Like yesterday, I spent Monday afternoon re-visiting a course that I played about ten years ago. I remembered some dramatic holes at Las Sendas and those memories (along with an open afternoon tee sheet on a holiday) had me heading back to play it again.

The proshop said that they were slammed before noon with golfers, but that it would be wide open when I teed off – about 1:30pm. I knew that I didn’t need to rush on the front nine and eventually I caught up with the morning groups, on the 11th hole. All in all it took about 3 hours 45 minutes to play. Thankfully, another single joined me on the back nine which helped with the pace.

Las Sendas is a Robert Trent Jones Jr. design that is located in Mesa. From where I was staying in Scottsdale that area isn’t the most convenient to get to, but the course is close to the Loop 202. The course opened in the mid 1990’s and its mountain setting is clearly its best quality!

The course plays around a rocky hillside for most of the front nine while the back is routed through the community. The homes are set back, with plenty of desert between the holes and the home sites. Each nine has a couple outstanding holes which likely make Las Sendas worth a play.

I think the stretch of the 4th through the 7th on the front is the course’s signature collection of holes. The 4th is a sharp dogleg where the approach plays into a green framed by the rugged hillside. The short 7th is one of the most scenic holes on the course, with a great view of Red Mountain. It is a clever 121 yard par-3 and has a wild, two-tiered green.

The back nine continues the theme of fun, short par-3’s with the 138 yard 11th. It plays quite a bit uphill to another green perched in the rocks. Overall, the par-3’s (five of them) at Las Sendas were my favorite!

If you read much about Las Sendas you’ll quickly find comments about just how tough the course plays. And, I’ll confirm that again for you! I played the black tees which are 72.2/139/6717, however the course stretches out even further than that. There is nothing easy about the course, nothing – mostly thanks to all the target golf.

The design is a mess off the tee when picking lines (that’s putting it nicely), approaches play to small, raised greens and there are plenty of nasty bounces to be had here. Plus, it has bunkers in play for almost every full swing.

For $45 the conditions were very acceptable, however I wouldn’t expect a perfectly maintained course this time of year. Parts were baked out already so the course had a splotchy sort of look to it. The greens were firm (chips wouldn’t stop rolling) and rolled well. The bunkers were mixed, some had quality sand while others had more rocks.

Overall, I think Las Sendas should be a second-tier consideration, although I’m in no big rush to get back to play it again (because of its difficulty). If you are visiting the area the course is worth a look at the proper price because it has that “wow” factor and the views of the desert landscape are outstanding.

Course Pictures (click any picture to scroll through the gallery):