[tuq]

oT as usual made a good post. I'll try to expand upon it.

The renumbering thing happened last month and annoyed me. The reason is, the Monument course opened last decade to rave reviews and awards. The Pinnacle course opened earlier this decade to pretty decent accolades, but the general consensus is that the Monument is a way fairer course, whereas Pinnacle had the better views but was fairly goofy in spots.

With the renumbering they basically took two different courses and mashed them together. I can't remember which is which now, but the one on the clubhouse side of the course is probably the better of the two, because the original Monument back nine was probably the best of the four nines, and is still the back nine after the changes.

Course tips aren't necessary with yardage guides and such.

As for other courses, We-Ko-Pa is the easy pick. Either course is fine, if you want to try walking a round then try their newer course, it's slightly flatter and they will give you pretty cool motorized pull carts and the course was designed with the walker in mind, as there are grass transitions between every hole and the next tee. Set on an indian reservation, there are no homes on the course, although it is adjacent to Fort McDowell casino. This course is probably the best high-end value in Phoenix and residents with AZ drivers licenses are given pretty substantial year-round discounts.

The other courses that oT mentioned aren't Best in Show to me. Gold Canyon is stellar but is WAY out there. Fact: they used to have only 18 holes, which is now holes 9-16 and 18 of Sidewinder and holes 1-4 and 14-18 of Dinosaur Mountain, but additional land acquisition and development allowed them to add 18 more holes and blow it out to two courses, one of which is clearly preferable to the other.

Not sure what your budget is for the other rounds, and if you would like a departure from relentless desert golf. If so consider a course like Raven @ South Mountain, which is lined with pine trees, or a place like McCormick Ranch, which is a fairly challenging old school course with very mature trees and two courses with fun layouts. Or a place like Gainey Ranch, adjacent to that one with three pretty fun nines and a fairly forgiving layout.

Probably the best course that you won't play is The Boulders, a resort course with two stellar courses and unbelievable scenery. At the least you should look into it. It is a few miles up the road from Troon North.

All that said there are far more courses I would recommend avoiding because I don't see the value than ones I would suggest, so feel free to PM me with any questions you may have.

Food: in Scottsdale or nearby there is about every high-end chain restaurant imaginable and plenty of non-chains that are stellar (Mastro's, a chop house up near Troon North, is beloved by the locals). oT's take on Don & Charlie's is spot on, it's not the best but it's local flavor. There are so many places to choose from it would be impossible to recommend unless you narrowed it down.

Bars: same thing here, but one annoying thing is that in Scottsdale, where most of your time will be spent, the cops are very DUI-zealous. And they have plenty of customers, since it's the party center of the Phoenix area. Just be careful. Post what kinds of bars you're looking for and it will be easier to recommend.

Place to stay: can't really help much on this one since I live here. If you're only playing three rounds I guess your stay won't be long enough to consider renting a condo for the week or whatever. However if your golf ends up all being in the Scottsdale area then you should consider one of the many resorts in this area with a focus on the McCormick/Gainey Ranch area as it is halfway between both the bustling Downtown Scottsdale area and the newer hopping district up in the Kierland/Scottsdale Airport area, both of which have plenty of nightlife. So an example would be to stay at the Hyatt Gainey Ranch or whatever it's called (would allow you easy access to that course), or Resort Suites Scottsdale, or Camelback Inn (and access to another traditional and fairly decent course), etc. Plenty of choices.

This was no doubt way long but I'll just hit send and hope it ended up being helpful.