Where is somewhere you can go to play golf that is guaranteed to have nice weather, nay, glorious sunshine, virtually all year round?
Scottsdale, Arizona is a hell of a contender.
When it’s cold for the majority of the world towards the end of the year, Arizona is still hurtling towards 30 degrees; a nice, mild day for the locals.
Every golf fan knows the Phoenix Open goes down at the TCP Scottsdale course, but there is a wide variety of excellent courses in the area and great places to stay.
The Daily Mail decided to head there in November to tick another one of the golf bucket list.
Golf courses
TCP Scottsdale
There’s no doubt that when visiting the area, this is the headline act. The PGA Tour’s Phoenix Open emanates from here normally in late January or early February and if you like to play video games or ever see social media clips from the event, you’ll be aware of the magical par three 16th hole.
First thing to note: the place is dripping with prestige and history. You can feel it as soon as you enter the clubhouse and the pro shop, but certainly by the time you get your cart.
Through nine holes, you won’t be mesmerised. It’s a decent course, but there’s plenty in Europe at a fraction of the course that rival it. That’s how you feel until you reach the back nine, anyway.
Then you’re seduced by a slew of signature holes that help you realise what all the fuss is about.
The reverse-camber No. 12, the drivable par four at the 17th and the wicked approach of the 15th help you fall in love with the course, but the 16th is why you play it.
The stadium is erected and taken down every year and we were lucky to play the hole while construction was going on, but most of the stands were up. It really adds to the lustre of the hole that precious few course could rival.
Boulders
What. A. Course.
This place, along with North Troon, really give you a sense of the Arizona desert and, like the name suggests, big ol’ boulders that are sprinkled around the state.
But the class is in how the course uses that environment and gives you real character holes.
There is a north and a south course and we only got to play the latter, but the natural beauty and layout of the course was something to behold.
The par three No. 7 is a must-play. Players will tee off next to the famous ‘Rosie’s Rock’ – a gigantic boulder that sits almost delicately on top of a smaller stone altar right next to the hotel.
The best picture you’ll take all round – maybe your entire trip – is at the fifth hole. A scenic ‘formation of boulders serves as a backdrop for the green and encases you like a stadium stand might. Playing up to it is magical.
North Troon
This course is in direct competition with Boulders for the best of the trip and it just might pip its neighbour.
This course has the same hallmark features that help to remind you where you’re playing, but the condition of the fairways, the greens and the tee boxes was near-on perfect.
They also have a terrific club house that serves as the main hub to the pro shop, club hire, the bar and more while overlooking the action.
I could write something good about almost any hole here, but two favourites of mine came on the back nine where that beautiful cocktail of fun, challenging and breathtaking scenery wins every time.
Another golf club with two courses Pinnacle and Monument, we played the latter to great joy. The 16th is what they call the ‘postcard hole’ due to the incredible views. It’s a par 3 way, way downhill with a whole bunch of textbook Scottsdale terrain in your way if you’re short, but with a monstrous green to play with when you make it. Bloody gorgeous.
Right before that, there is a drivable par four (every course should have at least one) that once again plays over rocks from the tee box and the green is then effectively surrounded by rock formations making your approach a fun challenge.
Papago
Another offering with excellent course conditions, but it’s more open than the other clubs on this list with slightly more forgiving terrain.
First of all, the food and service in the club house is wonderful. You’d visit that place if you were going out to eat, let alone to cap off a round. The staff couldn’t have been more warm and helpful on every part of the course.
Warming up by drilling some balls towards a mountain in the distance is a nice start. The first hole is a tasty par five with a green that requires some skill to evade the slope off to the right that can lead to the drink.
The first par 3 on the back nine requires a shot over water that is a nice challenge and the 18th hole offers a delicious fairway to hit before hitting your approach to the putting surface right by the clubhouse.
Though it won’t be a part of your round, the Thunderbirds Golf Complex on site, where the Arizona State men’s and women’s golf teams train, is a jaw-dropping facility. It’s got everything – golf nerds like myself can only dream of access to something like that!
Once you’ve played some of the other courses, you realise this course cannot rival them for beauty and natural surroundings. There’s a lot of dirt areas off the fairway where extra cart paths will eventually be added. But, given how open and well kept it is, it does make for a very playable course.
We-Ko-Pa
Another site with two course, We-Ko-Pa (which means four peaks for those wondering) has the Cholla course which opened in 2001 and then Saguaro, which opened six years later.
We played the former and what immediately grabs you is the pristine conditions both in and around the clubhouse and the facilities, but more so on the course itself.
It’s not as surrounded as some of the other courses; the wide open landscape and seemingly eternal sprawling land gives the impression the golf course is only on a fraction of it, but it makes for good viewing as you go around.
A healthy dose of split fairways, ball attracting riverbeds and enormous cacti gives you the full Arizona experience on a remarkably kept course.
The eighth hole is the course’s signature and number one handicap hole, featuring dramatic elevation changes, plenty of hazards and a challenging green. It’s a challenging task, but a fun one.
The 18th is a great way to bring the round home. A split fairway leads to a well protected raised green with water to the right and bunkers on the other side.
As I love a drivable par four, I do have to mention the 15th as a textbook risk-reward hole. Wildly fun.
Places to stay
We’ve spoken about beautiful surroundings a lot in this piece, but this hotel adopts them perfectly where cacti and rocky mountains are always present. It’s like a hotel got dropped in the middle of the real desert.
But the facilities – a lovely swimming pool and excellent restaurant top the list – in addition to superbly finished rooms really steal the show.
Their restaurant Proof was a delight for breakfast and dinner with plenty of options, too. When I arrived after a long day of travelling at around 1am, they still rustled up a double cheeseburger for me to my room and it was the perfect tonic.
It was my first experience in a Four Seasons but it won’t be my last.
Much like the magnificent golf course, the hotel is in a special setting and really adds to the aura of the place (as the kids might say).
The pool and jacuzzi are set just back from the main hotel and bars. There is also a short trail available just past the pool that leads up to a spot on top of the boulders that looks out over miles of scenery. Would recommend it.
The rooms were like little studio apartments with everything you could need in one spot. They also had incredibly effective air conditioning, and yes, there are levels to that!
It’s only a 5-10 minute drive from town and a vast array of bars and restaurants, too.
This grandiose hotel is mere minutes away from TCP Scottsdale and is without a doubt, the biggest place we stayed during the trip.
Unfortunately, we only got one night at the resort because of the jam-packed schedule, but the Christmas decorations they were already putting up are the stuff of legends in the local area.
A fantastic bar area adjacent to the in-house shop and the pool looked very slick and modern.
The rooms were on the small side to the other resorts, but they were very nice all the same. I’d guess they had hundreds more rooms than the other hotels.
