Went with the Irish Coffee Morning Grind Bourbon Barrel Aged Imperial Stout (14.2%). 

 

 

[Argonne69]

Looked to book a round for Thursday. Ugh. You have your pick of "cheap" goat tracks, or crazy expensive resort courses. I was about to click on the confirmation for McDowell Mountain for $146 (resident), but waffled. It's an OK course, but I've played it a handful of times, and it doesn't excite. Decided to pony up an additional $50 to play We Ko Pa Cholla. 

 

[Bonneville85308]

19 hours ago, Argonne69 said:

Looking for a round for Thursday. Anybody up for a cheap round at TPC? Oy. 

 

 

 

For $525 I'd rather have a 10-round pass to Sunland Village East...yikes.

[tad950]

4 hours ago, Argonne69 said:

Looked to book a round for Thursday. Ugh. You have your pick of "cheap" goat tracks, or crazy expensive resort courses. I was about to click on the confirmation for McDowell Mountain for $146 (resident), but waffled. It's an OK course, but I've played it a handful of times, and it doesn't excite. Decided to pony up an additional $50 to play We Ko Pa Cholla. 

 

I know I’m in the minority, but I preferred Cholla over Saguaro. Maybe the views with slightly more elevation? The holes were a little more interesting? Really can’t give a specific reason. It certainly wasn’t because I scored better on Cholla 😄.

[Argonne69]

A very pleasant morning. Chilly start, but plentiful sunshine warmed things up nice. Papago this morning. Weird day, because it felt like the course was empty. I was in the third group out, but looking around it was sparse. I've played the course a half dozen times, so not a lot that was new. Other than moving the 18th green, the recent renovation didn't appears to make many big changes. A few new bunkers, a few removed, and it looks like they softened a few greens, but I could be mistaken. Good course, but I still prefer Aguila. Fairly flat, but there are some minor elevation changes. Water in play on three holes, although it looks like the pond on the 9th has dried up. Bunkering is very good. I do like that the course has several sweepers. Pity that the tree on the inside corner of the 18th is gone. 

 

Not an overly difficult course off the tee. The sweepers require either working the ball or taking an aggressive line through the inside corner to avoid running through the fairways. Monorail misses are no problem with the fairly generous rough. Unlike Aguila, big misses are generally playable in the sparse desert. Approaches are tough, though, with plenty of deep bunkers, and soft fronts on the elevated greens. Greens are moderately contoured, so putting is somewhat challenging. Up and downs can be tricky from the rough with iffy lies and bunkers to carry. A handful of holes have large dropoffs that feed into the desert, and scrambling from those lies are really tough. 

 

Par 3s aren't particularly interesting. The 11th with the forced carry over the pond is good. The other 3 are long and tough, playing 195, 195, and 214 from the White tees. Par 5s are also meh. Nothing reachable. The 1st and 9th both have water right of the green. The 15th's green is very well guarded. The three short 4s are good. Trouble off the tee and tough greens. 

 

Conditions were very good. Overseeded fairways were lush, but they must have had the sprinklers going full force early morning, as running balls were kicking up rooster tails. Very little rollout. Rough was hit or miss. Some areas were a good height, but other areas were low. Bunkers were excellent. Well groomed and plenty of sand. Greens were rolling nicely. Probably 9 early with the moisture, but 10+ late in the round. 

 

Played the White tees at 6465 yds (70.1/120). Course was playing long with the wet fairways. Ugh. I'm trying to stay positive, but my driver has left the building. A decent short game can't save the day every day. Ten bogies. Highlight of the day was hitting the flag with a 9 iron with my 3rd on the 7th after a big hop. A horrid drive meant laying up, and I thought I was going to wind up over the green, but a lucky strike of the flag knocked the ball straight down to leave a 3 foot par putt. Had a nice 18' par putt on the 15th for a sandy. 

 

Going with 5 cows, same as Aguila. It's a solid muni, and a bargain with a city card ($56 walking), but it needs some variety in the 3s, and a little risk/reward on one or two of the 5s. Of course if one plays it from the tips at 7380 yds it'll kick you in the head and take your wallet and phone. 

 

Edited December 27, 2023 by Argonne69

[Argonne69]

Papago GC, Phoenix, AZ 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Full photo set: https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fo/8vxlnapcwok04nbojrg52/h?rlkey=e95f9plohdjpr5pxdso9feh0n&dl=0

 

[Argonne69]

Walter Station Brewery. Good location near the airport if you have a flight to catch. 16 taps, but heavy on the IPAs. The Old 29 barrel aged imperial stout is good. 

 

 

[DE-ILLINI]

Your write up of Papago GC brings back memories of when I played there a few years back.  Thanks for sharing.

[Argonne69]

My lucky day. When I stopped at Tombstone Brewing in Tombstone a month ago I picked up a can of their Heaven Hill Bourbon Barrel Aged Imperial Stout (17% ABV). Since they didn't have it on tap, I took a chance buying a can, since I've been burned way too many times buying imperial stouts that turned out to be awful. After I cracked open the can a few days later I was kicking myself for not buying more. So good, and extremely boozy. I've stopped at several liquor stores since then that carry Tombstone Brewing, but the imperial stout has been absent. Stopped by Tombstone Brewing in Phoenix, and lo and behold, nirvana. In addition to having three imperial stouts on tap, they have a cooler full of the high octane goodness. 

 

 

[Argonne69]

The good luck continues. Frasher's Smokehouse in Phoenix. The brisket was good. Tender, but a tad bit lean. Ribs were also good. Meaty, but a little lean. Burnt ends were decent. Sides were excellent. The baked beans tasted more like a good chili with more meat than beans. The green chili mac and cheese was dreamy. Creamy with a nice kick. The cornbread was outstanding. Hate dry cornbread, but this was super moist. The three sauces were very good. Tennessee Tangy was flavorful, Texas Spicy had a nice kick without going overboard and the Kansas City Sweet was what you'd expect from a proper KC sauce. Definitely worth a visit. 

 

 

[CDM]

2 hours ago, Argonne69 said:

Papago GC, Phoenix, AZ 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Full photo set: https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fo/8vxlnapcwok04nbojrg52/h?rlkey=e95f9plohdjpr5pxdso9feh0n&dl=0

 

 

We have snow and brown conditions now  😂 seeing green fairways and greens is making me jealous....!

[ssp]

Challenge - 450 courses in 2023 https://www.tiktok.com/t/ZT8xTaWxL/

Edited December 27, 2023 by ssp