Golf Club at Vistoso

Played here many many times over the years. Always challenging course and always nice staff.

Had fun. Greens in good shape.

Played the Blacks (6872/72.1/143) as a single in slightly less than 3H. The weather was already HOT, clear with little wind even playing early.

Much of the man made extras added look very nice. Plenty of restrooms/water stations and many of the tee boxes have been built up, all framed with beautiful stone work.

Things you need to know about this layout going in:

1)This is definitely NOT a course for beginners.

2)There will be numerous forced carries even from forward tees.

3)The course is not well marked for yardages and there is no GPS on the carts.

4) Numerous risk/reward holes where knowing the layout is a must if you are going to be aggressive here.

5) This is target golf to the extreme. On numerous holes you play long enough to get over one area of desert scape but still play short enough to lay up to the next area of desert scape.

The Bermuda tees were extremely nice, almost immaculate with few unfixed divots. A few had low spots where I needed to move to get level lies.

The Bermuda fairways were probably 80% lush, with the other 20% ranging from thin to hardpan. They obviously have had issues with the heat. And the change was not gradual, you could go from great to horrible within a few yards.

The Bermuda rough was mostly lush and nice to chip out of around the greens.

The sand traps were beautifully designed but not well maintained. They ranged from crusty/thin to okay with a decent amount of sand.

The Bermuda green complexes are large and well maintained. They putted medium slow but were reasonably smooth for Bermuda and firm. More ball marks than I remember from my 1st round here.

Beautiful clubhouse, quick/efficient check-in, they got me right out before my scheduled tee time. Cart gal came by, everyone encountered was very pleasant/courteous.

Seeing the layout once assisted tremendously with several holes that bend or have semi blind shots. 3 less penalties and 6 total shots better than my 1st attempt, mainly from having at least a little course knowledge. Recommended = yes.

overall the course is still in very good shape, no doubt the monsoon rain helps. However, the rain pounds the sand in the traps and they need some serious de-rocking and softening up. Adding sand and doing trap maintenance is pricey I know but they're beyond ready for it.
greens, pretty quick and smooth, fairways mostly great. several areas where a wash/waste area crosses the fairway have been cleaned out which is really nice, that's a nasty job.
lots of cold drinking water on the course, so nice, thank you for that.

Played the Blacks (6872/72.1/143) as a single in 2 1/2H twilight, $15 through GN. The weather was clear and around 100 with little wind.

This is probably the toughest driving course I have ever played from a visual standpoint. Every hole you had anywhere from 125 to 200+ yards of desert scape "no mans land" to clear from the Blacks before you reached grass. Factor in desert scape down both sides of every hole barely off the fairway, plus sight lines that were often obscured because the desert scape has grown up. The green complexes were huge and this course is target golf on steroids. Numerous par 4/5's had another 50-100 yard wide patch of desert scape to navigate on your approach shots as you advanced toward the green. There was rarely a full shot where the ball could be sprayed more than a little w/o lost ball being the result. Another challenge is that the carts do not have GPS and the course is not particularly well marked for yardages. On several holes I hit the ball through the fairway with a driver because I had no local knowledge that the fairway ended around 260 out. I can definitely see the 143 slope as justified.

The Bermuda tees were very nice, close to immaculate. Few unfixed divots, my only complaint would be ridges and low spots on numerous tees. Many tee boxes were built up and framed with beautiful stone work, very nice!

The Bermuda fairways are hard to rate. Roughly 80% was lush. However, the other roughly 20% ranged from thin to hardpan, they have obviously had issues with the heat. And the change was not gradual, you could go from great to horrible within a few yards.

The Bermuda rough was much the same, but with fewer bad places. Mostly lush and nice to chip out of around the greens.

The sand traps were beautifully designed but not well maintained. I sampled my share, and they ranged from crusty and thin to decent.

The Bermuda greens are huge and well maintained. They were probably not cut today and were at best medium slow. Reasonably smooth for Bermuda, firm and tough to get even high wedges to stop close to their ball mark.

Beautiful clubhouse, quick/efficient check-in, they got me right out and on the tee. Cart gal came by once, by the late afternoon I practically had the course to myself. I would love to play here during prime season when the entire course is lush. Even with some bad hot spots, the very demanding layout was enjoyable. This is definitely NOT a course for beginners.

Recommended IF you want to be tested by target golf to the extreme.

We really enjoyed the Golf Course! The staff was very inviting and engaging. Bargain for the quality of golf course! Summer rates are usually very good at top golf courses in Tucson and this one is certainly worth the trip! Put it on your list of must plays! Please Note: bunkers have sand and are playable!!! There are forced carry's and a couple par 5's take driver out of your hand. But that's target golf! I bought a yardage book and it's worth it for 4 bucks.

Enjoy the Jack-Rabbits and Cottontails!

Having to tee off on a par 5 with a four iron explains this target layout

This course has such a nice layout but the conditions of the course are horrible. They can't seem to get the Bermuda grass to grow. The course was over watered we almost got stuck twice just driving in the fairways. We had to roll our balls so we could hit out of grass. Worse golf conditions I've seen in the Tucson area. The greens were slow and fuzzy like they haven't cut them in days. I don't know what's going on here but don't play this course until the conditions improve.

