Tuesday, June 24, 2008

Silverleaf


The Silverleaf Club is a Tom Weiskopf design that opened in 2004. The course design follows the natural contours of the property and they did a great job of keeping the homesites well away from the course. It plays 6869 yards from the Black tees (72.3/140) and 7322 yards from the tips (74.8/146). Playing from the Black tees, the landing areas seem generous. There are some sand traps in play off many tees (#s 1,2,6 & 13 come to mind) but in general there are alternate lines to take in order to get a ball in the fairway. Several holes are reminiscent of some of Weiskopf's other Scottsdale designs but I guess there is only so many "original" ideas when dealing with similar terrain. #18 is a little gimmicky for my taste. 500 yards from the tips but from a severely elevated tee. The biggest problem with this course ids the use of TiffEagle grass for the greens. They are EXTREMELY grainy. So much so that it significantly impacts the way the ball breaks.

As with most DMB developments, the Clubhouse is very nice. 50,000 square feet done in a mission style. It is a little confusing to get around in with many doors and stairs but it does give it a more intimate feeling than the size would suggest. The Men's locker room is awesome with a nice bar and grille room just off the locker area. Huge flat screen TV in the whirlpool area is a neat touch.

Staff is very nice and there are some exceptional caddies available. A caddy is definitely recommended for first timers just to read the greens!

Any thoughts?

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