Bear Creek Golf Complex

I played the Executive Cub course today. It’s mostly par 3’s and a few par 4’s. The grass was very green and very well taken care of! At first, I was apprehensive about playing this short course but I really enjoyed it. It’s fast especially if you’re playing alone and no one is ahead of you. It took me about 2 hours and 15 minutes.
It seems great for beginners and kids. They even have «kids tee boxes». The staff was very nice and helpful. The only thing I didn’t like was the confusion in finding where the next hole was. Most of the time there is no cart path so you have to look around a little to find where the next hole is. Sometimes it’s obvious. Other times it’s not. I would definitely play here again! I’m excited to play their «full sized» course next time!

This post is in response to recent review and it is my own personal response and does not reflect the opinions of the golf course.
I am completely appalled at the review the person gave on Unilocal regarding my «attitude» on the golf course.
I pulled up on 8 and the two gentlemen were driving reckless through the desert and bouncing all around in the cart on their way to the green. I stopped my cart and watched them and waited for them, (because that’s my job to see if anybody needs anything) the passenger says, «What? I have a handicap flag — pointing to his leg». They were laughing and joking commenting several times about the flag. I said, «well it looks like you guys are out there riding rodeo». ha ha ha we all laughed. Both gentlemen had a very good attitude laughing and smiling — when he got out of the cart to purchase a Gatorade I asked what was the brace on his leg for? I jokingly commented that it is probably fake so he could ride all over the golf course… haha we all laughed again, then I said, again, really — what did you do to your leg? — making small talk. He told me it was from jumping out of planes that he was in the military. When he came up to pay, I told him «thank you for your service». As I do to all military.
When I saw them again, I smiled and waved and did a roping motion with my arm, as I was roping in a rodeo– they were smiling and laughing again waving back — ha ha ha.
His ludicrous remarks about me being a racist and comments about my disrespect for his military service are absolute and complete BS.
My father served in World War II as a Marine and then Korea in the Army. My brother served as a Marine in Viet Nam. My father nor my brother never used their military service for having a bad attitude or to carry around a chip on their shoulder expecting everyone to know what they have done for this country — as this gentlemen certainly did.
If this gentlemen was upset, he hid it pretty well. I am sorry if he did not have a good time but I treated this person no differently that I would any other person, military or not, regardless of race and/​or color. I am polite, considerate and think I’m funny. My father fought for our freedom to do and say what we please — and its sad that gentlemen uses that freedom as a crutch to disrespect other people and feel entitled.
I am sorry this gentlemen did no have a good time it was not my intent.

