Arizona is truly a golfer’s dream. “I don’t think so”, you are thinking. I’ve heard of your summers. Yes they are hot. Very hot. But as the late Paul Harvey used to say, “Let’s hear the rest of the story.”

Arizona is a golfer’s dream for two main reasons: its climate and its magnificent golf courses.

Arizona is noted for its desert climate, exceptionally hot summers and mild winters, but the high country in the north features pine forests and mountain ranges with cooler weather than the lower deserts. In the summer, when temperatures soar into triple digits in the desert, just pack your clubs and head north. Flagstaff will welcome you with open tees. In the winter, head to Phoenix, Tucson, or Yuma, where lush greenery and picture-perfect days await. The entire state boasts the fewest rainy days in the country, generally ensuring golf weather you can count on. The average number of sunny days in your top cities?

Phoenix 318

tucson 299

flagpole 270

Yuma 335

Arizona also boasts some of the best golf courses in the country. Some of the best courses are:

Trilogy Golf Club at Vistancia -In Golf Digest the most recent 2008-2009 edition of your Places to Play guide, Trilogy Golf Club at Vistancia it was one of 23 golf clubs across the country, and the only golf course in the state of Arizona, to earn the publication’s coveted 5-star designation. The 5-star designation is determined by combining the opinions of officials golf summary qualifiers with comments provided by the general public on Golf Digest Website. golf summary defines the 5-star rating as “Excellent. Golf at its finest. Pay any price to play at least once in your life.”

Trilogy Golf Club at Vistancia in Peoria isn’t just another Arizona desert course you play once… this is an experience that will leave you wanting more. Designed by Gary Panks, Trilogy stops just short of the tee boxes surrounded by split rails marking historic courses like St. Andrews, Royal Troon or Maidstone, and has the flavor of the Shinnecock Hills. Rolling fairways, intimidating native grasses, and beautiful bunkers highlight this gem.

Boulders in Carefree – The Boulders Club, a semi-private country club for club members and resort guests, features a 6,811-yard, par 72 championship golf course and a 6,726-yard, par 71 championship golf course, both designed by Jay Morrish. The Boulders is known worldwide as one of the best golf courses in the western United States. The courses are considered the most demanding in the Southwest and are known for their rugged beauty. The course offers 36 challenging holes, pro shop, gym, restaurant and a residential development.

Camelback Golf Club – The Indian Bend course at Camelback is one of the few courses in the area where the golfer must negotiate narrow, tree-lined fairways from the tee. This traditional layout is a great change of pace if you’re planning multiple rounds of golf in the desert. The Indian Bend course is an 18-hole, par 72, American-style course. The course features isolated sand bunkers, undulating terrain, water hazards and beautiful mountain views.

The recently redesigned Padre Course is a fun and challenging alternative to the many desert-style golf courses in the Scottsdale-Camelback area. This traditional park layout offers a heavy dose of risk-reward holes. The Padre Course is one of Scottsdale’s truly underrated best courses and a round of golf here is always a fun experience.

TPC Stadium The course is a resort-style layout operated by the PGA Tour and offers you the chance to play where the pros play. It is located on the grounds of the AAA Five Diamond Fairmont sScottsdale Princess Resort and opened for play in 1986. The “Stadium Course” has gained immeasurable attention as the venue for the FBR Open (formerly the Phoenix Open), the largest spectator event. on the PGA TOUR. Every year, more than 500,000 fans come to the TPC to enjoy a fantastic tournament.

The course is beautifully defined with fueling, elevation changes, water features, and desert landscapes. It represents the standards of excellence set by the renowned design team of Tom Weiskopf and Jay Morrish. Built in the middle of the once arid Sonoran desert in 1986, this course is not dominated by its desert setting. There is a lot of carry over desert off the tee, but little desert on the course itself. The Stadium Course (see golf-in-arizona for more information) has a much more park-like or link-style feel than true desert golf. The short par-3 16th hole (162 yards from the back) was considered the loudest on the tour, with more than 20,000 (mostly college) fans cheering each shot onto the green which is surrounded by five bunkers. Tiger Woods made the hole even more famous in 1997 when he bested it and the crowd roared from the moment he hit it until he knocked it out of the cup.

Omni Tucson National Golf Course. As the host course for the PGA Tour’s Chrysler Classic of Tucson and the Southern Arizona Open, the Omni Tucson National Golf Course takes center stage. Its traditional-style streets crown a cliff overlooking the beauty of the Santa Catalina Mountains. The 18th hole is ranked by PGA pros as one of the most challenging final holes on the course, which will have you dancing in no time.

If you’re looking for a native challenge in Tucson, try their new desert-style shooting range. This Tom Lehman designed course offers a combination of native desert vegetation with strategic bunkering on the fairway. Players can approach each hole in a variety of ways, keeping the course challenging and unique with each new round.

There are many challenging and rewarding courses to play in Arizona and you can almost always depend on good weather allowing you to enjoy golf somewhere in Arizona year-round.

Arizona has a reputation as a golf Mecca, and it certainly doesn’t lack for the number, variety, or quality of golf courses.