[offTopic]

I've mentioned bits and pieces of this trip in other threads, so I'll try and condense here.

My wife and I went to Scottsdale over Christmas last year. We played We-Ko-Pa (Cholla), Troon North (Monument), and Talking Stick (North). Since we're on 2p2, I'll also mention that I played low-stakes LHE at Fort McDowell and Casino Arizona.

After a quick jaunt to Sedona, we came back and spent a couple of days at Gold Canyon, playing one round each at Dinosaur Mountain and Sidewinder.

Rating the courses (in order of preference):

1. We-Ko-Pa - Beautiful course, and it wasn't built out. A fair amount of desert target-style golf, but there were usually ample bailout areas. Close to Fort McDowell Casino.

2. Dinosaur Mountain - Gold Canyon was 45 mins (?) east of Phoenix, and is a resort. This course was (from memory) the top-rated public course in Arizona, and was very fun to play (although it was fricken freezing the first 16 holes). More of a mountain course with lots of elevation changes.

3. Troon North - tuq said they've rerouted, so I don't know how different it is now. The course itself is very nice, again desert golf, but the reason I ranked it lower is because it's built out so much (I felt like I was always playing next to someone's back yard) and when we were there, the conditions weren't great. By far the most expensive, too, something like $215.

4. Talking Stick - Odd layout - I guess it's supposed to be links-y? Wide, wide open fairways with most greens elevated and next to no rough. The conditions were great here, but I felt like I was playing on a driving range. Close to Casino Arizona.

5. Sidewinder - The second course at Gold Canyon, it doesn't have the benefit of the best real estate (most of it takes up the low-lying areas around the resort. Don't get me wrong, it's not a dog track, but it doesn't offer the scenery of DM, and is largely quite flat.

The only restaurant of note that we went to was Don & Charlie's...they'll give you a free appetizer if you tell them this is your first time there. The food was good, not great. The baseball memorabilia all over the restaurant is pretty cool, though.

The LL action was far, far better at CA than Fort McDowell.

Who's next?