I am a handicapped veteran. This is my second time coming to this course. The first time I played, I played with a group of older white guys (who were cool as ice in the winter) and we had handicapped flags. Had a great time. The whole day no one asked us about our disabilities. Round was great. Fast forward to 3÷5÷16 (today). I had my handicap flag on my cart and was playing with my brother. We were on a hole and the cart girl stops her cart and asks us what in the hell were we doing with an attitude. I advised her that I have a handicap flag and what the hell do you mean. We exchanged a few words then she had the nerve to say, «I bet that injury is fake.» It took everything in my power to keep from cursing her out. I replied though and said when you do the things I have done serving this country, then talk to me. Now fast forward to the back nine. My brother and I see the cart girl and she stopped and talked to another employee that has the player helper (or something to that effect) flag. He then comes over to us and makes small talk and then asked me what my handicap was. At first, I thought he meant about golf, then realized he was asking me about my actual disability. I told him Army stuff. He probably did not understand but he said been there done that. So, A, I guess the staff are medical personnel that can cure my disability, or B, they ask everybody who plays that uses a handicapped flag what is their disability, or C, they were being pretty racist. Yes, I am an American (who is black) and I have served my country and my community (retired police officer)! I should not have to be subject to the humility and racism that I was subject to today. Yes, it was only a round of golf, but, it is the principle of the negative and racist interaction. I am very intelligent, so the second conversation was completely unnecessary. Funny, I was thinking about making that my favorite course. It is a nice course. After the interaction, you can have it. The rest of the staff was pretty friendly and professional. If it was not for the racist interaction, this would be a great place to play.
This is in response to your response (Sherri). First, I never use my service as a crutch. Second, you never said thanks for your service. Third, you had an attitude when you said what the hell are you doing. Fourth, you need glasses because no one was driving reckless. When I ride in a cart I always have my leg hanging out and my brother happened to ride over a rough area. As far as your job, you serve beverages and snacks, and you are there to assist players on the course. The way you approach people is pretty offensive. I kept a very professional bearing as I did with my professions. Yes it appeared to be pretty racist because no one said anything to me when I played the time prior with older white gentlemen. Do you question everyone about their disability. It had to have been an issue because the guy you were talking to on the back nine approached me after talking with you for at least ten plus minutes and asked me what is my handicap. My disability is none of your business or the other guy that approached me. I was highly upset that you questioned my disability. It is none of your business. I have been playing golf since 1992 and have never seen anyone do what you did. It was not BS, it was your attitude that struck a nerve. It is funny that you say I had an attitude, but then contradict yourself and say I did not show that I was upset. If I was upset and wanted to show it you would have gotten in your cart and sped off. I don’t disrespect women because of the way I was raised. You are still someones daughter, wife, mother, or sister. I never acted like I was entitled to anything. Would you ask a white guy out of the blue and have an attitude (in a scalding manner) «What the hell are you doing!?» I do not think so. I will give you the benefit of the doubt and say you just present yourself in that manner and that is how you interact with people. To me it is unprofessional. Let me reiterate, since I played with white guys the last time, no staff member asked me what was my disability. Also, you have no idea what I have been through so never say that I have a chip on my shoulder because you do not know me. If you had been professional from the start and said hey guys, it appears that you were driving a little reckless, I would have told you sorry it appears that way to you, but, we drove over a rough area.

I so wanted to rate this a great course because it’s a fun course and I would with the exception of one of the course rangers, George. A couple of my girlfriends and I were having fun on the second green when he came up and asked us if we had played golf before. We assured him that we had but that we hadn’t played in a few months and would need to get the hang of it again. He then confronted us again at the Hole 4 tee box and told us we should go play their «cub course» and he would refund our money bc we were holding people up. There was NO ONE behind us!!! I couldn’t help but feel that if we weren’t women, these words would have never been spoken to us. Plenty of men were shanking shots left and right and taking their nice sweet time, but George singled us out. I can say I will never return again return to Bear Creek to play again. It’s a shame bc I plan on playing every couple of weeks from now on but I refuse to play a course were I will be harassed by a sexist. If you’re a woman, skip this course and spend your money elsewhere!

Unfortunately their was a staff member, George, who ruined our morning of golf. Myself and two friends had started golfing and by the 2^nd hole George came over and harassed us to go do the cub course because they had a busy morning. (No one was behind us) He continued to harass us at the 5^th hole and then apologized at the 11^th when he realized we were ahead of our time. Completely sexist and ageist. If I was 60+ and male I would have had no problem. Too bad for Bear Creek, you never know the influence and reach others have. Treat everyone equal and make sure you hire staff that does the same.

nice course in very good shape. great rate. I would definitely play this course again

Really nice course. Moderate difficulty. Was really looking forward to a nice day of golf with my uncle from out of state.
Got there about 20 mins early to putt and chip. Unfortunately the course marshal wouldn’t allow us and made us tee off early. We ran about 10 mins behind par time which makes sense, we both don’t gold too much. But the employees kept coming around reminding us to speed.
Started off very promising. Beautiful day, nice course. Very rude and unfriendly course marshals. Doubt I’d return. Perhaps next time don’t pack us in like sardines.

I have been playing this course quite a bit as I get back into golf. the executive (cub) course has been a great way to develop my rusty game with a minimum of pain, but while still being able to use every club in the bag. The full (bear) course offers a modest challenge with a couple of fun holes. That said…
–There is no water on the course, and very, very limited on course service during off season hours
— there are some areas that require repair that seem to be ignored. It’s possible that this is not the best time to fix some of these, we shall see
— While the staff can be friendly, they will take money for 18 holes at 4:30, but lock the restrooms before 6 and start pulling flags so they can get out of there before dusk
I have encountered friendly staff, but the morning guys seem snobbish at times, like this golf course was something special.
Green fees are reasonable, but I find the Tempe public courses cheaper and a little better.

