My second impression of Toka Sticks Golf Course, a layout in southeast Mesa I first played in 1997, came from one of my playing partners on this day.

“Looks and feels like a Chicago muni,’’ said the former Windy City resident as we approached the first tee. “Wall to wall grass and trees, with good-looking greens. I like it already, and we haven’t even played it.’’

Actually, there were a lot of things to savor about Toka (pronounced “talk-a”) Sticks, which is named after a Native American sport that also requires a form of club. There were friendly people, a laidback atmosphere, and a solid golf course with terrific putting surfaces at reasonable green fee of $40. The way we were treated? Priceless.

Case in point I: “Mo’’ the assistant pro told us we weren’t grabbing enough tees out of the $1 dispenser. “You can grab a heck of a lot more than that,’’ he chided, laughing at the massive fistful of pegs that followed.

Case in point II: Buying a Bud Light for $2.50 and a hot dog for $3. By comparison, you would pay twice that much for the same “essentials’’ at a north Scottsdale course.

“Yep, lunch is big around here,’’ Mo explained as we panned the bustling 19th hole. “But breakfast is bigger . . . In fact, ‘back nine & breakfast’ is one of our most popular promotions at $19.’’

Apparently, a limited number of players get to tour the back side at Toka Sticks and then sit down to eggs, bacon, hash browns, toast and coffee before the morning wave sweeps through. It’s the first of two tidals, as Toka Sticks does approximately 240 players a day.

We were there on a Tuesday, and the place was packed tighter than a box of Titlelists. With so many golfers, it can be touchy at times -- especially on the front nine, where the fairways are narrower and oftentimes parallel. Perhaps Toka Sticks management could borrow a “Beware of Incoming Missles’’ sign from the course’s original owners, the U.S. Air Force, because you will hear more than one “FORE!’’

Naturally, having the course playing to capacity has to be a welcome sight to the current owners, the Gila River Indian Community. There could be a little more money spent on the course’s general upkeep -- bunkers detailed, trees trimmed, porta-potties replaced with permanent facilities, and perhaps a new clubhouse and maintenence building -- without the green fee going over the top.

The man in charge is Dave Porter, who holds the titles of head pro and general manager, sort of an unusual combination. The fact Porter’s staff -- Mohammad “Mo’’ Mustafa, Juan Tovar, D.J. Jones and superintendent Charlie Ritchie -- have been together “for years,’’ goes a long way in explaining the nature of these friendly confines.

The highlight of the front side is “Hurricane Corner’’ -- Nos. 4, 5 and 6, which form a Bermuda triangle around one of Toka Sticks’ lakes. Forget about trying to drive the par-4 fifth, a tempting 293-yard poke. Even if you make it over the wet stuff, you won’t clear the trees without considerable luck.

The back nine, which winds around the course’s perimeter and past Williams-Gateway Airport, is more wide open and eye-popping, even if some of the attention comes from the thunder of jets overhead. Guaranteed, you’ll never forget the ending, as the 540-yard, par-5 18th is a shrinking dogleg through the trees where par seems like a birdie.

“People like the course, and we get tons of compliments about the greens,’’ Porter noted. “It’s enjoyable and fun to play -- no rocks, no desert, no cactus.

“What I really like is, we’ve got a lot of large trees, so it’s a lot cooler to play than those desert courses. That, and it’s got five par 5s and five par 3s, and you don’t see that very often. (The extra par 5 and 3) give a good player a chance to go low.’’

Porter said the first nine was built by the Army Corps of Engineers in 1956 with the help of area farmers, who loaned their machinery. The second nine was completed by engineers at Williams Air Force Base in 1984.

“The old joke was, they built the base first, and then the golf course,’’ he said. “When those were completed, they put in the runways.’’

Even if the majority of guests at Toka Sticks on this day seemed to be retireees, there was a large group of college kids with ASU on their bags waiting to play. What were the Sun Devils doing way out here at Williams Field and Power roads? Turns out the ASU East campus is directly across the street from the club, and these Devils are enrolled in the school’s golf management program.

Obviously, Toka Sticks is a happening place, located at the booming crossroads of Mesa, Higley and Gilbert, with the San Tan Freeway soon to be just a half-mile away. More importantly, it is the kind of golf course Arizona needs more of if it is to ever shed its image of high-priced golf.

Hopefully, the Gila River Community will come to embrace this hidden gem of the East Valley, and enhance Toka Sticks in the years to come.