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

  • 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 Longbow Golf Club in Mesa, Arizona is a public golf course that opened in 1997. Designed by Ken Kavanaugh, Longbow Golf Club measures 6750 yards from the longest tees and has a slope rating of 128 and a 71.8 USGA rating. The course features 4 sets of tees for different skill levels.
    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.
    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.
  • 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.

    The 18-hole Conquistador at El Conquistador Golf & Tennis in Tucson, Arizona is a resort golf course that opened in 1982. Designed by Greg Nash and Jeff Hardin, Conquistador at El Conquistador Golf & Tennis measures 6720 yards from the longest tees and has a slope rating of 129 and a 72.
    The Mountain Course at The Lodge at Ventana Canyon, one of two Tom Fazio designs at this Tucson resort, is a classic desert-style target golf course has quick, undulating greens, elevated tee shots and a number of memorable holes.
    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.
    The 18-hole Cave Creek Golf Course in Phoenix, Arizona is a public golf course that opened in 1983. Designed by Jack Snyder, Cave Creek Golf Course measures 6876 yards from the longest tees and has a slope rating of 122 and a 71.