Golf and grandeur at the Sedona Golf Resort.

Sedona is often overlooked by travelers on an Arizona golf vacation, but it’s just two hours north of the Pheonix/Scottdale hotbed and it has some of the most scenic golf courses in the country.

The best of the lot is located at the Sedona Golf Resort in the Village of Oak Creek. After the out-of-place, mundane opening par four, the par-three second, which begins on a ridge and plays dramatically downhill, reveals the exuberant theme of this Gary Panks design.

As his routing climbs 4,300 feet into the hills, Panks makes excellent use of elevated tees to showcase jaw-dropping panoramas. In fact, the entire back nine becomes a field of enchantment by late afternoon as the sun bathes the emerald fairways and the area’s signature red rocks in an iridescent glow.

Thankfully, the course isn’t just about sublime scenery; the golf holes are very fine, too. The par-five fifth is a monster, measuring 623 yards from the tips, and the finishing hole, a short, downhill par four, is an exciting risk/reward proposition.

Known as a haven for artists and holistic enthusiasts, there’s much more to Sedona than golf, but there’s nothing wrong with getting in some fabulous holes while balancing your chakra at the same time.

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