This golf course is closed for business. Not true? Let us know.
Looking for other options nearby?

GolfPass Icon
Rating Index Rating
Tooltip Information Icon
3.8
369 Reviews (369)
5 Stars
93
4 Stars
177
3 Stars
58
2 Stars
19
1 Stars
22
Conditions
3.6
Value
3.8
Layout
4.1
Friendliness
4.1
Pace
3.5
Amenities
3.9
80.2%
Recommend this course
296 out of 369 reviews
Read Reviews
Average Rating
Avg Rating
0
5 Stars
0
4 Stars
0
3 Stars
0
2 Stars
0
1 Stars
0
Conditions
0
Value
0
Layout
0
Friendliness
0
Pace
0
Amenities
0
0%
Recommend this course
Read Reviews
Average Rating
Avg Rating
0
5 Stars
0
4 Stars
0
3 Stars
0
2 Stars
0
1 Stars
0
Conditions
0
Value
0
Layout
0
Friendliness
0
Pace
0
Amenities
0
0%
Recommend this course
Read Reviews

About

Holes 18
Type Public
Style Traditional
Par 70
Length 7002 yards
Slope 131
Rating 73.8

Editor's Note: Course closed for business in May 2019.

ASU Karsten Golf Course features a Pete and Perry Dye-designed links-style course characterized by design features that challenge, such as Dye's mounding and bunkering - making it important to pick the right golf clubs if you don't want to run up that score. Big-name PGA and LPGA Tour golfers like Phil Mickelson, Billy Mayfair and Grace Park have all played this course.

ASU Karsten Golf Course offers several holes one could call "signature," such as the short par-4 fourth, the tough par-4 ninth, the daunting par-3 16th (248 yards from the tips) and the challenging par-4 final hole. The water on the left side is the reason this is called one of Arizona's most difficult finishers.

After a round at the ASU Karsten Golf Course, check out the 21,000-square-foot Sun Angel Clubhouse, which tempts players with its Southwestern and American fare in the Trophy Room.

Course Details

Year Built 1989
Fairways TiffDwarf Grass
Greens TiffDwarf Grass
Golf Season Year round
Architect Pete Dye (1989) Perry Dye (1989) Forrest Richardson

Rentals/Services

Carts Yes
Clubs Yes
GPS No

Practice/Instruction

Driving Range Yes
Caddies No
Golf School Academy Yes - "PING Learning Center"
Teaching Pro Yes
Pitching/Chipping Area Yes
Putting Green Yes

Policies

Credit Cards Accepted Visa, American Express, Mastercard and Discover
Metal Spikes Allowed No
Walking Allowed Yes
Dress code Collared golf shirt, shorts if worn must be mid-thigh and hemmed, no denim, no tee shirts or athletic wear.

Food & Beverage

Snacks, Restaurant

Available Facilities

Clubhouse

Reviews

3.8
369 Reviews (369)

What Golfers Are Saying

The 19th Hole is Great For:
Drinks 23
Patio Dining 21
Brunch 14
Course Challenges Include:
Bunkers 71
Water Hazards 51
Narrow Fairways 35
This course/club is great for:
Advanced Golfers 47
Locals 41
Playing Multiple Courses 21
This Course's Location is:
On a College Campus 64
Convenient to the City 62
Near the Airport 60

Numbers based on reviews tagged with attribute.

Advanced Filters
Overall Rating
Recommended
Handicap
Age
Type of Golfer
Gender
Played On
Reviews 2
Handicap 10-14
Skill Intermediate
Plays A few times a week
2.0
Verified Purchaser
First Time Playing

Grainy greens

Greens were unpredictable and very grainy. No marshals to speed play along and no map on score card or cart to show a first time golfer where hole was or where to even direct his ball.

