I just got back from Scottsdale, Arizona for the 3^rd time this year. As you know, I am a golf fanatic and went to business school in Arizona. So it’s a place that I love going and have some roots there. In fact, I am actually looking at houses out there as well and considering at least a part-time move out there. So this trip was all about searching, food and fun with 36 holes in Scottsdale, Arizona amongst other things!

It was a busy week taking me from New York to Chicago to Las Vegas to Scottsdale. I took the 6:30am American Airlines shuttle from Las Vegas landing at 7:30am into Sky Harbor airport in Phoenix. I waited for 30 minutes until my buddy Joe landed from LA. The clubs took a while to come out so we ended up missing our initial tee time at the Pinnacle Course at Troon North. However, what we then saw was world-class service from the team at Troon North.

 

We literally took an Uber XL from the airport to Troon North and en route I called to tell them we were running late and they said no problem they’d work it out. I was a little anxious because we were supposed to play 36 holes that day. When we arrived, the concierge literally was expecting us, took all our bags (personal and golf), stored them and set up our clubs on the cart.

 

Upon walking into the clubhouse to the pro shop, our names were on a board that said welcome with embroidered hats and golf tags for each of us! It was about 9:15am and we were late so they took us out to the 12^th hole and started on 12. This meant we were ahead of everyone and ended up playing our first 18 holes pretty quickly. It was awesome!

The Pinnacle Course is fantastic. It is beautiful, challenging and featured some incredible views. The fairways were sheer perfection and I can confidently say the course was better kept than TPC Scottsdale where I recently played during a long weekend in Scottsdale.

In terms of play, I played pretty darn well on Pinnacle. I shot an 85, which I was happy with considering we didn’t warm up and literally came off the plane to start playing. Plus the 85 was with 3 double bogeys and a triple. So I was pretty happy!

After a quick bite to eat, we headed out to play the Monument Course. I have to admit I liked Monument better than Pinnacle although they were both tremendous. I didn’t play quite as well but 36 holes in Scottsdale, Arizona in 95-degree heat isn’t the easiest thing to do.

 

Desert courses are just spectacular when they’re kept well as long as you just admire the view and aren’t searching for lost balls! But trust me, you will lose balls on the Troon North courses!

 

On both courses the Par 3’s and Par 5’s are all very manageable whereas you can get into some trouble on the Par 4’s. Fairways and greens as they say…if it were only that easy!

After golf we headed over to the hotel. I was really excited to be checking out the brand spanking new Mountain Shadows Resort in Paradise Valley. Mountain Shadows is an old school kind of hotel in the vein of the nearby Valley Ho or something like a 1970’s Beverly Hills Hotel. It is really cool.

The hotel just opened a few weeks ago and is still under construction in some areas which is noticeable but not invasive. The rooms are large with vaulted ceilings, awesome showers and beds.

The pool is fantastic.  I think it has the potential to rival some of the other Scottsdale resort hotels like the W Scottsdale or Montelucia for top pool scene if they decide to let locals and non-guests come into the pool area. The lobby bar is spacious and a cool place to have an evening cocktail.

The restaurant is very good for dinner. We got just about everything on the menu and everything was very good. Nothing was the best thing you’ve ever tasted but everything was above average and the service was top notch.

Breakfast is served in the restaurant, at the bar (try the waffle) or outside by the putting green for the Par 3 course at Rusty’s. I admit I ate breakfast at Rusty’s but I ordered lunch and the club sandwich was killer and very affordable.

Aside from hanging out at the hotel, playing golf and looking at houses we also played a little poker at Talking Stick Casino-I didn’t win sadly. However, don’t feel bad for me-I won pretty big in Vegas a few days earlier!

 

For dinner we also ate at one of my favorite restaurants in Scottsdale, Sumomaya. It’s a Mexican-Asian fusion with killer sushi, guacamole and cocktails. It’s a big scene and very Scottsdale. In fact my friends and I ate there the night before the Super Bowl 2 years ago and Paul McCartney was at the table next to us. I highly recommend it.

So we did a little more than just 36 holes in Scottsdale, Arizona but I loved every second of it. This is why I love Scottsdale, it all feels like vacation and everything is good. That’s a big reason I may end up living there, at least part-time. We shall see!

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