Golf

Yes, there is grass in Tucson! And you’ll find most of it on the superb golf courses that dot the city. Lush green grass, mountain views, bright blue skies, and over 25 courses in the city alone make Tucson a golfer’s dream come true. You can literally hit the links here 365 days a year on courses designed by top architects like Tom Fazio, Arthur Hills, Robert Trent Jones Jr., and Tom Weiskopf. You can choose from a vast variety of course types, locations, and prices—from posh resorts charging up to hundreds of dollars in peak season for a round with cart to municipal courses at less than $40 with cart. The county course and five municipal courses are maintained at standards that in most parts of the country are reserved for the best country clubs, so even if you’re on a budget, you can play on truly superb courses.

Overview

Summer golfing in Tucson offers some outstanding values, with prices up to half the peak winter season rates and tee times that you don’t have to scramble to get. You may not want to drive, chip, or putt golf balls in the midday heat, but courses are open sunrise to sunset, so you can play when temperatures are more bearable.

For visitors or newcomers to Tucson, the hardest part of the game may well be finding the golf course. Many of the courses have obscure addresses—they’re on streets named just for the golf course, for example, and the street names give no clue as to where they really are. So to help you find the links you’re looking for, we include some major cross streets or other directions that will get you there with a lot less frustration. Except for the day-trip courses at the end of the chapter (which are listed geographically), the courses are listed strictly in alphabetical order, but we tell you where in the area each is located to help you decide which to play when. We also tell you which courses are semiprivate, meaning that you’ll need to be a member of the club or guest at the resort to play them. Courses that are strictly private are not listed here.

Most Tucson courses have four seasons for determining fees. The peak season usually runs from early January to mid or late April, when the fees are steepest. Prices are lower in the fall or early winter season, usually October through December, and in the spring or early summer season (mid- or late April through May or June). Lowest rates—often more than 50 percent off the peak rates—are offered in summer, generally running June or July through August or September. Most courses offer “twilight” rates year-round, typically beginning around 2 p.m. Nearly every course is open sunrise to sunset, which means longer playing hours in summer than in winter.

If you’re a golfer who prefers the old-fashioned way of golfing—walking rather than riding a cart—you’ll need to select your courses carefully. Most courses in the Tucson area just aren’t made for walking and won’t even permit it; the desert terrain is too rocky and hilly or the courses are too long to reasonably walk them. If you’re looking for a course to walk, watch for those that say traditional (although even that’s not a guarantee you can walk it). The best ones would be most of the municipal courses, plus Crooked Tree, Dorado, Quail Canyon, and Green Valley’s Haven and Tortuga. But not to worry, you can still get lots of walking in at other courses by keeping your cart on the cart path and walking to your shots.