Conditions Poor
Value Poor
Friendliness Good
Pace Fair
Amenities Fair
Played On
Reviews 1
Skill Intermediate
Plays Once a week
I Recommend This Course
3.0
Verified Purchaser
Previously Played

Fun course, lacking staff assistance and cart amenities

Fun and challenging course in great condition after a long summer. Issues we had which were not up to par are that we did not have a course/hole guide on cart so had no idea on layout or yardage. Cart coolers had a few ice cubes floating in mostly water, no tees, and we finally had to phone the pro shop to request drinks after not seeing any staff or beverage cart in eight holes. Finished round at 4:30 PM and no staff in sight to help with bags when we returned after finishing the 18th hole.

Conditions Good
Value Good
Friendliness Poor
Pace Good
Amenities Good
Played On
Reviews 3
Handicap 5-9
Skill Advanced
Plays Once a week
1.0
Verified Purchaser
Previously Played
Good weather
Used cart

this course sucks

it took 4.5 hours to play 16 holes.

Staff did not care at all.

I would never play this dog track again

Conditions Poor
Value Poor
Friendliness Poor
Pace Poor
Difficulty Moderate
Played On
Reviews 178
Handicap 0-4
Skill Advanced
Plays Once a week
I Recommend This Course
4.0
Top 100 Contributor
Verified Purchaser
Previously Played

challenging Pete Dye course 3.6476

well designed and challenging. greens and many areas looked beaten up. greens, however, putted very well! power plant and power lines surrounding facility are an eye sore and should be taken down! the ethstetics of the golf course are more important than people having electricity!

Conditions Fair
Value Average
Friendliness Fair
Pace Fair
Amenities Average
Played On
Reviews 9
Handicap 0-4
Skill Advanced
Plays A few times a week
1.0
First Time Playing
Fair weather
Used cart

Time badly spent

I will not go into much detail other than to say there are way better courses in the valley. It is a course people have always said I should play, I wish I hadn't.

Staff were miserable, The food was awful, the pace of play was nearly 6 hours, and the course conditions were wet and poorly looked after. Add to that the noise from the power station and the airport, it was not a day to remember.

I will never go back!

Conditions Poor
Value Poor
Friendliness Poor
Pace Poor
Amenities Poor
Difficulty Fairly Easy
Played On
Reviews 20
Handicap 10-14
Skill Intermediate
Plays A few times a week
3.0
Verified Purchaser
Previously Played
Good weather
Used cart

karsten needs some course conditioning

such a well designed course....too bad the mangt and grounds crew seems to be letting the place go around the edges. rough is very uneven, the traps are in horrible shape, and the golf carts are some of the worst around. also, there is no distance finder on the carts and the course itself is very poorly marked for distances given that fact. the power plant noise in the background is deafening and combined with the airplanes overhead from sky harbor it is not a very relaxing atmospher....like playing in the middle of a city.

Conditions Poor
Value Fair
Friendliness Fair
Pace Average
Amenities Fair
Difficulty Somewhat Challenging
Played On
Reviews 7
Handicap 0-4
Skill Advanced
Plays A few times a week
I Recommend This Course
4.0
Verified Purchaser
Previously Played

Course in good shape

Course in good shape. Bag drop and pro shop staff mostly unfriendly. Stood in line in the pro shop for 15min to get checked in. This is not the first time it has been an issue. Good service from food and beverage staff.

Conditions Good
Value Good
Friendliness Fair
Pace Good
Amenities Average
Played On
Reviews 28
Handicap 20-24
Skill Intermediate
Plays Once a week
I Recommend This Course
3.0
Verified Purchaser
Previously Played
Good weather
Used cart

Long afternoon of golf

Wanted to play a quick round on a Saturday afternoon, but pace of play was very slow. Although playing as a threesome, it still took us almost 5 hours to get around after starting at noon. Still a nice course and worth the money, but allow time to play. Hopefully this was the exception and not the rule.

Conditions Good
Value Good
Friendliness Average
Pace Poor
Amenities Good
Difficulty Moderate
Played On
Reviews 1
Handicap 25+
Skill Intermediate
Plays Once a week
I Recommend This Course
4.0
Verified Purchaser
Previously Played
Good weather
Used cart

Hot day at Karsten

Great value at Karsten in the heat. Played in under 4 hours.

