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With some 200 diverse fairways, the Phoenix-Scottsdale area ranks fourth in the country for the most golf courses. Virtual year-round sunshine coupled with fantastic desert scenery and schools with high-caliber instructors lure nearly two million golfers to tee off in Greater Phoenix each year. Keep … more in mind that desert creatures like snakes and scorpions don’t steer clear of golf courses: If you’re looking for a ball among rocks or bushes, be sure to use your golf club – not your hands!
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The Boulders course is the only Arizona golf resort course listed on Golf Magazine’s Platinum Medal Winners. This elite award, chosen by over 8,000 readers, showcases properties that excel in course design, playability, and luxury accommodations. Only nine other courses in the country received the same honor. The Boulders offers two, 18-hole par 71/72 championship courses.
Owned by the Fort McDowell Yavapai Nation, the We-Ko-Pa Golf Club offers the Cholla course, designed by Scott Miller, and the Saguaro course, created by Bill Coore and Ben Crenshaw. Facilities also include a driving range and full-service clubhouse. Located on unspoiled Native American land near Scottsdale and Fountain Hills, golfers will enjoy dramatic views of the Sonoran Desert and surrounding mountains.
Play where the pros play! This par 71 course was designed by Jay Morrish and Tom Wiskopf for the PGA Tour’s FBR Open, the largest spectator golf event in the world. The course was named one of the top 10 public golf courses in Arizona by Golf Digest, and it was also the first course in the state to be designated an Audubon International Cooperative Sanctuary System for its environment-friendly practices.
Located in the Apache-Sitgreaves National Forest (home to the largest stand of Ponderosa Pine in the world) the White Mountains are one of Arizona’s premiere outdoor recreation destinations. With a four-season climate, visitors can enjoy hiking, biking, fishing, golfing, and skiing in the area. Best of all, summer temperatures are in the 70s providing a needed respite from Phoenix’s scorching heat.
