Fort McDowell, AZ
Pure Sonoran golf with no houses in sight — the desert the way it was meant to look.
We-Ko-Pa sits on Fort McDowell Yavapai Nation land east of Scottsdale, and its two courses share a distinction almost nothing in the valley can claim: no homes, no roads, no fences — just the Sonoran Desert running to the Four Peaks. The Saguaro course, a walkable Coore & Crenshaw design, is a perennial pick for the state's best public golf; the Cholla course brings a bigger, bolder desert-target style. A casino resort on the property anchors the stay, and Scottsdale's supporting courses and restaurants are twenty minutes away when the crew wants more.
| Course | Designer | Notes | Access |
|---|---|---|---|
| We-Ko-Pa — Saguaro | Bill Coore & Ben Crenshaw | Walkable, strategic and endlessly fun — a regular pick for Arizona's best public course. The must-play. | public |
| We-Ko-Pa — Cholla | — | The bigger, bolder sibling — classic desert target golf with Four Peaks views. | public |
| Talking Stick — O'odham Course | Bill Coore & Ben Crenshaw | More Coore-Crenshaw on Salt River land in Scottsdale — a natural away round. | public |
| SunRidge Canyon | — | A canyon-tumbling Fountain Hills favorite with a famously tough finishing stretch. | public |
The resort
The high-rise resort on the property — pool deck facing the Four Peaks, restaurants and tables downstairs, and both first tees five minutes away.
◆ The private house
A Fountain Hills pool home in the hills west of the course — sunset views over the fountain, a grill deck, and We-Ko-Pa ten minutes down the hill. Quieter and cheaper than the Scottsdale core.
4-6 BR · sleeps 8-12 · ~$800–$2,500/nt
AM Land at Sky Harbor — Fort McDowell is forty minutes northeast.
PM Check in, range session with the Four Peaks glowing, dinner at the resort and the week's bets.
AM Open on Cholla's big desert-target test.
PM Pool or a Fountain Hills recon; casino tables and dinner at the resort.
AM The O'odham Course for a second helping of Coore-Crenshaw.
PM Old Town Scottsdale afternoon and dinner before heading back to base.
AM The team match on the state's best public course — walking, of course.
PM Trophy dinner at the resort steakhouse; one last run at the tables.
AM An early replay nine or breakfast facing the peaks, then the short drive to the airport.
Thirty-six holes on Yavapai Nation land with not a single rooftop on the horizon — including a walkable Coore-Crenshaw course many rank the best public round in Arizona. Scottsdale prices minus the Scottsdale real estate.
Book both We-Ko-Pa courses direct or through casino-resort stay-and-play packages; winter mornings sell out early. Walking Saguaro with a push cart is the connoisseur move; fly into Phoenix Sky Harbor.