The people that work outside at this course bust their butts! They work hard and due to the fact that it’s a lower price course people fail to or forget to tip them for their hard work. Next time you go here and have fun notice how hard these kids work and show some appreciation.

Thanks to the d b «I’m the general manager» for yelling at me and my uncle in a moving cart. HEY HEY! HEY! Screaming at us. Not quite the way to approach someone on your course. We will not be back and will advise all golf buddies to avoid spending money at the course and bar on a weekly basis. Thanks for scaring the crap out of us. Yes we took the cart in the dirt. Guilty. You didn’t need to be a fool. We sincerely hope you don’t treat all your off roaders like this.

I have loved this course for a while! There’s really not enough good things I can say about it.
— Nice staff from the many experiences I’ve had here.
— The bar and grill are just fine for what you’d want — burgers, hotdogs, fries, sandwiches, chips etc.
— The both courses are well laid out and well kept… especially for how inexpensive the green fees are usually.
— The design of the full length course makes it my favorite choice here. It’s plenty challenging but it also offers wide fairways and pretty large greens, so regardless of whether you’re a scratch golfer or a complete novice and are trying to learn, this course will certainly play well.
— They have a full size driving range, a huge putting green and an OK chipping green. What I really like about the driving range specifically is that the yard markers and pins are set up on quasi-​greens. So when you’re trying to practice accuracy with your irons and raise your G.I.R. I find this place to be more than helpful.
— They also usually host an annual summer kids camp for local kids to do golf lessons… And I have to say it’s awesome watching all the little munchkins swinging clubs.
Only reason for 4 star and not 5 — when it comes to golf courses, we’re spoiled in AZ. As fun as it is and as much as I enjoy it I have to be honest that there are better courses to play so it’s not quite a 5 star… But if you enjoy golf and play at this course and you DON’T have fun, that’s your own fault.

Usually this course is beautiful. I came today and spent decent money to play. The greens and fairways were horrible. I’d rather putt my ball on a bag of dicks then putt there again. Seriously it was that bad. I’ve played at courses where I spent the same amount of money and the course was just beautiful and lush. Last time I’m going there in the summer.

We made a tee time for Sunday on the Cub course and it was a little slow at the start which was perfectly fine, The reason for the slow start was because it’s family day on Sundays, which means with an adult a child gets to play at no charge. What an awesome program the ability to give back to the community while helping to build a relationship with new young golfers and to make it a family event with out breaking the bank. Thanks for the community involvement and the course up keep we had an awesome experience and my girlfriend new to the game made 3 pars in a row. a great day!

My mom has taken group lessons here and really enjoys it. When I was in town I was able to go to the course with her and hit range balls while she had a lesson. The range prices weren’t bad, and I was happy to find a beautiful, quiet practice area. Unfortunately one putting green was occupied by junior golfers and another by my mom’s group, so I was relegated to just the range and her clubs. I cannot wait to actually get in 9 or 18 holes here next time!

I really like this place for its executive course. It is a quick 18, especially if you get there early. I can generally get finished in less than 2.5 hours and the course is great for walking. The guys in the shop are great too. It is not a five star course by any means, but it is a nice local place to get a decent round of golf. I golf almost every Saturday morning here and have no plans of stopping.

What a terrible clubhouse guys! This guys are cheating people on prices esp on rain check. When you reserve this course, you should make sure you can definitely play under whatever wether condition. My wife and her friends played and they stop at 5^th hole, then they got rain check and reserved other tee time. When they went to golf course the other date, this clubhouse guys charged five hole price with full tax!!! Full tax!!! What a F!!! What kind of BS is this? Also full price tax?
This is Phoenix area, there are so much better courses available. Don’t play here. Also, starters are another horrible, no respect to customer and you feel you are begging to play this stupid course.

