For starters... Verrado is not in Scottsdale. It's actually about a 45 minute drive from mid-Scottsdale and well worth it. My first impression of the Victory course is that someone dropped patches of sod in the middle of a gravel pit. My second impression was how cool it would be to play through patches of grass in a gravel pit!

Scenery - There is a huge mix in scenery when driving through a course that still has the majority of the residential housing under construction or un-started. There are big open areas of leveled out dirt awaiting new homes, but some of these homes will get to share the excellent view. Much of the course is perched up a few hundred feet above the valley floor giving it expansive views of the entire Phoenix metro area. You see downtown off in the distance and all of the surrounding mountains. The ground that the course is on is very unique. Some parts feel like a quarry where they have blasted through the rock to make way for tracks of green.

Service - The bag drop and check-in were seem-less, but the food and drink service was a bit lacking. By 10am there was no more breakfast food available and the kitchen would not open until 10:30. By the time our round had ended (3pm) the food shack had already shut down and we had to have the cart guys refill our water bottles. There was a single beer cart and the gal driving it was terrific, but the fact that the course is spread out over miles (way more than usual because of the long drives between green to tee) we only saw her twice and the first time was just in time, the second time we were about done.

Variation - The Victory course has a great mix of holes. Hilly, doglegs, islands of rock obstacles, a little bit of water and some occasional blind shots. Each hole was a challenge and definitely made me want to play again once I knew the nuances of each hole. The course is quite long at over 7,200 yards, but they have 5 tees and a number of combinations you can use to set the distance best suited to your handicap.

Maintenance - Two days of monsoon rains saturated the Victory course and it was deemed cart path only the day I visited. While normally not a huge deal, it was 103 degrees and probably 60% humidity. That said, they did an amazing job keeping the course in great shape. Parts of the fairways were a bit soaked (not puddled) and had they allowed carts there would be mud streaks running through the fairways. The greens were in excellent shape and the grounds were nicely landscaped and clean.

Value - I scored a deal through UnderPar.com which sends emails with offers weekly. (was signed up after joining Arizona Golf Association). Two golfers + 4 drink tickets for around $100. Their regular summer rate was a bit steep at $63 but with the tremendous views and unusual track I would say it was worth the money.

For being such a long drive from Scottsdale, it was definitely worth while. The scenery is very unusual compared to any other course I have played in the valley. The large rocks and crushed granite waste areas are unlike any of the East side mountainous courses. If you have the time or want to impress in-town guests for a unique round, I would highly suggest a visit to Verrado!