Phoenix and Scottsdale's 10 Best Public Golf Courses

At one of America’s favorite winter destinations, the Phoenix/Scottsdale area of Arizona, the grass really is greener.

We’re talking about golf courses, obviously, especially the multitude of high-end facilities in this part of Arizona, where crews heavily overseed in the fall to create a lush look you don’t see in many parts of the country, especially in the colder months. That makes ranking the 10 best public golf courses in the Phoenix and Scottsdale area particularly tough.

The area’s resort courses are plentiful and stunning. Designed by some of the best in the business – like Tom Weiskopf and Jay Morrish, Tom Fazio, Bill Coore & Ben Crenshaw, and Scott Miller, just to name a few – playing these resort courses is a special experience, especially for visitors to the area.

Peak golf season in the Phoenix and Scottsdale area is right around the time “The Greatest Show on Grass” (AKA The WM Phoenix Open) is played in February at the TPC Scottsdale Stadium Course, and extends through spring training and the Cactus League, which features half of the country’s major league baseball teams. But really, the Valley of the Sun is a great spot for golf year-round, even in the summer months. You just have to play earlier in the day in the summer and early fall to catch relatively cooler temps.

The toughest part about playing in the Phoenix/Scottsdale area, though, is picking a favorite golf course. To rank the top 10 courses in Phoenix/Scottsdale that you can play, I separated them by how enjoyable they are. For me, the Monument Course at Troon North and We-Ko-Pa’s Saguaro Course had the edge. But honestly, I could have made an argument for any of the courses I have listed in the top four, and maybe beyond. They’re that close.

Here is our ranking of the top 10 public golf courses in the Phoenix/Scottsdale area, regardless of price: 

1. Troon North Monument Course
2. We-Ko-Pa Saguaro Course
3. Troon North Pinnacle Course
4. We-Ko-Pa Golf Club Cholla Course
5. TPC Scottsdale Stadium Course
6. Ak-Chin Southern Dunes
7. Boulders Resort South Course
8. Grayhawk Golf Club Raptor Course
9. Quintero Golf Club
10. Kierland Golf Club

Since its debut in 1990, the Monument Course at Troon North has been considered among the top public golf courses in Arizona. The Pinnacle Course followed five years later, and in 2007, Tom Weiskopf, who designed the courses with Jay Morrish, came in and oversaw a renovation that swapped out many of the holes on both courses and rerouted them to make them both work better. The consensus is that the work improved both courses, and which one is better is probably an argument for what you prefer in a golf course.

With that said, I rank the Monument Course slightly higher, because it’s probably more playable and a little more scenic. The course gets its name from the signature boulder in the fairway of the par-5 third hole, which big hitters might be able to carry off the tee (with very little margin for error), while more ordinary golfers will try to work around the giant rock formation.

The third is one of many great holes on the course, which has elevated tees, tricky greens, and some pretty intimidating shots. Yet, the fairways are larger than they appear off the tee, and even the opulent homes (which really don’t come into play) add to the visual experience. Combine that with an expansive driving range with its background music, and huge clubhouse with a top-rated golf shop and restaurant, and you can see why Troon North is always at the top of everybody’s list. 

The original course at We-Ko-Pa, the Cholla Course is one of Scott Miller’s early solo designs after working for Jack Nicklaus as a senior designer for several years. The Scottsdale-based architect created a true desert course with target greens, some elevated tees, all set against a magnificent desert mountain landscape.

Some of the most interesting holes include the par-4 seventh, which has a split fairway; the dogleg right 605-yard par-5 eighth, which is the most difficult hole on the course according to the scorecard, with its intimidating tee shot over the desert landscape; and the long par-4 18th, where there’s a risk-reward fairway option to try to set up an easier approach to a green fronted by a pond.

The Cholla Course underwent a renovation in 2016. The work included new MiniVerde Bermuda greens as well as the removal of about seven acres of turf, which makes it more environmentally friendly.

The home of the PGA Tour’s most raucous and well-attended tournament, the Stadium Course at the TPC Scottsdale is also a blast to play. While some have criticized it for being a little bit vanilla, conditions are always superb, and it’s the antithesis of desert golf with wall-to-wall grass throughout, several water features, and a nice finishing stretch.

The most famous hole, the par-3 16th, might seem a little benign without the stadium enclosure and 20,000 golf fans, but it has a tricky green where three-putts are all too frequent. The 15th is a risk-reward par-5 with plenty of water, while the 17th is a drivable par 4 that Andrew Magee famously aced in 2001 after his tee shot struck the putter of Tom Byrum, who was in the group in front of him and on the green.

Throw in a great clubhouse restaurant, outstanding practice facilities, and the other golf course (Champions), and perhaps accommodations at the Fairmont Scottsdale Princess, and you've got one heck of a nice golf vacation.

One of the more unique courses in the Valley, Southern Dunes is a combination of parkland and links golf, with lots of interesting angles, a few water features, lots of really deep bunkers, and large, sloping greens.

The course, which was designed by Brian Curley with input from Fred Couples, underwent a renovation a few years ago, too, to make it even better, reducing the number of bunkers, widening the fairways, and shortening the par-3 17th, which used to be 240 yards with a blind tee shot.

The course, which is over 7,500 yards from the tips, has several holes that are quite long, like the 248-yard par-3 sixth, 606-yard, par-5 13th, and 496-yard par-4 15th.

In addition to the course, practice facilities are some of the best in the area. They include a short course dubbed “Mini Dunes.”

Like many of the top golf facilities in the area, Grayhawk also has more than one course. Both are a joy to play, but the Raptor Course is probably more tournament worthy. This Tom Fazio design has hosted PGA Tour events, including the World Match Play Championship back in the 1990s.

The Raptor is classic desert golf with lots of target golf. One of the most fun holes is the 330-yard par-4 15th, dubbed “Wee One.” Long hitters can drive it, but it definitely comes with risk. In casual play, of course, you’re probably playing “desert rules,” so it’s probably worth taking a shot if you feel like you can get close to the well-protected green if you can. 

The Raptor also has a great finishing hole, the 521-yard par-5 18th. It’s classic risk-reward with water all down the right side on the approach with only a sliver of land on the left as a bail out if you can’t carry the water with your approach to the green.

Originally intended to be fully private, Quintero Golf Club fortunately offers public tee times on its excellent Rees Jones-designed golf course. Quintero is somewhat reminiscent of one of Jones’ other noteworthy designs, Cascata Golf Club near Las Vegas. Like Cascata, the holes pretty much stand alone and are isolated from one another, sometimes making you feel like you’re the only group on the course. And like Cascata, they’re all interesting, beautiful, and challenging. 

Located next to Lake Pleasant, the course has open fairways, beautiful bunkering, multi-tiered greens, and impeccable conditioning. It also has plenty of elevation change, and water comes into play on at least a half dozen holes. The par-3s are particularly memorable. The signature hole might be the par-3 ninth, which is more than 210 yards and plays over water that fronts the green.