Summary:   Value Rating = A-

I would definitely like to play this course again.  I did play two rounds here during my 2008  stay in the Tucson area.  I believe the more you play this course the more you appreciate the course.  It has all the features I look for in terms of playability.  It does lack the spectacular vistas you get of the surrounding area on some of the other courses in the area so that lowers the rating very slightly.

This course is very similar to its sister course – the Conquistador course.  A little less challenging due to its wider fairways.

Overall we weren't 100% happy with the greens but only in terms of the length of the grass on the greens.  They were cut long.  We were told that they will be cut shorter soon and this was how the course maintained their greens at this time of year (late October).

In terms of value, at the cost charged when we played, it was great value.  We did have a discounted rate of $59 (US, excluding taxes) from the resort we stayed at in Oro Valley.  The resort was right across the street from the golf course so this made it even more convenient.  For Canadians, consider the exchange rate to assess your view of value.  Refer to the website for additional details (www.hiltonelconquistador.com/tucson-golf-course.htm).

Refer to my evaluation criteria.

Some Details:

I played the Cañada course at El Conquistador on October 25 and 27, 2008.  The weather was perfect both days with sunny skies, temperatures in the high 80's and a cooling breeze.

The Cañada course is located in Oro Valley, a community just north of Tucson.  The resort where we stayed during our trip was right across the street from the course making this course very accessible.

The course offers 45 holes, the Cañada Course and the Conquistador course are 18 holes each, and a 9 hole Pusch Ridge course.

Due to the course maintenance program, we weren't able to play the Conquistador course as it was in final preparations for re-opening for the upcoming peak season.  Our green fee included a cart and access to the range.  The practice green is large and there is a chipping area where you can warm up your short game.  A great spot to practice. The practice greens were very close in feel and roll to the real greens.

The practice greens also included various rises and falls to help you get a feel for what to expect on the course.  We did find the putting very slow on these greens – very slow indeed.  We had expected the greens to be much quicker.  As it turned out we struggled with adjusting to the speed for the entire round.  We were told by other players that the greens hadn't been cut to their normal length and the greens are typically much faster.  It was unfortunate that we weren't able to play these greens when they were in tip top shape.  My buddies and I did have some rather long putts that we weren't able to get to the hole – putts of 50 or more feet that were well hit.  On other courses we played during our stay, had we hit the putts as hard as we did here, we would have most definitely rolled well off the green.  The adjustment we made was to get our approach shots closer to the hole so we weren't left with long putts.

I shot 88 on my first round including 1 penalty stroke, two 3 putts and a chip in on the 18th.  My second round ended up as a 90 including a few more 3 putts.  I also had a greater appreciation for this course and would love to play it again.

The Cañada course is built around the Golf Villas at Oro Valley resort, some urban communities and some desert areas.  This provides a mix of sights along the way.  As the course is built in a mostly urban area you do not get the desert landscape scenery that you get at other courses in the area that are built in a more rural setting.  There is plenty of wildlife to see including quail, rabbits, lizards and if you are lucky a coyote or two.

You are not afforded elevated views of the surrounding landscape but the course is situated close to the Santa Catalina Mountains so that you pretty much always have a view of these mountains from all parts of the course.  This provides a nice backdrop as you are playing your shots but the views aren't as magnificent as you will find on some of the other courses in the area.  The views are still very nice and you will enjoy the scenery as you play the course.

There are some holes where you can hit the ball into someone's backyard if you hit an errant shot.  There are other holes where you can hit your ball into desert or dry river bed areas and you will have an opportunity to play from there about 1/2 the time as long as you haven't put it too deep into the trouble areas.

We played the blue tees (championship) during both rounds as I was told that if you hit a reasonably good drive from the white tees (regular) there are places where you will drive the ball through the fairway.  This advice did prove to be good on a number of the par 4s as I did land my tee shot off the fairway but just short of leaving the course a few times.  Had I been playing the white tees I would have most definitely ended up in trouble.  Of course I may have chosen a slightly different line but I did appreciate the fact that I could swing normally with confidence I wouldn't end up in trouble as I was playing the course for the first 2 times.  If you are a big hitter you can play the Tournament (black) tees.

We did not stay to enjoy the clubhouse facilities as our resort room was right across the street and cold beers and the pool beckoned.  The staff was very friendly.

My Evaluation Details:

Scenery – The area is very attractive with views of the Santa Catalina Mountains in the background.  You are playing in a mostly urban area within Oro Valley so you can't expect as much countryside as you get on other more rural courses in the region.

Mix of holes – The course has a great mix of long and short holes with many left and right dog legs.  You will use all the clubs in your bag, especially on the par 5's.  There are a couple of holes where you play to a target to set you up for the next shot.

Consistency and condition – The course was in great shape and offered consistent tee boxes, greens (albeit slow), rough and bunkers.  The consistency of all parts of the course was very good.  I did play a few bunker shots and was able to advance the ball without any problems.  My buddies did land in some of the waste areas (dry riverbed areas) and were able to get the ball back onto the fairway in one shot despite the heavy sand/gravel.

Character – the first time around the course my initial impression was that it was better than average but my impression changed after playing my second round.  I can't really say what it was but it was a fun and challenging course to play.  There are enough elevation changes to make it interesting and has been well designed into the surrounding area.  As noted in a couple spots in my review, we were disappointed with how the greens were cut and would have liked to have seen them cut shorter in order to get a better feel for what the course could offer.  I'm sure the greens would be very fast when cut to their normal length.

Golf Challenge – the course did offer a good blend of decision making places…..

• tee shots – there is a nice mix of hitting over varying lengths of desert fairway rough areas and you can see all your landing areas very well.  A couple of landing areas are narrow but for the most part you have room to spray the ball around a bit.
• fairway shots – typically the fairways narrow as you approach the greens so you do need to take that into consideration as you play your shots from the fairway.  For the majority of shots you will encounter flat lies but there are some undulating areas where you will be hitting uphill or downhill.
• putting – I can say the putting was consistent across all the greens and as I've noted elsewhere, it was slow.  The greens were very smooth with hardly any bumps.
• greens – the greens were receptive to high shots and with the grass cut longer you could count on the fact that your ball wouldn't roll too far after landing.  We just took this into account as we played the course and adjusted accordingly.
• a chance to recover – landing in the rough presented the usual problems.  The rough wasn't as fluffy as some of the other courses we played in the area and it was cut to a height that was very fair.  If your short went astray you could play it out of the desert areas as long as you weren't too close to the cactus or desert srubbery.  Of course hitting the ball into someone's back yard meant stroke and distance – I did have one of those.

Other Observations:

The rule on both days I played this course was cart path only.  The course seemed in perfect shape so I wasn't exactly sure why this rule was in play.  This did mean that you did have to take 2 or 3 clubs with you for your fairway shots.

The first hole on the Cañada course provides a bit of a challenge for right hand players who fade the ball as the hole bends left.  This gives you an opportunity to ease into your game with a comfortable swing.  A good challenge to start the game.  A started with a par and birdie so I did like this hole to start my rounds.

I did find the par 5's challenging but mostly due to a couple of 3 putt greens (greens cut long).  Hole #7 and #16 were my favourites because of the shot making required – you needed to hit a good and reasonably straight tee shot on #7 for a decent chance at the green, and your 2nd shot on #16 was critical to set you up for a chance at a bird.  On the par 5's I don't hit the ball that long so playing a 2nd shot to a good spot was what I had to do.

Enjoy the photo's: Reach me at Lane@lifepast50.ca