10 Best Public Golf Courses in Scottsdale

Welcome to Scottsdale, Arizona! Whether you call this city home, a vacation destination, or where your work conference is, no golfer can spend time in Scottsdale without trying out one (or perhaps a few) of the outstanding public golf venues in the area. Jonathan De Young has compiled a list of ten of the best public golf courses in Scottsdale, so you can’t go wrong with any of these options. It’s time to clear a morning or afternoon in your schedule and book your tee time.

With the distinction of being the first made-for-the-desert golf course, Desert Forest Golf Course sets the bar for the many courses that have developed since. Its eighteen holes meander along beautifully preserved and maintained natural landscaping. This ranks at #47 among the Top 200 Modern Courses, as presented by Golfweek. Extensive renovations in 2013 enhanced and improved the greens and bunkers, providing even greater views and further incorporating the desert elements.

Gainey Ranch Golf Club offers three unique courses, so it’s a perfect choice if you only have time for nine holes, or if you have the stamina to make a full day of your golf outing, and experience them all. The Arroyo Course offers lengthy and challenging fairways and the ultimate skills challenge on the ninth hole’s green. Beware of fast greens on the Dunes Course. Here you’ll find your precision tested while surrounded by desert. The Lakes Course is so named for the pleasingly aesthetic waterfall and lake at the ninth hole. However, you’ll find enough challenging waterways lining most of this course’s fairways to force you to strategize your shots carefully.

The Grayhawk Golf Club is the proud host of the NCAA Golf Championships for both men’s and women’s divisions. Even if you’re not a college athlete, two different styles of courses enable players to enjoy two completely different styles of golfing. The Raptor is a traditional course featuring wide fairways and challenging bunkers. The Talon is true desert golf, capitalizing on the land’s natural desert features to create challenging play.

Like many of the best public golf courses in Scottsdale, TPC Scottsdale has garnered numerous accolades as a top golf destination by Conde Nast Traveler and Golfweek Magazine, and with good reason. The Stadium Course and the Champions Course offer an outstanding golfing experience, as they are among only thirty-two exquisite courses in the United States designed specifically for the PGA tour.  The world’s most attended golf tournament, the WM Phoenix Open is played on the Stadium Course. The equally beautiful Champions Course will challenge golfers of all skill sets and can be enjoyed again and again as players test out different strategies.

Tom Weiskopf, the champion of the British Open and designer of the two courses at Troon North Golf Club, has recently revisited his work and improved the course to capture the ruggedness and dramatic landscapes of the desert. The efforts have paid off, and the club has been recognized again for its top courses and outstanding resort experience. Far from home and unable to travel with your golf clubs? No problem. Troon North has everything you’ll need for a great golf game available for rent.

Ak-Chin Southern Dunes Golf Club - Maricopa

In addition to building a reputation as a golfer’s dream vacation destination, Scottsdale boasts year-round sunshine and great rates for those willing to venture out into the summer heat for a round or two. If Scottsdale is beginning to sound like the place you would like to call home, contact local real estate expert Johnathon De Young. He’ll happily discuss the local property investment opportunities and help you find your own desert oasis.

<sub>*Header Photo courtesy of Shutterstock

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