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3.3
578 Reviews (578)
5 Stars
154
4 Stars
248
3 Stars
95
2 Stars
53
1 Stars
28
Conditions
3.0
Value
2.8
Layout
3.5
Friendliness
4.1
Pace
3.1
Amenities
3.9
52.4%
Recommend this course
442 out of 578 reviews
Read Reviews
Average Rating
Avg Rating
3.5
12 Reviews (12)
5 Stars
5
4 Stars
1
3 Stars
1
2 Stars
5
1 Stars
0
Conditions
3.6
Value
3.1
Layout
3.8
Pace
2.9
Amenities
4.3
StaffFriendliness
4.4
50.0%
Recommend this course
6 out of 12 reviews
Read Reviews
Average Rating
Avg Rating
3.3
23 Reviews (23)
5 Stars
7
4 Stars
5
3 Stars
1
2 Stars
8
1 Stars
2
Conditions
3.3
Value
2.9
Layout
3.6
Pace
3.0
Amenities
3.9
StaffFriendliness
4.0
52.2%
Recommend this course
12 out of 23 reviews
Read Reviews

About

Holes 18
Type Public/Municipal
Style Traditional
Par 72
Length 7333 yards
Slope 130
Rating 75.0

Papago Golf Course is conveniently situated just a few minutes from downtown Phoenix though you would never be able to tell with the peace and seclusion provided by the course's location in Papago Park. The golf course sits at the base of Papago Buttes, past the rugged red rocks you can see Phoenix skyline. The course was designed by William Francis Bell, whom you may know for Torrey Pines in San Diego. The challenging layout features undulating greens framed with strategically placed bunkers and subtle but tricky mounding. Water hazards appear on a few holes as well. It's a tough but straightforward layout that is still playable for a range of skill levels. Since opening in 1963, Papago has hosted numerous events including the U.S. Amateur Public Links Championship and Phoenix Open Qualifying.

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Papago Golf Course
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Course Details

Year Built 1963
Fairways Bermuda Grass
Greens Bermuda Grass
Golf Season Year round

Rentals/Services

Carts Yes
Clubs Yes
GPS No
Pull-carts Yes

Practice/Instruction

Driving Range Yes
Bunker Yes
Caddies No
Golf School Academy Yes
Teaching Pro Yes
Pitching/Chipping Area Yes
Putting Green Yes

Policies

Metal Spikes Allowed No
Walking Allowed Yes

Food & Beverage

Bar

Available Facilities

Clubhouse

Accolades

  • Golf Advisor: Top 25 College Courses in the U.S. (2020 #23)

Reviews

3.3
578 Reviews (578)

What Golfers Are Saying

The 19th Hole is Great For:
Drinks 19
19th Hole Scenic Views 8
Course Challenges Include:
Bunkers 73
Undulating Greens 51
Plays Long 50
This course/club is great for:
Locals 67
Advanced Golfers 57
Walkers 56
This Course's Location is:
Convenient to the City 85
Near the Airport 76
Near Local Attractions 37

Numbers based on reviews tagged with attribute.

Reviewer Photos

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Overall Rating
Recommended
Handicap
Age
Type of Golfer
Gender
Played On
Reviews 5
Skill Intermediate
Plays A few times a week
I Recommend This Course
5.0
Verified Purchaser
First Time Playing
Conditions Good
Value Excellent
Layout Excellent
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Excellent
Amenities Excellent
Played On
Reviews 61
Handicap 10-14
Skill Intermediate
Plays A few times a week
3.0
Top 1000 Contributor
First Time Playing
Perfect weather
Used cart

Slow round, aerated greens, lots of walkers

We were sitting on the 3rd tee box and 45 minutes had passed. The course has a lot of walkers and this along with 9 minute tee time intervals (instead of 10) contributes to a slow pace. 5 hour round.

Had to laugh at the message going off on our cart on the #4 tee box saying we were 10 minutes behind pace - as if there was anything we could do about that. The walkers ahead of us that were over a hole behind never got that message.

Greens were fast but they had just been punched (in February?). Tee boxes were flat which was good. Bunkers had a decent amount of sand. Not much rough if you miss the fairway, everyone was hitting off dirt/rocks which is never fun, and there were 3 single digit handicaps in our group.

Carts had GPS but did not tell you the distance from the tee. No water bottles, bring your own. There were ball cleaners which I am figuring out is a rarity in AZ. The cart paths in a lot of areas were simply dirt, which meant driving through dust for anyone who wasn't the lead car.

Plenty of doglegs and fairway bunkers. A 235 yard par 3 (#17) and a 462 yard par 4 (#18) end the round. Some nice views of downtown Phoenix and mountains. Always enjoy playing courses that aren't in residential communities.