Conditions Good
Value Excellent
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Excellent
Amenities Good
Difficulty Extremely Challenging
Played On
Reviews 26
Handicap 15-19
Skill Intermediate
Plays Once a week
I Recommend This Course
5.0
Verified Purchaser
Previously Played
Walked

Really nice course

The course is in excellent condition, especially for this time of the year. Great rates well worth a visit

Conditions Good
Value Excellent
Friendliness Good
Pace Excellent
Amenities Excellent
Difficulty Somewhat Challenging
Played On
Reviews 43
Handicap 10-14
Skill Advanced
Plays A few times a week
1.0
First Time Playing
Average weather
Used cart

asu course

Course was in poor conition. Many bad spots on greens. This is a contrived course squeezed into a small area. Rough was 4 inches deep in many places. Very hard to tell where fairways ended and rough started. Pace of play very slow and no marshall. Can not recommend this course.

Conditions Poor
Value Poor
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Poor
Difficulty Somewhat Challenging
Played On
Reviews 30
Handicap 15-19
Skill Intermediate
Plays Once a week
I Recommend This Course
5.0
Verified Purchaser
First Time Playing
Excellent weather
Used cart

Karsten

Excellent course, excellent conditions for this time of year. Pace did slow after the 10th hole though there was a ranger on the course.

Conditions Excellent
Value Excellent
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Good
Amenities Excellent
Difficulty Somewhat Challenging
Played On
Reviews 19
Handicap 10-14
Skill Intermediate
Plays A few times a week
I Recommend This Course
4.0
Previously Played

greens in good shape

This course is in good shape the greens are really nice for this time of year! Cart girl was easy on the eyes too.

Conditions Good
Value Excellent
Friendliness Good
Pace Average
Amenities Excellent
Played On
Reviews 4
Skill Intermediate
Plays Once a month
I Recommend This Course
4.0
First Time Playing

Birthday round of golf.

Beautiful course with only very minor issues. Great value for the price. Great location.

Conditions Good
Value Excellent
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Excellent
Amenities Good
Played On
Reviews 11
Handicap 15-19
Skill Intermediate
Plays Once a week
1.0
Verified Purchaser
Previously Played
Average weather
Used cart

Will never go back to Karsten.

The condition of the course was not great, but not terrible. It was a bit hard, but that's expected in the middle of the AZ summer.

I was thoroughly unimpressed with the course staff as well as the pace of play. We finished our round in - wait for it - FIVE AND A HALF HOURS. We waited on the 10th tee for about 15-20 minutes, and the ranger was informed of the hold-up. The ranger did not do anything to increase the pace of play, even though it was painfully obvious the foursome in front of us were holding everyone up. It's really difficult to get into any kind of rhythm on the course when you're waiting on people ahead of you.

This is a VERY hilly course. You will be shooting on a downslope or upslope A LOT. Course is not very forgiving - missing the fairway means dealing with the hills (uneven lies, blind shots, etc) or worse. Length of course is not very long. We played the "Championship" yellow tees and length was about 6200-6300 yards. Shooting off blue ("Regular") tees would make the course <6000 yards. Don't let that fool you though. As I said, it's very hilly, and there are a number of bunkers in tricky spots around the green. I found the course to be quite challenging.

After the round I explained to the staff that it was the longest round I've ever played in my life, and that the ranger did not do anything to increase pace of play. I also asked if they just simply booked too many golfers on the same day. Needless to say, I won't be going back to Karsten because of this.

Conditions Average
Value Poor
Friendliness Fair
Pace Poor
Amenities Average
Difficulty Somewhat Challenging
Played On
Reviews 2
Skill Intermediate
Plays Once a week
I Recommend This Course
5.0
Previously Played

Great staff

Groups were slow ahead but the staff can't do anything about that. Always have a good time here. Quit after 9 because of back up but staff gave a rain check!

