Best golf courses in Arizona.

Fort McDowell, AZ

Saguaro at We-Ko-Pa Golf Club sits on Fort McDowell Yavapai Nation land northeast of Scottsdale, Arizona. Bill Coore and Ben Crenshaw designed it, and it opened in 2006 as the second course at the club. There is no housing and no development of any kind visible from the course, which is unusual in the Phoenix area, and the routing was laid out to stay on the natural desert grade. Fairways run into one another, the transitions to native desert are ragged rather than manicured, and the greens are open in front so the ball can be played along the ground. Saguaro is genuinely walkable, which almost no desert course is, and caddies are available. It is the shorter and lower-profile of the two courses at We-Ko-Pa, alongside the Cholla course, and both are daily fee.

Peoria, AZ

Quintero Golf Club sits in the Hieroglyphic Mountains northwest of Phoenix, reached off Carefree Highway (Route 74) in Peoria, Arizona. Rees Jones, with co-designer Steve Weisser, designed the course, which opened in 2000 as the golf centerpiece of a private residential community and later opened to daily-fee public play. The routing winds through desert valleys and washes separating the surrounding mountains, with elevation changes built into several holes and a mix of exposed desert and turfed corridors typical of high Sonoran Desert golf. It plays 7,249 yards at par 72 from the back tees. In 2025 Rees Jones Inc. returned to the property to restore the original green surfaces and rebuild the fairway and greenside bunkers. It is a long drive from central Phoenix, which keeps the course quiet, and it remains open to any golfer who books a tee time.

Scottsdale, AZ

The Monument Course at Troon North in Scottsdale was designed by Tom Weiskopf and Jay Morrish and opened in 1990. It takes its name from the granite outcropping standing in the middle of the third fairway. The routing threads through boulder fields and saguaro stands in the upper Sonoran Desert, with fairways defined by desert on both sides rather than rough. Weiskopf and Morrish left the natural washes in place, so several holes require a carry from the tee and the safe line is often the longer one. It is open to public and resort play, walkable in the cooler months, and remains the older of the two courses at the club.

Maricopa, AZ

Ak-Chin Southern Dunes Golf Club in Maricopa, Arizona, opened in 2002 and was designed by Schmidt-Curley Design, the team of Lee Schmidt and Brian Curley, with Fred Couples as a design consultant. It sits on 320 acres owned by the Ak-Chin Indian Community, land that was part of the community's original 1912 reservation. The course was built in the Australian sand belt style rather than the usual Arizona desert form, with more than 100 bunkers cut hard against the edges of greens and fairways and mounded native grasses framing the holes. It plays to a par 72 at roughly 7,550 yards from the back tees, and the ground is open enough that wind matters. It operates as a true daily-fee course open to everyone, about 35 minutes south of Phoenix, and has served as a qualifying site for professional and USGA events.

Scottsdale, AZ

Raptor is the Tom Fazio course at Grayhawk Golf Club in Scottsdale, opened in 1995. It sits on higher, more open desert ground than its neighbor, the Talon Course, and plays as a par 72. The course is wide off the tee but demanding into the greens, with large bunker complexes, elevated putting surfaces and long forced carries over desert wash. Firm fairways and Bermuda greens make angle of approach matter more than raw distance. Raptor hosted the NCAA Division I men's and women's golf championships in the early 2020s, when Grayhawk served as the fixed site for the event. Phil's Grill is Grayhawk's 19th hole, named for club ambassador Phil Mickelson. Its patio tables, campfire-style lounge and views across the course toward the McDowell Mountains give Raptor groups an easy place to keep the round going.

Scottsdale, AZ

TPC Scottsdale's Stadium Course is an 18-hole public course in Scottsdale, Arizona, designed by Tom Weiskopf and Jay Morrish and opened in 1986. The course was renovated in 2014. It plays to a par of 71 at roughly 7,216 yards from the back tees, with a course rating of 74.6 and a slope of 138. The par-3 16th hole is fully enclosed by permanent grandstand seating, giving the layout its Stadium Course name. Desert terrain and gently undulating fairways surround the course throughout the round.

Fort McDowell, AZ

The Cholla Course at We-Ko-Pa Golf Club is an 18-hole resort course in Fort McDowell, Arizona, on land of the Fort McDowell Yavapai Nation. It was designed by Scott Miller and opened in December 2001 as the club's first course. Cholla is a par 72 of about 7,225 yards, routed through desert arroyos and over ridges with no houses or roads in view. The club's second course, Saguaro, designed by Bill Coore and Ben Crenshaw, opened in 2006.