Slow greens were the only issue. Nice layout and we got done in 3 hours flat

Vistoso is a great course if you prefer target golf and many risk/reward choices. It is a true desert course with a number of tee to fairway and fairway to approach carries. Since I had never played here before, I left the driver in the bag and hit my three hybrid from the tees (played 50/50 silver and gold). That is a good choice to maximize the fun the first time. Tees, bunkers, and fairways were good. The greens had just been punched and sanded but still rolled true ... probably just a little slower than normal. The equipment and staff were all great, and everyone was very helpful and welcoming. A plus was all the wildlife on the course despite a +100 degree afternoon: jackrabbits, cottontails, numerous raptors, songbirds, lizards, coyote, and so on. It was an extremely enjoyable Arizona June afternoon at Vistoso.

It had been a while since I last played Vistoso. So, when my club scheduled an outing there, I was eager to see how much conditions have improved since OB Sports has taken over management. The buzz around town was that Vistoso has made huge strides at returning to its former glory. Judging by the drastic improvements at other Tucson-area facilities under OB, I was excited to see for myself. I am pleased to say that Vistoso has returned to its position as one of the finest and most challenging examples of Sonoran Desert golf. The work is certainly ongoing, but based on my memories of my last round at dying Vistoso, which wasn't that long ago, it pleases me to no end to give five star marks across the board today. The greens were fast and true. The fairways were in great shape and healthy, for the most part. Unfortunately, in a climate where temperatures often exceed 110, perfection is a challenge. The bunkers are rather firm, which is a point of criticism for some, but a way of life for golfers in this region, particularly in the summer. Adjust, or stay out of them is all the advice I can give. Another major positive I noticed is that OB has removed a lot of the overgrowth around the course just as they have done at Arizona National and Fred Enke. One of the things that adds to the difficulty of many desert golf courses is the intimidating look through the obstructions of wild desert foliage. Some of it is unnecessary, and I am glad OB has identified that as a focus of course improvement. Not only does this help players better identify targets, but it reduces search times when the desert inevitably claims wayward shots. Make no mistake, the high rating and slope of Vistoso is well deserved. Although there are yardages on some sprinkler heads, a yardage book would be a wise investment since there are a lot of obstacles throughout the course, and distances can be deceptive to the naked eye depending on the time of day and intensity of the sunshine. Driver is not necessary on some holes, and aggressive play can be perilous at times. Good, steady play will be rewarded. As difficult as Vistoso is, it is a very fair course. Best of luck to you. Another positive with OB Sports is the addition of employee uniforms throughout their facilities, which I think adds to the professionalism of the operation.

This course is a fabulous track! New management is working hard to bring it back to being a first class golf course as it once was, as I was told. Time and resources will accomplish that. It should be there soon though. I plan to return!!

The bad:
1. Ended up playing with 2 people that shouldn't have played from the tee boxes they did. Not the courses fault but it made for a 5 hour round on a Monday morning.
2. Lots of brown spots on a lot of the fairways. Not sure if they're just not watering enough trying to save a little money but the hot time of the year hasn't even hit yet. Afraid of what they will look like in a month.
The Good:
1. The greens and the tee boxes were in good shape. Had a nice speed and rolled true. At the end of the day, good greens make it a little more bearable.
2. Starter was very nice. Tried to get us off as a twosome I. Between some other groups but he got flustered with people backed up and put us out with the "slow" twosome. At least he tried.

Overall, for a rate of $32 it's a good deal and worth playing again.

I look forward to playing this course every time I'm in Tucson. Beautiful, challenging & fun.

Played Vistoso for the first time and was pleasantly surprised with the course. Fairly rolly course with lots of desert along the fairways in which to get into trouble with errant shots. Wonderful mountain views on every hole, greens were in good shape and quite quick and the fairways and tee boxes were in good shape, too. Thoroughly enjoyed the abundance of desert birds, reptiles and animals all day long.
I recommend this course highly.

I like to play a good pace of play. But on this round my foursome had a few guys hitting OB and it did cost a little time looking for shots. Still we were playing at 13-15 minutes a hole. Twice in the first 10 holes the guy told us to pick up the pace. There was nobody pushing us. At hole 8 a twosome was behind us but declined to play through. We didn't see them again until about 16.
This guy spoiled my round. I likely will play here again some day, but I hope the next time the Marshall is a better PR guy! Maybe he isn't very good at math. Or maybe the course has a sub four hour pace of play. If so post it!

The overall condition of the course was outstanding. The fairways were plush and unlike most courses, I could attack the green and not worry about it bouncing 30 yards after it hit. The staff was great and we played 18 holes in 3 hours.

It took 5 1/2 hours. To play since we followed a 65 person competitive tournament with a shotgun start that filled the course. The course should have been closed to tee times after start of tournament. This is the second time I have played behind a shotgun at Vistoso.. We started about 1:15 and it was almost 7 when we (and the tournament ) finished. I will never play this course again even though it is close to my home.

Great course, from the bag drop to the end of the round. The staff was terrific. The course was in great shape. Enjoyed the entire experience.

Well-maintained desert course with a nice array of layouts. This course helps hone your strategy.. (Advice: They should include the course handbook w/ green fees and just charge an additional five dollars.)

Only negative comment would be all the new home construction adjacent to the course (back nine).