Spotlight

Troon North Golf Club - Pinnacle Course - no. 13

Ten reasons why Troon North is worth the hefty price tag

It's become a cliche to say Troon North Golf Club is one of the best golfing experiences in Arizona, if not the country. Any list ranking the top courses in the Valley shouldn't be taken seriously if it doesn't include either the Pinnacle or Monument Course. The scenery is spectacular, the courses are always in immaculate condition and the service is first-rate. But here's our own top 10 -- the 10 best reasons Troon North is worth the hefty price tag.
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Westin La Paloma Resort and Spa - pool

Luxury, great golf reign at the Westin La Paloma Resort and Spa near Tucson

It's hard to know where to start when describing the Westin La Paloma Resort and Spa just northwest of Tucson. Do you begin with the world-class golf course that sits on the property? How about the 10 tennis courts, four of which are clay? Or maybe the 18 treatment rooms at the Elizabeth Arden Red Door Spa? Maybe it's best just to say this: La Paloma is a bit of north Scottsdale dropped into the Tucson desert.
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Desert Course at The Phoenician - holes 8 and 9

The Phoenician: Twenty-seven working-class holes at a world-class golf resort in Scottsdale

Here's the thing about The Phoenician: If golfers expect the three nine-hole golf courses to be as splendorous as the resort itself, they'll be disappointed. But if they don't mind a few extra par 3s, spectacular views and a few chance meetings with the group in the next fairway, they'll be happy they left the comforts of the resort behind to chase the little white ball around for a few hours, Scott Bordow writes from Scottsdale.
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Arizona Golf Destinations

  • Tucson

    Savvy Arizona golfers are quick to remind anyone who asks that the Valley of the Sun is like the Old Pueblo on steroids when it comes to fairways available for public consumption. But since the early 1990s, Tucson has made a respectable run in the realm of high-end resort and daily-fee golf. What's more, Tucson is not nearly as inundated with players as Phoenix or Scottsdale, and the Old Pueblo's lack of serious traffic issues will enable you to get from one course to another in a much more expedient fashion than in grid-locked Phoenix.

    Nestled at the base of the Santa Catalina Mountain Range, the Hotel El Conquistador’s three golf courses all offer breathtaking canyon and mountain views. One of these three courses is the Canada Course, which is known for the amount of strategy that is required to do well.
    MountainView Golf Club at Saddlebrooke sits at an elevation of 3,200 feet, offering both dramatic elevation changes and spectacular views. The course sits at the base of the Catalina Mountain range near Tucson, nestled into the mesquite-covered foothills.
    Omni Tucson National Golf Resort & Spa's Catalina Course has a parkland-style layout that features numerous trees, both lining the fairways and scattered throughout. The traditional design is the more challenging of the two golf courses at Omni Tucson National with water hazards coming into play on eight holes and significant bunkering both greenside and bordering the landing areas.
  • Southern Arizona

    Make the trip out to Arizona and the Phoenix area will attract you like a magnet with its legion of golf courses and resorts, all fighting over your golfing dollar. But if you are overwhelmed by the choices the "Valley of the Sun" has to offer, head south into spacious, affordable Southern Arizona. The small towns here have a certain charm that Phoenix, Tucson and Scottsdale lack, not to mention a handful of challenging, affordable golf courses.

    A classic desert-style, target course, the Mountain has many changes in elevation and several elevated tees. Putting is a challenge because the greens are undulating and typically fast.
    The Cattail Course opened in the fall of 2002. It complements the Devil's Claw but lends a whole new flavor to championship golf at Whirlwind. While the Devil's Claw features high mounding and significant elevation changes on fairways, the Cattail's challenge is in its deep canyons and pristine lakes.
    Nestled within the western foothills of the Santa Catalina Mountains, Preserve Golf Course in Tucson features excellent views as well as dramatic elevation changes. The layout features rolling fairways and undulating greens that cause uneven lies, but the golf course is still eminently playable for golfers of all skill levels.
  • Prescott

    Outside of Arizona, Prescott largely remains a mystery, its charming old-time downtown streets and its ancient Victorian homes almost as undiscovered by tourists now as Arizona was in general back before the gold rush boom of the mid 19th century. Not surprisingly, it's a few club-toting, birdie-seekers who are starting to change that. Prescott is emerging as a golf destination, a quality, lower-priced alternative to the crowded meccas of Phoenix and Scottsdale.

    Oakcreek Country Club is situated amongst Sedona's red rock mountains, providing unique scenery throughout. Opened over 40 years ago, it is Sedona's first golf course. The course was a collaboration between Robert Trent Jones, Sr. and his son. It is a classic, player-friendly layout that offers plenty of room for error.
    In the sizzling summer heat of Phoenix and Tucson, Sedona can be up to 15 degrees cooler. Sedona is also at the perfect elevation to keep the snow away except for a few days a year, meaning almost year-round golf. The course's elevation ranges from 4,000-4,350 feet.
    Pinewood Country Club is a private retreat and resort community in Munds Park, 120 miles north of Phoenix and 20 miles south of Flagstaff. The traditional, walker-friendly country club was built in 1958 and designed by Lawrence Hughes.
  • Phoenix/Scottsdale

    The Valley of the Sun -- made up of Phoenix, Scottsdale, Mesa and a slew of other rapidly growing cities -- is the golf capital of the American Southwest. With close to 200 courses, the Valley can make a legitimate claim to being the most golf-rich region in the United States. Each year millions of golfers from sun-starved winter climates make their way to this sun-splashed golfing pantheon to test their mettle on desert courses that yield more lost balls than birdies.

    The Boulders Golf Club in Carefree offers two championship courses, the North and the South. The courses are both known for their rugged beauty, sprawling across a Sonoran Desert landscape covered with towering cacti and ancient boulder formations. The North Course is surrounded by the desert foothills of Black Mountain, which provides a stunning backdrop for most of the holes.
    Built in 1989, Arizona Grand Golf Course has garnered a reputation as an outstanding Arizona course. Neatly tucked close to South Mountain Park, the blend of traditional links play and desert target golf found at Arizona Grand Resort makes for a challenging and exciting round.
    SunRidge Canyon Golf Club's beautiful layout winds among the foothills the McDowell Mountains. Nestled between the canyon walls, it at times seems like the missing piece to a beautiful golf course puzzle that evolved over millions of years in the Sonoran Desert.
  • Northern Arizona

    Northern Arizona will never be mistaken for the Valley of the Sun when it comes to golf, and therein lies the beauty. At elevations ranging from 5,000 to 7,000 feet above sea level, the northern part of the state presents golfers with a completely different set of challenges, landscapes, and (for the budget minded) price points.

    Palms Golf Club is situated just east of Mesquite in Littlefield. Built in 1989, it was the Mesquite area's first golf course. The layout balances the old and the new, creating a course with a lot of variety.
    In the sizzling summer heat of Phoenix and Tucson, Sedona can be up to 15 degrees cooler. Sedona is also at the perfect elevation to keep the snow away except for a few days a year, meaning almost year-round golf. The course's elevation ranges from 4,000-4,350 feet.
    Nestled in a valley between the Mingus and Bradshaw mountain ranges, Prescott Golf & Country Club offers panoramic views, tree lined fairways and fast bentgrass greens. Opened in 1971 and designed by Milt Coggins, the golf course is a par 72 that stretches to 6,800 yards.