I was very disappointed in my trip to the Champions course. From beginning to end it was a huge letdown. I'd read several reviews stating that for the money the Champions course was better than the stadium course. The turf on the driving range was loose and sandy. It almost felt like I was trying to hit bunker shots. We were paired with two other guys that were great people to play with. The first five holes the marshall followed us. He moved to a new position after every shot the group hit. He went from in front of our group to behind the group and back. He finally said that we were out of position. Understandable. I let him know that we wouldn't be out of position if he wasn't moving between each shot causing us to wait. He finally left us alone and we caught the group in front of us and waited on them for every shot after for he rest of the day.
The next issue was the beverage cart lady. If someone wants to buy something then you probably shouldn't get upset that he wants to pay with a card and you have to write the information down. Her response was " Ugh. A card? What is it with you guys?" She came around a few more times stating "well I can't go anywhere until your carts move due to the erosion."
The final issue has to do with the course condition itself. I wasn't sure what to expect with the lower rate compared to the Stadium course and the Grayhawk course we played yesterday. I know for sure that the condition the Champions course is in right now is not up to par for even the lower rate. The greens were great, I will give them that. The fairways were burnt up on 50% of them. I had multiple hard pan shots after hitting the middle of the fairway. There were spots in the fairway that I needed to take relief from standing water.
We decided against driving across the road to play the Stadium due to this experience. I wish I had paid the extra up front and likely had a better experience with the Stadium. Oh well, on to better Scottsdale golf courses the rest of the trip!