Flat, links-style Coore-Crenshaw design with views of the McDowell Mountains and Pinnacle Peak. Consistently top-5 in Arizona by Golfweek.
The O'odham Course at Talking Stick was one of the first Coore-Crenshaw designs to open in Arizona, predating their Saguaro Course at We-Ko-Pa by nearly a decade. The name reflects a 2020s rebranding that replaced the original "North Course" designation with a name honoring the Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community that owns the property. The golf is the same as it has always been: a flat, links-style layout with views of the McDowell Mountains and Pinnacle Peak that Golfweek has consistently ranked among the top five courses you can play in Arizona.
The design is minimalist in the way that Coore and Crenshaw's best work always is. The terrain is flat, the vegetation is sparse, and the interest comes from the ground contours, the bunkering, and the wind that moves unobstructed across the open landscape. The fairways are wide, the rough is not particularly punishing, and the greens are large enough to hit in regulation with reasonable frequency. The slope of 124 reflects this accessibility. But the course's true difficulty is in the scoring, not the survival, and the gap between a good score and a mediocre one is determined by the quality of the approach play and the ability to read the putting surfaces under wind conditions that shift throughout the day.
Coore and Crenshaw left the native desert visible at the margins but kept it out of play for the most part. The O'odham is a course where the ball stays on grass, where the ground game is encouraged, and where the forced carry is rare. For golfers who find the target-golf formula of Troon North and We-Ko-Pa stressful, the O'odham provides a different experience entirely. The ball is rarely lost. The challenge is in getting it close.
At approximately $150 in peak season through dynamic pricing, the O'odham represents exceptional value for a Coore-Crenshaw design of this ranking. The Talking Stick Resort, with its casino, seven restaurants, and 496 rooms, sits adjacent and provides a convenient base for golfers who want to play both the O'odham and the Piipaash courses. The combined experience of the two Talking Stick layouts covers remarkable architectural ground at a fraction of the cost of the We-Ko-Pa pair.
The O'odham is the quieter of the two courses in terms of public profile, but among serious students of golf architecture, it is the more respected design. The difference between the O'odham and the Saguaro at We-Ko-Pa, both by the same architects on different sites, illustrates how Coore and Crenshaw adapt to the land they are given rather than imposing a formula. Both courses are worth playing, and the O'odham's lower price makes it the easier one to fit into a trip.
Links-style golf on 320 acres of Ak-Chin Indian Reservation in Maricopa. An annual U.S. Open qualifying site that plays nothing like the desert courses nearby.
A short, scenic par-71 at Arizona Grand Resort with lush semitropical landscaping and South Mountain Park as a backdrop.
Jay Morrish's desert design among iconic granite boulder formations. No other course in the area looks anything like it.
Tom Fazio's Arizona contribution and former NCAA Division I Championship host. Consistently ranked among the top daily-fee courses in the state.
Golf Magazine ranked it among the Top 10 You Can Play in the U.S. Bent grass greens and a slope of 149 provide a test that does not suffer by comparison with the Raptor.
Golf Digest Four Star Award for nine consecutive years. A hillside design at Hilton Phoenix Tapatio Cliffs with elevation changes that earn the name.
Twenty-seven holes of Ted Robinson design in Chandler with water features on most holes, a Golf Digest 4.5-star rating, and complimentary replay and range balls.
A City of Phoenix municipal course that plays 7,380 yards with Papago Buttes as a backdrop. Renovated in 2008 at a cost of $5.8 million.
Dramatic elevation changes on 7,249 yards of Rees Jones desert design, 45 minutes northwest of Scottsdale in Peoria.
A Carolina-style layout with 6,000+ imported Georgia pines, five miles from Sky Harbor Airport. Scottsdale desert golf, this is not.
The more traditional counterpart to the O'odham. Tree-lined fairways, raised greens, and a Coore-Crenshaw design that rewards accuracy.
The quieter sibling at TPC Scottsdale. Same facility standards, less than half the green fee, and a par-71 layout that measures 7,235 yards.
Home of the loudest tournament in professional golf and a par-3 16th that seats 20,000. The rest of the course rewards strategy over power.
British links principles transplanted to the Sonoran Desert. Firm greens, bump-and-run approaches, and four par 5s exceeding 500 yards.
Desert target golf through steep arroyos and saguaro forests. The signature par-5 16th measures 609 yards through a natural wash.
Named one of the ten best new public courses in the world upon opening. Scott Miller's bolder, longer counterpart to the Saguaro.
Ranked number one in Arizona by Golfweek for 15 of the past 16 years. Coore-Crenshaw minimalism on Fort McDowell Yavapai Nation land.