Off the Tee Review: McDowell Mountain & Raven Golf Course (AZ)

As a product of the pandemic, one of my favorite hobbies over the past year has been golfing with my friends on the weekend. We typically play across El Paso and don’t take our game too seriously. But we play often and we get competitive.

Recently, me and a few friends were thinking of getting out of town to play a few courses. One of my friends looked into golf and hotel packages in Arizona, and Phoenix had some killer deals. Long story short, we bundled a three-night stay at a hotel in Scottsdale and two rounds of golf for less than $320 per person this past weekend. It was an absolute blast. The fact that the Suns were playing Game 5 of the NBA Finals was the cherry on top. This was a sports fans’ fantasy weekend.

McDowell Mountain Golf Club

18 holes, par 71; 7,072 yards

Located in Scottsdale, the McDowell Mountain Golf Club was a treat for our first day of play. The course has wide corridors, scenic desert views and allows the average player to hang in for most rounds. The pace of play was fair and the greens were fast. Luckily for us, the heat wasn’t too awful when we started in the morning. By noon, it was a scorcher. Interestingly enough, the course is owned by Hall of Fame golfer Phil Mickelson and his business manager Steve Loy. I shot a 101 on an up-and-down day of golf.

Raven Golf Club

18 holes, par 72; 7,078 yards

The Raven Golf Club is simply stunning with its views and its well-maintained green course. It is playable for all types of golfers with five different tee boxes for all levels of players. For a desert course, it has a lot of pine trees that stand at the border of different fairways. This course has water traps that will kill you, sand traps galore yet a beautiful layout. I shot a 100 at this course and played way more consistently than day one.

Raven Golf Club

If you’re a golf fan like me, I highly recommend one of these weekend getaways this summer. You’ll need an early tee time to beat the Arizona heat. If you plan to go in the summer, sunscreen is your hourly go-to. Same with bottles of water. For the price and for the experience, you can’t beat a golf weekend getaway like this.

LOOK: The most expensive weather and climate disasters in recent decades

Stacker ranked the most expensive climate disasters by the billions since 1980 by the total cost of all damages, adjusted for inflation, based on 2021 data from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). The list starts with Hurricane Sally, which caused $7.3 billion in damages in 2020, and ends with a devastating 2005 hurricane that caused $170 billion in damage and killed at least 1,833 people. Keep reading to discover the 50 of the most expensive climate disasters in recent decades in the U.S.