Best golf courses near Chandler, AZ

Phil Smith redesigned an existing 27-hole facility at The Phoenician into a new, ultra-playable 18-hole course that winds through the Sonoran Desert. The par-71 Phoenician can play as short as 4,594 yards or as long as more than 6,518 yards. The back nine winds through the mountainside, providing some dramatic views.

Papago is one of the best values in the Phoenix/Scottsdale area, offering incredible views of the nearby Camelback Mountains and downtown Phoenix. A recent $8 million investment into the course and the impressive Thunderbirds Golf Complex, where the Arizona State men's and women's golf teams train, have reengerized this municipal course that hosted the 1971 U.S. Amateur Public Links. The four-acre short game area boasts one of the most impressive collegiate practice facilities in the country with three acres of rough and fairway to mimic a variety of lies and a six-acre hitting area with 21 target greens and a number of fairway bunkers.

Just south of Scottsdale in Chandler, Ocotillo is a 27-hole public facility that more closely resembles a Florida course than one in the Arizona desert. Water is in play on most of the holes on each nine, as the course plays around lakes and trees in a residential community. The many water hazards weave across many of the fairways, creating plenty of risk-reward decisions. The greens offer ample challenge as well, as some have significant undulation and multiple tiers.

The golf course at San Marcos Golf Resort opened in 1913 and unlike many desert-style courses in Arizona, San Marcos is a tree-lined parkland design. The course, which hosted the 1973 U.S. Senior Women’s Amateur, underwent a multi-million-dollar renovation in 2014 that improved the irrigation system, added new tee boxes and expanded many greens.

Just about 30 minutes south of Scottsdale, Whirlwind Golf Club at Wild Horse Pass boasts a world-class practice facility and two very good public courses. For five years, the then-Nationwide Tour hosted an event here, the Gila River Golf Classic, an ode to the heritage of the surrounding Gila River Indian Reservation. The layouts—the Cattail and the Devil's Claw—are routed over 500 acres, with half of that being native vegetation. The courses boast large greens and wide fairways for the most part, but golfers are rewarded for taking on hazards with shorter lines into the greens, which boast subtle but tumbling undulations.

About 30 minutes south of Scottsdale, Whirlwind Golf Club at Wild Horse Pass is an underrated public facility with a world-class practice facility and two very good courses. For five years, the then-Nationwide Tour hosted an event here, the Gila River Golf Classic, an ode to the heritage of the surrounding Gila River Indian Reservation. The layouts—the Cattail and the Devil's Claw—are routed over 500 acres, with half of that being native vegetation. The courses boast large greens and wide fairways for the most part, but golfers are rewarded for taking on hazards with shorter lines into the greens, which boast subtle but tumbling undulations.

Designed in the mid-1930s by William P. Bell, Encanto is a quality Phoenix municipal with terrific views of the downtown skyline. Though the layout is flat and straightforward, Encanto provides terrific value, with rates regularly under $50.