With winter temperatures in the 70s and an average of 300 days of sunshine per year, Phoenix, Ariz., is a natural golf mecca. And as the PGA Tour’s loudest and most watched golf tournament – the WM Phoenix Open, contested annually in TPC Scottsdale’s Stadium Course – Heading into its 91st edition this week, the area is packed with golf-crazy locals and seasonal visitors.
But there’s a lot more to the Phoenix/Scottsdale area than just great weather and sunshine. With more than 200 facilities to choose from, it’s one of the most densely populated golf destinations in the world and a desirable home base for anyone who loves the game – including a number of athletes and celebrities.
“We got the best golf courses in the world, specifically, we got the best public golf courses in the world,” said NBA star and analyst Charles Barkley, who found his way to Phoenix in 1992 when he was traded from Philadelphia. Barkley has now spent nearly 34 years as an Arizona resident — a distinction he doesn’t foresee ever changing.
“When I leave here, they will burn me,” he said. “I’m never leaving Arizona.”
So what makes Arizona public golf so great? We address this question in the latest episode of Destination GOLF: Phoenix, where four featured courses offer a revealing perspective of what the public golf experience in Phoenix/Scottsdale is all about. really like. Our team visited Grass cuttings in Rolling Hillswhich is home to Arizona’s only fully floodlit 18-hole golf course; a parrota beloved golf course that serves as the home course and practice facility for the Arizona State men’s and women’s golf teams; North Troona high-end daily rate that has become a coveted time for trips with friends and bachelor parties; AND We-Koa pristine property where you can enjoy stunning panoramic views of the surrounding Sonoran Desert.
NBC/Golf Channel analyst Brandel Chamblee has traveled the world throughout his decades-long professional career, but has long called Arizona home. During a round in We-Ko-Pa’s Saguaro Course Along with his wife, Bailey, Chamblee expertly described the allure of the desert.
“If you look at Scottsdale — or Phoenix broadly, but Scottsdale in particular — and say, OK, it doesn’t have the best golf courses in the world — maybe Scotland does — but it’s close,” Chamblee said. “If you want to say it doesn’t have the best food in the world – maybe it’s Paris or Rome – but it’s close. You want to say it doesn’t have the best spa in the world, I don’t know where it is – but it’s close. If you want to say it doesn’t have the best hotels in the world – maybe it’s London – okay, but it’s close.
“When you add it all up, as a whole, Scottsdale wins,” Chamblee concluded. “It’s not even close.”
To experience what Chamblee and Barkley are talking about, check out the first of two episodes from Destination GOLF: Phoenix, featuring some of Arizona’s best public golf.
