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Scottsdale is one of the best golf destinations on the planet. You can play year round, the weather is consistently good for most of the year, and the scenery is unlike anything else in the country. Desert backdrops, mountain views, and courses designed by some of the biggest names in the game.
With more than 200 courses in the area, narrowing it down is not easy. These five are the ones that belong on every serious golfer’s list. No private clubs. No impossible tee times. Just the best public access courses the Scottsdale area has to offer.
5. Grayhawk Golf Club
36 holes | Raptor Course | Talon Course
In just over two decades, Grayhawk has established itself as one of the most talked-about daily-fee destinations in Arizona. Two championship layouts, outstanding conditioning, and a setting against the McDowell Mountains make it a reliable anchor for any Scottsdale golf trip.
Talon Course
Par 72 | 6,973 Yards
Designed by two-time major winner David Graham and Gary Panks, the Talon course demands precision off the tee with diverse yardage options across multiple tee boxes. The layout rewards long, accurate drives and delivers consistent views of the surrounding valley and McDowell Mountains throughout the round.
Raptor Course
Par 72 | 7,151 Yards
Tom Fazio’s Raptor layout plays more forgiving off the tee with wider fairways and larger greens, but the margins for error tighten quickly. Deep bunkers and arroyos punish wayward shots. Raptor has hosted PGA Tour events and NCAA Division I Golf Championships for both men and women, giving it a competitive pedigree that shows in the conditioning and design details.
Beyond the courses, Grayhawk offers three dining options including Phil’s Grill, Quill Creek Cafe, and Isabella’s Kitchen, all with Sonoran Desert backdrops that make the post-round experience worth staying for. With 36 holes on property, a full day here with one course in the morning and one in the afternoon is entirely doable and genuinely worth it.
4. TPC Scottsdale
36 holes | Stadium Course | Champions Course
TPC Scottsdale is the most recognized golf facility in Arizona and a bucket list stop for any dedicated golfer. As the only PGA Tour facility in the state, it sits against the dramatic backdrop of the McDowell Mountains and delivers the kind of course conditions and service that tour professionals expect every week.
Stadium Course
Par 71 | 7,261 Yards
The Stadium Course has hosted the Waste Management Phoenix Open since 1987 and grown into the most attended golf event on the planet, drawing more than 600,000 spectators annually. The Tom Weiskopf and Jay Morrish design is maintained in immaculate condition year round. The par-3 16th is the centerpiece, the only fully enclosed stadium hole on the PGA Tour, capable of holding more than 20,000 fans during tournament week. Walking that hole on your own round and imagining the noise is one of the better experiences in public golf.
Champions Course
Par 71 | 7,115 Yards
The Randy Heckenkemper-designed Champions Course was fully overhauled in 2007 and winds through scenic foothills and natural ravines. It plays more strategically than the Stadium Course and tends to be the preference among locals who want a more thoughtful test without the bucket list crowds. Both layouts are worth playing on a Scottsdale golf trip if time allows.
3. Quintero
18 holes | Par 72 | 7,249 Yards
Quintero is about 45 minutes outside Scottsdale but earns its spot on this list every time. Designed by Rees Jones and ranked the number one public course in the country by both Golf Digest and GolfWeek in 2017, it delivers a level of pure desert golf that very few courses in the Southwest can match.
The layout plays through dramatic elevation changes, with holes tucked between mountain ridges, others spilling into the Sonoran Desert, and several running alongside natural lakes and washes. Bentgrass greens in the Southwest are rare and the ones at Quintero are maintained to a standard that justifies the drive. No residential development surrounds the property, which gives the whole round a sense of seclusion that is genuinely hard to find anywhere near a major metro area. If you are building a serious Scottsdale golf trip itinerary, Quintero earns a day.
2. Troon North
36 holes | Monument Course | Pinnacle Course
Troon North is the standard-setter for desert golf in the Southwest. Thirty-six holes wind through the foothills beneath Pinnacle Peak, framed by massive granite boulders and the kind of rugged Sonoran terrain that photographs cannot fully capture. Bentgrass greens, immaculate playing surfaces, and high-level service across both courses make it a consistent top-five facility in the country for public access golf.
Monument Course
Par 72 | 7,039 Yards
Tom Weiskopf’s Monument course opened in 1990 and takes its name from the massive granite boulder sitting directly in the center of the third fairway. The layout is the more eccentric of the two, mixing dramatic desert visuals with strategic drivable par-4s that reward bold play. It is the course most first-time visitors gravitate toward and it consistently delivers.
Pinnacle Course
Par 71 | 7,009 Yards
The Pinnacle course plays as a more serious championship test with no drivable par-4s and a routing that emphasizes solitude and strategy. Fewer homes are visible from the fairways, which makes the desert feel more expansive and the round more immersive. Many golfers who have played both prefer Pinnacle for the more refined, sophisticated experience it delivers. A full day playing both courses with lunch between rounds is one of the better ways to spend a day in Scottsdale.
1. We-Ko-Pa Golf Club
36 holes | Cholla Course | Saguaro Course
We-Ko-Pa sits on reservation land just outside Scottsdale and offers something genuinely rare in modern golf: a completely development-free setting. No homes. No roads. No businesses visible from any fairway. Just the game, the desert, and the sounds of the Sonoran landscape including roadrunners, coyotes, and the occasional hawk overhead. It is the most authentic desert golf experience available anywhere near a major city and it is the number one facility in Arizona by almost every measure.
Saguaro Course
Par 71 | 6,966 Yards
Bill Coore and Ben Crenshaw designed the Saguaro course to work with the natural contours of the land rather than impose a design on top of it. The result is a walkable, flowing layout where greens sit naturally close to the next tee, the routing feels unhurried, and the overall experience is closer to a traditional golf experience than the target-style desert designs that define much of the region. GolfWeek has ranked the Saguaro course the number one layout in Arizona nearly every year for the past fifteen years.
Cholla Course
Par 72 | 7,225 Yards
Scott Miller’s Cholla course is the more dramatic of the two, routing over desert washes and along elevated ridges with views of the Superstition Mountains, Red Mountain, and the Verde and Salt River Valleys. The layout flows into greens nestled against natural hillsides and arroyos and delivers the kind of visual spectacle that makes a round feel cinematic from start to finish. The Cholla has held a permanent position in GolfWeek’s top ten Arizona rankings for nearly twenty years.
Together, the two courses at We-Ko-Pa represent the best public golf value in the state. If your Scottsdale golf trip has room for one full day at a single facility, this is where that day should go.
Those are the five courses that belong on every serious Scottsdale golf trip itinerary. Want help putting the trip together, getting the best tee times, and making sure nothing gets missed? Get a free Scottsdale golf trip quote today.