About the time when the Phoenix area became known as the Valley of the Sun, it was already well established as the “Valley of the Sun Devils”. With 2011 enrollment swelling to just over 72,000, there’s no shortage of students choosing to join the ranks of the maroon and gold. The primary temptation to take up studies in Tempe has to be the more than 300 days a year of bright sunshine. This too attracts golfers like a coed to an all-you-can-eat buffet, except this establishment serves up outstanding golf year-round. And few places in the Valley satisfy the appetite for great golf quite like ASU Karsten Golf Course. 

First of all, to borrow a phrase, the reports of ASU Karsten Golf Course’s death are greatly exaggerated. The facility has been unwittingly swept up in the ever-churning rumor mills.  Instead, the club forges ahead, continuing to deliver the exceptional golf, dining and event experiences that Valley golfers have come to know and love. In addition, the club continues to spin off new offerings that keep golfers returning again and again.

One of which combines great food, cold drinks and the latest fashions. ASU Karsten’s new take on Happy Hour is offered after 2 pm every Thursday (June 7 through September 20), providing golfing guests with half-off green fees ($18 per player), 2-for-1 beverage specials and half-off merchandise in the golf shop. 

“The Happy Hour has really taken off,” said Daryl Crawford, director of golf at ASU Karsten Golf Course. “It’s a great way to get a taste of all the club has to offer in a casual and affordable way. By the time they check out, they’ve played golf, filled up in the Trophy Room and geared up in the golf shop.”

Many courses claim to be a “championship course,” but ASU Karsten proves it over and over again by hosting large competitive tournaments such as the Men’s and Women’s Pac 12 Championships, NCAA Championships, Phoenix Thunderbirds Collegiate Invitational, PING Invitational, national AJGA events and U.S. Open Qualifiers. It is during these events that ASU Karsten’s tournament staff acquires the skills to make all important group-golf events a success – large or small.

In addition to events, ASU Karsten also provides many ways for individual golfers to swing away without selling their souls. Those who join the Champions Club receive the lowest rates available at ASU Karsten and a complimentary round of golf upon purchase of the card. But that’s just the tip of the pitch fork. They also receive preferred rates at all OB Sports golf properties in the Phoenix area including Longbow Golf Club, Eagle Mountain Golf Club, We-Ko-Pa Golf Club, Raven Golf Club – Phoenix, Palm Valley Golf Club and McDowell Mountain as well as clubs in out-of-state destinations such as Las Vegas, Southern California and beyond. 

For golfers looking to take it up a notch, The Karsten Club is an annual membership program limited to only 25 individuals or corporations that offers a slew of benefits including unlimited golf, merchandise discounts, and two tickets to ASU football and basketball, among other perks.

With its own twist on higher education, ASU Karsten teamed up with its namesake to present the PING Learning Center. There, much like their coed counterparts, golfers learn a little physics, videography, physical education, nutrition and a lot of psychology. Leading the PING Learning Center faculty is Matt Trimble – considered to be one of the “Best teachers in State” according to his peers, as listed in Golf Digest. Trimble brings more than 20 years of instruction experience to the instruction team. Plus, over the last 18 years, Trimble also has worked in concert with Arizona State University’s nationally ranked golf teams, helping them achieve an unprecedented level of success in collegiate competitive golf.

Also on the ASU Karsten’s teaching faculty is the former All-American at ASU, Scott Watkins. Watkins who has been in the golf business for 31 years, is currently ranked 11th in Golf Digest’s 2011-2012 rankings of the best teachers in the State of Arizona. Watkins also has been nominated five times for Golf Magazine’s Top 100 Golf Instructors and has been awarded both the Southwest Section PGA, Player of the Year and the Teacher of the Year awards.

This tradition of excellence is bound to grow with the addition of Tim Mickelson, Phil’s younger brother who led the University of San Diego to the school’s first three NCAA appearances in history. He was named head coach of the Sun Devil’s men’s golf team in 2011.

Since 1989, ASU Karsten Golf Course has entertained golfers with a unique brand of links-style golf; filled with traditions that can only be formed over decades of excellence. With all the makings of a championship golf club, ASU Karsten continues to burn as brightly as the desert sun that seems to always hang high overhead, and that’s just the way they like it. It’s never too hot for a real Sun Devil. 

Visit www.asukarsten.com to learn more about Happy Hour, Champions Club, The PING Learning Center or any of the fantastic programs and facilities offered at ASU Karsten Golf Course.

ASU KARSTEN  “AT A GLANCE”
ASU Karsten Golf Course
1125 East Rio Salado Parkway
Tempe, Arizona 85281
480.921.8070 Golf Shop
Website: www.asukarsten.com
Facebook: www.facebook.com/ASUKarstenGolfCourse
Twitter:  www.twitter.com/ASUKarsten
Annual Programs: Champions Club & Karsten Club

Special Summer Opportunities:
Champions Club Summer Pass – On Sale Now for just $49 & Includes One Complimentary Round.
Happy Hour - after 2 pm every Thursday (June 7 through September 20). 50% off green fees ($18 per player), 2-for-1 beverage specials and 50% off golf shop merchandise
Hang 10 – Purchase 10 Rounds Of Golf & More for one low price:
visit www.asukarsten.com/10