My wife is a beginner golfer. She’s been playing for a little over a year now, and she’s getting better every day. We’ve gone out and played a few times in the past 12 months, and when we have, we’ve played longer courses that haven’t been as much fun for her because she doesn’t hit the ball very far.
So when some friends of ours from Tucson wanted to come up and play golf on a Sunday, I thought, “How about the Cub Course at Bear Creek?” My buddy is a good player, but his girlfriend (my wife’s good friend) is still learning the game too.
In all of my years practicing at the Bear Creek Golf Complex in Chandler, I’ve never once played the Cub. It’s on the right side of the road as you drive in, and like the Bear Course, it’s in fantastic shape. The greens are almost always good. But I’ll be honest. Every time I drive in, I’m keeping a cautious eye out to the right just to make sure no one slices their first tee shot of the day into my windshield.
The Cub Course plays 3,501 yards from the Blue Tees to a Par of 59, a course rating of 57.3, and a slope of 83. It may be the closest you ever come to shooting a 59. But by far the best aspect of the Cub is that there are four sets of tees: Red for ladies and children ages 11-12, Green for children ages 8-10, and White for children ages seven and under. There’s a tee length for every level.
I wish I had a course like this at my disposal when I was growing up around the game. It’s a lot less intimidating than most full-length courses, you can play it in a lot less time, and it’s a way for beginners to get out play golf rather than just practice on the range all the time.
I’m not sure whose idea it was to build the Cub, but whoever did it was a real genius. The course is always jam-packed with players, and now I know what all the fuss is about! Courses like the Cub could be where the game of golf is heading. People don’t seem to have 4-5 hours to play 18 holes when they can play nine holes in 90 minutes for a third of the cost.
Holes Worth Writing Home About
The Cub is ideally-geared for beginners, juniors, seniors, women, and even more accomplished players who are simply looking to improve their short game. And we can all improve our short game! The holes are set-up in such a way that there’s not a lot of trouble. While the greens still have a little undulation to them, several of the green complexes have mounds behind them that help funnel the ball back onto the putting surface.
On the Cub, there are no bunkers until you get to the 17th hole, and there are no water hazards until you get to the 18th. Technically, this is an executive course, but with only five Par 4s on the course, it’s really a glorified Par 3 course.
Quite Please…
On Sundays, junior golfers play for free with a paying adult: $35 with cart. However, I would highly recommend walking the Cub. Most of the tee boxes are less than 20 yards away from the previous green. Walking only costs $25. And remember, this is peak golfing season. In the summer, I’m sure you can play it for next to nothing.
There are very few cart paths on the Cub, which means you can drive right up to most of the greens and tees (no closer than 30 feet, they say). For golfers who have difficulty getting around, this can make things a lot easier.
While We’re Young
We teed off at about ten after one and were back to our car by 4:30p. The front nine was packed, but a lot of people seemed to peel off at the turn. Pace of play was never an issue, and were happy not to have people playing right behind us so we could hit an extra ball or two if we wanted.