After having a successful Scottsdale golf trip recently with 4 buddies I thought to share our itinerary and some things to consider if you want to take a Scottsdale golf trip on a budget (even during peak golf season prices in February)
Scottsdale Golf Itinerary for February
- $137 Thu 2:00pm: PAPAGO
- $139 Fri 9:57am: RANCHO MANANA
- $50 Fri 4:00pm: TROON NORTH MONUMENT
- $152 Sat 10:00am: MCCORMICK RANCH PINE
- $50 Sat 4:15pm: TROON NORTH PINNACLE
Things to bring to the course
- Plenty of balls – there are lot’s of spots to lose your golf ball in the desert and you don’t want to be paying pro shop prices if you can avoid it
- Sunscreen – not a cloud in the sky and 70 degrees everyday
- Travel Size Lotion – at 38, my hands got a little raw from 72 holes over 3 days
- Chapstick
- Reusable Water battle
The Best Scottsdale Area Golf Courses – Our Ratings out of 5 stars, Best to Worst
** Disclaimer – I’m a 10.5 handicap that only drives it 270 at my best. For what it’s worth
5.0/5 – Troon North Monument … very, very well conditioned. Lots of super plush grass. No dormant rough which was a great change. Lots of wildlife and scenic stone outcroppings.
4.4/5 – Rancho Manana … only 6,000 yards with 5 driver holes, but extremely fun course that was very well maintained. Definitely worth the 40 minute drive, and then only 20 mins over to Troon for the afternoon tee time. Lots of elevation change and the most picture holes of the trip. Nestled in the mountain, you’ll get a pretty good workout walking from your cart to your balls.
4.0/5 – McCormick Ranch Pine – Well maintained, very busy. Wide open course with some water hazards. The dormant rough was playable and minimal desert lies which was nice.
4.0/5 – Troon North Pinnacle … got our buts kick by 30mph winds. This course is awesome condition but I think is perched up a little more causing heavier breeze (I could be totally wrong here and we just got a bad wind day). On a calm day this gets rated the same as the monument course 5.0/5.
3.7/5 – Papago – Super fun vibe upon arrival, with Jim Croce blasting onto the putting surface and then live music on the patio. Several really fun greens and some strategic holes. Only downfall was the dormant rough was everywhere and there are lots of rocky desert lies, so you’ll ruin your club unless you give everyone free drops out of it.
AirBnB
We researched dozens of AirBnBs for 4 guys in Scottsdale, and got a great deal for one that was within 10 minutes of most everything we needed. Had a hot tub and 4 beds, not much more, which was perfect. If you’re playing serious golf no need to overspend on tons of amenities at your BnB.
Pro Tip – definitely BRING YOUR OWN ROKU or Stream stick. Our BnB only had streaming services available no regular cable.
Restaurants
Bevvy Phoenix – hit pull tab $225, Drag Bingo, lots of sports on TV, excellent nachos and wings.
Troon North – best nachos ever. Brisket was delicious in them. Excellent fish and prime rib also for reasonable price.
Rental Car
$256 – Dodge Caravan Minivan, great vehicle for 4 golf travel bags
Flying into the PHX airport there is a 13 minute shuttle ride to the rental car pickup. We used FOX Rental car because they were the cheapest, but had to wait in line for 50 minutes to get the vehicle. Brutal. All the other rental car agencies had very small lines.
Would definitely recommend paying a little extra for your rental car from a bigger, trusted agency to get through the link ASAP.
That’s it! Hope you have a fun Arizona golf trip next February! If you have any good tips please leave a comment below. Cheers.