I stayed in Las Cruces, NM on Saturday night and wasn’t in any big rush to get into Phoenix on Sunday, since Monday was a holiday. I booked an afternoon time for $40 at Poston Butte, which is a course I played about ten years ago.

One of my goals this trip was to re-visit a few Phoenix-area courses that I’d played in the past. Ultimately, I played three courses a second time and Poston Butte was one of them.

The course is in Florence, which is about an hour southeast of downtown Phoenix. While the area has a rural feel to it Poston Butte is part of a newer community. Geographically speaking, the course isn’t very convenient if flying into town, but if you are driving in on the I-10 it isn’t a big detour for a stop here.

And, if you end up stopping to golf on the drive then Poston Butte would be a solid choice for a couple reasons. First, the course is a Troon-managed property so the maintenance will likely be top-notch. Second, the design is player friendly and will allow you to knock some rust off your game, which would be helpful in the winter.

The conditioning this time of year was phenomenal. Out of the fifteen or so courses I played, Poston Butte was one of the best looking ones. Many of the other courses that I played on the trip had started to dry out but Poston Butte still had a great green color to it. Lies had plenty of cushion and the greens were firmer and faster.

Like most Arizona courses Poston Butte presented well. The course is nicely landscaped and many palo verde trees were in bloom. Off the fairways you’ll find crushed rock and some desert shrubs. There is not a ton of majestic scenery, but for a flat community course I thought Poston Butte was well done.

Gary Panks designed the course and after playing a handful of his portfolio on this trip I’ve become a fan! Poston Butte is a friendly design with plenty of width, a nice mix of yardages and a cool signature hole. It isn’t a design that will overwhelm your game but you’ll still need to hit decent shots in order to score since there are small tongues on the greens and lengthy holes. I played the black tees which are 71.8/123/6820 and found the course to be extremely fair.

The par-3’s on the back nine were my favorite holes. The 12th is 177 yards with a green that is perched above the desert. It features some nice stonework and the surface isn’t a large target.

The 17th is Poston Butte’s signature hole and it has vibes of the 17th at Sawgrass, just with the bunker in a different spot. It plays 147 yards to an island green that slopes from back to front. Thankfully I cleared the water, but it was a nerve-wracking shot with a decent round going. If you are having a close match with your buddies then it would be even more fun to play!

While I liked Poston Butte a lot I can see how some might think it isn’t the most inspiring place. Still, if you are staying on the southeast side of Phoenix then I’d recommend a round here as it should be a good value.

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