Desert Storm, Phoenix AZ
I wanted to let everyone know what our dates are for any planning purposes. By tradition it is always the weekend after Labor Day (US).

Thursday Sep 8 - Money Round
Friday Sep 9 - Kirshner/Baird Memorial Cup competition (Ryder Cup style)
Saturday Sep 10 - Desert Storm Championship

Wednesday September 7th: Whirlwind. Cattail 7:30AM ($90 first round), Devils Claw 1:03PM ($60 replay).
Thursday September 8th: Verrado - Victory 6:57AM ($46 first round), then Founders 1:06PM ($21 replay).
Friday September 9th: Golf Club of Estrella, 7:47AM ($40 first round), 1:29PM ($20 replay).
Saturday September 10th: We Ko Pa, Cholla 6:30AM ($130), then Saguaro 12:10PM ($240 for 36 holes).

Wednesday Morning - Whirlwind Cattail 7:30AM
hobbit, baaaab, jamez, weirfan, ali, John R, Mike H, Dwayne, Jack Z, Kenny, customgolfcenter, vinman

Wednesday Afternoon - Whirlwind Devil's Claw 1:03PM
hobbit, jamez, weirfan, ali, John R, Dwayne, Jack Z, Kenny

Thursday Morning - MONEY ROUND - Verrado Victory 6:57AM

hobbit, baaaab, jamez, weirfan, ali, John R, Mike H, Dwayne, Jack Z, jimeng, customgolfcenter, vinman

Group 1:
Vinman 3 / Mike H 3
Hobbit 7 / Customgolfcenter 7

Group 2:
Baaab 5 / Jamez 10
Ali 3 / John R 4

Group 3:
JimEng 0 / Weirfan 3
Dwayne 10 / Jack Z 6

Thursday Afternoon - Verrado Founders 1:06PM
hobbit, jamez, weirfan, ali, John R, Dwayne, Jack Z, jimeng, darkside, tap_in

Friday Morning - KIRSHNER/BAIRD MEMORIAL CUP - Golf Club of Estrella 7:47AM

hobbit, baaaab, jamez, weirfan, ali, John R, Mike H, Dwayne, Jack Z, Kenny, jimeng, customgolfcenter, vinman

Friday Afternoon - Golf Club of Estrella 1:29PM
hobbit, jamez, weirfan, ali, John R, Dwayne, Jack Z, Kenny, jimeng, John H

Saturday Morning - DESERT STORM CHAMPIONSHIP - We Ko Pa Cholla 6:30AM

hobbit, baaaab, jamez, weirfan, ali, John R, Mike H, Dwayne, Jack Z, Kenny, jimeng, customgolfcenter, vinman, John H

The random number generator led to the following teams for the Desert Storm Championship on Saturday:
Myself and Vinman are a team, but I didn't want to send out a twosome so our ham and egg routine will be blind.

Group 1

Team 1 Strokes
Hobbit 8

Team 2
Baaab 6
John H 7

Group 2

Team 1 Strokes
Weirfan 4
John R 5

Team 2
Vinman 4

Group 3

Team 1 Strokes
Jack Z 7
Dwayne 11

Team 2
JimEng 0
Kenny 6

Group 4

Team 1 Strokes
Mike H * 4
Jamez 11

Team 2
customgolfcenter 8
Ali 3

Saturday Afternoon - We Ko Pa Saguaro 12:10PM
hobbit, jamez, weirfan, ali, John R, Dwayne, Jack Z, Kenny, jimeng, John H, DarthFader

Tournament Sheet Link:
Desert Storm 2022

Vacation already turned in for the whole week 👍🏼

jrock stickied the discussion .

Unless there is a C19 variant that impacts travelling again, I will be there.
Plan is my usual routine Tuesday/Wednesday mid-day arrival, Sunday departure.

Hoping the typical Papago afternoon round is in play for my arrival day.

Looking forward to it. Missed all you sumbitches past 2 years

    Weirfan
    Hope to get to see you again Pete!

    Tell Masters to get off his Duff!

    Would love to see both of you!

      LogicalOne
      Depends on several factors.

      If you stay-n-play all the pre rounds, it can get pricey quick.

      If you just do the DS rounds only, (Generally) it's not too bad. Especially if you share lodging!

      Prices have gone up dramatically since Covid. Here's an example...

      A few years ago we played both courses at TPC Scottsdale for $140 and that included lunch. This past year I believe it was around $125 for the TPC only.

      Still, I recommend if you've never been, you should go!

      You'll make friends for life and have unlimited stories to tell!

        LogicalOne Less the getting there portion, what is the average expense for this little get together?

        As @CallMeAl said, the prices are reasonable (and no markups) but the memories and friendships are invaluable. 🍻

          LogicalOne Less the getting there portion, what is the average expense for this little get together? 😏

          We just pass on the tee time costs, which like others have said - have gone up since Covid. I used to leverage the size of the group to get better pricing, but lately the courses don't care - the rate is the rate.

          We try to stay reasonable, but also want to play a few nice courses so there is a variance day to day. 36 hole days are also optional, with replay rates available if we know how many are in. Here is an example from last year (which was the most expensive year yet - will try not to repeat, but it may be out of our hands)...

          Thursday, Quintero - $159 for 18 holes, cannot recall the 36 hole rate. Its considered a 'bucket list course' by many and the rates have skyrocketed.
          Friday, Grayhawk - $125/18, $205/36. A great facility for a 36 hole day.
          Saturday, Raven Phoenix, $75/18, $59/replay.

          Other than Quintero and TCP Scottsdale (usually Wednesday) we try not to repeat year over year.

            a month later

            Just wanted to pop in and let people know what is under consideration. Please provide feedback if you're so inclined.

            Early rounds at TPC Scottsdale and Quintero seem to be the norm, given their status and out of town draw. Papago is always a popular 'warm up' round as well.

            Other courses we haven't played in a few years:
            Verrado
            Talking Stick
            Dinosaur Mountain
            Wickenburg (long ass drive)
            Eagle Mountain

            I like Verrado since it’s easy to play 36 with both courses……so is Dinosaur Mountain with 2 courses.

            Talking Stick sometimes only has once course open at a time.

            I’m always down for Wickenburg 👍🏼

            Plus 1 for the for Verrado 36.

            not the biggest fan of Talking Stick.

            What was the private course we played North of Scottsdale for the money round in 2019 ? That was nice....also like Golf Club of Estrella, Southern Dunes , Las Sendas, Wildfire (36) .don't know if you have played these in past 2 years where I was absent.

            In any event, always great courses so you decide. 🙂

            10 days later

            Hey all,

            Sorry I’ve not been about. Suffice to say I wish I was able to head out in September but there’s too much work on at that time. Next year we will have increased staffing so I should be good.

            Too bad as I have new irons & wedges on the way that ought to be dialled in by September.

            If anything changes you’ll be the first to know.

            3 months later

            I'm in PHX now and none of the locals know anything about DS for this year.

            As quiet as it's been on this board, I'm having my doubts if it happens this year...

              We're still on! I was waiting to see if prices would drop, as it looks like courses are all $100+ - even ones that have been reasonable in the past.

              Seems we may just have to book at what we see now. Will post something this week.

              Good to hear Rick!

              Baab, Ken and others we're getting worried.

              I’m in as of right now, if anything changes I’ll let ya know.