Stonecreek GC’s smokin’ summer time deal made it my favourite course of the yr

At GOLF.com, journey — and taking part in golf — is part of the gig. Right here, as we depend down the ultimate days of 2024, is a take a look at a few of the favourite programs our staffers performed over the previous 12 months.

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Phoenix, Ariz., is named one of many nation’s golf meccas — and for good motive. With almost 200 programs within the area — and gentle winter temperatures within the 60s and 70s — there’s no scarcity of locations to play all yr spherical. The truth that the world is a coveted vacation spot for vacationers escaping the winter chilly, nevertheless, creates a little bit of an issue for locals like me. As quickly because the climate will get good, the value of golf will increase dramatically — generally to a number of hundred {dollars} per spherical. (Take a look at the eye-popping inexperienced charges I discovered round city throughout final yr’s Tremendous Bowl weekend — yikes!)

If you happen to aren’t a member of a non-public membership, you’ll want to be ready to shell out in an enormous strategy to play a spherical throughout the prime season. However except it’s a special day with family and friends on the town, I’m typically not inclined to spend prime greenback on golf. This yr, although, I realized why it pays to play the majority of my rounds within the off-peak summer time months after I found a smokin’ late-summer deal at a neighborhood course.

Stonecreek GC is a public course positioned simply minutes from my house in Phoenix. The par-71, 6,871-yard course was initially designed by Gary Grandstaff and Roy Dye, and later re-designed by Arthur Hills & Associates. The vibe is pleasant and low-key, and the links-style format presents lovely views of the Squaw Peak mountains.

Previous to the beginning of summer time, my mother, who additionally lives regionally, expressed an curiosity in re-establishing her long-dormant handicap index. We determined to play a sequence of rounds collectively, and as I used to be investigating a great venue for us, I occurred upon a summer time deal from Stonecreek that appeared too good to be true. The Stonecreek “6-pack” supplied six rounds of golf for $159 — that got here out to solely $26.50 per spherical, and included the cart. The one catch? All rounds wanted to be accomplished by the tip of September, and the earliest you can e-book a tee instances was 72 hours upfront. Though we’d should courageous 110-degree temperatures, we have been instantly offered.

Signing up for the 6-pack was the primary time I had a number of days of golf on my schedule — one spherical per week — since my faculty days. It’s exceptional how significantly better every spherical feels if you get within the groove of standard play. I hadn’t skilled that in a very long time! And except for spending the standard time with my mother, which I beloved, it was additionally enjoyable to get to know a close-by course as our “native.” Stonecreek is hard, with some lay-ups required off tees, quite a few inconveniently-placed penalty areas and many bunkers. Water comes into play quite a few instances. In our first spherical, I misplaced two sleeves of balls. (!) However every week, over the course of our six rounds, my mother and I found the best way to play every gap strategically. By the tip of September, I suffered no such losses. We knew have been to overlook and the best way to mitigate potential blow-ups.

It felt good to name a brand new course my house. I felt like a daily, a lot in order that when a buddy got here to city final week, Stonecreek was the place I needed to carry him to play. Our high-season inexperienced price? $105. Whereas the value stung a bit, contemplating what I had paid to play lower than three months earlier than, the fee was nonetheless a relative cut price, contemplating the price of different space programs.

Greater than something, the Stonecreek 6-Pack jogged my memory of golf’s core joys: Enjoying with individuals you like and having fun with the outside — even when it’s sweltering. The truth that it was additionally ultra-affordable was the icing on the cake.

Whereas the Phoenix temperatures are positively superb in the mean time, suffice to to say that my mother and I are already trying ahead to the summer time — and one other Stonecreek 6-pack.