Marana, AZ

The Golf Club at Dove Mountain is a 27-hole Jack Nicklaus Signature facility in the Sonoran Desert foothills of Marana, Arizona, opened in 2009 alongside The Ritz-Carlton, Dove Mountain. Its three nines, Saguaro, Tortolita and Wild Burro, sit at elevations between roughly 2,300 and 3,000 feet against the Tortolita Mountains, with a 45,000-square-foot clubhouse at the center of the property. The club carries a private membership, and tee times are available to Ritz-Carlton resort guests and members rather than the general public. Desert waste areas and elevation changes shape the shots across the property.

Scottsdale, AZ

Talon is the original course at Grayhawk Golf Club in Scottsdale, designed by David Graham and Gary Panks and opened in 1994. It runs through tighter, more broken desert ground than the newer Raptor Course next to it. The golf is defined by desert washes, rock outcrops and short-grass hollows around the greens rather than length. The par-3 17th, known as Devil's Drink, plays to a green nearly surrounded by sand and water, and several holes require carries over untouched desert from the tee. It plays as a par 72 and is open to public play, with the practice facility and clubhouse shared between the two courses. Phil's Grill is Grayhawk's 19th hole, named for club ambassador Phil Mickelson, while Isabella's Kitchen overlooks Talon and runs a popular patio happy hour. Together they create a relaxed indoor-outdoor scene with course and mountain views.

Scottsdale, AZ

Kierland Golf Club is a 27-hole facility at the Westin Kierland Resort in Scottsdale, Arizona, designed by Scott Miller, a former senior designer for Jack Nicklaus, and opened in 1996. The complex is organized into three nine-hole courses named Acacia, Ironwood and Mesquite after native desert plant life, which combine into three different 18-hole routings. Each nine has its own character while sharing rolling desert terrain, dramatic elevation changes and views back toward the resort and surrounding McDowell Mountains area. The course hosted the USGA's 1997 Women's State Team Championship not long after opening. As a resort course operated by Troon Golf, Kierland is available to resort guests and the public through tee time bookings, with the par-72 combinations offering multiple tee options for varying skill levels. The facility also includes practice areas and a golf academy on site.

Scottsdale, AZ

The Phoenician Golf Club is an 18-hole resort course at The Phoenician in Scottsdale, Arizona. It reopened in November 2018 after a 10-month redesign by architect Phil Smith, who cut the resort's original 27 holes to a single 18-hole routing on the existing fairway corridors. The renovation rebuilt the green complexes and recontoured fairways so bunkers and hazards are visible from the tee, with no blind shots. The course plays to a par of 71 from roughly 4,575 to 6,518 yards. It sits within the resort's Sonoran Desert grounds at 6000 East Camelback Road.

Parker, AZ

Emerald Canyon Golf Course is a public course in Parker, Arizona, carved through narrow canyons overlooking the Colorado River in the western part of the state. The routing climbs and descends through canyon terrain with blind tee shots and notable elevation change. The course was designed by Bill Phillips, opening its first nine holes in 1989 with the second nine following about two years later. Its canyon setting and tight landing areas distinguish it from typical desert-target layouts. Emerald Canyon is open to public play with a pro shop, driving range and putting greens on site, and it hosts an annual event called the Emerald Canyon Open. Tee times can be booked directly with the course.

Scottsdale, AZ

The Ambiente course at Camelback Golf Club occupies part of the JW Marriott Scottsdale Camelback Inn Resort & Spa in Scottsdale, set against the northern Sonoran Desert. Jason Straka of Hurdzan/Fry Environmental Golf Design rebuilt the club's former Indian Bend layout, raising and reshaping the flat washland to add elevation change and improve drainage; the course opened in November 2013. Ambiente plays to a par of 72 at about 7,225 yards from the back tees, with wide fairways, five sets of tees, and only about 90 acres of maintained turf surrounded by restored native desert vegetation. It operates as a resort course open to guests of the Camelback Inn and the public through advance tee-time booking.

Scottsdale, AZ

Troon North Golf Club's Pinnacle Course is located in Scottsdale, Arizona, on Sonoran Desert terrain near Pinnacle Peak, part of a 36-hole facility that also includes the Monument Course. Designed by Tom Weiskopf and Jay Morrish and opened in 1995, the Pinnacle plays across waste areas and sandy washes typical of desert golf, with the title 10th hole requiring a forced carry to a green set at the base of a small rocky rise. A tribute to Royal Troon's Postage Stamp appears at the par-3 16th, known as "Post Card." The course operates as a semi-private, daily-fee facility open to the public and resort guests, with an on-site clubhouse, practice facilities and golf academy.

Phoenix, AZ

Papago Golf Course is a municipal layout in Phoenix set beneath the red sandstone buttes of Papago Park, with the landmark Hole-in-the-Rock formation visible from parts of the property. William F. Bell designed it and it opened in 1963, making it one of the older public courses in the valley. A major renovation completed in 2008 restored and modernized Bell's design, including work around the par-3 11th's lake and the risk-reward par-5 ninth. Papago serves as the home course for Arizona State University's golf teams. Its mature trees and open, parkland-style fairways set it apart from the desert-target courses common elsewhere in Phoenix.

