In case you are visiting the valley of the sun during winter and spring months or are a local resident Phoenix offers a lot of great choices for golf. In this post I will focus on public courses and break it down by locations throughout the valley.
Also, a quick tip I recommend is to check sites such as, Golfnow.com a week or two before your visit to look for great deals on tee times.
Southeast Valley
(Gilbert / Chandler / Mesa / Apache Junction)
Johnson Ranch
Address: 30761 Golf Club Drive, San Tan Valley, AZ 85143
Course: 7,162 yards par 72
About: I played Johnson Ranch when it was opened quite a few years back and always liked the course because the two nines are very different. The front nine is rolling desert and the back nine makes it way up into the surrounding foothills with several holes that have big elevation changes between the tee and green.
Ocotillo Golf Resort
Address: 3751 S Clubhouse Dr, Chandler, AZ 85248
Course: 7,016 par 72
About: You might think you are in Florida with all the water on this course. Almost every hole has some type of water hazard and this is a high end course that has a great layout. Great challenge and venue.
Bear Creek
Address: 500 East Riggs Road, Chandler, AZ 85249
Course: 6,825 yards par 71
About: Designed by the Nicklaus Design Group & Architect Bill O'Leary Bear Creek offers a unique links style layout that a lot of other courses in the valley do not have.
Lone Tree
Address: 6262 S Mountain Blvd, Chandler, AZ 85249
Course: 6,984 yards par 71
About: I've played Lone Tree a couple times and each time I came away impressed. It's just a good solid public course for the money.
Longbow Golf Club
Address: 5601 E Longbow Pkwy, Mesa, AZ 85215
Course: 7,050 par 71
About: Longbow is for golfers looking for more of an upscale public course with a great challenging layout that has a lot of native landscapes built into the design. There's even spring fed ponds in the layout which give it even more of a pristine look and feel along with panoramic mountain views.
Gold Canyon
Address: 6100 S Kings Ranch Rd, Gold Canyon, AZ 85218
Dinosaur Mountain Course: 6,653 par 70
Sidewinder Course: 6,533 par 71
About: I played Dinosaur mountain and loved it. Typical with the foothills desert style courses there are a lot of small targets you need be careful to hit whether its fairways or greens. Beautiful part of the value with a lot of elevation changes.
Las Sendas
Address: 7555 E Eagle Crest Dr, Mesa, AZ 85207
Course: 6,825 par 71
Phoenix
Papago
Address: 5595 E Moreland St, Phoenix, AZ 85008
Course: 7,333 par 72
About: Papago was recently remodeled and restored to its former glory. One of the oldest public courses in Phoenix with a great layout and great value for the price.
Lookout Mountain Golf Club
Address: 11111 North 7th Street Phoenix, Arizona 85020
Course: 6,535 par 71
Wildfire Golf Club
Address: 5350 E Marriott Dr, Phoenix, AZ 85054
Faldo Course: 6,846 par 71
Palmer Course: 7,145 par 72
Fountain Hills
We-Ko-Pa Resort
Address: 18200 E. Toh Vee Circle Fort McDowell, AZ 85264
Cholla Course: 7,225 par 72
Saguaro Course: 6,966 par 71
Eagle Mountain
Address: 14915 Eagle Mountain Pkwy, Fountain Hills, AZ 85268
Course: 6,800 par 71
Desert Canyon
Address: 10440 N Indian Wells Dr, Fountain Hills, AZ 85268
Course: 6,489 par 71
Scottsdale
Talking Stick Golf Club
Address: 9800 Talking Stick Way, Scottsdale, AZ 85256
O’odham Course Course: 7,133 par 70
Piipaash Course: 6,833 par 71
Silverado Golf Club
Address: 7605 E Indian Bend Rd, Scottsdale, AZ 85250
Course: 6,313 par 70
McCormick Ranch
Address: 7505 E McCormick Pkwy, Scottsdale, AZ 85258
Pines Course: 7,187 par 72
Palm Course: 7,044 par 72
About: McCormick Ranch is a must for any public golfer. Both of these courses are solid. Most locals prefer the Pines Course. For the money the Pines might be one of the best values in the area.
Orange Tree
Address: 10601 N. 56th Street, Scottsdale, AZ 85254
Course: 6,740 par 72
Troon North
Address: 10320 E Dynamite Blvd, Scottsdale, AZ 85262
Course: 7,070 par 72
About: Troon North is about as upscale and nice as it gets for a public course in the valley. Great layout with big boulder fields scattered as a back drop on some of the holes. This is more upper Sonoran desert which adds to the scenery.
