Arizona Golf Guide

Arizona's weather - including some of the best winters in the world - help make it one of the top golf vacation getaways in America. Golf in Arizona, which includes world-known hot spots Phoenix, Scottsdale and Tucson, can provide desert escapes, big city life and five-star luxury golf resorts in the same trip.

Golfers and non-golfers alike know that Scottsdale boasts hip nightclubs, unique shopping and top-rated restaurants, spurred by a recent influx of celebrity chefs at hotels like Fairmont Scottsdale Princess. Scottsdale's golf features some of the top-rated golf courses in the country, including Troon North Golf Club's Monument and Pinnacle, Grayhawk and Boulders. There are also some new additions creating plenty of buzz, including Saguaro Course at We-Ko-Pa and the redesigned Champions Course at TPC Scottsdale.

Phoenix, home to the international Sky Harbor airport that most Scottsdale golfers fly into and only a short drive away, can give you golf in the middle of a cosmopolitan city that has a major convention center and sports teams like the Phoenix Suns and the Arizona Diamondbacks. Arizona Biltmore's Adobe Course is one of the oldest courses in the state. Raven at South Mountain features more than 5,000 pine trees in an anything-but-desert feel. And both, as well as other top Phoenix golf courses like the Nick Faldo-designed Wildfire Golf Club, let you swing within the city limits while still providing a vacation retreat feel.

Only two hours from the Phoenix-Scottsdale resort corridor, Tucson is known for providing even more natural desert golf while being home to some of the best spas - including its world-famous medical and health spas - in the world. You can take on Tom Fazio's design work at Ventana Canyon, Arnold Palmer's at Starr Pass or Jack Nicklaus' at La Paloma. Then, there's time for hikes in natural scenery or just kicking back under the stars.

Arizona Golf Destinations

  • Tucson

    With 350 days of sunshine each year, Arizona's second largest city, Tucson, is especially ideal for visitors who prefer outdoor activities such as hiking, biking, sightseeing, and, of course, golf. Rich with natural and geographical treasures, the name Tucson is derived from the Indian word for "spring at the foot of black mountain," and you'll find that spring is just southwest of downtown.

    When Jack Nicklaus designed the 27 holes at The Golf Club at Dove Mountain, he made sure to utilize the plentiful saguaros and the rolling hills. The Wild Burro/Saguaro combination winds along the base of the Tortolita Mountain Range with a backdrop of a vast cacti forest to the west.
    The 18-hole San Ignacio Golf Club in Green Valley, Arizona is a semi-private golf course that opened in 1989. Designed by Arthur Hills, San Ignacio Golf Club measures 6708 yards from the longest tees and has a slope rating of 134 and a 64.
    Located just 30 miles southeast of Tucson, San Pedro Golf Course sits along the river of the same name. The scenic layout has a front nine that winds through mesquite groves and a back nine that plays across natural canyons. You'll find very few manmade features on the course, instead the design takes advantage of the terrain's many natural elevation changes.
  • Phoenix

    The sun always seems to shine on the world-class golf destination that is Phoenix, the fifth largest city in the United States with unlimited things to do and the weather to do them in.

    The Legacy features an 18-hole golf course designed by the renowned architect Gary Panks. Lush green fairways, forgiving rough, well placed hazards, and manicured greens offer a challenge for golfers of all skill levels.
    With a convenient central location in the Valley of the Sun, the Arizona Grand Golf Course at the Arizona Grand Resort is the perfect opportunity for golfers to test their game against a traditional links layout mixed with desert target golf.
    The 18-hole Encanto Golf Course in Phoenix, Arizona is a public golf course that opened in 1935. Designed by William P. Bell, Encanto Golf Course measures 6404 yards from the longest tees and has a slope rating of 114 and a 69.5 USGA rating. The course features 3 sets of tees for different skill levels.
  • Scottsdale

    Arguably the golf capital of the United States, it's hard to beat the weather and the number of high-quality golf courses in Scottsdale, Ariz. There are more than 200 courses cut out of the rocky terrain of the Sonoran Desert in the area.

    The 18-hole Red Mountain Ranch Country Club in Mesa, Arizona is a private golf course that opened in 1986. Designed by Pete Dye and Perry Dye, Red Mountain Ranch Country Club measures 6774 yards from the longest tees and has a slope rating of 144 and a 73.
    The 18-hole Stadium Course at TPC Scottsdale in Scottsdale, Arizona is a resort golf course that opened in 1986. Designed by Jay Morrish and Tom Weiskopf, Stadium Course at TPC Scottsdale measures 7261 yards from the longest tees and has a slope rating of 142 and a 74.
    With a slope rating of 144, the beautiful scenery surrounding Las Sendas will likely help take your mind off the astronomical numbers you'll be putting on your scorecard. This Robert Trent Jones Jr.