Papago Golf Course is back in playfor Arizona golf vacations.
While we’ll all have a lot to be thankful for on November 27th, those on, or planning, Arizona golf vacations will have a little extra about which to be grateful. That’s when tee times will again be taken for Papago Golf Course, which, in the past, was one of the best bangs-for-the-buck for Arizona golf vacations.
Orginally designed by William F. Bell (of Torrey Pines Golf Course fame, among others) in 1963, the city of Phoenix-owned Papago has been closed since April to undergo massive renovations. Read more →
Even before recent improvements, Troon North has been a staple of Scottsdale golf vacations.
Troon North Golf Club, one of the 36-hole facilities that has become a staple of Scottsdale golf vacations, has been touting its “two new golf courses” lately. Intrigued as to why the golf club would monkey with its acclaimed Monument Course, a Jay Moorish/Tom Weiskopf creation, and its Pinnacle Course (1996), a solo Weiskopf effort, we made one of our usual anonymous site inspections to find out.
Specifically, the Troon North Golf Club website declares that Tom Weiskopf recently returned to create, “two new layouts” and a “completely new playing experience.” The truth is, while Weiskopf modified some bunkers, re-worked a few holes, and added a superior strain of bentgrass to the putting surfaces, his main change was transferring nines between the courses to create more cohesive routings. Read more →
Sign of the times? Hopefully not.
Many people think the worst three words in golf are, “You’re still away.” This past weekend, on my Scottsdale golf vacation, I was reminded of three words that are even worse, “Cart Path Only.”
In town to evaluate recent changes to some of Scottsdale’s best golf courses, I had to weather cart-path-only restrictions at Grayhawk Golf Club and during one of two rounds at Troon North Golf Club. Read more →
The following is an excerpt from our free, special report on We-Ko-Pa Golf Club:
We-Ko-Pa Golf Club, already one of our favorite golfing grounds in the desert Southwest, unveiled its second, 18-hole course in late 2006, the Bill Coore-Ben Crenshaw designed Saguaro Course (pronounced “suh-WAHR-oh”), it not only doubled our pleasure, it catapulted to the head of our list of the best 36-hole complexes to play on a Scottsdale golf vacation.
Located on Native American land in Fort McDowell just beyond Scottsdale’s borders, We-Ko-Pa offers an unbeatable combination of two layouts of utterly contrasting styles, a stunning clubhouse that draws on desert and Yavapi Nation traditions,
Free, special report:We-Ko-Pa Golf Club
a reasonable green fee, and a rare, pure golf setting that is utterly devoid of course-side housing. Add up all these factors and there is simply no more enjoyable place to play back-to-back rounds on a Scottsdale golf vacation.
Coore-Crenshaw’s Saguaro Course would be our choice if we had only one round to play at We-Ko-Pa
, but to make it an ideal day, we suggest playing the Cholla Course (pronounced, “choy-ah”) after lunch. To make this option more enticing, We-Ko-Pa
recently implemented a discounted 36-hole rate. During peak season, the Saguaro-Cholla combination costs $360, but those who can brave the heat from June through early September can play both for a remarkable $115.
To learn all of our insider secrets about making We-Ko-Pa
a part of your Scottsdale golf vacation, read the rest of our free, We-Ko-Pa special report. In it, you’ll learn things like: Read more →
Whether watching it on TV or playing it on an Arizona golf vacation, the Raptor's 15th hole provides drama.
There are two golf courses at Grayhawk Golf Club, the popular Scottsdale, Arizona golf vacation venue which this week is hosting the PGA Tour’s Fry’s Electronics Open. But if you could only play one round there, do you know which golf course to choose?
We do. It’s the Raptor Course, upon which (no surprise) the tournament is being held. It’s the newer of the two layouts, and the Tom Fazio design features more stunning desert vistas and elevation changes than the Talon Course. Plus, its undulating greens are some of the most interesting and toughest to read among all Scottsdale golf courses. Read more →
Value is the only reason Apache Stronghold should draw you away from a Scottsdale, Arizona golf vacation.
[Editor's Update: As of February 2009, Apache Stronghold was closed until further notice.]
A few years ago, when a major golf magazine selected Tom Doak’s Apache Stronghold as the No.1 golf course in Arizona, we knew we had to make the two-hour drive east from Scottsdale to the San Carlos Apache Indian Reservation to see if it was truly a “must play” on a Scottsdale, Arizona golf vacation. After our round, we had only one question: What were they thinking? Read more →
Great golf is only one of the perks of a Scottsdale, Arizona golf vacation.
As good as the courses are in Scottsdale, man cannot live on golf alone. Thankfully, there are some great restaurants in which to dine on a Scottsdale, Arizona golf vacation, and you don’t even have to leave the main thoroughfare, Scottsdale Road, to do it.
Driving north from Sky Harbor airport, you’ll pass two of our recommended dining spots. Read more →
Vistal's eighth green rests in a box canyon.
Believe it or not, you can play a decent golf course for less than $100 on a Phoenix, Arizona golf vacation and you don’t have to bake in the midday August sun to do it.
Vistal Golf Club is the 2001 reincarnation of Thunderbirds Golf Club, a 1950s-era course that had become known a mediocre public course on a fantastic piece of property. With the donated design services of the PGA Tour, along with consultation by tour players Tom Lehman and Billy Mayfair, it is now one of the best courses you can play on a Phoenix, Arizona golf vacation for less than $100. In fact, the highest green fee all year is only $79. Read more →