Had a great day playing golf. Very nice place to play on the cub course. Was very satisfied with the people who run the desk and those that directed our group to where we had to go to get started. The only grip I heard was the price for a pitcher of beer. 13.00 for a pitcher was something that will keep our group from playing there again. People working there in the restaurant area were nice and friendly.

Courses are awesome and always have great rates. The staff is always friendly and professional.

Played the bear course several times. For the price i pay for this course, i can say its almost impossible to find a better course than this. Greens a very well kept, fairways well maintained, staff is courteous, and views are beautiful. Large open fairways will let you find any wayward tee shots from the teebox. A long course, so you will need to use your driver. If you are in the fairway, you will have a great day. If you are in the rough, is not too terrible. Beginner golfers should use this course to build up their game. May be less than challenging for advanced players. Greens could be faster. I would rate them a ⁶⁄₁₀. Book it online is likely to get you better rates. Have not tried their food at the clubhouse but the cart girls are always nice and courteous.

From our first time playing at Bear Creek we saw a big difference from other courses we’d played.
Hubby and I have become regulars here because both courses are beautiful, well-​maintained, and the entire staff is very welcoming and service-​oriented… management, food services, pros, starters, cart attendants… even the grounds crew!
The pace of play is well managed, even at the executive course with lots of families, juniors, & beginners, and we play here A LOT! Is there a crazy day occasionally, sure, but it’s certainly not the norm. Most folks are laid back, relaxed and enjoying the day.
Coolers on the cart let us take plenty of bottles of water along, so no water on the course has never been a problem (& we don’t like drinking from those big orange water coolers we find at other courses that are left unsupervised to general public… yeah, it’s a little creepy when you think about it).
A big table with cups, lids, ice & cold water is set up fresh every day in the restaurant for self service during the summer months & a cup of ice water is always available for the asking in other months. And if that’s not enough, a bottle of water is only .50 cents or you’re welcome to bring your own WATER bottles to toss in the cooler!
This could be better explained to new folks, but I guess that’s what Unilocal is for! ;-)
The food at the Bears Den is both reasonable AND delicious! Hubby craves the breakfast burrito and I plan tee times or practice around lunch with the freshly grilled chicken cesar salad. There’s no prepackaged anything from this kitchen!
The Friday fish fry is amazing in the spring (make a reservation cuz lots of folks come in for that), and the new Sunday brunch starts tomorrow (yes, we made a tee time around it… I saw the menu!)
Finally, I have to recognize the outstanding golf pros here! I’ve had regular lessons with Brian Calhoun, but I’ve heard multiple positive comments for Mike Barnett as well.
Six months ago I had been playing the executive course with hubby a few times each month and doing «ok» but not really improving. I saw that Brian had women only group lessons available and decided to give it a try.
I had never had a pro lesson before (just lotsa well-​meaning help from friends) so of course I was nervous at first, hitting almost every warm-​up shot everywhere but in the middle of the range… auuugh!
Brian instantly put me at ease by observing right where I was at and explaining some foundational things in such a way that I was actually able to DO IT with immediate improvement that continues today!
I’ve become a regular student with Brian and a terrific group of ladies of all ages and abilities. I’m now so much more confident and relaxed even when paired up with folks I don’t know or when the course is busy and pace of play is important, even playing without hubby when he can’t go (Soooo much better than waiting for him to be able to play, right?!)
Golf is supposed to be more fun than frustrating, & I’m so grateful for Brian’s teaching ability as I’m now able to rely on my own knowledge to make the adjustments to my shots that just seem to gradually but continuously improve.
After we’re done playing, there’s a full bar at the 19^th hole, and though their license doesn’t permit hard liquor out on the course, they carry a wonderful wine based vodka that makes a delicious bloody mary that I think is even better than regular vodka!
In conclusion, this AFFORDABLE public golf course is a quiet gem in an ocean of courses (oh yeah, did I mention that no houses line the course and the view from the restaurant is stunning?). I almost hesitate to share all the positives of this course and keep it to ourselves, but it seems under-​utilized for all the wonderful amenities.
Give it a try… we hope you enjoy it as much as we do!
(Wow! Didn’t intend to write all that! No, I’m not an employee, though this review reads like I’m in the Bear Creek Marketing dept! LOL)