Enjoy the Two Picturesque Desert Courses at We-Ko-Pa Golf Club in Arizona

Home to over 370 golf courses, Arizona is the perfect destination for beginners and professionals alike. As the most famous city in the state, in addition to Phoenix, where you can enjoy a memorable round of golf, Scottsdale boasts sunny weather for most of the year, making it ideal for this challenging sport. Over 40 current and former PGA and LPGA TOUR professionals live there, which attests to the quality of the golf courses.

A hidden gem of this popular destination is We-Ko-Pa Golf Club, which features two award-winning courses set in the mesmerizing Sonoran Desert. Your experience at the golf club will begin miles from the location, where the city ends and the breathtaking desert starts. The landscape is wide and open, the colors are vibrant, and the mountains seem to be within arm's reach. Let's explore the unique courses of this golf club!

The Cholla Golf Course Will Provide a Dramatic Test of Your Game

As one of the most immaculate desert golf experiences in the Southwest, this course has a special aesthetic charm that appeals to golfers just as much as the strategic challenge it entails. The Cholla Golf Course features picturesque views of river valleys, Four Peaks, and the rest of the impressive Superstition Mountains. It plays through shady arroyos, over desert ridges, and through the majestic Sonoran Desert.

Designed by Scott Miller in 2001, the Cholla Golf Course is free from residential property and offers seclusion with expansive vistas of the Sonoran Desert so players can focus just on the amazing views and the game.

At first glance, the layout of this golf course seems intimidating, but it's one you'll want to play repeatedly as it grows on you, and you'll play with greater confidence. There are very few holes where you can distinctly see the green from the tee box. The fairways are more forgiving than they appear from the tees.

Cholla's dramatic closing hole, which is the signature hole of the course, is both challenging and beautiful. While a tee shot of 285 yards will run out of the fairway, 300 yards will get you straight into the water. The last 100 yards are flanked by a pond, with a bunker sitting between the water and the green.

The Cholla Golf Course was built on land owned and developed by the Native American tribe Fort McDowell Yavapai Nation. Ultimately, it's about the golfing experience with stunning vistas and no homes anywhere in sight. Some of the views from the elevated tees are simply jaw-dropping.

The Saguaro Golf Course, Mixing Desert Golf with a Links-Style Design

As one of the most prolific designers of their generation, Bill Coore and Ben Crenshaw devised the Saguaro Golf Course according to their classic, minimalist design philosophy. Close to no dirt was moved to create this spectacular golf course, which means the elevation changes, hole design, and bunkering preserve the ancient land on which it was built in 2006.

On the Saguaro Golf Course, the greens are rather undulated, and the conditioning is excellent, similar to anything you'll encounter in the outstanding Valley of the Sun.

While both Cholla and Saguaro feature generous fairways and greens, the former has a more target golf-inspired layout, whereas the latter is old school with a links approach favoring greens spilling into nearby tees to create a great walking experience.

The signature hole of the Saguaro Golf Course is the 14th, which is a perfect risk/reward uphill hole with two fairways. From the fairway on the left, players face more bunkering as they climb their way to the green. With many bunkers and a sloped angle to the green, golfers need to play to their strengths to score well.

Interestingly, the playing corridors on Saguaro are wider than those on traditional desert designs. The unstoppable duo of Bill Coore and Ben Crenshaw allowed the natural land forces to have a brilliant effect on how the game played. If you're looking to enjoy a fun, unforgettable vacation with your friends or family, booking a Scottsdale golf package might be the perfect idea.