Two desert courses with no houses or roads, on Fort McDowell Yavapai land.
We-Ko-Pa sits on the Fort McDowell Yavapai Nation, east of Scottsdale, and is owned by the tribe. Its two courses share a clubhouse and nothing else. Cholla is target-style desert golf, routed along dry washes. Saguaro is a Coore and Crenshaw course you can walk, laid over the land with very little earth moved. Neither has a house, road or business in sight, which is rare in this valley. The club also refuses dynamic pricing and doesn’t sell tee times through aggregators. That makes it one of the easiest places in Arizona to plan around.
Book online at any hour on the club’s site, or call the golf shop on 480-836-9000 (toll-free 866-660-7700). Visitors can book up to 90 days ahead at the published rate. A cheaper Arizona ID rate exists, but only for residents booking within seven days, and every player must show an Arizona licence or ID card. The 36-hole package gives you both courses, with cart and practice balls, played on the same day or within 72 hours. Groups of 12 or more book through the club’s group sales contact. All rates carry 9% sales tax.
One 18-hole round, 14 June to 26 August 2027. Peak winter rate US$329; US$359 in Phoenix Open week. Plus 9% tax.
| 23 Oct 2026 – 7 Jan 2027 | US$239 |
|---|---|
| 8 Jan – 8 Feb 2027 | US$329 |
| 9–14 Feb 2027 | US$359 |
| 15 Feb – 25 Apr 2027 | US$329 |
| 36-hole package, 8 Jan – 8 Feb 2027 | US$619 |
This is the one to walk. Paths lead straight from each tee to the fairway, and the club provides Speedcart push trolleys. Holes worth knowing: the 469-yard opening par four, the 631-yard 4th and the 137-yard 9th. The 15th is a 255-yard par three. Coore and Crenshaw let the natural ground shape how holes play, so a running approach is often an option.
Cholla is the more classic desert test, with clear landing areas framed by scrub and arroyos. Miller added “saving bunkers” so that a miss is not always lost in the brittlebush. Two long par fives, the 605-yard 8th and the 578-yard 17th, set up forced carries on the second shot. Views run to Red Mountain, Four Peaks and the Superstitions.
Scott Miller built Cholla in 2000 and 2001. Miller had spent ten years as a design associate with Jack Nicklaus, and here he moved more than 500,000 cubic yards of material. He routed most holes up or down natural washes that run off the McDowell Mountains. Saguaro followed in 2006. Bill Coore and Ben Crenshaw walked the site for two months before settling on a routing. Their front nine loops clockwise and the back nine counter-clockwise, through hundreds of saguaro cacti. Fairway corridors are wider than typical desert golf, and greens sit close to the next tee. Golfweek has ranked Saguaro the best course you can play in Arizona in 15 of the last 16 years.
Use the 36-hole package. In peak season it costs US$619 for two rounds against US$658 for two single bookings, and it lets you play Cholla and Saguaro on different days. Mind the overseeding dates. In 2026 Cholla closed 5–22 October and Saguaro 12–29 October. Summer aerification closes each course for two weeks in July or August. Rental Callaway sets cost US$99 plus tax and come with six logo balls, which saves flying clubs.
Phoenix Sky Harbor (PHX) is the airport, about 30 miles away; allow 35–45 minutes, longer at rush hour. The drive runs east on the Loop 202 and up the Beeline Highway (State Route 87). You need a car. Old Town Scottsdale is about 30 minutes west.
Nearby: 1. Eagle Mountain Golf Club (6 km) · 2. Talking Stick Golf Club (O’odham Course) (17 km) · 3. Grayhawk Golf Club (Raptor and Talon) (21 km) · 4. TPC Scottsdale (Stadium Course) (22 km) · 5. Troon North Golf Club (24 km) · 6. The Boulders Resort (South Course) (31 km) · Compare all Scottsdale tee times
The We-Ko-Pa Casino Resort is beside the golf club, with 246 rooms and suites, the Ember restaurant and the Amethyst Spa. Some golf suites sleep four or five, with two queen rooms, a living room and a kitchen, which suits a group. Stay-and-play packages include a night and a round, and are booked through the resort concierge. For a quieter, non-casino base, stay in Fountain Hills, the town just west of the club, or in Scottsdale.
Troon North and TPC Scottsdale are each about 35–45 minutes west, and together the three make a well-balanced week of desert golf. Eagle Mountain in Fountain Hills is close by for a fourth round. Away from golf, Fort McDowell Adventures runs horseback rides along the Verde River on tribal land. The Salt River, south of the club, has wild horses and summer tubing.
These packages have a confirmed round at We-Ko-Pa Golf Club in the itinerary, with the other courses, nights and hotels listed so you can compare like with like.
5 nights, 4 rounds
Rounds: Troon North (Monument or Pinnacle) · We-Ko-Pa (Cholla or Saguaro) · Grayhawk (Talon or Raptor) · TPC Scottsdale Stadium Course
Stay: 5 nights at Hyatt House Scottsdale/Old Town
Four of Scottsdale’s 36-hole venues, ending on the Phoenix Open’s Stadium Course, from an Old Town hotel.
Prices are Golfbreaks’ published per-person guide prices in US dollars, checked November 2026; your quote depends on dates and group size. We may earn a commission at no extra cost to you. How we work
November to April is prime time, after the winter rye grows in. Rates are lowest from mid-June to late August, when the desert passes 40°C by midday. The Phoenix Open week in February is the most expensive. After the overseed, carts can be kept to the paths while the rye establishes; in 2025 the restriction ran to 24 November.
Explore golf by monthFor the 2026–27 season, rates run from US$239 in late autumn to US$329 from January to April, and US$359 in Phoenix Open week. Summer rounds drop to US$109. The club adds 9% sales tax to every rate.
They suit different tastes. Saguaro is the higher-ranked and walkable minimalist course, playing along the ground. Cholla is the more dramatic target-golf layout, with bigger carries and elevated tees. Most visitors use the 36-hole package to play both within 72 hours.
Yes, on Saguaro, which Coore and Crenshaw designed with short green-to-tee walks. The club provides Speedcart push carts. Cholla is a cart course, with longer distances between holes.
No. The club publishes a fixed rate for each season and does not sell tee times through third-party aggregators. Stay-and-play packages with the casino resort are booked through its concierge.
Last checked 10 November 2026. This is an independent planning guide, not a first-hand review or a booking service. Check live availability, access, fees and travel details with the operator before booking. Airport suggestions are starting points for route planning.
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