Williams, AZ

Elephant Rocks sits at about 7,000 feet in Williams, in the shadow of Bill Williams Mountain, and winds through tall Ponderosa pines. Golf has been played here since the 1920s as the Williams Country Club. The city took it over, Gary Panks reworked the original nine in 1990, and Panks returned to add a second nine in 2000. The older nine is tighter and shorter; the newer nine is longer. Par 72, about 6,695 yards, open March through November.

Gold Canyon, AZ

Dinosaur Mountain is an 18-hole public course at Gold Canyon Golf Resort in Gold Canyon, Arizona, at the base of the Superstition Mountains. It was designed by Ken Kavanaugh and opened in 1982. The course plays to a par of 70 at about 6,711 yards, with large elevation change across desert ground. The resort's second course, Sidewinder, is on the same property.

Scottsdale, AZ

The O'odham Course (formerly the North Course) at Talking Stick Golf Club is located on the Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community land in Scottsdale, Arizona, on largely flat desert terrain with views of Pinnacle Peak, Red Mountain and the McDowell Mountains. Bill Coore and Ben Crenshaw designed the course, which opened in 1997 in a minimalist, desert-links style, featuring broad angular holes, crowned greens and close-cropped run-up areas that allow ground-game approaches rather than relying on dramatic elevation. Notable holes include the split-fairway par-4 12th. The course operates as a public daily-fee facility with no artificial lakes, and wildlife including wild horses is occasionally visible from the fairways.

Tucson, AZ

La Paloma Country Club is a 27-hole Jack Nicklaus Signature facility in the foothills of Tucson's Santa Catalina Mountains. The Ridge and Canyon nines opened in 1984, with the Hill nine added later. The course works through rugged desert, with the Canyon nine known for forced carries and the Ridge nine for elevated tees. La Paloma is a club managed by Troon Golf, with access for members and guests of the adjoining Westin La Paloma resort.

Mesa, AZ

Las Sendas Golf Club winds through the Usery Mountains in eastern Mesa, Arizona, roughly 1,800 feet above the Phoenix valley floor. Robert Trent Jones Jr. designed the desert-style course, which opened in 1995 and plays to a par of 72 at just over 7,000 yards from the back tees. The course is open to the public for green-fee play, with membership options also available, and features a restaurant with valley views, a full driving range, and six sets of tees to accommodate a range of skill levels.

Goodyear, AZ

Golf Club of Estrella is a daily-fee course in Goodyear, Arizona, laid out at the foot of the Sierra Estrella Mountains southwest of Phoenix within the master-planned Estrella community. The course was designed by Jack Nicklaus II, working under the Nicklaus Design name, and opened in 1999 on land originally developed by Charles Keating before a change in ownership brought in the Nicklaus design team. The layout follows the natural contours of the desert site, incorporating native washes, hillsides, and Sonoran Desert vegetation rather than reshaping the terrain. Elevated tees offer views across the surrounding mountains, and large, moderately contoured greens reward accurate approach play across a variety of hole lengths. Golf Club of Estrella operates as a public, daily-fee facility managed by Troon, with a golf shop and restaurant on site. It sits roughly 30 to 45 minutes from downtown Phoenix and is regularly included among the state's notable public courses.

Carefree, AZ

The Boulders Club South Course is an 18-hole layout in Carefree, Arizona, in the Sonoran Desert foothills near Scottsdale. It was designed by Jay Morrish and opened in 1984 alongside a companion North Course at the same resort. The layout is built into and around large granite boulder formations, with holes climbing into rock outcrops on the front nine and desert washes and native vegetation framing play throughout. Coyotes, javelina and other desert wildlife are commonly seen during rounds. The South Course operates as the resort's public/resort track, open to hotel guests, members and daily-fee players, while the North Course remains private.

Tucson, AZ

The Canyon Course at Ventana Canyon Golf & Racquet Club is an 18-hole, par-72 course in Tucson, Arizona, designed by Tom Fazio. It measures 6,836 yards from the back tees, with a course rating of 71.7 and a slope of 137. The front nine winds through Esperero Canyon, where desert washes fill with water during monsoon season, while the back nine passes the Whaleback Rock formation. Generous fairways and desert-style terrain in the Santa Catalina foothills characterize the layout.

Buckeye, AZ

Founders Course at Verrado Golf Club is an 18-hole public course in Buckeye, in the foothills of the White Tank Mountains west of Phoenix. Designed by John Fought and Tom Lehman, it opened in 2004. The par-72 layout plays 7,258 yards from the back tees, with a course rating of 73.9 and a slope of 139. The routing moves through rock outcroppings, desert washes and box canyons with views toward the Phoenix skyline. Five sets of tees and generous landing areas keep the course playable for a range of skill levels.