Arizona, often known as the Grand Canyon State or the Copper State, is recognized for its desert landscape and warm winter temperature, which makes it perfect for golfing. There are few golden age designs in Arizona due to a shortage of hardy hybrid grasses at the time, but several courses did develop in the early 20th century and the Phoenix Country Club's oldest course, which opened in 1919, is still in use today. Here are Arizona’s Top 10 Golf Courses.
10. Meadow at Forest Highlands Golf Course
The Meadow Course, a more conventional walking course created by Tom Weiskopf in the late 1990s, is ranked No. 8 in Arizona by Golf Digest. It is charming and welcoming, and it is surrounded by gorgeous pines. The meadow is more than 7200 yards long. This is a unique piece of property with breathtaking views and a topography that allows us to design a traditional golf course that is easily walkable. A large meadow with lovely wetlands and floral regions is surrounded and traversed by ten holes. Because there are no homes in this location, it creates a park-like feel reminiscent of spectacular golf courses built around the turn of the century.
9. Renegade Course at Desert Mountain Golf Club
The first of six Jack Nicklaus specialty golf courses to be built at Desert Mountain, Scottsdale Renegade, debuted in 1986.
The 7524-yard Renegade course was carefully constructed to let players adjust the layout. Renegade offers double and common greens as well as white and gold pin placements on each hole based on the combination of tea and flag locations. Members may choose the level of difficulty of play at Renegades, and the pin placements offer a completely different challenge for golfers of all skill levels as a consequence. The slope and course ratings are equally customizable, ranging from 150 to 160.
8. Desert Highlands Golf Course
Scottsdale Desert Highlands, with just 563 house plots, is the ideal size to offer adequate activities while keeping a small, close-knit community. The golf course provides unique custom houses and home sites with views of the golf course mountains, sunsets, and city lights, unrivaled panoramas of Pinnacle Peak, distant city lights, and a commitment to preserve the land and the creatures that call it home.
This property is conveniently located in the extremely desirable north Scottsdale neighborhood and spans 7108 yards with an 18-hole 72-par course.
7. Desert Forest Golf Course, Carefree
Desert Forest Golf Club is a high-altitude course located in Carefree, Arizona, north of Phoenix. Robert Redd Lawrence built Arizona Desert Forest in 1962. Perched at 2500 feet above sea level, the desert forest gives nice break from the blazing desert heat, and the 7035-yard course is routed over rather than through the land, with almost little earth disturbance.
This meticulous planning resulted in a natural layout that blends in with its surroundings. Playing this spontaneous arrangement from the immaculate surfaces of the desert itself is a nice and refreshing change of pace. Features carpeted Bermuda grass fairways and greens desert and natural rock formations
6. Pine Canyon Club Championship Golf Course
The course was designed by Jay Morrish and boasts demanding play, stunning mountain vistas, perfect greens, and spacious fairways.
Morrish took use of Pine Canyon's expansive views of the San Francisco Peaks, as well as its dynamic geology, which includes regular height shifts among towering ponderosa pines and trout-stocked lakes. Water is abundant on the course and is carefully distributed over our undulating fairways.
5. Whisper Rock Golf Club - Lower Course
The lower course is 7359 yards and was created in 2001 by Phil Mickelson and Gary Stephenson. In order to generate elevation diversity and make a change from the conventional Scottsdale desert layout for his debut course design, Phil Mikelson recessed some fairways into the environment, kept the tee boxes level with the ground, and predominantly constructed long, narrow greens with chipping hollows.
Due to his preference for avoiding courses that bottleneck down for powerful hitters, Mickelson refers to them as Pinehurst greens.
The fairways are typically spacious and the bunkers are incredibly shallow; there is ample grass to play on and an unexpectedly large amount of trees.
4. Stone Canyon Club Golf Course
The Stone Canyon Club is regarded as the apex of golf architect Jay Morrish's desert designs and is situated in the Tortolita Mountains north of Tuscon. This course features a mixture of Bermuda Grass and Bentgrass and spans over 7300 yards of private property. Urban movement is reflected in the rugged terrain's artistic contouring.
Granite boulders and outcroppings play a vital part in various architectural concepts, and bunkers appear to be spun by nature in the stunning surroundings that include the Catalina Mountains at the eastern edge of the Sonoran Desert.
3. Whisper Rock Golf Club - Upper Course
Whisper Rock's upper course was created to challenge the club's low handicap and PGA Tour pro membership.
Although the back tees have difficult angles to diagonal fairways, the landing areas for regular players are generous, and most greens are cushioned with plenty of chipping spaces. However, Tom Fazio couldn't prevent himself from trying to please the audience.
Golfers must take in the panoramic beauty of this portion of the Sonoran Desert while playing the first nine holes, which are framed by dry washes, and the back four holes, which are interspersed among other golfers.
There is a gorgeous section that climbs up into the rocks and down onto Pinnacle Peak. It comes in a variety of styles.
2 Canyon at Forest Highlands Golf Course
Three of the par fives on the canyon course at Forest Highlands are over 600 yards long, and the other par four is 478 yards long.
Despite this, the course still plays shorter than its stated length in part because of the seven thousand foot elevation and in part because there are six par three holes, a good number of which are spaced out every other hole from the fourth to the fifteenth.
Both nines traverse steep slopes and are framed by imposing ponderosa pines. The ninth hole, which shares a double green with the 18th hole, descends an escarpment into a small creek valley.
1. The Estancia Club Golf Course
The number one spot of the top 10 golf courses in Arizona is the Estancia Club Golf Course which first opened its doors in 1995. On the northern slope of Scottsdale's well-known landmark, it occupies 640 acres. The 18-hole championship golf course at Pinnacle Peak, created by Tom Fazio, is hidden away in a gated community. It has 7,314 yards of superb golf greens made of bent grass and breathtaking views. The yearly rounds are made more enjoyable by an active caddy program.
Estancia is a member-owned and managed private club that offers a variety of socially focused activities to its members and their visitors while upholding a tradition of ambiance and camaraderie.
The clubhouse offers dining, a fitness center, tennis, pickleball, and basketball facilities, as well as a swimming pool. Hiking, book club, and bridge games are other popular group activities.
Leave a comment