Whenever I ask people if they have played Silverado their response is almost always, "Yeah, I love that course". They don't say it in an "The course is amazing!" sort of way, but people just tend to find it a good fun course. Located at the south end of McCormick Ranch, in the same lowland that a handful of other courses share, lives Silverado meandering through neighborhoods and adjacent to Hayden Road (for a good part of the front 9).

This is a course that Leslie also knows like the back of her hand and she has yet to hit a single shot there. In 2020 I think Leslie drove me around the course probably 20+ rounds. Always good to have someone to make sure you have a cold towel, some good tunes, and to clap at you when you are having a melt down on the green.

Scenery: Personally, I find the bike paths and roadways a bit distracting, but it takes very little to cause me to shank one into right field. The houses along the course are nice and clean and the landscaping looks pretty nice. You will see plenty of geese, bunnies, and the occasional coyote, but views of Camelback or the surroundings tend to be fairly obstructed due to the low lying elevation of the course. There are some nice views as you are coming back towards the clubhouse on the back 9, and if it is late in the day the sun will be setting low in your face. (Pretty, yet crappy for seeing where your tee shot went).

Service: The front desk is lively and and super accommodating. The crew working the carts are always quick to grab your bag and get you set. They do a fine job with the club cleaning at the end of the round so remember to bring a fiver. The beverage service is good but don't be flirting with the staff, they have no time for that! They are working on a spirits license, but currently only serve beer from the bev cart due to its close proximity to the high school (maybe???) or maybe they just need to get that license upped.

Variation: While the course is short, at I think 6300 yards, there is a good mix of holes. No big doglegs, but a fair amount of elevation change on the back 9. Not much water and the sand traps are pretty avoidable which brings down their score a hair. Some of the biggest obstacles for high handicap golfers will be the joggers and patio windows. Bring the business card for your attorney just in case.

Maintenance: For a course that is in the middle of busy bike paths, roads, and neighborhoods you would expect some litter, occasional graffiti or maybe even some dog poo, but NO. The property is clean and the fairways, greens, cart paths, and bathrooms are in excellent shape. The sand traps tend to get hardened by water drainage (and are not very fine sand) but, for the most part, there's little to complain about (except for that subtle complaint about the sand traps).

Value: Tee times during peak winter months can be a bit high. They warrant the pricing, because not only are they always 10-15% less than McCormick Ranch just up the road, but super convenient to the large number of tourists staying near Old Town. During the summer they have the BEST DEAL IN TOWN. Their 112 Days of Summer was $112 up-front and then $12 per round (including cart). Hopefully they will run the same deal in 2021.

In summary, this is a course well worth checking out. I have friends that come down for a gold weekend and want to play one high end course and then at least one or two economical courses and Silverado always gets the thumbs up.