My first course of the trip was the Saguaro Course at We-Ko-Pa Golf Club, a Bill Coore/Ben Crenshaw gem that meanders through sloping desert so gracefully that it creates harmony between the manmade and the natural. If you want bona fide “desert golf,” though, you’ll never find more examples than in the Valley of the Sun, which encompasses the Phoenix/Scottsdale metro area. Safe to say The Wigwam provides “golf in the desert,” as opposed to “desert golf.” The course would fit right in at, say, Innisbrook Resort. An oak-heavy tree plan gives it a different feel whereas the Blue and Gold remind many of the Palm Springs area, I got an unexpected Central-Florida vibe from the Red. It occupies the most interesting terrain on the property: gently rolling hills and broad tilts that make for subtle challenges coming into the greens. The Red is the favorite course of The Wigwam’s vibrant membership, who like that it’s not terribly difficult. Though a thousand yards shorter, the Blue will sneak up on you, with some domed putting surfaces and six par threes. Elevated greens with some inventive shapes and considerable undulations give the course a muscular, stately feel, as do the bunkers, renovated by Tom Lehman in 2015. The Gold Course is the big beast: 7,300 yards from the tips with two par 5s stretching to 654 and 660 yards, respectively. The Gold and Blue courses are the centerpiece for Wigwam guests, proceeding out from the main clubhouse and back in non-returning nines. Wigwam Red's second is an attractive, unfussy par 3. Tall, skinny palms dominate much of the landscape, rather than cacti, though there are a few off-play areas where some turf has been swapped out for desert reintroduction. The least “deserty” courses I played in the area were the three at The Wigwam, a historic resort in the quiet community of Litchfield Park, about 35 miles west of PHX.įounded in the 1920s by Goodyear as a retreat for the tire company’s employees, it was conceived as an oasis. There are plenty of Phoenix/Scottsdale courses for you. If you’re particularly wild off the tee and want to limit your potential for interaction with the local flora and fauna, I don’t blame you. It is a broad spectrum you may be shocked at the differences in how courses look and play, even those in relatively close proximity. The style of golf out that way is not as monolithic as some would have you believe. I like to think I’m good at doing my research and going to an unfamiliar place decently informed, but it took actually going to the Phoenix/Scottsdale area to appreciate the stunning diversity of golf courses on offer (no wonder it's #7 on our list of the World Top 100 Golf Destinations). I can’t wait to go back and try some more of it, in fact. If you’ve heard similar lost-ball horror stories about desert golf and have been sitting on the fence in some colder region, apprehensive about scheduling a trip, I’ve got one word for you.īased on a sample size of 10 courses – seven played, three others toured – I’m a fan. Now that I’m back, I’m ready to rule on desert golf. I made sure to buy a fresh dozen balls before leaving. The sense I got was that desert golf could be as confining as golf here in subtropical Florida, if not more so. Something about the potential for lost golf balls and ripped golf shorts on cactus needles. Just as many seemed to love it as were nonplussed by it. Ahead of my first-ever trip to Arizona (a few steps over the border during a trip to the Hoover Dam many years ago notwithstanding), I polled a few people I know on it.