The facility is impressive - fantastic bar and grill, driving range faced the mountains which was beautiful. Parking was a nightmare - not enough spaces for the golfers when an event was going on, people were creating their own parking spaces in the lot and down the road.

I could see it being a good value with the Phoenix City Card, especially if you can play it when events aren't going on.

Conditions Good
Value Average
Layout Average
Friendliness Good
Pace Poor
Amenities Good
Difficulty Fairly Easy
Played On
Reviews 7
Skill Intermediate
Plays A few times a week
2.0
Previously Played

Greens were punched (as of 2/21/2024) and there was no alert on website or at time of check in. Pace of round was slow and there was no marshal regulating pace. 5hr+ on middle of weekday.

Conditions Fair
Value Poor
Layout Fair
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Poor
Amenities Excellent
Played On
Reviews 1
I Recommend This Course
5.0
Verified Purchaser
Previously Played
Conditions Excellent
Value Excellent
Layout Excellent
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Excellent
Amenities Excellent
Played On
Reviews 7
Skill Intermediate
Plays Once a week
I Recommend This Course
5.0
Verified Purchaser
Previously Played
Conditions Good
Value Good
Layout Excellent
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Fair
Amenities Excellent
Played On
Reviews 7
Skill Intermediate
Plays Once a month
I Recommend This Course
4.0
Verified Purchaser
Previously Played
Conditions Excellent
Value Good
Layout Good
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Fair
Amenities Excellent
Played On
Reviews 2
Skill Advanced
Plays Once a week
2.0
Previously Played

Way overpriced

This course is way overpriced. Even for the twilight tee times. I will never play here again. Course is in poor shape for hosting a woman’s NCAA tournament. Max green fee for this place should be $100

Conditions Fair
Value Poor
Layout Average
Friendliness Average
Pace Average
Played On
Reviews 5
Handicap 10-14
Skill Advanced
Plays Once a week
I Recommend This Course
5.0
Previously Played

Great Course

Played here twice this week. Staff was great, clubhouse / restaurant was really good. Beverage cart came around frequently. Greens and Fairways are in great shape. I like this course will be playing it a lot this year.

Conditions Excellent
Value Excellent
Layout Excellent
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Excellent
Amenities Excellent
Played On
Reviews 2
Skill Beginner
Plays Once a week
2.0
Verified Purchaser
First Time Playing

Cart path only notification

Not worth the money. Also when the course is cart path only they should notify you prior to booking a time or paying for the round, not when you’re getting in the cart.

Conditions Average
Value Poor
Layout Average
Friendliness Good
Pace Average
Amenities Average
Played On
Reviews 1
I Recommend This Course
5.0
Conditions Excellent
Value Excellent
Layout Excellent
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Good
Amenities Excellent
Played On
Reviews 2
Skill Intermediate
Plays A few times a week
2.0
Verified Purchaser
First Time Playing

Don’t go

It was a very disappointing day. The cart path is all dirt with a few exceptions around greens and tee boxes. Otherwise we swallowed dust all day. The pace of play was almost 5 hours. There was no fresh water in any of the water stations. The bathrooms were closed so we had porta potties to use. It’s definitely not worth what we paid.

Conditions Fair
Value Fair
Layout Average
Friendliness Good
Pace Fair
Amenities Average
Played On
Reviews 1
2.0
Verified Purchaser
First Time Playing

Overpriced

Course was in bad condition. Pace was slow and Marshall was rude. Carts locked up randomly. Better courses in same area

Conditions Fair
Value Poor
Layout Fair
Friendliness Average
Pace Fair
Amenities Fair
Played On
Reviews 12
2.0
Verified Purchaser
First Time Playing

Fairways were inconsistent
Greens were also inconsistent
Cart paths were a disaster
Hard to believe this course is a college staple.

Conditions Fair
Value Fair
Layout Fair
Friendliness Average
Pace Fair
Amenities Fair
Default User Avatar
Anonymous
Played On
Skill Advanced
Plays Once a week
2.0
Previously Played

Underwhelmed to say the least

I hadn’t played this course in a couple of years. I was super excited to see what renovations were made since it became ASU’s golf teams main course. I knew a bunch of money was put into it, and that’s why the prices went up. Well the clubhouse was great, so was the restaurant. Unfortunately, that’s where it stops. The course wasn’t in terrible condition, but just barely. The carts are basically cart path only, the problem with that though is there really aren’t any cart paths. The greens were 50/50. You’d have one in amazing condition, but then the next one would be in awful condition. It is definitely not worth the price tag. With so many courses in the valley, it’s better to just spend your money else where.

