Arizona Golf Courses – Arizona Golf Authority Golf Course Reviews
The 500 Club is a terrific combination of fun golf holes in a lovely secluded setting for a greens fee golfers will find reasonable, especially during Arizona golf’s “peak season” winter months.
But no matter what season you play, the rate is always worth the rich payoff received when you literally play up to, around and over the protected mountain preserve of the Hedgpeth Hills. Brian Whitcomb used these rugged outcroppings, together with lakes and arroyos, to produce the fun and, depending on your tee selection, challenging par-72 500 Club layout.
From the tips, the course measures 6,867 yards with a rating of 71.5 and 121 slope. Tee markers are also provided at 6,203 and 5,601 yards; rating and slope are 68.5/119 and 69.8/112, respectively. Par for the course from the forward tees is 73.
This is one of those rare Phoenix golf courses that is not a series of house-lined fairways. Due to its location in the preserve, the only house you’ll see all day is the Clubhouse.
The challenge begins early at the 500 Club so stay focused; the lovely setting here can be distracting. The 553-yard par-5 2nd green is literally butted against the mountains – don’t be long. The 409-yard par-4 3rd doglegs left around them – don’t tug it left, and the 4th offering at the 500 Club is a 4-par 419-yard thrill ride down the hill which leaves you staring at an island green, death-gripping your carefully chosen second-shot club. A second, non-island green shares daily duty here from time to time.
Here’s more fun. The mountainside 161-yard par-3 11th plays 2-3 clubs uphill to a green surface too elevated to see, and the 12th tee is perched at the top of that mountain. The view of the preserve from the 12th tee-box is spectacular, as is the view of your drive on this 380-yard par-4 as it falls 80+ feet to the fairway and lake-hugging green complex below.
At the 500 Club, the native desert terrain is kept alongside the fairways and rarely crosses your direct path of play to the green. In the event that you stray a bit right or left, no worries, you’ll find your ball and likely be able to play it without too much trouble.
The lakes are kept alongside as well; you’ll have to hit it sideways to find them. The only forced carry over water on the course protects the 18th green, but along the right side of the green it shrinks in size to form a narrow creek you may step across if you wish.
The 500 Club is a terrific golf course and we recommend to all our avid club players. The facility is outfitted with all the amenities, including a very generous practice range and a separate 9-hole course named the Futures Course.
The Futures plays at 1,620-yards to par-28 and is the perfect spot to groom a veteran player’s iron-game, encourage a developing player’s full-game and sharpen everybody’s short game. Rest assured, the turf conditions here are maintained at the same high level as those on the championship course.
The 500 Club’s ambiance is “come as you are” and anyone who enjoys golf, at any skill level, will feel comfortable. The staff does an exemplary job of providing an entertaining round of golf for one of the fairest rates in town.
Arizona Golf Authority AZGA “Local Hang” for the 500 Club is Dillon’s, on the east side of 59th Avenue, just north of the 101 Loop; you’ll enjoy the drive through the preserve on the way.