Many respected golf publications list Troon North Golf Club’s Monument course as the best place to play on an Arizona golf vacation. While it’s a wonderful layout and arguably the toughest course in the area (its slope rating is 147), we think there’s more that comprises the best overall experience.

For that, you’ll want to play the Cholla Course at We-Ko-Pa Golf Club, located 30 minutes east of Scottsdale on land owned by the Fort McDowell Yavapai Nation.

Like Troon North, We-Ko-Pa is a perfectly groomed course that seems downright lush compared to the Sonoran desert landscape that surrounds it. The surrounding mountains and “Four Peaks,” into which the club’s name translates provide constant aesthetic inspiration.

But the biggest difference, and where the Monument Course loses points in our opinion, is that there isn’t a single house, condo or commercial building to mar the view. Whereas Monument winds through a master planned community, the only plan that the Yavapai Nation has for its land is another phenomenal golf course (designed by Bill Coore and Ben Crenshaw).

The Cholla course also stands out because everyone — not just low handicappers — can experience the essence and drama of desert golf. While long hitters can unleash their drivers and attempt to carry its ridges, arroyos and desert washes (there are two, 600-yard par-5s and six par-4s longer than 420 yards), recreational players can take safer, but still intriguing, routes to the greens.

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