Stonecreek GC’s smokin’ summer time deal made it my favourite course of the 12 months

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 have a look at among 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 delicate winter temperatures within the 60s and 70s — there’s no scarcity of locations to play all 12 months spherical. The truth that the world is a coveted vacation spot for vacationers escaping the winter chilly, nonetheless, creates a little bit of an issue for locals like me. As quickly because the climate will get good, the worth of golf will increase dramatically — typically to a number of hundred {dollars} per spherical. (Try the eye-popping inexperienced charges I discovered round city throughout final 12 months’s Tremendous Bowl weekend — yikes!)

When you aren’t a member of a non-public membership, you want to be ready to shell out in a giant strategy to play a spherical through the prime season. However except it’s an important day with family and friends on the town, I’m typically not inclined to spend prime greenback on golf. This 12 months, although, I realized why it pays to play the majority of my rounds within the off-peak summer time months once I found a smokin’ late-summer deal at a neighborhood course.

Stonecreek GC is a public course situated 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 structure gives stunning views of the Squaw Peak mountains.

Previous to the beginning of summer time, my mother, who additionally lives domestically, 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 superb venue for us, I occurred upon a summer time deal from Stonecreek that appeared too good to be true. The Stonecreek “6-pack” provided 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 possibly can ebook a tee occasions was 72 hours upfront. Regardless that we’d need to courageous 110-degree temperatures, we had been instantly bought.

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 school days. It’s outstanding how a lot 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 liked, 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 plenty of bunkers. Water comes into play quite a few occasions. 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 tips on how to play every gap strategically. By the tip of September, I suffered no such losses. We knew had been to overlook and tips on how to mitigate potential blow-ups.

It felt good to name a brand new course my house. I felt like an everyday, a lot in order that when a buddy got here to city final week, Stonecreek was the place I wished to convey him to play. Our high-season inexperienced charge? $105. Whereas the worth stung a bit, contemplating what I had paid to play lower than three months earlier than, the price was nonetheless a relative discount, 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 ultimate in the meanwhile, suffice to to say that my mother and I are already wanting ahead to the summer time — and one other Stonecreek 6-pack.