Two hundred desert courses, the loudest hole in golf, a long sunny season and the best golf and nightlife mix in the western United States. Scottsdale is the buddies trip benchmark. Here is who it suits, the courses to build around, a sample week and what it costs.
Scottsdale is the trip a buddies group plans for years and then repeats. The golf is excellent and abundant, more than two hundred courses across the Phoenix valley, with the kind of mountain framed desert target golf you cannot get at home. The Stadium course at TPC Scottsdale hosts the rowdiest week in golf, and standing on the enclosed 16th is a bucket list moment for any group of friends.
It also nails the off course half of a guys trip. Old Town Scottsdale has the bars and steakhouses, the weather is reliable through the cooler months, and a rental home with a pool keeps the whole crew under one roof. Flights are easy through Phoenix Sky Harbor, and the courses sit close enough that you can play a different track every day. Strong golf, easy logistics, a great night out.
Jay Morrish and Tom Weiskopf's par 71, purpose built for the PGA Tour and home of the WM Phoenix Open since 1987. The stadium 16th, a fully enclosed amphitheatre, is the loudest hole in golf and the round every buddies group wants on the card. Indicative green fee peaks in winter, 2026, confirm before booking.
Tom Weiskopf and Jay Morrish's high desert par 72 north of the city, threading between giant boulders and saguaro with the namesake monument rock in play on the third. The benchmark for Scottsdale target golf, with the Pinnacle course alongside. Indicative green fee peaks in winter, 2026, confirm before booking.
Bill Coore and Ben Crenshaw's par 71 on Yavapai land at Fort McDowell, a walkable, homeless desert course with wide fairways and clever angles, regularly rated among Arizona's very best. The Cholla course shares the site. Indicative green fee around 225 dollars peak, 2026, confirm before booking.
Tom Fazio's par 72 in north Scottsdale, host of college golf's NCAA Championships and a long time tour qualifier, with firm greens and desert framing. Paired with the Talon course and a buzzing clubhouse, it is an easy, central buddies base. Indicative green fee peaks in winter, 2026, confirm before booking.
Photographs via Google, contributed by Garrett Smith, golftraveller, Chad Fisher and Alejandro Huitron. Green fees are indicative for the 2026 season; always confirm directly before booking.
Fly into Phoenix Sky Harbor, grab the SUVs, check into a central base or rental home and play a twilight nine.
Ease in on Fazio's central layout, then lunch and a first night in Old Town Scottsdale.
Drive north for the benchmark desert round, boulders and saguaro framing every shot.
A walkable Coore and Crenshaw gem with no houses in sight, the purest golf of the week.
The marquee round on the WM Phoenix Open course, every buddy desperate to make the 16th.
Add Pinnacle or Talon, a spa or a day by the pool, then fly home from Sky Harbor.
Third party figures for the 2026 season, shown as a planning guide only. Prices swing hard between summer and the winter peak, so always confirm directly before booking.
| Item | Indicative 2026 |
|---|---|
| TPC Scottsdale Stadium green fee | winter peak, confirm |
| Troon North Monument green fee | winter peak, confirm |
| We-Ko-Pa Saguaro green fee | approx. $225 peak |
| Grayhawk Raptor green fee | winter peak, confirm |
| Rental home or resort, per night | indicative, confirm |
Best time to book: winter is peak, so reserve the marquee rounds at TPC Scottsdale and Troon North three to four months ahead, and steer clear of the WM Phoenix Open week in early February unless that is the point of the trip. Summer is a fraction of the price with dawn tee times to beat the heat.
Send the essentials below and a concierge will reply within one working day with a hand built, all in itinerary for the group, priced to the head, with no obligation.
Build the trip around TPC Scottsdale's Stadium course, home of the WM Phoenix Open and its famous stadium 16th, then add Troon North Monument and Pinnacle, We-Ko-Pa Saguaro and Cholla, and Grayhawk's Raptor and Talon. All are high desert target golf with mountain backdrops.
October to May is prime, with sunny days in the seventies and cool nights, and January and February the busiest and priciest around the WM Phoenix Open. Summer is hot, often over a hundred degrees, but green fees plummet and dawn tee times make it playable.
Fly into Phoenix Sky Harbor, around twenty minutes from Scottsdale, then rent a couple of SUVs or use transfers. The courses spread from north Scottsdale to Fountain Hills, mostly within forty minutes of a central base, so you can play a different track each day.
Shortlist the courses your group wants and we'll cost the tee times, the home or resort, the carts and the transfers as one all-in number, to the head, with no obligation.