The second golf forum round I participated in was held at Quintero Golf Club. Quintero is located out in the northern part of Peoria, almost an hour from Phoenix. While it isn’t very convenient to get to, the course will likely be worth the drive for many golfers. Quintero usually gets ranked among the top public courses in Arizona and shows up on the top 100 public rankings these days too. Needless to say, I was excited to golf here.
We had a block of early morning tee times so my plan was to get to the course around 7 AM. And, I’m glad I got there as early as I did! One of the difficult things about Quintero is getting to the first tee, even with a cart. The range and the 1st tee are located about fifteen minutes up a residential road from the clubhouse. Oddly, the 4th and 5th holes are the closest holes to the clubhouse and parking lot. With spotty cell coverage it isn’t a place you want to get lost.
I’m not sure the reason for the large separation between the proshop and the course, but I think it has to do with the fact that Quintero was originally designed as a private course. This area in Peoria is out in the boonies and the development with private golf never took off. As it stands right now, there is an unfinished feel about the property.
Rees Jones designed Quintero and after playing here I thought Quintero had much in common with Cascata Golf Club out in Nevada, which is another Rees Jones design. Both courses are top-notch desert courses that have holes carved into small desert canyons, a good amount of elevation change and memorable par-3’s. That is probably where the comparison stops though, as Quintero is a more harsh desert course. Personally, I preferred the Cascata experience and found that course more enjoyable to play.
Anyway, Quintero is still a pretty good modern design, just tough because of all its target golf. I played the gold tees which are 73.1/143/6875. Thanks to the heat and elevation – between 1,000 and 2,000 feet above sea level – the ball was flying a long way and I didn’t struggle with the distance. Unfortunately, I lost my swing on the back nine and struggled to keep the ball out of the desert. The fairways are generous, but if you start missing then the desert rocks and vegetation are thick. We saw a couple rattlesnakes so be on the lookout for those suckers, yikes!
If you do any reading about Quintero before playing here it is hard to miss the many comments about the course’s awesome par-3’s. Well, you can add my comments to all the others out there that the par-3’s make Quintero a memorable place. The views from the tee boxes are great. The first four holes are fairly flat before the 5th plays into a hillside. Then the cart path has some switchback turns and you get to the par-3 6th, the first of the four par-3’s. The 6th is 190 yards, plays severely downhill (at least two clubs) and allows for a great view of the undeveloped desert.
The 9th – the signature hole – is the other par-3 on the front nine. It is downhill as well, but there is more danger than the 6th. Water and a rock wall are short of the green so it is a difficult carry. Behind the green is a steep bank of rough which isn’t a bad spot to play from if you aren’t comfortable with the distance. I ended up in that mounding and was happy to have a putt for par. The back nine has another downhill par-3, the 16th with a canyon to the left and bunkers to the right.
The conditions at Quintero were more dried out than I expected, even during the summer. The green fee after tax was pushing $200 (ouch) and to do over again I wouldn’t have played here this late in the summer. The course had more a yellowish than green color to it, but played better than it looks in my pictures. The ball sat fine in the fairways and greens were great to putt. The greens are bent grass – weird if you ask me – and had quite a few pitch marks. I’m sure the bent grass needs a lot of water in the Arizona heat.
With the nearly $200 price tag I was disappointed with Quintero. It is a visually stunning course but there are other ways I would prefer to spend that cash, at least personally. For example, Wickenburg Ranch can be played for half the cost of Quintero or even both courses at We-Ko-Pa can be played for less than what they charge here – at least during the summer. Apparently Quintero gets close to $400 during the winter. All things considered, Quintero is too light on the value for me.
Course Pictures (click any picture to scroll through the gallery):