Best Golf Courses in Arizona
Home to a huge percentage of our Best of Desert Golf Courses list, Arizona is truly the GOAT when it comes to desert golf, and the 10 courses listed below are certain to fit your fancy. Nicklaus. Coore. Crenshaw. Palmer. Jones. The list of legendary golf course architects that have placed their stamps on the Arizona golf landscape seemingly goes on forever.
- Scottsdale, Arizona
- Coore. Crenshaw. Does it get any better?! The O’odham Course at Talking Stick Golf Club is an early offering from the dynamic, and it brings Scottish links to the desert in a way that only they could. Wide fairways meet perfectly crowned greens at one of the Best Links Courses in the U.S., and you best bring your thinking cap when you play O’odham because it’s deceptively tough! And don’t sleep on Piipaash while you’re there… It’s the second half of one of the Best Places to Play 36!
- Fountain Hills, Arizona
- Named after a Yaqui word that means, “land where the flowers grow,” Sewailo features beautiful Sonoran Desert vistas peppered with wildflowers like a well-intended brush stroke in an oil painting. Artfully routed through the desert by Ty Butler and Notah Begay III, Sewailo utilizes natural features to create the perfect balance of risk and reward, and whether you opt to gamble on the course or not, the onsite casino gives you one last chance to roll the dice.
- Scottsdale, Arizona
- SunRidge Canyon is famous for walking golfers gently into the valley before taking them home with a six-hole crescendo that they will remember forever. Aptly called “The Wicked 6,” the closing six-holes at SunRidge Canyon have been called the hardest in America and some of Keith Foster’s finest work, but rest assured, the final holes at SunRidge mirror the rest of the course and its commitment to presenting a fair test packed with plenty of fun.
- Wickenburg, Arizona
- Sporty is the optimal word to describe the amazing experience playing Big Wick at Wickenburg Ranch Golf and Social Club. Designed by Wendell Pickett and Bill Brownlee, Big Wick features six Par 3s, seven Par 4s and five Par 5s to keep players seeking variety fully satiated. Toss in fantastic playing conditions and views of untouched, rugged desert and Big Wick is a must on your next visit to the Scottsdale area.
- Scottsdale, Arizona
- Home to the Waste Management Phoenix Open, The Stadium Course at TPC Scottsdale extends the fun from that Super Bowl weekend across every day of the year. Featuring wide fairways and approachable greens, the Jay Morrish and Tom Weiskopf designed Stadium Course is truly unique in its ability to test the pros while still remaining playable enough for us average Joes. Don’t pass up an opportunity to play Stadium with the stands up… it’s truly an amazing experience!
- Sedona, Arizona
- A frequent visitor to best of lists for its unmistakable beauty, the Gary Panks designed Sedona Golf Resort features brilliant red rocks, minty green grass, significant elevation changes and rock formations that will take your breath away. Don’t forget to take out your phone to snap a shot on #10, because it might be one of the Best Par 3s you’ll ever play.
- Marana, Arizona
- Despite being just a short drive from Tucson, The Golf Club at Dove Mountain and its endless desert vistas feel a million miles away. Considered one of the Best Jack Nicklaus designed courses in the United States, Dove Mountain features an 18-hole rotation (Saguaro / Tortolita) that stretches out to 7,850 yards from the tips! But don’t worry… you don’t have to play that set of tees. And if the course looks familiar when you arrive, that’s because it is. Dove Mountain hosted the WGC Match Play for six years, and it’s certainly had some time on your television screen.
- Maricopa, Arizona
- Routed by Fred Couples and Schmidt-Curley Designs, Ak-Chin Southern Dunes Golf Club is 320-acres of desert links at its best. Featuring wide, driver-friendly fairways and small, well-bunkered green complexes, Ak-Chin Southern Dunes is a second shot course that asks golfers to play strategically or pay the price. As one recent #TeeOffNation member recently told us, “I love Southern Dunes. It makes me think about my iron-play in a way that other courses don’t. It’s awesome.” And we concur.
- Scottsdale, Arizona
- A frequent chart topper in Best of Phoenix lists, The Pinnacle Course at Troon North Golf Club is a classic Arizona layout that wraps perfectly around its namesake, Pinnacle Peak. Designed by Tom Weiskopf, Pinnacle captures the essence of golf in Arizona with a layout that features mountain vistas, rock formations, massive cacti and elevation changes that keep golfers on their yardage-calculating toes.
- Peoria, Arizona
- It’s difficult to stand out among the rest in a state with so many great golf courses, but Quintero Golf Club does exactly that. Perfectly placed in the Hieroglyphic Mountains, Quintero features elevated tee boxes, endless vistas and natural rolling fairways that only add to the aesthetic but dictate the strategy concurrently. As one local recently chirped, “Rees Jones lets the land do the talking at Quintero,” and rest assured, it’s a narrative that all golfers will want to hear.
P.S. Picking 10 courses in Arizona was super tough… So make sure to check out all our amazing courses across the US to see other great courses in Phoenix, Tucson, Sedona, and all points in between.