Conditions Good
Value Excellent
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Poor
Amenities Excellent
Played On
Reviews 49
Handicap 5-9
Skill Intermediate
Plays A few times a week
I Recommend This Course
5.0
Verified Purchaser
Previously Played
Excellent weather
Used cart

Driver isn't a necessary club

Course in very good shape, greens putted very good, and hit clubs off the tee to stay in the fairway otherwise fighting a losing battle for your second shot.

Conditions Excellent
Value Excellent
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Good
Amenities Excellent
Difficulty Somewhat Challenging
Played On
Reviews 1
Skill Intermediate
Plays A few times a week
I Recommend This Course
3.0
Verified Purchaser
Previously Played

Course was great but the pace of play was too slow.

My friends and I played a foursome - we had a good time despite the pace being slow.

Conditions Good
Value Average
Friendliness Good
Pace Fair
Amenities Good
Played On
Reviews 1
Skill Intermediate
Plays Once a month
1.0
Verified Purchaser
First Time Playing

Chased in

Tee time at 4 was told to be by 7pm with three groups ahead of us barley even got all 18 in...

Conditions Excellent
Value Average
Friendliness Poor
Pace Poor
Amenities Average
Played On
Reviews 1
Handicap Don't know
Skill Intermediate
Plays Once every three months
I Recommend This Course
4.0
Verified Purchaser
First Time Playing
Good weather
Used cart

Great Course

This was my first time playing the ASU course and it was great. The hills make it more challenging and the grass bunkers are as tough as the sand ones.

Conditions Excellent
Value Good
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Good
Amenities Excellent
Difficulty Somewhat Challenging
Nearby Courses
Tempe, Arizona
Public/Municipal
3.7306470588
1242
Tempe, Arizona
Public
3.2700176471
850
Phoenix, Arizona
Public/Municipal
3.1483823529
581
Scottsdale, Arizona
Public
3.1404529412
374
Scottsdale, Arizona
Public
3.6089588235
977
Phoenix, Arizona
Private
0.0
0
Mesa, Arizona
Private
3.0
4
Mesa, Arizona
Public/Municipal
4.1962588235
2245
Mesa, Arizona
Public
3.2378882353
259
Phoenix, Arizona
Resort
3.8355470588
3062
Tempe, Arizona
Public/Municipal
4.0553176471
2042
Scottsdale, Arizona
Private
5.0
1
Golf Packages

The Fairways of Fountain Hills Package

FROM $197 (USD)
PHOENIX/SCOTTSDALE | Enjoy 3 nights’ accommodations at a Private Home or Condo rental and 3 rounds of golf at Eagle Mountain, Sunridge Canyon, and We-Ko-Pa (Cholla or Saguaro Course).

True Spec Fitting Experience Package

FROM $277 (USD)
PHOENIX/SCOTTSDALE | Enjoy 4 nights’ accommodations at Westin Kierland Resort & Spa, 2 rounds of golf at Westin Kierland Golf Club & Troon North - Monument Course, and a custom fitting session at the True Spec world headquarters.

Grass Clippings Golf Getaway Package

FROM $247 (USD)
PHOENIX/SCOTTSDALE | Enjoy 3 nights’ accommodations at the Scottsdale Marriott Old Town and 3 rounds of golf at Papago Golf Club, Phoenician Golf Club, and Grass Clippings Rolling Hills.

Mesa Golf Around Package

FROM $187 (USD)
MESA | Enjoy 3 nights' accommodations at Home2 Suites by Hilton - Mesa Longbow and 3 rounds of golf at Las Sendas Golf Club, Longbow Golf Club & Ocotillo Golf Club.

The Phoenician Golf Around Package

FROM $237 (USD)
PHOENIX/SCOTTSDALE | Enjoy 3 nights' accommodations at the Scottsdale Marriott Old Town and 3 rounds of golf at The Phoenician Golf Club, Westin Kierland Golf Club & Papago Golf Course.
Now Reading