Conditions Average
Value Poor
Layout Good
Friendliness Poor
Pace Good
Amenities Average
Played On
Reviews 62
Skill Intermediate
Plays Once a week
I Recommend This Course
5.0
Arizona Advisor
Verified Purchaser
Top 1000 Contributor
Previously Played

Coming into it's own

Been quite a while since I played the new Papago since ASU made it their home course, and I must say it's finally starting to come into it's own and realize it's full potential. The track itself has never been in question, one of the great layouts anywhere in town.
But last time I played following the arrival of the new ASU practice facility, the course was still in its rough-around-the-edges condition from years ago. That's starting to be corrected and if they keep going this way, Papago will truly become the gem it always should have been. They're cleaning up the edges around the holes and strenthening the layout even further. Green complexes are becoming world class and care of the park has improved greatly. While the greens are still recovering from aeration a couple weeks ago, it was still a treat to play and it's easy to imagine the nations best college golfers competing here each year. I'm very proud of what they are doing with Papago and very optimistic that the facility is on it's way to a true world class golf experience (and starting to be worth what they have been charging since ASU arrived!).

Conditions Good
Value Good
Layout Excellent
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Excellent
Amenities Excellent
Played On
Reviews 6
Skill Intermediate
Plays A few times a week
I Recommend This Course
4.0
Verified Purchaser
First Time Playing
Conditions Good
Value Good
Layout Good
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Excellent
Amenities Excellent
Played On
Reviews 6
Skill Intermediate
Plays A few times a week
I Recommend This Course
4.0
Verified Purchaser
First Time Playing

Grain of salt

I found this golf experience to be very enjoyable overall… sure the course wasn’t perfect but for the most part it was pretty nice especially for the price.

Conditions Good
Value Excellent
Layout Excellent
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Excellent
Amenities Excellent
Played On
Reviews 4
Handicap 10-14
Skill Advanced
Plays A few times a week
1.0
Verified Purchaser
First Time Playing

Had high hopes

Was recommended to this course by a few people

Pace was awful, course was a basic muni.

Conditions Average
Value Fair
Layout Fair
Friendliness Average
Pace Poor
Amenities Average
Played On
Reviews 1
Skill Intermediate
Plays Once a week
I Recommend This Course
4.0
Verified Purchaser
Previously Played

Lovely, but...

Pace of play sucks and no ranger to be seen. Staff super friendly though, and beautiful bar and restaurant to finish at sundown. Hard to beat the view.
Greens we're covered with sand and it irritates me to no end when courses don't say a thing about this and still charge premium rates. Big thumbs down on that.
Might play again someday, but I'll be asking specific questions about course conditions, prior. Don't book online with a call first.

Conditions Average
Value Average
Layout Good
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Fair
Amenities Good
Played On
Reviews 1
1.0
Verified Purchaser
Previously Played

Tee time

Flew in town with clubs, just for them to tell me I didn’t have a tee time. I had a confirmation email and all. So basically flew with clubs for no reason!! Never again, thanks!

Conditions Poor
Value Poor
Layout Poor
Friendliness Poor
Pace Poor
Amenities Poor
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Golf Packages

The Phoenician Golf Around Package

FROM $237 (USD)
PHOENIX/SCOTTSDALE | Enjoy 3 nights' accommodations at the Scottsdale Marriott Old Town and 3 rounds of golf at The Phoenician Golf Club, Westin Kierland Golf Club & Papago Golf Course.

Grass Clippings Golf Getaway Package

FROM $247 (USD)
PHOENIX/SCOTTSDALE | Enjoy 3 nights’ accommodations at the Scottsdale Marriott Old Town and 3 rounds of golf at Papago Golf Club, Phoenician Golf Club, and Grass Clippings Rolling Hills.

Camelback Golf Getaway Package

FROM $237 (USD)
PHOENIX/SCOTTSDALE | Enjoy 3 nights’ accommodations at The JW Marriott Scottsdale Camelback Inn Resort & Spa and 2 rounds of golf at Camelback Golf Club – Ambiente & Padre courses.

Arizona Golf Grind Package

FROM $257 (USD)
PHOENIX/SCOTTSDALE | Enjoy 3 nights' accommodations at the Courtyard by Marriott Scottsdale Old Town and 4 rounds of golf at the Phoenician Golf Club, Longbow Golf Club, Papago Golf Club, and Eagle Mountain Golf Club.

The Fairways of Fountain Hills Package

FROM $197 (USD)
PHOENIX/SCOTTSDALE | Enjoy 3 nights’ accommodations at a Private Home or Condo rental and 3 rounds of golf at Eagle Mountain, Sunridge Canyon, and We-Ko-Pa (Cholla or Saguaro Course).
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