Legend Trail
Address: 9462 N Legendary Trail, Scottsdale, AZ 85262
Website: http://www.legendtrailgc.com/
Course: 6,845 par 72
About: Legend Trail offers an excellent lower priced alternative to Troon North and Grayhawk. Previously managed by Troon golf this course is always in excellent shape and has a good variety of holes in the layout. Since this is a desert course its target golf and you need to be aware the location of the aiming stake on each fairway. Holes 16 and 17 are both par 5s which is a popular setup with a lot of golfers.
Grayhawk
Address: 8620 E Thompson Peak Pkwy, Scottsdale, AZ 85255
Raptor Course: 7,090 par 72
Talon Course: 6,973 par 72
Verde River Golf Club
Address: 17427 E Desert Vista Trail, Rio Verde, AZ 85263
Course: 7,229 par 72
About: Ok so there's a lot of courses in the valley that have spectacular views and course layouts. However, you need to check this place out it has some of the same views as the venerable We-Ko-Pa with some of the tallest mountains in the region as a back drop. Verde River still has wild horses in the area as well.
Southwest Valley
(Maricopa, Ahwatukee, Goodyear)
Ak-Chin Southern Dunes Golf Club
Address: 48456 West Highway 238 Maricopa, AZ 85139
Course: 7,517 par 72
Estrella Golf Club
Address: 11800 S Golf Club Dr, Goodyear, AZ 85338
Course: 7,139 par 72
Raven Golf Club at South Mountain
Address: 3636 E Baseline Rd. Phoenix, AZ 85042
Course: 7,078 par 72
West Valley
(Litchfield Park, Verrado, Suprise, Buckeye, Sun City)
Verrado Golf Club
Address: 4242 N Golf Dr, Buckeye, AZ 85396
Founder's Course: 7,258 par 72
Victory Course: 7,258 par 72
Falcon Dunes (Requires military ID or retired military ID)
Address: 15100 Northern Ave, Waddell, AZ 85355
Course: 6,601 par 71
Wigwam Golf Resort
Address: 451 N Old Litchfield Rd, Litchfield Park, AZ 85340
Gold Course: 7,430 par 72
Patriot Course: 6,000 par
Heritage Course: 6,852 par 72
Corte Bella Golf Club
Address: 22129 N Mission Dr, Sun City West, AZ 85375
Course: 7,011 par 72
Northwest Valley
(North Peoria / Wickenburg / Glendale Arrowhead )
Trilogy Golf Club at Vistancia
Address: 12575 W Golf Club Dr, Peoria, AZ 85383
Website: http://www.trilogygolfclub.com/vistancia/
Course: 7,291 par 72
Quintero Golf Club
Address: 16752 W State Route 74, Peoria, AZ 85383
Website: http://www.quinterogolf.com
Course: 7,208 par 72
About: Not sure if this is still considered a hidden gem or not because it is very far northwest valley and even a lot of locals still don't know about this one. Quintero to me is definitely a top 5 public course in the valley. Quintero has higher elevation than most courses in the valley as it sits in the upper Sonoran desert. There are more trees and wildlife, big elevation changes. The course layout snakes through the surrounding foothills and feels more like a golf experience than a round of golf when you play it. You'll get the same feeling when you play The Boulders, We-Ko-Pa or Troon North. Great course.
Legend at Arrowhead
Address: 21027 N. 67th Avenue, Glendale, AZ 85308
Website: http://www.legendatarrowhead.com/
Course: 7,005 par 72
About: I put Legend at Arrowhead on this list because quite simply for the money this is a very solid public course with a great layout that never gets old. Hole 18 for example, is a par five slight dog leg right where the entire fairway tilts to the right towards the water. It requires you to carefully hit all your shots on the upper left-hand side of the fairway. Because of its great price and layout this one obviously gets overplayed and the greens can take a beating but in the off season its usually in great shape.
Cave Creek
The Boulders
Address: 34631 N. Tom Darlington Drive P.O. Box 2090 Carefree, Arizona 85377
Website: http://www.bouldersclub.com/
North Course: 6,811 par 72
South Course: 6,726 par 71
About: This place is high end and super nice. Definitely a bucket list type course. I played the South Course and it was everything I had hoped. The 545 yard hole 5 was the signature hole for me with big boulder outcroppings protecting the green and a twisting fairway that worked its way up to a small green.
Rancho Manana
Address: 5734 E Rancho Manana Blvd, Cave Creek, AZ 85331
Website: http://ranchomanana.com/
Course: 6,004 par 70
