Sunday, December 31, 2006
First Tee Phoenix
They Say:
The First Tee of Phoenix at Desert Mirage
The First Tee of Phoenix at Desert Mirage Golf Course has been added to reach youth in Glendale and surrounding areas. Desert Mirage Golf Course has provided summer programming to many youth in the area and will continue with programming similar to that of the South Mountain site.
Learn More...
The First Tee of Phoenix at South Mountain
The First Tee of Phoenix is located on 7th Street approximately 1.5 miles south of Baseline, at the base of South Mountain. Click here for Directions. The First Tee of Phoenix facility includes a Learning Center and a golf course. The golf course was designed in 2001 by prominent golf course designer Tom Fazio and features a short course consisting of 9 holes - all par 3's. The First Tee of Phoenix also offers a practice putting green, several practice bunkers, and a driving range for use by par
ticipants during golf-learning clinics.
The First Tee of Phoenix at Desert Mirage
The First Tee of Phoenix at Desert Mirage Golf Course has been added to reach youth in Glendale and surrounding areas. Desert Mirage Golf Course has provided summer programming to many youth in the area and will continue with programming similar to that of the South Mountain site.
Learn More...
The First Tee of Phoenix at South Mountain
The First Tee of Phoenix is located on 7th Street approximately 1.5 miles south of Baseline, at the base of South Mountain. Click here for Directions. The First Tee of Phoenix facility includes a Learning Center and a golf course. The golf course was designed in 2001 by prominent golf course designer Tom Fazio and features a short course consisting of 9 holes - all par 3's. The First Tee of Phoenix also offers a practice putting green, several practice bunkers, and a driving range for use by par
ticipants during golf-learning clinics.The first picture shows a typical bunker at First Tee at South Mountain. Each hole is just a pitch-and-putt, but the condition of the course is largely excellent, the design is Fazio-ish, challenging and intimidating even tho' short. It is an excellent place to learn golf, to prepare young golfers for the exigencies of "real" golf. I did think the greens were a little slow, but they seemed really durable. The cost for us to play was $5 a person, very reasonable!
Here I am, toting clubs for my girls and my grandson -- The DaddyCaddy -- 
The First Tee at Desert Mirage, OTOH, while still a fine facility, is not so suitable for the raw beginner. . . the 9 holes there are 2095 Yds, par 31, with 4 par 4s (320 - 353 yds long). SO: not the best place for a beginner, and it is populated by once-a-year-duffer-types, that tend to spray the ball wildly -- notice the netting spread everywhere to attempt to protect people. The price there 
was $12 a person, so it's not so much a bargain as at South Mountain . . . plus . . . they rent carts there, which get driven over every part of the course, including tees and greens, tearing it up when it is wet. . . plus . . . the layout is really awkward and confusing . . . plus . . . the greens were more normal (faster), but nearly so well kept as at South Mountain. . . and there are bunkers, but not nearly so omnipresent or as large or as in-play as at South Mountain. This last picture shows the l-o-n-g first fairway, even from the Red Tees.
The First Tee at Desert Mirage, OTOH, while still a fine facility, is not so suitable for the raw beginner. . . the 9 holes there are 2095 Yds, par 31, with 4 par 4s (320 - 353 yds long). SO: not the best place for a beginner, and it is populated by once-a-year-duffer-types, that tend to spray the ball wildly -- notice the netting spread everywhere to attempt to protect people. The price there 
was $12 a person, so it's not so much a bargain as at South Mountain . . . plus . . . they rent carts there, which get driven over every part of the course, including tees and greens, tearing it up when it is wet. . . plus . . . the layout is really awkward and confusing . . . plus . . . the greens were more normal (faster), but nearly so well kept as at South Mountain. . . and there are bunkers, but not nearly so omnipresent or as large or as in-play as at South Mountain. This last picture shows the l-o-n-g first fairway, even from the Red Tees.
